The Grand Palace, khao soi and Phang Nga Bay

The Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun on the Chao Phraya, with a street-food dinner in Yaowarat; the brick temples inside Chiang Mai’s moat, Doi Suthep and khao soi for lunch; and Phuket’s west coast, with Kata beach, sunset at Phromthep Cape and the limestone towers of Phang Nga Bay.

Day by day Open the itinerary in the app

Bangkok → Chiang Mai → Phuket · 8–11 days

The route on the map, in the itinerary’s order.

ThailandBangkok
Days
3–4
When
Jan–Feb · Nov–Dec
Per person/day
Average 2,500–4,500 THBMid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.
ThailandChiang Mai
Days
2–3
When
Jan · Nov–Dec
Per person/day
Average 2,000–3,500 THBMid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.
ThailandPhuket
Days
3–4
When
Jan–Mar · Dec
Per person/day
Average 4,420 THBMid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.

Who it is for

For a first trip to Thailand that combines the capital, the temples of the north and a few beach days at the end.

Not for anyone travelling from May to October expecting calm seas, since the monsoon brings rain and rough water to Phuket’s west coast.

The strategy

Bangkok comes first. For Chiang Mai, the night train takes 11 to 13 hours and the domestic flight a little over an hour; Chiang Mai airport is 4 km from the moat. From Chiang Mai to Phuket you fly, direct with some airlines or connecting in Bangkok. In Phuket, stay in Kata or Karon and keep a day for the boat trip in Phang Nga Bay. The flight home leaves from Phuket airport, at the far north of the island, about 37 km from Patong. The season that suits all three stops is December to January: Bangkok is dry, Chiang Mai is not yet under the smoke of the burning season, which runs from February to April, and the sea off Phuket is calm. Fill in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card up to 72 hours before arrival.

What you will see

Grande Palácio, Bangkok. A 218,000 m² complex built starting in 1782, a royal residence until 1925 and the venue for state ceremonies.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai. A reliquary temple founded in 1383 under King Kue Na, at about 1,070 m on the mountain to the west, 15 km from the city and 30 to 40 minutes by car.
Kata Beach, Phuket. Kata Yai is the main beach of Kata, on the west coast, and Kata Noi is a smaller cove to the south, beyond a headland.