I have a business trip in Hawaii in August, and thought I'd continue west for a 10-12 day vacation in Thailand. I'll be a 40-ish female travelling alone.

I thought I'd divide my time three ways: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket. Is this reasonable, given the time I'll have (3-4 days each)? And are these the three places you'd recommend for a first-timer?

Since I'll probably get some beach time in Hawaii, should I skip Phuket this trip?

Hbyerly - While Hawaii will will warm/hot, you'll have the winds to cool down, but Thailand is hot and humid both in the 90s, so be prepared for water running from every pore of your body.
Other than that... August is the rainy season and sometimes Monsoons, but you might be lucky and just have some showers. BKK itself often floods as low sea level. But there are plenty of sights to see and it's a very interesting city. Be prepared to be covered when going to Wats (temples), no shorts, backless, sleevless shirts or they'll give you something to cover yourself. Shoes have to be removed when entering temples.
Chiang Mai and north to Chiang Sean (the golden triangle) are interesting to visit... flights average about $50 each + tax, better than the train which cheaper is not the way you want to go.
As far as Phuket... check with a travel agent, as while low season because of the rains, you might be better off at Koh Samui. Kind of remember reading that when it rains at one the other is dry. And even though you'll have beach time in HI, it's nice to rest after running around the rest of Thailand, but two days should be enough, before getting ready for the long flight home.
Enjoy.

if you have never been before you need to allow about double the time you would in say europe to see things---reason: the extreme heat and the difficulty in getting around in bkk-traffic, etc....i would reccomend a minimum of 5 full days, excluding your arrival day when you will be exhausted, for bkk....i would skip the islands this trip and plan them for a future trip...i would however go up to chiang mai where it will be cooler and less busy

I assume you have looked into flights between Hawaii and Bangkok. It is actually not a popular route, and you will ether have to go through Taipei Taiwan or Tokyo. I believe the trip could take you something like 14-18 hours.

If you can work out a decent flight, then I would recommend Bangkok and Chiang Mai. I agree that skipping Phuket is probably best, as you will see more beautiful beaches in Hawaii actually. August is also the middle of the rainy season in Phuket. Bangkok is a great city and easy to do on your own, there are recommendations on this site for drivers and guides, or you can hire a guide for the day from your hotel to take you to the major sites. It?s a shopper's paradise as well. I would say 4-5 days in Bangkok is good, and would give you some time to just relax by your pool as well. 3-5 days in the Chiang Mai area is nice as well.
August will be a bit on the rainy side in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, however this sometimes makes it a bit cooler as that hot sun is behind the clouds.

Instead of Phuket you might consider going to the Chiva Som resort in Hua Hin at the end of the trip to recover from shopping and temple touring. (Being a 40ish female myself, I am a big fan of spas.) This is a world-class health spa on the beach with 5-star facilities. It is great to do on your own as you can schedule as many treatments or fitness classes as you want. Terrific food, you won't even notice that it's also low fat. Take a look at their website at chivasom.net. The resort is about a 3 hour drive south of Bangkok. Hua Hin has some pretty national parks nearby and the beach is long and wide, but I would mostly go for the spa. The weather will be slightly less rainy than Bangkok, and definitely less rainy than Phuket.

Thanks to everyone for your responses!

I know mid-August isn't the best time of year to go, but I have the business thing in Hawaii then, and I'd really like to break the trip up as I'm not a great long-distance flyer.

I'm using United miles from the east coast, so my route would be WAS-SFO-Hong Kong-BKK, then BKK-Tokyo-HNL on the return. There don't seem to be any saver seats available back home from Hawaii for my date range, so I may need to purchase that leg (luckily the office will pick up the cost).

So the consensus seems to be 5-ish days in Bangkok, 5-ish days in Chiang Mai. Cicerone, I *love* the idea of a day or two of spa life in there somewhere!

One more question - which city (Bangkok or Chiang Mai) has the better shopping? I'd rather do shopping last so I'm not hauling things around.

Thanks again!

hbyerly - you can buy pretty much anything in Bangkok. However, in Chiang Mai are the handicraft villages where you can purchase silver jewelry, all kinds of lacquerware, beautiful painted umbrellas and fans, lots of silk clothing. You can actually watch the craftspersons make these things--a great experience and great prices.

Unless you plan to head north to Chiang Rai and the golden triangle, 3 days is probably enough in Chaing Mai. I agree with the above poster on Hua Hin for 2-3 nights.

hbyerly - By WAS do you mean Washington? If yes, that's Dulles (IAD)! And no doubt you've put a hold on your tickets, but since they're on miles, you might want to check a flight out of JFK. United has flights right over the pole to NRT (Tokyo) only 12 hrs.flying, 2-hr. layover, then 6 hrs. to BKK. It's just a thought, to avoid all the layover-time in SFO and HNK.

What are you doing about hotels in BKK? Chiang Mai? Budget, Moderate or Luxury? Are you going to use a travel agent in the US or do it on your own once in BKK (though you should have something at least for the first night)!
I would suggest if you're allowing 5-days for Chiang Mai (and leaving the beach for when you're in HI), you might want to do 3-days CM and then 2-days Chiang Rai/Sean and get to the Golden Triangle and maybe even a cross-over into Myanmar (Burma). We really enjoyed out time up near/over the border.
If you'll really adventurous and instead of Phuket or Ko Samui or other beach area, you can do a trip to Seam Reap in Cambodia (1-hr flite)and see the temples at Angkor Wat. We did it and it was only 2-days, and though we went for a 5* hotel at cost including air, hotel, meals, tours and transfers at about $550 person, you can get a less expensive hotel and save some money. Something to consider.

my bestman is in bkk at the moment...he lives in honolulu...this time he went on united and it was about 18 hours....he used ff.....he ooften goes on eva air through taipei as well....

we prefer the shopping in bkk, but as said the crafts are sometimes better in CM, as is the green and blue pottery, whose name escapes me at the moment....oh yes---Celedon....it is fabulous stuff and the main store in bkk has a very small inventory the last two times we visited...

if planning on custom clothes do that as soon as you arrive in bkk as it takes a few days and at least one fitting to make sure things are correct...bring pictures or examples of what you want---they can make it for very cheap, especially silk and cotton things....we like monetII on the second level of the marriott resort hotel mall...also j.s. thai silk on the ground floor of river city shopping center (ask for ms. yai)....

enjoy....

I would do half the time in Bangkok, half the time in Chaing Mai. If you're going to get clothes sewn, you'll get it cheaper in Chaing Mai than Bangkok.

Since the heat is going to be intense...think about a night or two at the Regent in Chiang Mai. It is expensive but worth it and the pools are fab! The spa is the best I have ever been to and I have been to a lot. You will be pampered as only you can be in Asia. I think you can get spa treatments without staying at the hotel. But be certain to stay in a hotel with a pool. The Westin has a nice pool. In Bangkok the big hotels on the river all have pools. You should be able to get great rates on the usual internet sites...expedia, etc. All the hotels should be having specials. Travel is down to Asia and August is hot! You will love Thailand. We went to Angkor Wat and it is one of the great travel sites of the world, but it will be far too hot and the sites have too little shade. I would not go there in August. It was very hot in January.