16 day trip to Thailand - critique my itinerary if you will
 

We're visiting my daughter in Bangkok at the end of her study abroad and plan the following itinerary. Any suggestions/comments?

Day 1-2: Travel US-Bangkok
Day 3: See daughter's neighborhood - Visit Chinatown - Recover from jet lag
Day 4: Fly to Phuket
Day 5: Phuket: Beach/Zorb ball
Day 6: Phuket: Snorkel trip
Day 7: Phuket: Beach/Massage
Day 8: Phuket: Bike trip
Day 9: Fly to Chiang Mai - see a little of city
Day 10: Hike to Doi Suthep temple
Day 11: Something to do with Elephants in Chiang Mai - best place that's within an hour?
Day 12: 2-day trek?
Day 13: 2-day trek?
Day 14: Fly to Bangkok: weekend market
Day 15: Bangkok: boat on river...temples...other?
Day 16: Travel home

The best place for elephants close to CM is the Thai Elephant Conservation Center at Lampang.

There is much to do and see in Bangkok and you have very little time there. If you are unable to arrange a trek you like, plan to spend that time in Bangkok. If you want to do something active in Bangkok, there are bike tours outside the city.

It's hard to know what specifics to recommend to you in Bangkok without knowing your interests. There are hundreds of wats to visit, you'll want to choose a few - Wat Po, Emerald Buddha, Wat Arun, Wat Tramit (in Chinatown)at a minimum. The Jim Thompson House Museum is well worth a stop. Of course, there is shopping and lots of fabulous food to sample.

Kathie, thanks for the feedback...will check out the Center in Lampang.

D has been in Bangkok for 6 months so would like to spend more time outside there to see things she hasn't seen. It means that we will see less of Bangkok ourselves. We typically like to do active outdoor things..hiking/biking/snorkelling etc. We're not very big on shopping. We do want to see some temples but probably 3 or 4 between the 3 cities will be enough...especially since D has seen lots of temples since she's been over there and is feeling a little templed out.

i assume that you do know about the intense heat and even worse humidity??

when you say you are hiking to doi suthep, do you mean walk from chiang mai?? DS is atop a hill but its not like a mountain... you walk up the steps or use the lift. the steps are not easy, but its not a hike.. CM is a city not the country..

Yes, I do. It's in December which should be just be a little cooler than the extreme. And I live in the south U.S. where we pretty much have 2 months of solid 90+ degree temperature with high humidity in the summer so not unused to heat.

This is the hike to Doi Suthep I was thinking of attempting:
http://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/....html...sounds like a real hike.

Several years ago we did an overnight hike with stay before/after at Lisu Lodge outside of CM. It was some ride in back of truck, some walk along trails, etc. and we enjoyed.

We did it in December and it was hot/humid much like SE US in June. Another year we were in Thailand in December and it was record cold. Though we enjoyed the hiking more that time, we were cold at night in loosely constructed rooms with no heat.

Thanks Kay2, the "cold" part might cause me to rethink a 2-day trek then.

Any other suggestions for outdoorsy things to see close to Chiang Mai?

For something to do in an evening in BKK go see the Calypso Cabaret. Its a ladyboy show and very entertaining. Good for all ages very classy show - singing dancing - great costumes and you won't believe these "girls"!
We have seen the show many times as has Bangkok Bob- who also has given his stamp of approval.
Its now located at Asiatique. This is a new venue for shopping, restaurants and the Calypso Cabaret. Skip the dinner show option. Check out their website for times and show previews. To get there just hop on the skytrain to the Taskin station and then look for the Asiatique free shuttle boat (it has a red sign on top that says Asiatique- get the boat where the other river taxis stop - not where ther hotel boats dock).
Order your tickets on line and also select your seats for best viewing. Take your camera as they allow shots during the show. After the show the "girls" line up for pictures with you but do tip them- I'd say about 40 Baht per picture.
You get one drink included with your ticket.

Another option we would have is to skip the 2-day trek in Chiang Mai and spend a couple of days in Khao Sok National Park which is 1 1/2 hours above Phuket?

Any opinions one way or the other?

In that case, the itinerary might look like this:

Day 1-2: Travel US-Bangkok
Day 3: See daughter's neighborhood - Visit Chinatown - Recover from jet lag
Day 4: Fly to Phuket - spend afternoon on beach
Day 5: Phuket: Beach/Zorb ball/Massage
Day 6: Phuket: Snorkel trip
Day 7: Phuket: Bike trip
Day 8: Travel to Khao Sok - stay in tree house - hike/caving?
Day 9: Spend day in Khao Sok...return to Phuket late
Day 10: Fly to Chiang Mai - see a little of city
Day 11: Hike to Doi Suthep temple
Day 12: Something to do with Elephants in Chiang Mai - best place that's within an hour?
Day 13: ?
Day 14: Fly to Bangkok: weekend market
Day 15: Bangkok: boat on river...temples...other?
Day 16: Travel home

That is also a possibility. There are also beautiful parks north, near CM. You might want to consider Doi Inthanon

There are only two places I would recommend for elephants - the TECC I previously mentioned, and the Elephant Nature Park (which is farther away from CM.

Ok looks like a nix on khao sok as it looks like it may be about 3 hours away from Phuket.

Kathie, thanks...will look into Doi Inthanon.

Khao Sok is a magical, special place. We stayed in a very basic bungalow with the water steps from our door, and wildlife all around.

Kathie is giving you excellent advice about the two elephant places. Most elephants are terribly abused prior to being forced to preform for or carry tourists, a fact that most folks don't realize. At least, I didn't.

Cattail, how long did you stay at Khao Sok?

If one went to Khao Sok from Phuket, would you have to drive back to Phuket to fly back to Bangkok...or is there a closer airport?

Kathie, also wonder whether you did any of the 1, 2, or 3-day homestay mahout training program. Seems like everyone on tripadvisor pretty much has done the 3-day one and I'm wondering if the 1-day one is good.

Khao Sok is closer to Surat Thani airport so if you want to save time you can fly back from there. Major city in the South of Thailand with a big airport.

Here's the driving time by bus/coach from the major towns around Khao Sok: http://www.khaosok.com/transport-bus.htm

The Elephants Conservation Centre in Lampang is suppose to be well run and does take good care of their elephants. About 1.30 hours drive from Chiang Mai and a nice town with a beautiful old temple.

Trekking in December or January you can expect near zero degree temperature at high altitude and they type of lodging you will be staying in will not be properly insulated from the cold. If you are well prepared with sleeping bags and the right kind of clothing then it should be fun.

Trekking info on temperature above is for Northern Thailand and not down South.

Five nights. We booked with PaddleAsia, mainly because we wanted a wildlife guide (fantastic!). It wouldn't be hard to book on your own though, and most people don't stay as long there as we did.

We also contemplated a trek with the Elephant Nature Park, where we volunteered for a week; it was SO cold at night and early in the morning, we didn't end up doing this. Yes, if you do this, prepare with the right gear.