Hello,
My husband (71) and I (56) will be travelling to Thailand for the first time in Feb. We will be meeting my son and daughter-in-law for a week in Krabi (Railay Beach) after spending 2 weeks on our own. So far, this is the plan. Any pointers will be greatly appreciated. We wil be arranging private tours with folks recommended in the forums. I know some folks love BKK but I'm not crazy about big cities.
Should we do both the Golden Triangle loop and Mae Hong son loop? They both sound interesting to me and quite different.
BKK:
1 - day of rest after flight, explore BKK a little
2 - trip with Tong (not booked yet) to River Kwai, Tiger Temple, floating market
3 - Ayutthaya (boat there and bus back)
4 - Fly to CM and just explore the city
5 - Doi Suithep, waterfalls, handicraft market, night market
6 and 7 Elephant Conservation Center 2-day mahout training course
8, 9, 10 Chiang Rai, Mae Sai, Thaton, Chiang Saen (golden triangle, opium museum, hill tribes, hot springs. etc.)
(Where would you suggest staying?)
11,12,13 Pai, soppong, Mae Hong Son. Drive there and fly back to CM (how does this work when you hire a driver?) (Where would you suggest staying?) (hill tribes, caves)
14 Cooking school in CM
15 Doi Inthanon National Park and spend rest of time exploring CM back streets
16 Fly to BKK and onward to Krabi
17-24 Relax with kids Railay area.
25 Fly home to US
Also would love to visit a school if anyone knows of a school that would welcome visitors. I know this is a long post and I thank you for your feedback.

betty, you may not like big cities, but I can't imagine going to Bangkok and not seeing (at a minimum) The Grand Palace - Temple of the Emerald Buddha - Wat Po (Reclining Buddha). I'd recommend one full day in Bangkok, perhaps with Tong. You've planned two days outside of Bangkok already. Depending on where you are flying from and how impacted you are by jet lag and the heat. you may or may not be ready for a full day the day after you arrive in Thailand.

If you opt to go to the Golden Triangle, I recommend staying at the Anantara. You could do your mahout training there, as they have a division of the Elephant Conservation Camp right on the grounds.

Several people have posted about schools or orphanages to visit in the north. Someone posted about a place called "Joy's School," do a search on this board for more info.

In general, I think you've scheduled too much. This is supposed to be a vacation, after all. Make sure you allow days for just wandering around, wherever you are. OFten the most amazing experiences are those you didn't plan for.

Note that the Golden Triangle, Pai and Mae Hong Son areas are malarial risk.

Betty- I agree with Kathie. I would skip Ayutthaya and spend a day in BKK doing the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Chinatown and the Jim Thompson House. If you use Tong or someone similar, this will be a full day, but not overwhelming.

Have you given any thought to seeing Angkor Wat? If this appeals, you could cut out either the Golden Triange or the Mae Hong Son loop. AW is truly not to be missed.

I, too, would cut either the Golden Triangle or the Mae Hong Son loop and substitute Angkor Wat. It's fabulous and very different from anything else you're seeing (especially if you cut Ayutthaya and add a day in Bangkok, which, like Gpanda, I'd recommend). Overall, though, your trip looks pretty good!
Karen

betty---ignor this guy....can't imagine where he came from, BUT WE ALL WISH HE WOULD GO BACK THERE....

in any case i agree with kathie and even with gpanda...

even though big cities are not your bag, you need to visit around bangkok...picking your hotel in bkk is a very important step...you may have said elsewhere where you will stay but i have forgotten...most of us love the river hotels...i personally prefer the marriott resort and spa and as you do not like cities and probably hi rises, this would be the perfect oasis for you...my second choice is the peninsula, although it is a hi rise...the marriott has the best grounds in bkk, imo and is amongst the cheapest of the riverside hotels..in feb you should expect to pay about $135 on the discount sites...www.huahin.20m.com is my favorite, but their winter rates are not posted as of yet--sept....the marriott people own the anantara by the way...

i assume you know that your full day with tong to floating market, etc will be a very long day of perhaps 12-14 hours...it will be fun however...but very tiring...

i would then skip ayut. the next day and relax more around bkk and maybe take a trip on the river on your own...perhpas a klong tour of thornburi by long tail boat---2-3 hours costing about 400 B per hour....this would allow you to see other parts of bkk life, other than the real city part...

i think you will find the going quite difficult because of the heat and humidity....have you ever been to DC in july??? on its worst day there in july, that is what you will find 24/7 in thailand---so you need to be prepared for it and slow down...

i, too, suggest the anantara in chiang saen....its fantastic....the four seasons has a new place in the area as well which you might check out---its a lux tented camp...

like kathie says you can do your elephant time at the anantara...it is a sub division of some bigger elephant camp...that way you could eliminate two days near CM....

i think you will find that a trip to the national park will take you most of the day...fyi

i would fly back to bkk one day before your international flight so as to avoid any delays...

Joy's House in Chiang Mai is the place that runs the School for Life. www.joyshouse.net They also have a school in the Khao Lak area (to the north a bit) for tsunami survivors.

For cooking school, Yui of www.alotofthai.com was excellent and arranged a private, custom course for us that included unusual dishes as we already knew how to make the usual dishes on offer with all the courses - and our 8 year old daughter wanted only vegetarian food (but we didn't). Yui started out working for the big cooking school in town, but split off on her own. She and her husband and son are lovely.

You can do the elephant course at the Anantara, but although the program is the same the price is much, much higher because of the hotel I think. The course at the Elephant Conservation Center is wonderful...we did the 3 day mahout training course. www.changthai.com

In Bangkok, the Grand Palace is definitely worth a few hours. We also love boat rides in the klongs. Ayutthaya is a place we hope to go back to as we enjoyed it so much the first time.

Thanks so much to everyone who replied. Just having been to DC in July, I may start to rethink exactly what we will do! We could barely breathe in DC but I thought if I escaped the concrete of the city it might not be so bad. With that said, I'll definitely take your advice and spend 1-2 extra days in BKK because I do enjoy just wandering and I do want to see the grand Palace. Is the CM area any cooler than BKK? If we do go to Angkor Wat how many days would you recommend? Thanks for your help. Betty

you will find CM slightly cooler...

i found that 4 days was about right for angkok....three is on the slight side but if you have 3 full touring days, excluding arrival day it might be ok or 5 would allow you more time...generally it is hoter there than in thailand....sorry...and you are out in the sun all day...you must have a driver there and a guide, imo...the car will have a/c so that is a great help and an escape...

speaking of escapes...that is why i push the marriott in bkk...it is a total escape from everything bad about the city...it is a 12 minute free boat ride from taskim pier where you get the skytrain or klong tour boats..

i find the frequent use of taxis and the skytrain and also guides/drivers keeps you alive in bkk...you can frequently escape back to good a/c to refresh and get on to the next place...

bkk is not really a place to wander like you might in europe....its too hot for that...you really have to take transportation from one spot to another or you will kill yourselves from the humidity...and then there is the pollution too, which you did not get in DC....its a combo of all these things that makes bkk a bit difficult...

but we love it and will have completed our 10th trip by the time you arrive...i ahve 18 days in bkk this trip...

Chiang Mai is cooler. In late December and early January I wore fleece jackets in the early morning and evenings. At elephant camp I was quite chilled, wore long sleeved shirts under my mahout suit, and a winter weight fleece in the evening.

i have read these reports about CM, but i must honestly say that i have not experienced that....i was first there in late january and it was hot and humid....next time i was there was in early december and it was even hoter, in fact the a/c was out in our hotel and we almost died for 3 days....no electricity in that part of the city...the hotel generator only ran one lite in each room and the lobby lites and one elevator...ugh!!

so while it will be cooler i think you can not count on it....outside the city undoubtably it will be even cooler, like at the elephant camp...

Wow, Kim, it was much cooler in CM for you than what I experienced! When I was last there, the mornings and evenings were pleasantly cool, the days were hot. Smae thing in the Golden Triangle. Trips were in November-December.

Maybe it was unseasonably cool? In Chiang Mai the days were pleasantly warm but not hot, and evenings were cool. Bangkok was cool this past year as well; much cooler than we had experienced on previous trips, but I didn't wear a fleece like I did in Chiang Mai.

Keep in mind a bit though, that I am often cold when few others are...