gillymcgilly

We're taking the kids (5 and 9) to Chiang Mai in april for 5 nights. Any suggestions on where to stay that's child friendly?
Also fancy a trip to see the hill tribes. Ideas that are suitable for the kids would be great.

Elainee

We took two children ages 4 and 7 to Chiang Mai. Stayed at 4S which made it easy, also at Sheraton. Kids liked Sheraton as much as 4s. Remember, no elephant rides for 5 year old. Kinda dangerous for the 9. You can slip right out of the seats if you are not careful. The children found the temples rather interesting, loved the swimming pools at the hotels, food ok. As part of the elephant ride we went to tourist native village. The 7 year old liked seeing the Thai children and bought some trinkets from the kids. Rather impressed that children conducted business. Kids liked Bangkok the best. Boat trips, the palace, snake farm, temples, etc.

tnnc

Elainee-thanks for the great "Kid Info" Which Sheraton did you stay at? We have a 5 and 8 year old and I didn't realize age 5 can't ride the elephants. What if they sit with an adult? We're going in July and I'm anticipating that the pools are going to be a favorite activity. Did you take your children on the river boats in Bangkok? How did you feel about safety? Any life jackets? Any other tips for travelling in Thailand with children?

KimJapan

We took our daughter to Thailand when she was 3, 4 and 5 years old. She loved everything about it, especially the warm welcome the Thai people gave especially to her everywhere we went.

The elephant rides I don't think have an age rule about them...at least they didn't on the 3 occasions we went...she went all 3 times and loved it. We sat all 3 of us on one bench seat on one elephant. I would certainly agree with Elaine that it's dangerous...actually I personally hated being up there and not being in control. The elephants are huge and the bench thing they use isn't designed to keep you on there at all. It is a large animal whose actions can be very sudden and unpredictable. I think that it is something that you definitely have to think carefully about...weigh the risks and decide if you are willing to take it. In our experience, the elephants were extremely well mannered and obedient and the mahouts were gentle...they really seemed to have good communication and such.

Gosh, I just made myself sound stupid for taking her on elephants 3 times!!!

Safety...well...I have to admit I had to let go of my safety ideals for that trip (and more as time has gone on). We had no trouble using her child seat/carseat in the cars we rode in, but there are plenty of vehicles in all of Asia that just don't have seat belts in the rear seats...we got car/driver through the hotel and requested seat belts, no problem. The boats...not a life jacket to be seen, but we went ahead and rode them anyway, hopting we'd be on the right side of statistics. She totally loved the long tail boats on the river in Bangkok...and we did too. We also rode the Penn's shuttle boat every night as a kind of winding down before bed ritual right after dinner...the boat drivers were great, and perhaps I have a memory of there being some markings for the location of life jackets on the Penn's boats.

Overall advice...allow yourself plenty of time to just sit by the pool...we found that sightseeing immediately after breakfast and back at the hotel either for or right after lunch, then afternoon at the pool, then a short before dinner mini-excursion (a little souvenir shopping or a neighborhood walk worked for us) worked for us. We tend not to push on the sightseeing and shopping...when she's done, she's done...that way, she won't come to dislike travelling.

Be sure the kids drink plenty. It's very hot. We carried water everywhere, and every few minutes, everyone took a drink. I think that it helps keep you from melting! Eating plenty of fresh fruit also helps keeps you hydrated, and it is excellent in Thailand...what variety.

Elainee

The elephant farm we went to had a sign with a height line to see who could ride the elephants. But all the elephant farms are different. When we were in CM, there was only one Sheraton. It was rather shabby at the edges, but the price was right, room large, the pool fine, and the breakfast buffet excellent. Lots of Asian tourists staying there. Of course, the 4s is in a different class, but the cost was too high for 10 days.
Just remember, CM will be hot is April.

KimJapan

I see...the elephant places we went to were in Koh Samui, and there was no restriction at all...babies rode with mom and dad. The place you went to was probably more organized and safety conscious. The height line is a good idea.

tnnc

KimJapan and Elainee-your responses have been so helpful! I have not read too much info about travelling with kids in Thailand, so this is great. We may be in Chiang Mai and Koh Samui so will wait and see about the elephant ride. KimJapan-did you see the monkey show in Samui? As to the river boats, I am now thinking of bringing life jackets and donating them to the Marriott Resort when we leave. However, I wasn't even going to bring car seats-just too much to lug around. My kids will be 6 and 8(although the 6 yr old is only 35 pounds) in July when we go so I was just going to use seatbelts-already reserved airport transfers through AAC limo which has seatbelts. I asked them if they have carseats but they don't. We'll try to limit car travel, and use skytrain, boats, trains, and planes. Any other kid suggestions?

KimJapan

The Marriott boats might have lifejackets like the Penn boats did...in a cabinet or under the benches or something.

In Samui, we didn't do the monkey show or aquarium or butterfly garden. We rented a car for a few days and drove around the island and to the elephants, to a waterfall and into the center of the island. Samui doesn't have much other than the beach and resorts, so if you go, choose your hotel carefully. There are lots and lots of new places and it's been a coupld of years since we were there last. I would have recommended Laem Set Inn, but it has been sold, and without the previous owner and his philosophy I doubt the place would be the same...we actually cancelled a fourth trip there after the sale and went to Bali instead.

In Bangkok, the Skytrain is great; clean, efficient and air-conditioned (not in the stations though). If you use Bangkok Air, like to go to Samui, know that there is a good waiting lobby for Bangkok Air passengers inside the gate area. Don't resign yourself to waiting in the public areas of the airport, go right to the gate area. There is internet, free snacks and drinks, and a kids play area. You can relax in there and the kids can't wonder off anywhere since it's a secure area.

CFW

Even if you don't want to ride the elephants, go to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, about an hour south of Chiang Mai. The kids will love seeing the baby elephants, the elephant show, and feeding bananas to the elephants. Very well maintained government sponsored facility. No safety concerns. Also, one evening take them to the Kantoke dinner at the Old Chiang Mai cultural center. Very informal with Thai and Hilltribe costumed dances the kids will enjoy. For a Hilltribe trip check out Lisu Lodge trips (just search Lisu Lodge on google)that are done by East West Siam. They offer a number of well organized trips from 1 to 4 days either privately or in small groups & people have had great things to say about staying at Lisu Lodge in a Hiltribe village. We did an overnight with them at a beautiful teak house in a lovely area of rice fields called Lanna Farm just north of Chiang Mai, but I don't think it would be of interest to kids. We did a cooking class there & had Thai massages.