I would really love your advice on our itinerary (we are two adults and two boys ages 10 and 12). We will be flying into Singapore at the end of December and spending two nights there. Then we are moving to Phi Ph island for 4 nights. I am having trouble deciding where to go after that. We would like to see some old temples that are not too crowded and we would like to interact with elephants for a half of a day. Pretty countryside and a cooking class would be nice as well. We will have 6 nights before we have to fly home. What would you suggest? I am considering Chiang Mai for 3 nights, Sukhothai for 1 and Bangkok for 2 nights but it involves plenty of moving around. I would appreciate any suggestions!

Are you committed to PhiPhi? I ask because it is now considered to be the definition of over-touristed.

Temples (wats) are everywhere in Thailand. Bangkok has the greatest number and variety of wats. I've visited several dozens over the years, both older wats and more modern ones. If you are looking for temple ruins, consider Ayutthaya as well as Sukhothai. Sukhothai has the disadvantage of being. farther from other places you plan to visit. Ayutthaya can be done as a day trip or an overnight from Bangkok. There are old wats in Chiang Mai. Or you might want to wait to visit the temples of Angkor on your next trip to SE Asia.

Elephants: The various elephants camps in SE Asia are well-known for abusing the elephants. You don't want to be a party to this, so you need to do careful research on the places you can see elephants. Be aware that if a place allows elephant-riding that is an indicator of poor treatment of the elephants. In Northern Thailand, the best recommended place is the Elephants Nature Park. They do have a half-day program as well as full day and multi-day programs. Check them out on the web and make reservations before you go to Thailand.

I do think what you have outlined involves too. much moving around. Remember that 3 nights is just two full days, one night means you have no full days, perhaps a couple of hours on two different days. Also, going to Phi Phi increases your travel time to and from your beach location. If you don't schedule your flights carefully, you can end up losing another day in transit due to ferry schedules.

There are lots of options for you and that may be part of the problem, it makes it hard to decide what to do and what to skip. Your visit is quite short, so don't make it shorter by spending a lot of time in transit.

Enjoy your planning!

Kathy, thank you for your reply. We must go to a snorkeling place first so it will be Phi Phi or ko lipe or North Sulawesi. So let's assume we are starting from Phuket and have 6-7 nights.

we would like old temples or ruins. We have been to Cambodia without kids and loved it. I am sure it is hard to have a similar experience in Thailand but it sounds like Sukhothai would be the closest. Am I wrong?

yes, I am aware about choosing only places without riding and tricks. Is it hard to find a humane place?

Sukhothai is a good option for old temples and temples ruins in Thailand, but it is not very close to either Chiang Mai or Bangkok. If you opt for Sukhothai, spend at least two nights there so you have some time to see the temples.

It sounds like you understand about the elephant camps. The most frequently advertised places (and the ones promoted on TA ) are not ones that treat the elephants well There are not a lot of camps I would recommend, but the Elephant Nature Park is one I often recommend. I've also heard good things about Elephant Hills.

Given where else you are considering for your snorkeling time, (Ko LIpe or Sulawesi), Ko Phi Phi has the fewest problems for transport connections.

Good luck to you in finding what you want.

hi we are just finishing up two weeks in Thailand - if you can get directly to Chiang Mai that might be your best bet - contact Chaing Mai driver guides - they custom designed a tour for us that included a visit with elephants and a trip to Doi Inthanon which was amazing and I think your boys would like the waterfall hke (rickety bridge). you can also do the cooking class in Chiang Mai and they have a lot of temples (wats). If you want you could add a day trip to Chiange Rai and see the white temple and black house which I think your boys would also really like (White Temple has mural with Pirates of the Caribeanne on it)
two days in Bangkok won't give you much - we found Bangkok very hard to get around in (the heat is incredible as are the crowds) try to stay near a sky train station, or on the river where you can take the river ferry. Have fun - I've written a pretty long trip report (Laura and Steve amongst the Wats and Elephants) which might be helpful. feel free to ask q1u3estions

Laura, I just read your report this morning! Very helpful indeed, thank you

Kathy, right, Phi Phi sounds so much easier than Ko Lipe and Sulawesi. Plus we have been to Sulawesi before.

I will look into Elephant Nature Park and Elephant Hills. Thank you!

Hi Alisa, we loved Koh Lanta as a beach option - and in terms of ancient ruins you can do Ayuthaya as a one day trip from Bangkok - it was awe-inspiring (and hot) - enjoy the planning

A total of ten days is not a lot of time to pack in all you would like to do. Moving around a lot can really reduce the time you have to actually see and do things. You can mitigate this to an extent by taking early morning flights to the various destinations leaving the best part of the day available to do things other than travel. Most of all, reducing the number of locations will have the greatest effect.

Bangkok has the most impressive temples of anywhere you will see in the country. The one full day (2 nights) you are planning, will enable you to see many of the most famous/important e.g. The Grand Palace / Wat Phra Keo, Wat Po, Wat Arun and Wat Traimit. However, there is a lot more to Bangkok than just temples. I would suggest staying by the river and using the river buses to get to and from the major temples mentioned above. Also, I am sure your boys would enjoy a boat trip on the klongs ( small canals) of Thonburi, Sout of the Chayo Praya River. The Anantara Riverside is a brilliant, resort style hotel, right on te river. Ideal for families.

Ayuthaya is a day trip from Bangkok either by a tour which could include a boat trip to Bang Pa In, the kings summer palace and the rest by bus. Arguably , more fun would be to get the train there and explore by bikes. Easily arranged yourself.

Northern Thailand has some beautiful scenery but Chiang Mai is a long way to go for a couple of days. Sukothai is impressive, more so than Ayuthaya. Half a day ( i.e. one night) would be enough to see the ruins. You can fly from Bangkok to Sukothai not sure about onwards to Chiang Mai - we rented a car and drove( 4-5 hours) , but had much more time.

As far as beach time is concerned, I totally agree with Kathie comments re Phi Phi - avoid. It is over 20years since I visited and it was not great then. In particular the reefs had all but been destroyed by tourism so not great for snorkelling or diving. I dread to think what it is like now, esp. in December.

Koh Lanta has lovely beaches, better snorkelling and some great hotels ( The Pimalai is very nice ) but unless you fly and stay the whole time there, transfers will involve a ferry journey. Nice! But it will eat into your time.

You mentioned Elephant Hills for your pachyderm fix. That is in Khao Sok NP which also has some spectacular scenery in the form of limestone karats around a large lake ( you can stay on floating raft houses there which again, any 10-12 year old boys would find pretty cool. It is also close to Khao Lak with some decent beaches. For the best snorkelling, I would suggest a day trip to the Similan Islands one of te best dive and snorkelling sites in Asia. Any dive shop will arrange but book in advance e in December. I think it is around 1.5 hours eachway by speedboat.

My favourite places for temples were Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya, we didn't go to Sukothai so can't compare but loved the many different styles and ages of CM's temples, and the ruins in Ayutthaya were incredible, especially when we visited some of the less visited ones, we had them literally all to ourselves.

For elephants, we went to Elephant Hills, we did their Jungle Lake package which is 3 days 2 nights, the first night in the rainforest camp and the second night on the floating lake camp. We loved the elephant interaction experience here, and were confident about the ethical / welfare credentials, which was very important for us. We also adored the lake camp, and indeed we skipped the 3 hour jungle trek there to spend more time floating, swimming and kayaking in the lake. Magical.



Elephant Hills Floating Camp (c) K Favelle


Elephant Hills Floating Camp (c) K Favelle


Elephant Hills Elephant Sanctuary (c) K Favelle

Thank you very much for your input and ideas! I am now also considering Luang Prabang for 4-5 nights for temples and countryside. May we will drop Phi Phi after all and will go to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang.

Thank you everybody for the suggestions! We booked our trip! We are flying into Bangkok and out of Singapore. The current itinerary is Bangkok for 4 nights (well 3 really because we will arrive on midnight), then Luang Prabang for 5 nights and then Singapore for 3 nights. The only trouble is that we would arrive to Singapore on the 31st of December at 10pm. The idea of celebrating the New Year at Singapore airport or in a taxi does not appeal to me too much. Do you think there is a way to change the trip to include Chiang Mai or Siem Reap or do you think it will be too rushed?

Also has anybody flown through Bangkok while changing airlines from Bangkok to Thai? (I am considering flying not a non-stop so we could arrive in Singapore before 10pm). Are these airlines often late? Would an hour be enough to change flights in Bangkok?

Thank you!

I really don't think you have the time to add anything to the three destinations you are now planning. I've flown both Bangkok Air and Thai many times and in general, both airlines arrive on time. Of course, you understand that is no guarantee. Unfortunately, your itinerary doesn't allow you to visit temple ruins. Save Angkor for another trip as you would need three full days (4 nights) just to see the "major" temples.

If you were to arrive in Singapore at 10 pm, you would probably be at your hotel by 11 - Changi Airport is very efficient, and it is a short taxi ride from the airport to hotels. If you have your boarding passes for your next flight, an hour should be fine for changing planes.

Have a wonderful trip!