Recommendations for northern Thailand and the islands
 

Hi there,

My husband and I are flying to thailand this Monday 10th of December, we have the following itinerary which is still very flexible.

2 days bangkok
6 days Chaing Mai (elephant sanctuary, cooking lessons,..) and Chiang Rai (white temple)
4 days Cambodia by land
10 - 11 days in the islands (christmas and new year)

Is our first time in the Thailand, we are in our mid 30's. we don't want to shopping and we are not that much interesting in parties.

Are 6 days good for north thailand? Is it worth to stay in chiang rai or is only worth for a day trip although I think there it is 3 hours by bus.
Any recommendations to do within these 6 days? Any recommendations for hotels/guesthouse? $20/night for double private room? apart from agoda is any other good website?

The islands we would like to visit are:
3 days Koh Lipe
2 days Phuket - Kata beach or Karon
2 days Koh phi phi (tour to Koh phi don, koh phi lee...)
3 days Krabi (Railey - will be too expensive to stay here or should we go only for the day?), Hong island. Where will be best to look for hotels in this area?
1 day Kho yao noi (should we stay here or just go for the day?)

Do you have any recommendations for the islands? should I include something else, any recommendation regarding in which order should I visit them?
I was checking hotels and prices are going up and there are some places that are already fully booked. If you have recommendations please let me know.

Airport:
Some of the flight we will take will be from DMK Bangkok Thailand, how easy is to get here from centre of Bangkok, how much will cost and how long will take?

Thai box:
My husband wants to see thai box, is better to go in Bangkok or can we also go in chiang mai, where? how much should cost?

Many thanks!

bkk airport...that is the old main airport called don maung.. you need to allow one hour to get there, but it may take less or more..

i would not do all that island moving around... pick one or 2 places..

there are tons of hotels in CR.. visit the opium museum near chiang saen and doi tung... rent a car to travel around--budget/avis

I agree... too much island hopping for my taste. You will spend all of your time in transit! With 10-11 days for the islands, three would be my absolute MAX. Keep in mind that this is the busiest (and most expensive) time of the year for the islands. Your choices for hotels are becoming more and more limited by the hour. I would pick something and get it booked ASAP.

Regarding DMK airport - it's very easy to get to and the travelling time from central Bangkok to there should be less than going to Suvarnabhumi airport. Once inside it's a much shorter walk and there are a lot of shops and restaurant as well. Recently refurbished and a very good airport IMO with flights leaving and arriving on time.

For Northern Thailand I suggest you fly into Chiang Mai and then take the bus or van to Chiang Rai. From Chiang Rai you can fly back to Bangkok and save some time. Both Air Asia and Nok Air fly to both Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.

From your allotted time for Northern Thailand I suggest 4 days in Chiang Mai and 2 days in Chiang Rai.

For down South (beach and island), $20 per night during the high season will be hard to find IMO.

Koh Lipe is a very long way from the rest of the Phang Nga area islands on your itinerary. It will take a whole day to get there and another day to get away. Based on comments from recent visitors, I don't think it's worth it.

For inexpensive places to stay, you're better off checking out Travelfish.org, which is a backpacker-oriented travel site and forum.

Many thanks for your replies!

If I change koh lipe for koh lanta, will be better?

It does help if you trade Koh Lanta for Koh Lipe, but be aware you are still choosing to spend a lot of your time in transit. You have listed how many days you have in each place, but did you take travel time into consideration?