Going to Thailand with hubby and two teenage sons. Arriving in BKK on 12/20 and staying 7 nights.(bummer we arrive at 2 am and have to pay for a room so it will be ready) Going to Ayutthaya and wat po, what arun, and floating market on tours. We have two full free days and considering doing a cooking class or bike tour or going somewhere else for the two days.
Then have a tour set up with an operator...We pretty much have this portion nailed down... going to Chiang Rai (2 nights), day trip to Myanmar, and Chiang Mai (5 nights). (one of the days in Chiang Mai is a free day. Going to Ran Tung for Elephants) Budget is a concern for us.
Should we rethink our trip and throw in a beach? I have done research and it seems like the beaches near Bangkok aren't anything special and we will need to fly. Should we skip this time and just do the North portion and explore Bangkok for the 7 days? BTW we are foodies and love jazz music and animals!

Thanks for recommendations!

For blues rather than jazz, Adhere 13th Blues Bar is definitely worth a visit. They also have more traditional jazz in the Oriental hotel (or at least they used to!).

The nearest reasonable beach to Bangkok is at Hua Hin but even that is not great. If you want to include a beach, I would head for the Andaman coast which will require a flight or overnight train/ bus combo. All beach resorts will be v. Busy at that time of year so book soon!

Personally I would forget about the day trip to Myanmar - just a border post with tacky souvenirs.

Try and include a Saturday night in Chiang Rai. Worth it just for the Saturday walking market - much better than the Chiang Mai equivalent. Amazing street food in that market. I would also make a point of visiting the White Temple and Black House in CR.
As foodies, you will be spoilt for choice in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It pays to do a LOT of research on the type of places in which you want to eat - e.g. From High end restaurants to street food stalls and "hole in the wall" places.

If you want a beach, I agree with crellston, fly to the Phuket area. But hotels on the beach will be very expensive at that time of the year 2x-3x the usual rate.

I also agree that you should give the day trip to Myanmar a miss. You are taken to a tacky border town to buy souvenirs. Likewise, if this is the famous "Three countries tour" skip the whole thing. The Laos portion of the trip is just tables set up with Chinese-made goods.

And avoid all commercial elephant shows if you love animals - the poor animals are terribly abused. Indeed, you are likely to see gashes in the elephants' skin from the use of hooks. If you want to interact with elephants, opt for the Elephant Nature Park, near Chiang Mai. You can make a reservation online.

Frankly you don't need any tours at all unless you want to take the boat one way to or from Ayutthaya, it will be more interesting and less expensive to do it yourself. In Bangkok, you can easily get to Wat Po and Wat Arun by yourselves, as well as taking in the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha.

There are some Bangkok Food tours that you might enjoy. And I know people who have taken a bike tour outside of Bangkok (run by a Dutch guy). There is plenty to keep you busy in Bangkok.

The food street in Chiang Rai runs every night, in my recall. Hardly anything called 'sunday go to church day' in Asia. Chiang Mai has bad motor vehicle air pollution, worse when crowded (DecJanFeb) but countyside not so awful.
And if you go to Chiang Rai, it's only an hour to Myanmar border town of Takilek. It's a dirty and expensive passport stamp, but alcohol prices much lower than in T'land.

Oops, my bad. The food street in my mind is in Mae Sai town, on the border. And i had 2 or 3 good meals there earlier this year.

I know little of Chiang Rai except smaller and less polluted, compared to Chiang Mai.

the grand palace is #1 on all tourist sites for bkk---go early in AM--9...

skip Myanmar at that location, but do visit the wat overlooking the actual golden triangle in chiang saen area.
the opium museum near chiang saen is a must visit too.

renting a car in chiang rai is a good idea to explore---driving is very easy.

hotels: you might want to explore serviced apartments in Bangkok, reasonable and roomy: chatrium riverside, Marriott sukhumvit park, Conrad, emporium suites, ascott, Marriott mayfair--- many have 2 bedroom, 2 bath.

personally I would skip ayt.

tours with tong (google) is a cost effective way to tour and not waste time.

Thank you all for advise

Personally, I think 7 days in Bangkok is a bit much. I would recommend cutting it to maybe 4 days at most. Go for a couple of nights to Koh Lanta and relax on beautiful beaches, since Bangkok can be hectic. Not to mention, Thailand has some of the best beaches in the world and it would be a shame to miss (even if you have to pay for the flight, it's worth it!!). If you want to do cooking class, I recommend doing in Chiang Mai. Take a look at this:

http://togetherinthailand.com/thai-c...in-chiang-mai/

I don't think there's much in Chiang Rai so maybe even 1 night would be fine. Take a $5 bus to Pai and enjoy some natural beauty there (lots more to do than Chiang Rai).

The north will be less expensive and the food is FANTASTIC!!!! Try Khao Soy, traditional norther noodle soup.

But yeah, I would say don't skip seeing a beach while in Thailand!