Planning a trip to Thailand and wondering how much time you should spend in Bankgkok vs on a tropical white sand beach on some remote island? Well, we can help. Real quick, you only need to spend 2-3 days in Bangkok. It’s big city life, but it’s not super easy to navigate, and most of it is dirty as hell. But you’ll want to visit all the major temples/Buddahs, and the palace. Take a day trip out to the ancient ruins, a dinner cruise down the Chao Phraya river, because you see more of the city from the river and it’s beautiful when it’s all lit up at night. And eat some good food!
Plan on flying to an island like Ko Samui for some rest and relaxation. Know that most of the islands are pretty touristy, so we recommend booking a room on the side that DOESN’T have a ton of infrastructure. You can always take a cab to the side where all the spring breakers are partying if you want. But you can’t get away from the noise and debauchery if you’re sleeping in the middle of it all. Do a snorkeling trip from your island, there are plenty to choose from.
Spend a good chunk of time in Northern Thailand, specifically Chiang Mai. It’s a good combination of city life and rural countryside. In Chiang Mai you’ll get a considerably more authentic Thai experience, and the food is even more fantastic if you can imagine. Take a cooking class (or two) in Chiang Mai. There are tons to chose from! Just make sure you pick one that starts with a trip to the local market to buy the ingredients you need, and ends at the cooking school. That way you’ll get to learn about all the unique ingredients and familiarize yourself with the purchasing experience so you don’t feel like a dope when you do it on your own later.
When in doubt, walk through a night market for good souvenir shopping and street food. The street food is perfectly safe to eat so go for it and enjoy the fact that you’ll never eat food that good for so little money anywhere else.
The people of Thailand are relatively poor, and they make their money off tourism. That means everyone is super accommodating, helpful, sweet, kind, and willing to offer you a massage, a ride, a home cooked meal, or even the shirt off their back!
Skim through some of our posts below, and pull out some ideas for your own trip to Thailand. And if you have any questions, send us an email!
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