Welcome to our 12 day Thailand itinerary! Our trip to Thailand influenced our want to travel and I hope it influences yours too!
In 2018, while I was in college, I added Thailand to #1 on my travel bucket list. I had decided that once I graduated college, I would be going to Thailand before settling down with a full-time career. This led to me going down a rabbit hole of travel planning which I became obsessed with. However, during college I received a law enforcement career offer that I couldn’t pass up (BY THE BEACH I MIGHT ADD … MY FAVORITE PLACE EVER).
Even though this was exciting, this upset me because I was not able to visit Thailand. Fast forward to 2023, I had been a law enforcement officer for two years and had gotten married to the man of my dreams. While sitting at home one day, we questioned why we couldn’t go to Thailand and could not come up with a good answer. We immediately booked flights from Atlanta, Georgia to Bangkok, Thailand and I had never been more excited!! After years of waiting, I was finally going to Thailand.
Our 12-day Thailand trip was AMAZING but was not nearly long enough, in my opinion. We visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Koh Phi Phi during our 2-week trip.This consisted of exploring temples, elephant sanctuaries, tribe villages, and getting to experience The Hangover in real life on Khao San Road. If you’re planning something similar or just want inspiration, here is everything my husband and I did on our trip.
Destinations We Visited:
Choosing the places we wanted to visit was extremely difficult. However, it was extremely important we visit Bangkok for the city-life and temples, Chiang Mai for the elephant sanctuary, and Koh Phi Phi for the island life.
Day One & Two // Travel Days
Day one and two felt like the longest days ever due to the extremely long flights but we survived. We started off by flying from our hometown to Atlanta, Georgia. We then flew from Atlanta, Georgia (departing at 7:45 AM) to Seoul, Korea. While at the Seoul, Korea airport, we grabbed some yummy Korean food (spicy rice cakes and bulgogi … my favorite food ever). We then flew from Seoul, Korea to Bangkok, Thailand and finally arrived at 9:30 PM.
My husband and I were so excited to be there but immediately struggled because back home it was 9:30 AM and we were wide awake. We checked into our hotel (INNSiDE Melia by Bangkok) which we LOVED. The hotel is a 5-star hotel with a rooftop bar/pool, in-room green tea, coffee, and sweets for an unbelievable price directly next to a train station and convenient store. We immediately walked up to the rooftop bar and grabbed some drinks and food but headed to bed for the night.
Day Three // Temples & Iconsiam Mall
On day three we woke up early in order and checked out of our hotel to explore the town of Bangkok. Our first stop was to the Grand Palace (AKA The Reclining Buddha). We paid a super cheap fee and entered the temple. I can’t even begin to explain how INCREDIBLE this temple was. It was nothing I had ever experienced in my lifetime and the detail on the temple was insane… If you ever visit Thailand, this temple is a MUST DO.
Once we left the temple, we were hungry and wanted to check out the ICONSIAM Mall. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of this mall but it is ENORMOUS with 10 floors of stores and restaurants. It even has a section called SOOKSIAM food court which contains street market vendors inside of the mall. However, we knew we were going to street markets while in Thailand so we tried a sit down Thai restaurant within the mall which we liked (I can’t remember which one..) and shopped afterwards.
Following our temple and mall visit, we were scheduled to travel to Chiang Mai. However, after flying for over 20 hours on day one, we did not want to immediately fly again. After a lot of research, I determined taking a sleeper train would be a lot of fun and a change of pace. My husband and I utilized 12Go and booked tickets from Krung Thep Aphiwat Terminal Station in Bangkok to Chiang Mai. We left at 6:40 PM and arrived the next morning at 7:115 AM. This was by far one of the coolest forms of transportation.
While on the train, my husband and I grabbed some food that a local vendor made (not our favorite) and viewed the cities we passed through. Once we got tired, we informed a staff member who folded our seats into bunk beds and put sheets on them. I initially was feeling nervous about sleeping on a train with a bunch of random people but each bed had curtains and we felt extremely safe the entire ride. I highly recommend the sleeper train if you ever get the chance.
Day Four // Explore & Relax
On day four we woke up in Chiang Mai and departed the train into the city. At this time we decided to explore the city until it was time for us to head to the elephant sanctuary for the evening. While in the town we explored downtown Chiang Mai and my husband got a tailored suit made at James Bond Tailor. This was a really cool experience and was highly recommended to us. We were able to get him a custom tailor made suit which we picked up a couple days later. While downtown, we ate at the Hard Rock (how typical… lol) that overlooked the town; only because we found it really cool there was a Hard Rock in Thailand with a giant elephant outside that had Chiang Mai written on the side.
After exploring the town, it was time for us to head to the elephant sanctuary, Chia Lai Orchid, for our next adventure. We were able to schedule a ride through the sanctuary that came and picked us up from town in a songthaew (an average truck with two benches in the bed of the truck and a covering). Riding in a songthaew was a really cool experience but I would not recommend it to anyone who gets carsick… My husband rarely gets carsick but we both were miserable for the entire 1 hour ride.
Upon our arrival at Chai Lai Orchid, we checked into our room (Ginger 1). We decided on only staying for one night due to our elephant excursion taking place the next day. It was an ABSOLUTE experience staying at Chai Lai Orchid but I don’t know if I would’ve stayed more than one night in all honesty. Our room was located in the Karen Hill Tribe Village and could be described as a hut. I truly felt this allowed us to experience the culture to its fullest and our payment contributed to the local villages. The hut we stayed in did not have A/C and the shower consisted of a bamboo pipe with water coming out. I LOVED experiencing the culture and the atmosphere of the jungle while watching elephants roam so I would highly recommend staying at Chai Lai Orchid if an elephant sanctuary is in your plans.
After checking into our room, we made our way to the cafe located on the sanctuary which had the most beautiful view with amazing food and drinks. While at the cafe, we were informed it was happy hour. During happy hour at Chai Lai Orchid, bananas are available for purchase and elephants are brought to the edge of the cafe for you to freely feed. This was definitely a highlight of our trip!
Day Five // Elephant Excursion & Night Bazaar Market
On day five we were woken up to elephants brought to our room with the best breakfast ever. My husband and I also booked a super cheap photo shoot with the elephants to remember our trip, which I’m super glad we did. During the photo shoot, we took photos outside of our hut, in the river, and in the jungle. Following the photo shoot, we met with our elephant excursion group at the cafe and departed for our first adventure.
During our 9 hour elephant excursion we hiked through the jungle where we met A TON of elephanants, visited the elephant rescue camp where we met a baby elephant, visited a waterfall and Karen Hill Tribe Village, and rafted down a river on a bamboo raft. However, what stood out the most to us was the picnic we had during the elephant excursion. During the tour of the Karen Hill Tribe Village, we picked up food and our guide took us to a bamboo stand overlooking the river where we observed elephants bathing.
While watching the elephants, our guide (with the help of my lovely husband) formed a fire and began cooking chicken inside of bamboo over the fire. They made soup, fried rice, and chicken kebabs which were AMAZING and served them to us wrapped in giant leaves. This was the coolest meal I’ve probably ever had due to cooking like a local villager and experiencing the culture firsthand. We personally loved the elephant sanctuary and felt it was a must do while on our trip and we don’t regret it for one second.
Following our excursion we made our 1 hour trip back to downtown Chiang Mai and checked into our next stay, 42 Garden. When planning this trip, I wanted to stay in places that allowed us to experience the culture as backpackers and felt this place provided that. 42 Garden is a bed & breakfast centered in a garden with koi fish, a giant pool, and swings. It was absolutely beautiful and the rooms were clean and very big!
When we arrived, we were escorted to our room which required us to remove our shoes and had heated floors with refreshments in the room. Additionally, 42 Garden is located right outside of downtown Chiang Mai which we loved! After checking in, we decided to visit the Night Bazaar Market in downtown Chiang Mai which consisted of street market food stands, music, and muay thai fights. The market was definitely fun and awesome to experience but was not our favorite due to being able to experience muay thai fights and authentic foods elsewhere.
Day Six // Cooking Class & Exploring
On day six we woke up and ate breakfast offered at 42 Garden and headed into town to explore. While in town, we ran across a bar called Mars that was built to look as if you landed on Mars. When walking in there was a cafe with coffees and a bar which had smoke coming from the bar top which was super cool. We then headed to our cooking class at Mama Noi’s.
During Mama Noi’s cooking class, we picked a soup, stir fry, curry, dessert, and drink to make. Once we picked what we wanted to make we were taken to Mama Noi’s garden and picked our fresh ingredients by hand which we used to cook our meals. Our cooking class took 4 hours but was a great experience and was some of the best food we had in Thailand (which we made!!!). We were then provided with an authentic Thailand cookbook to take home with us.
Day Seven // Travel to Koh Phi Phi
On day seven, we woke up and headed to the airport for our next adventure which we booked through Air Asia. Our next destination was Koh Phi Phi but required us to fly from Chiang Mai to Krabi and then take a speed boat from Krabi to Koh Phi Phi. We left Chiang Mai at 7:30 AM and arrived in Koh Phi Phi around 12:30 PM. We then checked into Phi Phi Indigo Hotel which was not our favorite stay during the trip but was very reasonable and in the middle of everything which we liked for this part of the trip. The best part about Koh Phi Phi is that we did not have to drive anywhere and could walk from one side of the island to the other in no time.
We then decided to grab some food and had heard a lot of good reviews about Garlic 1982 which we tried and loved! However, during this meal we both were hit with jet lag and decided to take naps so we felt better for the rest of the trip. However, the nap turned into bedtime lol.
Day Eight // Exploring & Nightlife
When researching destinations, I determined Koh Phi Phi was an island full of nightlife and amazing views which my husband and I both enjoy. We started out the morning by trying a restaurant called Patcharee Bakery and this was by far one of my favorite breakfast spots the entire trip and was decorated super cute. The menu was at least 20 pages long and had anything you wanted (you probably think i’m joking….).
We then left the restaurant and immediately headed to the Koh Phi Phi viewpoints. The hike to get to the viewpoints was not for the weak… but once we made it to the viewpoints it was worth it 100%. To this day, I repeatedly tell everyone I know that the highest viewpoint in Koh Phi Phi did not look real and was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my entire life. I can’t recommend hiking the viewpoints enough…
During our day, we decided to explore the town before experiencing the nightlife. We started out by going to the Ibiza House and grabbing some drinks at the swim up bar. The pool also had an infinity pool overlooking the beach which was beautiful and we were informed they have gigantic pool parties at night. After grabbing a few drinks, we grabbed some food and took naps before spending the night partying in Koh Phi Phi.
During our night filled with adventures, we experienced the fire show located on the beach behind Slinky’s. This was such a fun experience and had such a cool fire show compared to ones we had previously seen in Jamaica and Saint Lucia. The bar also had a bull which we rode and a super fun atmosphere. But don’t be afraid if you see someone naked riding the bull because they were probably trying to ear a bucket full of Chang beer lol.
We then headed to Reggae Bar which was one of our favorite places we went during our trip. Reggae Bar is a bar contains tables surrounding a gigantic muay thai ring which locals and tourists utilize to fight while enjoying local drinks. This is such a fun form of entertainment and my husband to this day said this was one of the coolest bars he had ever been to due to the experience and bar atmosphere.
Day Nine // Longtail Boat Excursion & Nightlife
On day nine, we slept in after partying the night away. Once we woke up, we headed to the town center where we met our longtail boat tour guide. During our longtail boat tour we visited Viking Cave, snorkeled at Phi-Leh lagoon, visited Maya Bay park, and explored Monkey Beach. The longtail boat tour was definitely a great experience and allowed us to explore Koh Phi Phi’s beautiful beaches. My husband and I live by the beach so don’t typically enjoy snorkeling or doing beach related excursions but we truly loved the longtail boat tour. After our longtail boat tour, we got ready and headed out for another night of partying.
Day Ten // Travel to Bangkok & Partying on Khao San Road
On day ten, we woke up and headed back to Bangkok by speedboat and plane with an arrival time of 10:00 AM. We then checked in to INNSide Melina by Bangkok for the second time and headed towards the night life. Our first stop was Tichucha Rooftop Bar and I can’t even begin to tell you how unbelievable the view was from this rooftop bar. The rooftop is filled with tables and a gigantic decor piece that changes colors mimicking an urban jungle. The drinks are expensive but the views are worth the experience for sure.
We then headed to Khao San Road (many are familiar with this road due to The Hangover) and it looked and felt just like the movie portrayed… I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but we loved it lol. My husband and I explored the entirety of Khao San Road and even grabbed some food but we continued to visit The ONE, a local bar covering several floors with buckets of drinks and Thai dancers. This bar was extremely fun with great music, super cheap drinks, and we even made friends with a couple from the United Kingdom here who we spent the remainder of the night with. We eventually shared a Tuk Tuk with this couple and took a ride to another bar to finish off the night. Khao San Road was definitely an eventful experience but we loved it!!
Day Eleven // Temples & Relaxing
By day eleven we were exhausted but wanted to end our trip exploring another temple. We paid a cheap fee and visited Wat Arun which was beautiful but not nearly as big as the Grand Palace. We took some beautiful pictures and explored the temple before heading back to the hotel. After exploring Thailand for almost 2 weeks we decided to take advantage of our rooftop bar and pool for several hours before grabbing dinner and heading to bed.
Day Twelve // Travel Day
On day twelve, we had to say goodbye to one of our favorite places, Thailand. We hopped onto our flight at 9:40 AM and arrived back home around 10:30 PM.
Thailand was truly one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been and lived up to its expectations in every way. I would highly recommend visiting Thailand at least once in your life and it doesn’t have to be as expensive as what people make it out to be. Flights can be pricey but the prices within Thailand are extremely reasonable in comparison to the USD.
I hope you enjoyed reading our 12 day Thailand itinerary I solely planned and I hope it gives some inspiration into your travel planning. I’m always available to create custom itineraries and am here to answer any questions you may have regarding travel planning to Thailand, or anywhere at all!