In January 2023, Emily, Chris, Landon, Lauren, Jeff and I spent an unforgettable two weeks in Thailand exploring all that this marvelous country has to offer. Below is our travel itinerary, with all of the places we stayed and fun things we did during our time in the land of smiles.
Bangkok: 1 Day
We arrived in Bangkok, checked into our hotel & went straight to Khao San Road, a wild street full of market stands, bars, clubs, scorpions to eat & so much more. It was was the perfect, unique, crazy way to kick off our time in Thailand after 30 hours of travel. We then went to bed, woke up, explored the Grand Palace Temple and walked the streets of Bangkok before heading back to the airport to catch our next flight. We were off to our first island, Phuket!
Top Bangkok Experiences:
- The Grand Palace
- Khao San Road
- Wat Arun
- The Sky Bars
- Eat a Scorpion
Phuket: 2 Days
We spent New Years Eve & New Years Day on Phuket in a quaint little condo/hotel equipped with a rooftop pool and restaurant. The first morning there, we took to the streets in search of coffee only to find that most shops didn’t open until 9 or 10. We then spent the afternoon at Patong Beach watching para-sailers take off from the sand and drinking mai-tais. After a day in the sun, we took a TukTuk home to get ready for our New Year’s party at a Beach Club!
The circus themed beach party was awesome and we had a full night of fireworks on the beach, fire-shows, DJs, lanterns & plenty of cocktails. It was an ideal way to kick off 2023 and we enjoyed our time in Phuket! The day after the party we grabbed some lunch at a seafood restaurant off the beaten path & then boarded our ferry to the next stop.. Krabi!
Top Phuket Experiences:
- Patong Beach
- Beach Clubs
- Ride in a Tuk Tuk
Krabi: 3 Days
Unlike the party vibes of Phuket, Krabi town was a much more laid back atmosphere. We stayed in Ao Nang, which gave us nice, easy access to Railey Beach. We experienced two very cool hikes in Dragon Crest Mountain and Tiger Cave Temple. Both were unique and gave fantastic viewpoints of Southern Thailand! And we even saw monkeys on two separate occasions (once at Monkey Beach and once during the hike up to Tiger Cave Temple!)
But while i’m a sucker for a good hike, the most memorable part of Krabi will undoubtedly be our Phi Phi Island long tail boat excursion. When one thinks of Thailand, the longboats most definitely come to mind. The tour we booked had everything… it hit seven islands and consisted of snorkeling, a beach barbecue, beautiful sunset, a picturesque atmosphere and most of all, an ENGAGEMENT! Yes, my sisters boyfriend Chris decided that this was the moment he wanted to pop the question and oh how memorable a moment i’m sure it will always be for the both of them!
Top Krabi Experiences:
- Dragon Crest Mountain Hike
- Longtail Boat Snorkel Adventure
- Go to Monkey Beach
- Hike Tiger Cave Temple
- Day Trip to Phi Phi Islands
Koh Samui: 3 Days
After leaving Krabi, our next stop was Koh Samui… where we met up with Lauren and Jeff!
We checked into our beautiful airbnb, equipped with panoramic views of the ocean and an incredible infinity pool! We spent the first night enjoying a beachside meal and a few Chang’s while singing along with our beachside entertainment before a fire show on the beach.
The next day we went to the beach, got Thai massages (if you go to Thailand you NEED to get a massage!) and then rented scooters to explore the island. We toured waterfalls, visited the Overlap Stone and ended the day at another restaurant on the beach for sunset! Our dinner was HOT, but oh how it was DELICIOUS! And after dinner we ended the night at a beach bar with comfy bean bag chairs in the sand + another fire show!
Our last day on Koh Samui happened to be the Full Moon (strategically planned), so we started the day with breakfast and the beach before the night’s festivities began.
Every full moon, the island of Koh Pha Ngan (20 minute ferry from Koh Samui) has a full moon party, and it’s become famous for good reason. With some month’s estimated to attract as many as 30,000 people, there were fire-shows, DJs, fire jump-roping, neon body paint, bucket drinks and an overall great vibe of people from all around the world there to have a good time.. it was truly a bucket list experience!
Top Koh Samui Experiences:
- Get a Thai Massage on the Beach
- Explore the Island by Scooter
- Check out Overlap Stone
- Koh Pha Ngan for a Full Moon Party
Pai: 1 Day
After leaving Koh Samui, we flew to Chiang Mai, picked up a few scooters and were off to explore the mountains of northern Thailand on our trip to Pai.
Pai is a cute little backpacker hippie town which takes about 4 hours & 762 turns to get to on scooter. The journey to get there was incredible — there were soo many pretty views & places to see. Once in Pai we spent the night eating delicious Thai food, strolling Pai walking street, and journeying in search of a happy shake! We only spent one night there, so the next morning we hopped back on our scooters and headed off to find a bamboo bridge and the famous Pai Canyon, before making our way back to Chiang Mai for a few days.
Top Pai Experiences:
- Travel the 762 turn roadtrip to Pai on Scooter
- Hike the Pai Canyon
- Explore the Bamboo Bridge
- Experience Pai Walking Street
- Try a Happy Shake!
Chiang Mai: 3 Days
Chiang Mai, located in northern Thailand, is a vastly different experience than Bangkok or Krabi. It offers a mix of outdoor adventure with cultural experiences, food tours, and a chance to get up close with elephants, which was definitely a highlight for us. We booked our Elephant experience through Kanta Elephant Sanctuary and could not have been happier with our selection. We were able to feed them, bathe them and overall bond with these gentle giants for almost three hours, which is an experience I will personally look back on fondly for many years to come.
Some other fun things we did in Chiang Mai included a stop at a massive waterfall and two of Anthony Bourdain’s recommendations from season 3, episode 7 in Part’s Unknown and neither let us down! We also took to the streets, popping in to more temples, checking out the coffee and breakfast scene at some cute cafe’s and bonding with locals at Soldier Bar!
Top Chiang Mai Experiences:
- Visit an Elephant Sanctuary
- Eat at the Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown restaurants
- Shop at the Night Market
- Explore the many Temples
Bangkok: 1 Day
Our final day in Thailand was spent back in Bangkok, although this time away from the backpacker scene and instead at a one of the many high rise hotels the city has to offer. It was Lauren’s birthday, so we started with drinks at the sky bar on top of our hotel. Next we headed across town to enjoy a delightful meal at Riva Arun, directly across the river from Wat Arun, lit up at night in all of it’s glory!
After dinner, we made one more stop back to Khao San just to give the rest of our group the experience before we headed to Sky Bar (the bar from Hangover 2) for some upscale drinks and a beautiful 63rd floor view of the city! We finished our night back on our rooftop bar for one more nightcap before turning in for a few hours of shut eye before our morning flight out of Thailand and on to the next adventure!