The classic Thai three-centre, and the shape almost every seasoned traveller ends up recommending. City, mountains, beach — three completely different weeks, one country, all connected by cheap one-hour flights.
Most people book Bangkok and a beach and never see the half of Thailand that isn't hot and flat.
Chiang Mai is the leg people are surprised by. It's cooler, quieter and greener, with three hundred temples, a walled old city, night markets that are actually good, and ethical elephant sanctuaries in the hills around it. It costs almost nothing to add — the internal flights are an hour and often under £50 — and it's what turns a beach holiday into a trip through a country.
Thirteen nights with two internal flights, both around an hour and both booked with the holiday.
1Arrive, absorb the jet lag, and see one of the world's great chaotic cities before you slow down.
Where you stay: Riverside for the boats and the calm, Sukhumvit for restaurants and the Skytrain.
Getting there: 11h 30m direct from the UK, or with one stop via the Gulf.
2The leg that surprises people. Cooler, greener, slower, and the best food culture in Thailand.
Where you stay: Inside the old city walls for atmosphere, or Nimman for cafés and a younger feel.
Getting there: 1h 15m from Bangkok, many flights daily.
3Limestone karsts straight out of the sea, and beaches you reach by longtail boat rather than road.
Where you stay: Ao Nang for restaurants and boats, Railay for seclusion, Klong Muang for quiet resorts.
Getting there: 1h 25m Chiang Mai to Krabi, usually via Bangkok.
Everything below is quoted up front. Nothing appears after you've paid a deposit.
Guide prices per person, two sharing, outside school holidays. The hotel standard is the biggest single variable.
| Standard | What that means | Guide price pp |
|---|---|---|
| 4-star | Good hotels throughout, beachfront in Krabi | £1,649 |
| 4-star plus | Riverside Bangkok, boutique old-city Chiang Mai, strong beach resort | £2,149 |
| 5-star | Landmark hotels throughout, luxury Krabi resort | £3,199 |
Thailand gives you more hotel for your money than anywhere else in this list. Chiang Mai in particular is remarkably cheap — a beautiful boutique hotel inside the old walls often costs less than a mid-range chain in Bangkok.
November to March is the window for this shape — dry in all three places at once, which doesn't happen the rest of the year.
Krabi is on the Andaman coast, dry November to April. Chiang Mai is best November to February; March and April bring the burning season when farmers clear fields and the air quality drops sharply — we avoid it. Bangkok is hot all year and hottest in April. If you're travelling May to September, we'd swap Krabi for Koh Samui on the Gulf coast, which is dry then.
We'll match the beach to your month, book both internal flights, and write the payment plan out in full.
Yes. Two would be a rush and you'd miss the sanctuaries and the cooking class, which are the two things people talk about afterwards.
We only book observation-only sanctuaries. No riding, no bathing shows. Ask us and we'll explain which ones meet that standard.
Yes — same coast, same season, more nightlife and a bigger airport. Krabi is prettier; Phuket is easier to reach.
Burning season. Agricultural fires drop the air quality badly for several weeks. It's a genuine health issue and we'd move your dates or your route.
Similar shapes, and the ones people most often weigh up alongside it.
Same approach, different shape. All reshapeable around your dates.
12 nights · Nov–Mar · from £1,849pp
12 nights · Apr–Oct · from £1,749pp
13 nights · Nov–Mar · from £2,099pp
13 nights · Dec–Mar · from £1,599pp
14 nights · Apr–Oct · from £1,849pp
15 nights · Apr–Oct · from £2,199pp
