THAILAND 16 DAYS

Our Itinerary

Days 1-3 Bangkok

Days 4-7 Phuket

Days 7-10 Krabi

Days 10-12 Khao Sok

Days 12-15 Koh Samui

Day 16 Bangkok - Home

DAY ONE

Welcome to Thailand. We arrived on a late evening flight from Abu Dhabi. We booked a hotel transfer on arrival using the 123goAsia app. After a 45 minute private transfer we arrived at our hotel and checked in. It was after 11pm when we arrived so it was straight to bed to be up for a busy day the next morning.

DAY TWO

We were up early checking out the hotel breakfast. Breakfast in Thailand is a headspin, stirfry at 8am anyone? We booked a grab (Thailand’s version of Uber) to take us to Wat Pho, home of the reclining Buddha. When visiting any temples in Thailand, you must dress appropriately, knees and shoulders must be covered. 

After about an hour or two strolling around What Pho we made our way to the river and hopped on a boat tour of the Klongs. The Klongs are the canals of Bangkok which is known as the Venice of the East. 

From here we made our way in a grab across the city to Icon Siam. Icon Siam is the largest shopping mall in Asia and home to over 7000 shops. We weren’t there to shop though (I did spy a three storey H&M that was very tempting). There are hundreds of food stalls with any type of food you can imagine. We picked several different dishes and sampled them all. While it is a bit more expensive than the street stalls it is still relatively inexpensive with a smoothie costing just €2. 

DAY FOUR

We were collected from the hotel by a private transfer (again, booked last minute on 123goAsia app) and taken the 45 minutes to Bangkok Airport. Upon check in we explored the airport a little before catching our afternoon flight to Phuket. The flight with Air Asia was about an hour long and even included a meal. Take note Ryanair!

On arrival we booked a Bolt (similar to Uber) and were picked up and driven the 45 minutes to our hotel in the Karon Beach area. The areas recommended to us had been Kata Beach, Kamala Beach and Karon Beach. We went with Karon Beach in the end as it was the cheapest are that could accommodate 5 people in a room. This is often the deciding factor for us on trips. After checking in and getting cleaned up we headed out for dinner at a local restaurant then took a stroll along the beachfront. The kids sampled Thailands famous rolled ice-cream for the first time. It was delicious but in hindsight we could have shared as the portions are large! 

DAY FIVE

DAY OFF! We have found that when travelling with kids you should let them set the pace. The pace needed today was slow. We were finally getting the hang of the jet lag but still pretty exhausted from trying to see it all and so today the only thing on the agenda was the hotel pool. We spent the entire day doing as little as possible, reading a book and sampling some of the cocktails at the hotel bar. 

The bar man was so friendly and loved coming up with concoctions of us, he also had a great stash of pool toys that kept the kids busy all day. We have found the people in Thailand so friendly. They will go above and beyond for you and they have no agenda in doing it. 

After a full day soaking up the sun, we dressed for dinner and headed down to the beach to catch the sunset. It was beautiful and the beach was crowded with people with the same idea. After the sun went down on another glorious day in Thailand we headed for dinner at one of the restaurants along the seafront. Every restaurant we have visited so far has always had a selection of Thai dishes but also of western dishes like pizzas and pastas. Food for picky eaters had been one of my concerns coming to Thailand but I needn’t have worried

DAY SIX

We were collected from our hotel at 9am this morning and taken by private transfer to Hidden Forest Elephant Reserve. Upon arrival we were met by the founder of the elephant reserve who explained how the reserve had come to be. You could really tell how much the elephants mean to her and the other staff. All the elephants have been rescued from the tourist and logging trades and have been treated horrendously all their lives. Hidden Forest is a strictly no touch, no bathing elephant sanctuary. This was the reason we had booked this reserve.There are many sanctuaries in Thailand and nearly all claim to be ethical but when you do more research you find that they allow petting and bathing of the elephants. These activities are all highly stressful for an elephant and so were not something we wanted to take part in. After our morning briefing we were taken to give the elephants their morning snack. The elephants then went on their morning walk around the reserve and we followed at a distance. The tour itself lasted a couple of hours and included a wonderful lunch overlooking the elephants bathing pool. It was a magical morning and one we won’t forget! 

In the afternoon we headed up to visit the Big Buddha in Phuket. When our grab driver arrived she had her two kids with her in the taxi. We got chatting and her son offered to be our tour guide at Big Buddha as his mum wants him to practice his English. He came with us and showed us all the important bits. Of course we forgot to take our own advice and were not dressed appropriately so we had to buy skirt cover ups on arrival. These were very inexpensive but not the most glamorous! There are loads of monkeys around Big Buddha and if coming here we advise to give them a wide berth. They were very aggressive and bite as one American tourist, that got too close, found out. 

DAY SEVEN

ON THE ROAD AGAIN… After breakfast we packed up all our belongings again and got a transfer from Phuket to Krabi. The journey was about three hours by car. You can also take the ferry across the sea but when we looked at timings it worked out better for us to just go by road. The transfers we have gotten have all been in little air-conditioned vans with wifi on board so the kids have been delighted to get a little downtime out of the heat. It has been about 40 degrees each day since we arrived in Thailand. The driver of our transfer stopped in a petrol station half way there to let us use the toilets and get snacks. 

We arrived in Ao Nang, Krabi in the afternoon and got lunch at the hotel pool bar. The kids spent the afternoon checking out the hotel pool which was huge with swim up rooms all along the length of the building. In the evening we headed down into Ao Nang and got dinner in one of the restaurants along the seafront. There was live music in the restaurant so we stayed for a few drinks before heading back to the hotel for an early night. We had something exciting planned for the next day. 

DAY EIGHT

We were collected from our hotel at 9am and taken to Railay Beach Pier where we boarded a private long tail boat ride for a tour of the 4 islands and Hong Island. We booked the tour through Railey eco tour the previous day. First up we went to Hong Island, an gorgeous island that is becoming increasingly popular with tourists in Thailand thanks to its crystal clear waters and white sand beach. We explored the island and paddled in the water while Damien climbed to the top of the viewing point. You could easily stay there all day but we hopped back onboard and headed to the next island. The islands that make up the four islands tour are Tub, Mor, Poda and Chicken Island. We had a delicious picnic lunch on one of the deserted islands. After lunch the kids were playing in the water when Riley got stung by a jellyfish. The boat driver was on hand immediately with a bottle of vinegar to take some of the pain out of the sting. Another boat driver also came over to see if there was anything he could do. 

Snorkels come included in the tour so the boat driver parked up (is that what you call it when its a boat?) and we went snorkelling in the water for ages. The water was lovely and warm and there were tonnes of little fishes swimming around. Thankfully no more jellyfish. One thing we noticed is that the water around Thailand is currently full of jellyfish and they are HUGE! At the end of the tour we were returned to our hotel .

We truly had the most memorable day. It was a dream come true from start to finish and definitely my favourite day of the holiday.

DAY TEN

MOVING DAY! Next stop Khao Sok. When I was doing research for this trip I saw Khao Sok National Park and knew immediately it had to go on the itinerary mores for the boys than the girls. While us girls like a bit of luxury the boys love all things nature and wildlife so I knew it would be right up their street. A two and a half hour car journey from Phuket Khao Sok is the largest rainforest in Thailand. I booked us a room in a treehouse in the village for the first night knowing kids woUld love it. When I had this booked I contacted the accommodation directly and booked our second nights accommodation through them. This is the best way to book a night on the floating bungalows on the lake in the middle of the National Park. 

After we checked into our treehouse, we took a walk down to the village to have a look around. When there was a torrential downpour (the first rain we saw in Thailand) we took refuge in a local sports bar. There were tonnes of games there for the kids and so when they made friends with an English family we ended up staying for the evening. 

DAY TWELVE

We were up at 6am and back on the long tail boat to head out on morning safari. The early start was in the hopes of catching a glimpse at some wild elephants. Khao Sok is one of the few places in Thailand where you can still see wild elephants. Sadly we didn’t get to see any elephants but we did get to see lots of there wildlife including lots of monkeys. We headed back for breakfast then had the morning to ourselves to swim in the fabulous green waters around the floating bungalows. There was also the option to take some of the free kayaks out on the water and go exploring. We did a bit of both and had a fabulous morning, more than making up for the evening before. Before long it was time to board the long tail boat back to the mainland where we were collected by our transfer to take us to Don Sak Pier. Here we boarded the next ferry (no need to prebook anything in Thailand it appears) and we were in Koh Samui about an hour later. We had saved the best hotel for last and it didn’t disappoint. We have stayed in many a Holiday Inn over the years and I can tell you none of them were as nice as this one! We have found the standard of hotel in Thailand much better than what we normally get for our budget.

DAY FOURTEEN & FIFTEEN

Much like day before, the next two days were spent in a blur of swimming in the hotel pool and relaxing in the sun. We took it easy and it was heaven. Much like day before, the next two days were spent in a blur of swimming in the hotel pool and relaxing in the sun. We took it easy and it was trampoline nets and a zipline. There is also a splash park with shallow pool with loads of slides and sprays and everything the kids could want. Our kids loved it and were over and back between it and the main pool. 

We had lunch at the hotel pool bar each day so we didn’t have to venture too far from the pool. On one of the days we took a stroll down through Fishermans Village for a look. The girls revisited a spa to get pedicures and the boys hit a local sports bar to play pool out of the midday sun. Each evening was spent back at the night markets. We always ask the kids on the way home what their favourite parts of the trip were, each child said without fail that the night markets were definitely one of their favourite things. There were so many options of different foods, desserts and drinks available. The markets in Koh Samui were so child friendly with board games at the seating areas. We had so many games of connect four while listening to the music and taking in the atmosphere. Our hotel was ideally located to walk to the night markets. The famous fire show takes place on the beach just across the road from the hotel. It is worth getting there early to get good seats. 

DAY THREE

We had a lazy morning with a badly needed lie in, jet lag is hard to overcome. After breakfast we spent the morning at the hotel pool. It was just what the kids needed in the heat. 

In the afternoon we took a grab across the city to Lumpini Park to try catch a glimpse of the giant monitor lizards that live there. While we didn’t see too many lizards the park itself is beautiful and well worth visiting. 

From here we decided to head to the famous Khaosan Road, famous as Bangkok’s party street. We didn’t want to miss seeing it but given our travel companions we thought it best to go in the early evening before it fully kicked off. The kids loved all the stalls selling fake jerseys and trainers along Khaosan road and a few purchases were made. We had planned to go to a Muay Thai fight this evening but Caomihe wasn’t feeling well so we dicided to give it a miss. Instead we returned to the hotel and they spent some time back in the rooftop pool while the adults sampled the cocktail menu.

DAY NINE

Pamper day! You cant go to Thailand without getting a Thai massage so that was the main agenda today. We booked into a local spa, two couples massage, a teen massage and 2 junior massages. A Thai massage is not for the faint hearted and not quite the relaxing treat I had envisioned. This became apparent when she climbed onto the massage table on top of me! It was quite the experience! The value of treatments here compared to home meant we ended up spending the afternoon there and had manicures and pedicures all round! 

Later that evening we headed out to the night markets in Ao Nang. The markets are huge. There were hundreds of stalls selling food, clothing and souvenirs. There was also a huge seating area with a stage hosting live music. We all picked different foods from different stalls, you really can get anything. We even tried crocodile skewers, We sat down to take in the atmosphere and the live fire show that was on. The atmosphere was amazing and the markets are a must do if coming to Krabi.

DAY ELEVEN

We were collected from our accommodation at 9am and taken to Khao Sok pier to board a long tail boat to take us to our floating bungalow. On arrival we were given time to check out our rooms before lunch. This was spent jumping off our deck into the lake obviously! Following lunch we met up with the rest of our group (there was about 25 of us staying the night) and we got back on the long tail boat for a jungle trek excursion that is included with your stay. We were taken about an hour across the lake and if you follow us on instagram you will know how eventful this was. If you don’t follow us you should absolutely check it out!  

We returned to the floating bungalows that evening at about 8pm in the pitch black (still not over it) and had dinner. We then got a few drinks from the bar and headed back to our bungalow and sat on the deck relaxing and taking it all in. As there is five of us we did not all fit in one bungalow so we were split into boys in one bungalow, girls in the other. The bungalows are BASIC. They are wooden and have lots of gaps and the beds are just mattresses on the floor with a sheet on top. Let’s just say I didn’t sleep very well.

DAY THIRTEEN

We had big plans before arriving to Koh Samui that we would use it as a base to explore Koh Tao and And Thong National Park however like all great plans, sometimes things change! We had been on the road constantly for 2 weeks (we had had a stopover in Abu Dhabi for a couple of nights on the way out) and we were wrecked. And so we changed the plans and instead we decided to do as little as possible for the last couple of days of our trip. This was exactly what we needed. We spent our first day entirely at the hotel pool and propping up the pool bar. The heat did not subside and it was still up around 40 degrees each day. 

In the evening we intended to go to a nice restaurant for dinner but we hadn’t gone 100 metres from the hotel and we came across the local night markets. A fancy dinner went out the window and we gave the kids a few baht each and sent them all in different directions to choose their dinner. W sat for thee evening listening to the live music then stroll around the markets picking out souvenirs to bring home.