I just discovered this blog, it's really nice! It will definitely be useful for my next trip to Asia!

Thank you for all your advice! I have traveled a lot too and I find myself in your articles. In any case I strongly advise everyone to follow your advice. Especially in Thailand, a disaster can happen quickly 🙂

We are leaving the last week of April and the first week of May in Thailand with our 9 year old son. We are very hesitant about the itinerary. We want to go north to visit a park. The goal is to see animals (elephants, monkeys and?) our son (and us too by the way) being an animal fan. But also to discover the local life, temples and beautiful landscapes. We are hesitant to go to Chang Mai or stay around Bangkok (Erwan Falls, Kwai River Bridge, etc.)
We also hesitate about transportation: is a private car a good choice?
The second week will be dedicated to swimming in the south: mask and snorkel and possibly scuba diving (first dive for our son). We hesitate between the gulf or the coast. Knowing that I already know the gulf and that I would have liked to discover another part. But the weather would seem more favorable to the gulf in this season. If we do the coast we think to go through Krabi but isn't it too touristy? then do an island but which one? Knowing that we want to avoid places that are too touristy but that we want quality accommodation.
Thank you for your lighting

Hello Romain,
First of all, thank you for this wealth of information and for the photos. I just decided on a whim to bring the children (4 of them, aged 8 to 14) to visit Thailand from 19/3 to 3/4 (which leaves us 14 full days on site). We have already been to Vietnam in 07/2012 (I was afraid of rain, but in the end we did not have any monsoons/typhoons). Our motivation for this first visit to Thailand is the prospect of beautiful islands and tropical jungle (the temples being a plus, especially with the monkeys). I saw that there was no need for a visa for a stay < 1 days, so much the better.
1. Regarding vaccinations, DT Polio must be up to date, Hepatitis A and B are recommended, and also typhoid if you go to a rural area (what is the risk for a tourist who does not live in a rural area, i.e. who should only drink water that is a priori safe? What is the general level of hygiene of the population? In Vietnam, I found it high and have never had anything eating in the street or in small restaurants where you could see the dishes washed on the floor, and this during several stays). What about malaria? Are mosquito repellent in the evening (+ long sleeves and pants) and a mosquito net for the night (general use?) enough?
2. Money question: do you have to come with cash (euros) or are there ATMs everywhere? Are bank cards commonly used – for example to pay for the boat, a car or a bus, hotels?).
3. I now have to think about the circuit we will do; I did not imagine the country to be so rich, so we will have to make choices, even if we come back. For the beach in the 2nd week, I appreciate like you the "authentic" beaches with a minimum of constructions (and palm trees or other trees as parasols); I found in Vietnam (Hoi An) seabeds a little degraded (dead corals where the snorkeling tour took us - I am perhaps difficult having spent my childhood in Reunion) and saw some remarks in this sense on your blog (which I still have to study); I would like to show the children a rich seabed (by snorkeling). Which islands do you recommend in this sense? (Mu ko Similan? Koh Tao?)
Jungle question (primary forest – with orchids in the trees?), the ideal would be a park not too far away that offers the possibility of canoe trips or even swimming (are there parasites in the water? like bilharzia or other friendly critters)… I saw that Kao Sok offered this canoeing possibility but I wonder how long it would take to reach this park from Phuket…
Finally, what type of services do you offer?
Thanks again for this blog and best wishes for 2016.

Hello Romain,
we are going to Thailand for a month next August. your blog provides us with good advice on choosing the itinerary and we will largely draw inspiration from it in order to have a good overall approach to this country.
We are used to traveling independently and prefer to use a private vehicle. We find very few car rental sites with driver.
Is it easier on site? Do you have any reputable companies to recommend?
thanks for your advices.
francoise

I have to go to Asia and I don't know yet where to go if I go to Thailand or Cambodia, thank you for your very informative guide!!! I have 6 months to decide again ^^

Hello, we are coming to Thailand in July, with an arrival in Bankgok where we will spend an evening before going to Ko Samui for a week for a planned event. Then we have 15 days to visit the rest of Thailand, and frankly after visiting your blog, I don't know what would be best...
If you have any advice, I'm all ears!
Thanking you in any case for the quality of your blog;)

Bonsoir
so we come with our 10 year old child. He, for sure, would like to see elephants and monkeys; personally, I am a fan of temples and the past… and Thai cuisine! In fact, we ask if we should rather go to the north or elsewhere during these 15 days….
This is our very first trip to Asia so we would like something that shows us a bit of the different faces of Thailand, doable in 15 days, as well as the recommended means of transport.

By the way, do you know how to get to Ko Samui from Bangkok knowing that we have at least one day and don't particularly want to take the plane (which is not cheap from what I've seen)
Thanks again for your reply.

Hello, we are going to spend 2 nights in Koh Lanta, 2 more in Koh Phi Phi and 2 more in Koh Yao Yai. Where do you think it is easiest to leave from to visit Pang Nga Bay? Do you have any addresses to give us to do this nice boat trip? Thank you, Nathalie and Ambre.

Hi Romain, small family of 5 Canadians, including 3 young girls (6-11-12 years old). We are settling in Bangkok at the beginning of August 2017 (for 17 days of vacation). Planned itinerary: 2 days in Bangkok for a change of scenery and getting used to it; then bus/scooter to Ayuttaya + Lopburi (return to Bangkok to leave for Chiang Mai, by night train). We forget Sukhothai and Kanchanaburi, or even Khao Yai… Nice visit to the north Chiang Mai – Pai – Mae Hong Song (5 days) then plane to the south (gulf) for the rest??

Hello Romain,
I discovered your blog by chance and I am a fan. Thank you for all this advice which will help me prepare for this trip because for the moment, only the flights are booked.
Thank youiiiiii

Dear Romain, I discovered this blog by chance while searching for information on trips to Thailand. It is really interesting and varied. Thank you very much and good luck!

Hello,

I love your blog. Thanks for all the great tips. They are useful for planning my next trip to Asia.

Hello Romain,
We just discovered your blog which is full of useful advice. We are two friends who are leaving from January 1st to 19th to Bangkok and the southern islands. Here is what we are planning: Bangkok, Krabi, Ko phi-phi, Ko Lanta, Ko Samui, Ko Pha-Ngan and Ko Tao.
Among these islands, which ones are worth spending the most time on?
We would also like to know if it is better for us to book our hotels in advance given that it is high season.
Last quick question, is it better for us to start in the east or the west from a transport and connection point of view?
A very big thank you!
Charline and Mathilde

Hi Romain, I just came across your blog while doing some research on Southeast Asia, choosing the country to travel to is difficult, I would like to go for 1 month this summer, I don't know exactly where yet (Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia...), I can go between July and October, to avoid the monsoon as much as possible (I know it's not the ideal time but hey...) in your opinion what is the best month?

Hello Romain, First of all, great blog! I would need your advice to organize my trip to Thailand. With my boyfriend we would like to leave from April 3 to 17. We looked at the climate and it is true that apart from the southern islands (Ko Samui, Koh Chang, Koh Tao…) it is not the best time to go there. I dreamed of visiting Chiang Mai but apparently the climate in April is too humid and heavy… So we will do it on a next trip. What would you advise me as an itinerary? We would like to visit several cities / islands in 15 days. Ideally even the beaches, relaxation and visits / hikes + animal park respectful of animals if possible!
thank you in advance

Thank you for your feedback. Does the schedule below seem manageable to you in terms of timing?
D-1 Arrival in Bangkok. 2 nights on site
D-3 Arrival Khao Yai 1 night
D-4 or D-5 Koh Chang 1 night
D-6 Arrival Ko Tao 2 nights
D – 8 Arrival Ko Phang Ngan 2 nights
D-10 Arrival Koh Samui 3 nights
D-13 return to Bangkok or return from Koh Samui

Or does that seem too ambitious?
Thanks to you 🙂

Hello Romain, thank you for your feedback.
So what schedule would you advise me?
Arrive in Bangkok and go directly to Sam Roi Yot
Then go down south to do the different islands?

D1 – D3 Bangkok
D4 – Sam Roi Yot
D5 – D13 Ko Tao then Ko Pha Ngan then Ko Samui?

Ideally we would like to see tigers, I have dreamed of it since I was little.
Thank you very much

Hello Romain,
I need a little help for our trip to Thailand planned from July 22, 2018 to August 12, 2018.
We are a family with 2 children aged 7 and 11, and are starting our journey in Burma to arrive in Thailand via Chiang Mai on the evening of July 22.
This is where I need advice: we are staying in Chiang Mai until July 26: we would like to spend a day with the elephants, I saw that you were talking about Eddy Elephant?
and then we would like to do 2 days with hiking and discovery of the tribes, we would like something a little outside of mass tourism, to discover an authentic village..We had spent 3 weeks with my husband in the ethnic groups of northern Vietnam with a guide and had loved it...
Is this possible to organize with children? Do you have a contact/guide to give us?
Then we would go to Sukhothai (bus) and from there join Kanchananburi: but this is where I also need help: I ​​saw that it takes at least 7 hours to reach Suphan buri then 1h30/2h to reach Kanchananburi…it's long with the children…is it possible to rent a car with driver in Sukhothai to gain comfort and time?
Any idea of ​​the price and who to contact?
Thank you very much for your enlightenment!
Audrey

Good evening Romain,
Thank you for your quick response!
I thought I had read recommendations for Eddy Elephant on the Maewin side but I must have been mistaken...
I'm going to see what the prices are for Elephant Nature Park...I thought it was perhaps a bit too "fashionable tourism"
For the trek, I will try to see if we can do it with the children in July and if we really go to authentic villages (want to see ethnic groups living in a traditional way)
For the car we will think about it...not easy to reconcile comfort for the children and long distance without losing too much time...
thanks for your advice
Audrey

Hello Romain,
We are a couple and will spend two weeks in Thailand in June. Arrived on Monday 18.06 in Bangkok, leaving on 20.06 by night train for Koh Samui.
In which area and is it good to stay, Sukhumvit? we would like a room in a building possibly with Rooftop and optionally a swimming pool to enjoy the view of the city for +- 70 euro/night. With very close access to transport to easily see and move quickly as we will only be there two days.
Do you know this site to book our night train transport? https://12go.asia/fr/travel/bangkok/koh-samui
If you have any advice for the two days and why not some nice and typical restaurant addresses so as not to end up in 100% tourist places 🙂
Thanks in advance

Good evening Romain,.
We know Asia a little (Japan, Bali, India) and are hesitating this summer between Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand knowing that we are leaving the last 15 days of July. What would you advise us? Family of 4, including 2 teenagers aged 13 and 15.
thank you for your return
Sophie

Hello,
we will be staying in Thailand next October, a couple with 3 children. We first arrive in Puket and from there want to go to a seaside resort for about 7 days (Khao Lak for example + an island, places not yet defined) but our first question mark is how we will be able to move once we arrive at the airport to reach our first accommodation. We would prefer the car (or VAN) but with a driver because we do not want to drive, where can we find out please for departures from Puket airport? and once at our destination if we need to move around the area what type of travel is the easiest whether with a guide or not. In fact we are not looking to be accompanied daily but occasionally. We will have the same need in Bangkok and surroundings where we will go for about 1 days. thank you in advance for the wise advice

Hello Romain,
Great blog, thank you for sharing your experience. We want to go on honeymoon in Thailand around the second half of January (we are flexible on the dates) and we are very hesitant about an ideal itinerary after seeing a lot of contradictory comments on the internet, especially during the peak tourist season. We were thinking of arriving in Bangkok, spending the day and a night in Ayutthaya, then 3 days in Bangkok and then heading south. There things get complicated because between Koh Samui, Ko Phi Phi and Krabi we can't decide. This is the first time we are going to Thailand, we don't like the crowds too much, would like to see magnificent beaches, mix quiet visits and rest... in short, we are interested in your advice for a stay of around 15 to 17 days... Thank you!

Hello Romain! Here I am and my mother are going to leave in April for two weeks in Thailand. Our first stop will be Bangkok. Could you advise us on a travel plan to discover Thailand from north to south on a small budget? We are simple people who love the beauty of nature and enjoying the beautiful beaches. This will be our first trip to Asia and we would like to make the most of it!

Thank you!
Soraya