We had an amazing vacation in Thailand from November 14 to December 1, 2025. We managed to cover a span of the country and enjoy unique flavours .Here are some highlight pictures in the sequence of our visit for the 1st 7 days:
Pattaya city sign
Sanctuary of truth
Buddha Mountain
Unique cable car to cross the river Chao Phraya powered by pulleys and operated by monks
Ayutthaya historical park
Sukhothai Ramkheng Museum,
Wat Phiphat Mongkon [teak temple],
Wat Phra That Lampang Luang
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Highlight pictures from November 22 onward will be posted in the next part
Here is our thought process that went into the planning of this vacation
When to go?
In Thailand It is good to avoid peak summer season if you don't relish heat, humidity. Also lookout for burning season where the farmers burn their fields after harvest and the air quality becomes very poor . It is best to avoid the rainy season as well as there may be typhoons . December January February are peak seasons for tourism . Thailand is a big country and the weather is different in different parts.
For the mountainous areas of Chiang Mai, Pai or Chiang Rai, best time to visit Thailand is during the cool season which roughly runs from November to February. The climate is relatively moderate; we can see Northern Thailand’s rolling hills and temples without the heat or the rain interfering with our view.
We wanted to include the US Thanksgiving holidays [27 Nov this year] and decided to travel mid November 14 To December 1 in consideration of general expected weather.
Of course, It's tough these days to predict exactly how the weather is going to play out but everything turned out great for us. In fact this year the rain had been delayed and it was raining heavily in November but that played to our advantage. The weather was cloudy and we didn't experience the searing heat Thailand is notorious for .
What to see ?
Of course everybody has different priorities for their vacation. For our family it's always cultural sights and scenic beauty in any country we visit. In general, first timers to Thailand are recommended to visit Bangkok, Chiangmai and a beach destination or island to enjoy a varied flavour of the beautiful country.
OUR BASES
Our wish list was Bangkok for the cultural sites, Chiang Mai for scenic mountainous beauty and Krabi for Beach flavor.
We added on Pattaya, Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Chiang Rai when the choice of car rental opened up.
Our final plan looked like this:
Pattaya 2N, Bangkok 1N, Ayutthaya 1N, Sukhothai 1N, Lampang 1N [Had to double book because of incessant rain], Chiang Mai 3N, Chiang Rai 1N, Chiang Mai 1N, Bangkok 2N, Krabi 3N, Bangkok 2N
Here is the map with all our bases circled in red .
Here is another detailed map with all our sights pinned You can zoom in and see all the details.
Logistics
Earlier I had envisaged taking a flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, renting a car out there for five nights to explore that region.
Car rental
In Thailand Car hires are flexible You can rent a car in a city and drop it off in another without extra charges. So we rented a car for 9 days in Bangkok Airport at 5pm, Nov 14 and dropped it off at Chiangmai Airport at 6pm on Nov 23. THAI RENT A CAR
we hired a car when we landed in Krabi and returned it after three days when we flew off to Bangkok DRIVE CAR RENTALS. Both full insurance from Booking.com
Domestic Flights
Chiang Mai-Krabi Flights vs Chiang Mai-BKK and BKK-Krabi
We also wanted to have a beach flavour So decided to fly down to Krabi before leaving Thailand renting a car there as well. Chiang Mai-Krabi Flights were proving Quite expensive. Earlier when I had looked it was 90USD for an inconvenient time after noon, We wanted an early start, But that was priced at 135 usd. I decided to monitor the ticket But it went up further and further till it was around 250 usd per person. That sounded pretty ridiculous for a Domestic flight .
However Shanghai to Bangkok flights were very nominally priced 56 usd with checked bag, 45usd for just cabin bag and so were the flights from Bangkok to Krabi, only 30 usd one way.
We got Airasia ticket For the flight from Chiangmai to Bangkok. It was Thai Vietjet Airlines for the Bangkok Krabi return flights. We bought checked Bag Allowance as well for all our flights. That way there'll be no hassle regarding our cabin baggage
So we decided to fly from Chiang Mai to Bangkok Spend two nights hitting up the highlights there, And leave on the third day late evening to Krabi .
After three nights in Krabi we took late evening flight back to Bangkok.
Personally I didn't like this waste of time and energy in taking an extra flight. My preference would have been to go to Krabi right from Chiangmai and then come back to Bangkok for the last stint of our vacation . But this also turned out better. We were able to hit up Bangkok highlights we needed in the three days we had prior to visiting Krabi So everything worked out for the best .
International flights
This was a mother and son trip We were flying in from different countries; son was flying down from Houston TX USA He flew by Eva air to Taipei 16 hour flight and after one and a half hour layover he had a four hour flight from Taipei to Bangkok. He wanted to use the US Thanksgiving Holidays, So started off on November 13th Thursday to land in Bangkok around 11:00 AM on November 14 Friday .
I was flying in from New Delhi India. I boarded the Thai airlines 3:30 AM flight on Friday November 14 and reached Bangkok by 7:30 AM same day . There are designated meeting points in the Bangkok Airport arrivals hall
OUR ITINERARY
November 14 Friday: Landed in Bangkok. Rented car at Suvarnabhumi airport at 5PM,Our original plan was to stay the night in Bangkok near the airport and start off early morning at 6:00 AM next day to Pattaya . But our apartment owner cancelled on us. We drove on to Pattaya the same evening, This was possible because Son could avail 3 full seats on his 16 hour flight from the US and was well rested.
STAY: The Garden Place Pattaya
November 15 Saturday: Pattaya city sign, Big Buddha, Sanctuary of truth,Viharn Sien, Buddha Mountain
STAY: The Garden Place Pattaya
November 16 Sunday Erawan museum, Mueng Boran
STAY: SLT Apts, Bangkok
November 17 Monday Bang na Palace Wat Niwet Thamprawat Ayutthaya
STAY: Suntomoon Residence By Sumo Ayutthaya
November 18 Tuesday Drive Ayutthaya to Sukhothai, Museum, Historical park. When we were about to turn for our last sight a motorbike rider came very fast and hit our car on the left side taking down the Mirror . Thankfully he was not hurt. The cops were very kind. All the formalities took a couple of hours
STAY: 100sqm 2 bed apartment Sukhothai City. The kind owner fixed the rear view left mirror with super glue and taped it. But our car rental insisted on sending a new car for the rest of our trip
November 19 Wednesday: ORIGINAL PLAN: drive to Chiang Mai from Sukhothai via Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat Rajaworaviharn, Si Satchanalai, Wat Phiphat Mongkon [teak temple], Wat Phra That Lampangluang, Lamphun Wat Phra That Hariphunchai, 344km
REALITY: Our car rental was sending us a new car from Bangkok which arrived only by 1:00 PM . So in the morning, we drove in our old car to Wat Si Chum, Wat Trophong Thon, then went to Wat Phiphat Mongkon [teak temple] and came back by 1 PM when our new car arrived and started off to Chiang mai only by 2:00 PM . There was constant rain making it difficult to drive in the dark on the windy roads So we decided to stop at Lampang
STAY: Lampang River Lodge
November 20 Thursday: Wat Phra That Lampangluang, drive to Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon national park Mae Ya Waterfall
STAY: Modern Style 1BR / Large balcony at Nimman, Chiang Mai,
November 21 Friday : Doi Suthep-Pui park, Wat Phra Lat, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Montha Than Waterfall, Mae Sa waterfall
STAY: Modern Style 1BR / Large balcony at Nimman, Chiang Mai,
November 22 Saturday : Drive to Chiang Rai, Wat Rong Khun [white temple], Khun Korn Forest Park Waterfall, Huai Mae Sai Waterfall, Wat Huay Pla Kang temple, Guan yin statue, Wat Rong Suea Ten Temple[Blue temple],Wat Phra Kaew
STAY: Lanmuanghouse, Chiang Rai
November 23 Sunday : Drive back to Chiang Mai, drove to local temples Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan, Wat Phan Tao, Wat Phan On Watchediluang Varaviharn Temple,Tha Phae Gate, Wat Mahawan Wat Buppharam, returned car at airport at 6PM
STAY: Baan Ploy Inn 2 studio Chiang Mai
November 24, Monday : Bangkok: 7am flight to Bangkok wat saket Ratchawora Mahawihan Wat Phu Khao Thong Temple of the Golden Mount Bangkok, Wat Ratchanatdaram Worawihan, Wat Suthat Thep Wararam Ratchaworamahawihan
STAY: Yellow Ribbon Hills Boutique Suites Bangkok
November 25 Tuesday Bangkok: Grand palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun
STAY: Yellow Ribbon Hills Boutique Suites Bangkok
November 26 Wednesday Bangkok: Erawan Shrine/Thao Maha Brahma Hindu shrine, Wat Trai Mit Witthayaram Worawihan with 4500kg pure gold Buddha, National Museum; 6:30PM Flight from Bangkok Swarna Bhumi to Krabi Rented a car at Krabi Airport and drove to apt By 9:30 PM
STAY: The Ozone Krabi Condotel
November 27 Thursday Krabi: No parking near Ao nang Beach so drove on to Khao Phanom Bencha National Park, hiked to Huay To Waterfall, drove to Khao khom dam, Khlong Muang Beach sunset
STAY: The Ozone Krabi Condotel
November 28 Friday Krabi: Railay Beach, Ao Nang Beach, and Phra Nang Beach by Public long tail boat For 200 bats return ticket . In the evening sunset And free fire show at Avni Beach Paid it . Parked at Ao Nang Beach the whole day
STAY: The Ozone Krabi Condotel Krabi
November 29 Saturday Fossil Shell Beach Krabi, Thai Vietjet Airlines Flight back Krabi to Bangkok which was scheduled at 8:30 PM but took off only at 10:15 PM
STAY: Yellow Ribbon Hills Boutique Suites Bangkok
November 30 Sunday Wat Paknam Bangkok
STAY: Yellow Ribbon Hills Boutique Suites Bangkok
December 1 Monday Bangkok International flight Back home
Report continues
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