7 Days in Thailand

Enough for a first taste of all three of its worlds, Bangkok's Old City temples and Chinatown, Chiang Mai's mountain temple, elephants and Walking Street, and one Phi Phi boat day from Phuket, with two short flights and no full day lost to transit. It isn't enough for a second island, a trek or the sleeper train. With ten days, add three nights to whichever stop you liked most. The 10 Days in Thailand guide is this route with room to breathe.

Day 1: land in Bangkok, Chinatown street food. Day 2: Grand Palace, Wat Pho, the ferry to Wat Arun, sunset from Mahanakhon. Day 3: fly to Chiang Mai, khao soi, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang, the Sunday Walking Street. Day 4: Doi Suthep at dawn, the Monk's Trail, an afternoon at an ethical elephant sanctuary. Day 5: fly direct to Phuket, Kata Noi beach, Karon Viewpoint. Day 6: Phi Phi by speedboat. Day 7: Wat Chalong, the Big Buddha and Rawai seafood before the flight home.

Three works because the flights are 75 minutes and 2 hours and both land before lunch. Choose two if you'd rather move less, Bangkok (3 nights) + Phuket (4) for both boat days and the Old Town, or Bangkok (2) + Chiang Mai (5) for a full day with the elephants, a cooking class and Doi Inthanon, the better week in Phuket's monsoon.

About ฿16,000–24,000 per person ($480–715) as a backpacker, meaning hostels, markets, two budget flights, the elephant sanctuary and the Phi Phi boat. It's ฿35,000–58,000 ($1,040–1,730) mid-range with 3–4★ hotels, restaurants and a spa, or ฿106,000+ ($3,150+) in five-star hotels with private drivers. International flights are extra. The two flights, the sanctuary and the boat are ฿7,000–9,000 at any level.

Yes for a backpacker, and nearly for mid-range, excluding your international flights. $1,000 is about ฿33,500, just under this itinerary's ฿35,000 mid-range floor, so a careful version with 3-star hotels with pools, restaurant meals, both domestic flights, the elephant afternoon, the Phi Phi speedboat and a massage or two needs a little trimming. Backpackers do the same week for $480–715.

Fly, on a week. Bangkok–Chiang Mai is 75 minutes for ฿900–1,500 and Chiang Mai–Phuket is a 2-hour direct for ฿1,800–2,500, and both land before lunch. The Bangkok–Chiang Mai sleeper train (18:40 → 07:15, ฿941–1,041 a berth) is worth doing, but it costs you a Bangkok evening and arrives before check-in. I'd save it for a 10-day plan.

No. Sixty countries and territories, including the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia, enter visa-free. Since 15 September 2026 that grants 30 days rather than 60, which still covers a week several times over. Everyone must file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card online up to three days before you arrive.

They're different trips, which is why this week has both. Bangkok is the capital (the Grand Palace, the river, Chinatown, rooftop bars) at a pace that rewards two days and exhausts five. Chiang Mai is a walled Lanna town under a mountain, with 300 temples inside a 1.5 km square, the elephant sanctuaries, khao soi, the Sunday market, and cool evenings. If you can only take one, take Chiang Mai for atmosphere and Bangkok for scale. The Bangkok vs Chiang Mai comparison goes through it by traveler type.

November to February, cool and dry in all three stops, calm seas for Phi Phi. December and January are peak, so book flights and the sanctuary early. Avoid mid-February to April in Chiang Mai (crop burning, March is the worst) and May to October in Phuket (monsoon, red flags, canceled boats). In those months, swap Chiang Mai for Krabi or Phuket for Koh Samui.

Carry-on only, because two budget flights charge ฿300–500 a bag. Light pants or a maxi skirt and a sleeved shirt for the temples, swimwear and a sarong, slip-on shoes, a light layer for Doi Suthep at dawn and the plane, reef-safe sunscreen for the boat, a universal adapter (Thailand uses Type A/B/C). Everything else (toiletries, elephant pants, a rain poncho) is cheaper in a Thai 7-Eleven.