Backpacking Thailand

Start in Bangkok for three nights, for the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Chinatown and a night on Khao San Road if that's your thing. Take the No. 9 sleeper from Krung Thep Aphiwat at 18:40, which reaches Chiang Mai around 07:15 (฿941–1,041 for a second-class berth). Give Chiang Mai four nights for the Old City temples, the markets and a day trip to the mountains, then take a Prempracha van from the Arcade terminal up the 762 curves to Pai (hourly, about three hours, ฿150–250 at the counter) for two or three nights.

From Pai, ride the van back to Chiang Mai and head south. The quickest way is a flight; there are about three nonstops a day each from Chiang Mai to Krabi and to Phuket, about two hours, if you want to do the Andaman coast first. For the Gulf islands, go back through Bangkok on the overnight sleeper and take a night train to Surat Thani (No. 85 leaves at 19:50 and arrives 06:23) and the ferry to Koh Samui, or buy Lomprayah's bus-and-boat ticket from Khao San Road (21:00, ฿1,250, arriving on Samui late the next morning).

On the Gulf, give Koh Samui two nights, then take a fast boat to Koh Tao (1.5–2 hours, ฿700) for three nights of diving and snorkeling, and a boat back to Koh Phangan (about an hour, ฿450–700) for three nights, timed for the Full Moon Party if you want it. From Phangan, Lomprayah's 08:05 bus-and-boat runs across the peninsula to Khao Sok (arriving 12:30, ฿1,350) or to Krabi (฿1,200). Give Khao Sok two or three nights, one in the jungle and one in a floating raft house on Cheow Lan lake, then take a van to Krabi or Ao Nang (about three hours, ฿400–500).

On the Andaman coast, spend three nights around Ao Nang and Railay for the limestone cliffs and the climbing, take the boat to Koh Phi Phi (30 minutes to two hours, from ฿490) for two nights, and finish on Koh Lanta, quieter and better for a slow last few days, by van from Krabi (about ฿400–540) or by boat in high season. Fly home from Krabi or Phuket, both of which have international connections, or fly back to Bangkok.

With three weeks, drop the Gulf islands and Khao Sok and fly straight from Chiang Mai to Krabi. That gives Bangkok three nights, Chiang Mai four, Pai two or three, then Ao Nang and Railay three, Phi Phi two and Lanta three, with a few spare nights for wherever you fall in love with. If you'd rather keep the Gulf, swap the Andaman coast for Samui, Tao and Phangan and fly home from Samui or back to Bangkok. For a fixed two-week plan with every connection, the 2 Weeks in Thailand itinerary covers the north and the Andaman in fourteen nights.

For the party version, base yourself on Khao San Road in Bangkok, spend more of your island time on Koh Phangan (Haad Rin for the Full Moon Party, Thong Sala for everything else) and Koh Phi Phi's Tonsai village, and pick the social hostels with bars and pub crawls. For the nature version, give the time to Pai's canyon and hot springs, a Koh Tao dive course, two nights in Khao Sok with the raft house, Railay's cliffs and Koh Lanta's long, quiet beaches, and treat Phangan as a stop for its jungle and waterfalls rather than Haad Rin. Most people mix the two, which is the point of the loop.

In Bangkok the hostels cluster around Khao San Road and the old city in Phra Nakhon, where the temples are on foot; Sukhumvit has quieter hostels near the BTS. In Chiang Mai stay inside the Old City moat or just outside it near the Saturday or Sunday walking streets. Pai is small enough that anywhere near the Walking Street works. On Koh Tao, Sairee Beach is the backpacker strip, with Mae Haad, where the boats land, a short walk south. On Koh Phangan, Haad Rin is for the Full Moon crowd and Thong Sala for a calmer base near the pier. On Phi Phi, Tonsai village is the cheapest and loudest. In Krabi, Ao Nang has the beach hostels and Krabi Town the cheaper ones with the night market. The Thailand on a Budget guide has a shortlist of well-reviewed hostels in these places, each checked by name.

Thailand is easy to wing once you're there. The legs to book ahead are the Bangkok to Chiang Mai sleeper, whose lower berths sell out (seats open 90 days ahead since April 2026, on SRT's D-Ticket site or at the station), anything in the Full Moon week, and any boat or flight in late December and January. Everything else, the Pai van, the island ferries, the Khao Sok vans and the Andaman boats, can be bought a day or two ahead at your hostel, at the pier or on 12Go. Grab and Bolt work in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and on the bigger islands.

Renting a scooter is the cheapest way to see Pai and the islands, and the most dangerous thing most backpackers do in Thailand. Wear a helmet, carry the right license, and check that your insurance covers riding.

A backpacker day in Thailand runs about $30 (฿1,000), covering a hostel bed, street food, local transport and one cheap activity, and a month on the ground costs about $1,200–1,700 before flights. The islands cost more than the north, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Tao especially, and Chiang Mai and Pai are among the cheapest stops on the route. The costs page breaks this down by destination and length of stay. On entry, immigration can ask to see proof of funds, officially ฿10,000–20,000 per person; it's rarely checked, but carry a card with access to that much.

November to February is the best time for the whole loop, with cool, dry weather in Bangkok and the north. The catch is the islands. The Andaman coast (Krabi, Phi Phi, Lanta, Phuket) is at its best from November to April and gets the southwest monsoon from May to October, while the Gulf islands (Samui, Phangan, Tao) are driest from about January to September and wettest from October to December, with November Samui's rainiest month. So in November and December, weight the trip toward the Andaman coast; from February to August, the Gulf. The weather guide has the month-by-month detail.

Citizens of the 60 visa-exempt countries and territories, including the US and UK, get 30 days on arrival, cut from 60 on 15 September 2026, and must file the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card online within 72 hours before arrival. You can extend once at any immigration office for ฿1,900, which gets you to 60 days. Land entries on the exemption are capped at two a calendar year, so 'visa runs' are limited. A trip over four weeks needs the extension or a planned exit, and the visa guide covers the details by nationality.

To leave overland into Laos, the easiest way is the train. Rapid No. 133 leaves Krung Thep Aphiwat at 21:25 and runs through Nong Khai, where you clear Thai exit, to Khamsavath station in Vientiane at 09:05 the next morning, from ฿281 in third class to ฿874 for a lower sleeper berth. From the north, the Chiang Khong to Huay Xai crossing leads to the two-day slow boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. Cambodia's land border crossings have been closed since June 2025 and hadn't reopened by October 2026, so fly to Cambodia. Check the Lao visa rules on the official e-visa site before you go.

The Banana Pancake Trail is the backpacker loop through Southeast Asia, usually Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia over two to three months, named for the banana pancakes sold in every guesthouse along it. Thailand is the usual start, because Bangkok has the cheapest flights in and the easiest first weeks. With the Cambodian land border closed, the common 2026 version runs Bangkok and the north, across to Laos by train or the slow boat, down through Vietnam, and back to Thailand's islands by air, or the islands first and the north and Laos last. Keep the 30-day Thai stay in mind if you plan to enter twice.