Thailand Itinerary - 10 days

Khao Sok - 1 night

Day 8 - We took a mini van from Phang Nga bus station to Khao Sok - the minivan dropped us at a random location that seems to be the place everyone gets dropped at. It's not near the centre so you need to organise your transport before you arrive, luckily the guesthouse we were staying at does a free pick up service. I loved the spot we stayed at however it was too far from the centre of town - we had to either get dropped off or scooter in as it was a 5 minute drive. We stayed at Khao Sok Green Mountain view - super basic and rustic which I don't mind, but it was just the location that threw us off. Another thing that we didn't research enough about was where the entrance to the national park is, as it turns out Khao Sok town is actually an hour from where you take the boats out onto the lake. Most people will stay in Khao Sok and book onto a tour to the lake, either day tours or one/two night stays.

Day 9 - Since we had less time than we thought we decided to head to Khao Sok ourselves and take a two hour longtail boat ride on the lake - so we took a minivan to the intersection close to the lake, then we found a taxi to drive us the rest of the way to Ratchaprapha Marina. We managed to negotiate a private small longtail boat for 2 hours for THB 1700, this included stopping at the floating bungalows and spending some time there. The lake is absolutely beautiful! I really wish we had booked onto a 3 hour tour as 2 hours was just not enough! If we had more time then we would have opted for the over night stay on one of the floating bungalows, but that's something for next time.

Day 10 - We had to get back to Bangkok for our flight the next day so we took a minivan from the lake to Surat Thani, we thought we were getting dropped at the bus station but they dropped us at a random spot in the middle of town at a travel agency. While we were a bit annoyed at this, we found a bus company nearby and bought tickets to take us back to Bangkok so we could catch our flight back to Bali.

Our trip to Thailand was super quick but so amazing! I was blown away by the beautiful beaches, landscapes and kind people. Next time I'd like to explore more of the country and head north, but one thing is for sure - we will be back!

Chris and I are very last minute creatures so we only booked our flights to Thailand 2 days before we left, but luckily the tickets were pretty cheap! we searched on Skyscanner and found reasonable flights from Bali to Bangkok through Bhatik Air. Our flights were about NZD $370 each way.

Bangkok - 1 night

Day 1 - We arrived in Bangkok in the evening so we quickly checked into our accommodation which was a private room in a hostel near Khaosan road called Cube. It cost us THB 700 for the one night. Khaosan road is one of the most popular tourist areas in Bangkok, lots of backpackers and party people walking the streets and enjoying all the restaurants and bars. We went in search for some food and found a cute spot called I love ThaiFood - super cheap and delicious! After some walking and people watching, we went back to the accommodation to rest.

Ao Nang / Railay Beach - 2 nights

Day 2 - The next day we met up with a guy who we bought a gopro off marketplace, and it turns out we met right next to Chatuchak market, the largest market in the world! and we had no idea! So we spent the rest of the day walking around the market and trying all the local foods including coconut ice cream. We booked our bus ticket to from Bangkok to Ao Nang, through 12Go, which cost THB 1,672 for two of us. That evening, we made our way to the bus station (Southern Terminal Bangkok) and took the overnight bus to Ao Nang, it took about 12 hours and we arrived at Ao Nang bus station at 7am. We split a taxi with two other travellers into town and it cost us 100 Baht each (4 people). The bus station is only about a 20 minute drive from the beach.

Day 3 - We stayed at a budget hotel called J Mansion, which was right by Ao Nang beach. We initially booked for 2 nights which cost us THB 1,310, the room was simple but very clean and tidy so it was perfect for us! Still tired from the night bus, we spent the morning working from the room before venturing out for some food and beach time. The next day we took a long tail boat from Ao Nang beach straight to Railay beach. We showed up at Ao Nang beach at 8am and took one of the first boats out, this cost 100 Baht each and took about 20 minutes.

Railay beach is just so stunning! I could spend days just relaxing here and exploring the area. We stayed in a budget bungalow on the east side, at Rapala Rock Wood Resort, this cost THB 365 for one night. The place was very basic but perfect for a one night stay! We spent time chilling on Railay beach, walking around the peninsula spotting dusky leaf monkeys, and exploring the beautiful Phra Nang beach - one of my all time favourites! You can hire kayaks from the beach to explore the coast. A must do is to watch the sunset while having a Bintang on Railay beach.

Phi Phi islands - 3 nights

Day 4 - The day after we woke up early to walk to Phra Nang beach again, this time we had it all to ourselves and it was so magical. After, we quickly packed and rushed to the ferry that took us to the Phi Phi islands. The ferry is THB 500 and takes about 2 hours, it was really comfortable. The ferry drops you off at Ton Sai beach, it was so busy here! very touristy and lots of shops so we stopped in at a small restaurant for some lunch before heading to our accommodation.

We walked about 10 minutes to our accommodation which was just outside of the busy area. We stayed at another budget resort called Phi Phi Chang Grand Resort, the selling point for me was that they have a resident pony that greets you at reception - so cute! We initially booked here for just one night for THB 908, and we then extended another night directly with the accommodation. We had a very chilled afternoon catching up on work, relaxing at the beach and finding a tour agency that could get us a private long tail boat for the next day. We ended up using one that our accommodation recommended to us, they sold us a 6 hours private trip for THB 3200 . We also had to pay an extra 200 baht per person for the national park fee.

Day 5 - The next day we woke up early and were out on the boat by 7am, such a beautiful morning we were so glad we got up early for it! We arrived at Maya bay around 7.30, there were already some people there but it was stunning! There are new rules at Maya bay that include no swimming and no drones, so we just relaxed and took in the view. We even saw baby blacktip reef sharks swimming in the shallows, so amazing! After Maya bay our captain took us to a snorkelling spot nearby, then off to Pi Leh lagoon. By now there were a lot of boats and people around but it was still beautiful! After this we made our way to Bamboo island, it's about 1 hour Pi Leh so sadly we didn't have a lot of time to spend here which is something I regret. Bamboo island was my favourite spot and I'd recommend giving yourself at least a few hours here to enjoy paradise! The sand is white and the water is crystal clear, it really felt like you were in a remote paradise.

Back on the mainland we spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoyed the sunset at Freedom bar on Loh Dalum beach. The next morning we left for Phuket on a speedboat that we took from Ton Sai beach pier. The journey took around 1 hour, we only had a quick look around Phuket old town before catching a minivan to Phang Nga.

Phang Nga - 2 nights

The bus station in Phang Nga is a little far from the centre so we managed to find some scooter taxi's that took us to our accommodation. They charged us quite a bit so I'd recommend arranging a pick up if possible. We stayed at Guesthouse 88 and I couldn't recommend this place enough! The lady who runs the guesthouse is so lovely and helpful, she gave us a page of information about the area - where to eat, where to visit and some local tips that really helped us. We originally booked for one night which was THB 502, then extended one more night as there was just so much to see around here.

Day 6 - The bungalow that we stayed in was super cute and perfect for a few nights. The guesthouse is on the edge of the town and surrounded by mountains and nature - so peaceful! We hired a scooter from them and explored the area. We drove to the Ngop-Ko Tapu pier to get the best birds eye view of the mangrove forests, winding rivers and limestone cliffs! We visited this spot for both sunset and sunrise - so spectacular! For dinner we went to this cute outdoor food market that our host recommended, we had some of the best food we've tried in Thailand!

Day 7 - In the morning we made our way to Harbour Phang Nga and took a local longtail boat over to Koh Panyee - normally they will try to sell you an expensive tour around the islands, however we just wanted to visit Koh Panyee so our host told us where to catch the local boat from and it only cost us 50 Baht each one way! Koh Panyee is a fishing village in Phang Nga that is floating on stilts, we spent a few hours here walking around the village and grabbing a coffee from a local shop. They even have a floating soccer field here! We then took the local longtail back to the harbour and spent the day catching up on work. We decided to make the drive to another scenic viewpoint called Samet Nangshe viewpoint, this is about an hour drive from Phang Nga. The view point is stunning and definitely worth a visit! I wish we had also gone for sunrise however we had bad weather in the morning, so if you do get the chance please visit in the morning! There is also a beautiful boutique you can stay at there with some of the best views called Samet Nangshe Boutique.