The Best 3 Week Thailand Itinerary from South to North

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In 2023, my best friend and I embarked on a 2 month trip to Asia, where we visited Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. By far the highlight of our trip was our three weeks in Thailand, where we fell in love with the beauty, people, food and culture of this amazing country. We followed a pretty straight forward route from South to North, checking off many bucket list destinations, including islands, beaches, cities and mountains.

With this itinerary I give you my honest ratings of each place. Although Thailand is one of my favorite countries I’ve ever visited, I didn’t love every place I visited there so I want to share my honest thoughts. Then you can decide for yourself if you want to add it to your Thailand Itinerary!

Why Visit Thailand?

Thailand has something to offer for every type of travel. It’s a budget-friendly destination, making it great for young backpackers, but there’s also luxury resorts and fine dining if that’s more your vibe. The country offers incredible natural beauty, from beaches and islands to mountains and jungles. There’s unique culture and history to explore at it’s many temples, along with modern cities with skyscrapers, shopping and nightlife. It has one of the best cuisines in the world – in my opinion – and you can find the best Pad Thai, curry, mango sticky rice, etc. you’ve ever had each for just a few dollars. It also has great tourist infrastructure, making it easy to travel around, especially for English speakers. It’s a country you will easily fall in love with.

Is Thailand a good destination for Solo Travelers?

Although I didn’t visit Thailand solo, I know it is a great place for solo travelers! We met countless solo female travelers during our three weeks there, many who were going to be in Thailand for a few months. Here’s some reasons Thailand is great for solo travelers:

• Safety: Thailand is considered a very safe country, including for women. As two young females, we had no problems with safety. There were some places in Bangkok where we felt a bit on edge, but no more than in other big cities we’ve visited.
• Easy to Travel: Thailand is very easy to navigate, with well established tourism infrastructure. Most people there are friendly and speak well-enough English, so its easy to ask for help
• Popular Backpacking Destination: Since Thailand attracts so many young, solo travelers, there’s a great hostel culture and its easy to meet people are you hostel or on group tours.
• Affordability: Thailand is super budget-friendly, with options for every type of traveler. Even if you don’t like staying in hostels, there are affordable hotels and private accommodations!

Thailand Itinerary Summary

• Phuket – 1 night
• Phi Phi Islands – 4 nights
• Ao Nang Beach – 3 nights
• Khao Sok National Park – 1 night
• Koh Samui – 2 nights
• Koh Tao – 4 nights
• Bangkok – 3 nights
• Chiang Mai – 3 nights

Phuket

My Rating: 7/10
How much time: 1 or 2 nights
Getting there: Fly into Phuket International Airport. To get to the city from the airport, you can take the public bus (100 baht), arrange a private transfer, or order a Bolt once you get to the airport.

Phuket is one of Thailand’s most popular destinations because of its well connected airport. If you’re flying to Thailand from another country, theres a good chance you’ll fly into Phuket, making it the logical first stop on your journey.

As Thailand’s largest island, it is known for its beaches, luxury resorts, and nightlife. Its home to some iconic attractions such as the Big Buddha and Wat Chalong, making it worth the visit. However, Phuket is known for being very crowded and overly-touristy, and it’s much pricier than other parts of Thailand, so it’s not for everyone. I’d recommend only spending a day or two here, especially if you’re a backpacker on a budget.

I only stayed in Phuket for 1 night, as it was just a stopping point before heading off to my next island. I stayed in Old Town Phuket because it was close to the pier, where I was planning on taking a ferry the next day. In the short time I was there, I didn’t get to explore more than the Old Town, so my rating is really just based on that. I wish I could have spent one more day to see some of the cultural spots and visit the famous beaches!

Things to do in Phuket, Thailand

• Explore Old Phuket for its colorful architecture, shopping and restaurants
• Relax at Patong, Kata or Karon beaches
• Visit Big Buddha and Wat Chalong
• Take a day trip to Phang Nga Bay or the Phi Phi islands (if you’re not planning on staying overnight there)

Phi Phi Islands

Rating: 8/10
How much time: 3 or 4 nights
Getting there: Take a ferry from Rassada Pier in Phuket to Tonsai Pier in Phi Phi Don, which takes about 2 hours. There’s also speedboats available which take 1 hour but cost more. Book your ferry tickets in advance, especially during high season.

The Phi Phi Islands, or Koh Phi Phi, are famous for their stunning limestone cliffs and turquoise water. The main island, Phi Phi Don, is small and walkable, with no cars or motorbikes. The main town is on a very narrow piece of land in the middle island, where you can walk from Tonsai Bay on the south side to Loh Dalum Beach on the north side in like 2 minutes!

I stayed in Koh Phi Phi for 4 nights, but 3 nights would have been ideal because there’s not that much to do. Taking a boat tour to the surrounding islands, including the iconic Maya Bay, was definitely the highlight of my time there. And the island is quite fun at night – head to Slinky Bar to see their fire show on the beach!

Things to do in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

• Take a longtail boat tour to visit Maya Bay, Monkey Beach and beautiful snorkeling spots
• Hike to the Phi Phi viewpoint for panoramic views of the island
• Walk or take a longtail boat to Long Beach, a secluded beach on the east side of the island
• Enjoy the fire shows on the beach each night

Ao Nang Beach, Krabi

Rating: 6/10
How much time: 3 nights
Getting there: Take a ferry (2 hours) or speedboat (1 hour) from Tonsai Pier in Phi Phi to Nopparat Thara Pier. From there, it’s a 5 minute drive to Ao Nang Beach.

Ao Nang is a laid-back beach down that serves as a great base for exploring the nearby islands and natural beauty of Krabi. It’s a short distance from Railay Beach, which is a secluded peninsula only accessible by boat.

Personally, I was not impressed by Ao Nang. The town was nothing special, with little to do during the day and at night. The beach also left me unimpressed, being a little dirty and lacking the turquoise waters that you can find almost everywhere else in Thailand. However, I should mention that it rained almost the whole 3 days I was visiting Ao Nang, which definitely put a damper on my experience there.

That being said, I think Ao Nang is worth a visit for the day trips that you can take around Krabi and the surrounding islands. Just like in Phuket, you can take a boat trip to Phang Nha Bay. While I was there, I took a tour that stopped at the Emerald Pool and the Krabi Hot Springs. And as I mentioned, you can easily take a longtail boat to Railay Beach and hang out there for the day.

Things to do in Ao Nang, Thailand

• Take a longtail boat to Railay beach, where you can take a rock climbing class
• Book a tour to the Emerald Pool, Clang Cave, or Wat Tham Suea Temple
• Eat dinner at the Krabi Night Market

Khao Sok National Park

Rating: 7/10
How much time: 1 night
Getting there: Take a bus or private car from Ao Nang to Khao Sok. We arranged transportation through our the Khao Sok tour company.

Khao Sok National Park is a nature reserve with lush rainforests, steep limestone mountains, and unique wildlife, all surrounding Cheow Lan Lake. Most people visit this park on a 1 or 2 night tour, where you get to sleeping in a floating bungalow. The tours include boat trips, jungle hikes and night safaris.

We booked our 2 day, 1 night tour with Khao Sok Lake and had a good experience. They were kind enough to arrange transportation from Krabi and to our next destination. The tour started with a long boat ride with views of the towering limestone peaks. We headed to our accommodation for the night – over-water bungalows with an incredible view! After eating lunch, we headed out on a hike to a cave, and during sunset we went on a boat safari in search of wildlife.

Although it was a great tour, we felt that the price definitely matched the accommodations. The bungalows were very bare bones (just a bed on the floor) and the bathrooms were almost unusable, with most of the toilets being clogged. This is coming from a travel girly who requires a certain level of comfort, so if you don’t mind roughing it you probably wont mind the accommodation. But if I was to go again, I wouldn’t mind paying a little more for nicer accommodations.

Another downside, which was at no fault to the tour company, was that we didn’t get to see much wildlife besides some monkeys. The park is home to elephants which is why I was so excited to visit Khao Sok, but we unfortunately didn’t get to see any. Hence my lower rating for this incredibly beautiful destination!

If you’d rather visit Khao Sok as a day trip instead of staying there overnight, here’s a tour from Phuket, and here’s a tour from Krabi.

Koh Samui

Rating: 6/10
How much time: 2 nights
Getting there: Take a bus or private transfer from Khao Sok to Surat Thani, then a ferry from Donsak Pier to Koh Samui.

Now jumping over to the east side of Thailand, the island of Koh Samui is known for its luxury resorts (Season 3 of White Lotus was filmed at the Four Seasons here!) and beautiful beaches. It’s a popular destination due to the fact that is has an airport, making it easily accessible from Bangkok. It’s also a great base for exploring the nearby islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao.

Similar to Phuket, I found Koh Samui to be overly touristy and the prices for accommodations, food and activities were higher than other places in Thailand. For me, the biggest con of Koh Samui was that the main sites are quite far from each other and it’s very hard to get around without renting a motorbike. My friend and I knew that neither of us were confident enough to drive a motorbike (although we considered it many times…) so we relied on using Bolt to get around Koh Samui. They were not as cheap as in other places in Thailand and the costs added up after a few days.

The highlight of my time in Koh Samui was the bar crawl at our hostel, SocialTel. I’d highly recommend this hostel because it was in a great location near Chaweng Beach, had a beautiful pool, and had fun social events like the bar crawl. But at the end of the day I was glad we only decided to stay in Koh Samui for two days, as it was hurting our budget!

Things to do in Koh Samui, Thailand

• Visit the Big Buddha Temple and Wat Plai Laem
• Visit the beautiful beaches at Chaweng or Lamai
• Take a day trip to Ang Thong National Marine Park

Koh Tao

Rating: 9/10
How much time: 4 nights
Getting there: Take a ferry (2 hours) from Koh Samui to Koh Tao.

Koh Tao is a tiny island paradise for snorkelers and divers. Many travelers come here to get their diving certifications because it’s one of the cheapest places to do so. My friend, who was already certified, did 2 days of dives while we were there, while I did a snorkeling tour. I was able to see a few turtles and some other amazing sea life!

Koh Tao is much quieter than Koh Samui and other Thai islands, making it the perfect place fo those wanting a more tranquil and intimate experience in Thailand. It’s also more affordable, with lots of budget friendly accomodations and activities catering towards backpackers. Most of the restaurants and things to do are on the main street right off the beach, Sairee Road. There’s a bit of nightlife, including a popular bar crawl at Chopper’s Sports Bar. We found that the island the island had a mix of backpackers, digital nomads and adventurers, specifically divers.

The island has almost no cars, just motorbikes, which is the main way to get around. So if you want to explore more of the island, you will need to rent a motorbike or hire someone to drive you around. On a day that I was exploring Koh Tao solo, I hired a motorbike driver (you can usually find them waiting by the pier), who drove me Freedom Beach, where I spent the day hiking to John Suwan Viewpoint and relaxing at the secluded beaches in the south part of the island. I saved his WhatApp number so when I was ready to go back to the main part of town, he came and picked me up. Maybe not the smartest thing I’ve done while traveling solo, but I knew it was the only way to explore the island on my own, and it was safer than renting a motorbike myself. I trusted my instincts and made sure I set a price with the driver before getting on the bike, so I wouldn’t get scammed.

Things to do in Koh Tao, Thailand

• Get scuba certified at one of the many dive schools
• Do a snorkeling tour, or snorkel right from the shore at Shark Bay or Aow Leuk Beach
• Hike to John Suwan Viewpoint for the best views of the island

Bangkok

Rating: 7/10
How much time: 3 nights
Getting there: From Koh Tao, take a ferry to Surat Thani (3 hours), then transfer to an overnight train or bus (8 hours) to Bangkok. Alternatively, Take a ferry to Koh Samui, then a flight from Koh Samui Airport to Bangkok. We went with the ferry & bus option because the flight was over our budget, but it ended up being a veryyyy long travel day!

No trip to Thailand would be complete without a visit to the capital city of Bangkok. It’s a bustling, slightly overwhelming city with horrible traffic, but there’s so much to see and do, so it’s a must visit. The city blends skyscrapers, fancy rooftop bars and luxury malls with ancient temples and traditional markets. You must visit the the iconic cultural landmarks like the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho (home to the famous reclining Buddha).

Because my friend and I like to shop, we really enjoyed going to IconSiam, Bangkok’s best shopping mall. Along with lots of modern stores, there’s also an indoor floating market called SOOKSIAM, where you can find delicious food and unique souvenirs. Definitely a bit of a tourist trap, but being that I’m a tourist, I loved it!

Although I didn’t love Bangkok, mostly because of the overwhelming traffic, it’s a city that I would like to visit again. I didn’t even scratch the surface of all the things there is to do there. I only put 3 days for this Thailand itinerary, but if you have more time and like big cities, I’d recommend you spend a few more days!

Things to do in Bangkok, Thailand

• Visit the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho
• Explore some of the luxury malls like IconSiam and Siam Paragon
• Visit one of the floating markets such as Damnoen Saduk or Amphawa
• Take a day trip to explore ancient ruins at Ayutthaya

Chiang Mai

Rating: 9/10
How much time: 3 nights
Getting there: Take a flight (1.5 hours) from Chaing Mai to Bangkok. Or take an overnight train or bus (10+ hours). In this case, I’d recommend the flight because it’s easy to find affordable flights and much faster!

Heading all the way to the north of Thailand, Chiang Mai is a cultural hub with lots of temples and culture to explore. You should stay in the Old City, which is literally a square in the middle of the city surrounded by a moat and defensive walls, originally built to protect against invasions. There’s lots of temples to explore and great restaurants and cafes to eat at. Visit the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, and if you’re there on a Sunday, definitely check out the Sunday Walking Street Market for great food and local souvenirs.

The two days we spent in Chiang Mai were two of my favorites in Thailand. On the first day we took a tour to ChangChill Elephant sanctuary, which has a no bathe and no touch policy, meaning you are just there to observe the elephants, who have been rescued from the entertainment and lodging industries. Elephants are my favorite animals, so the day at Chang Chill was truly one of the best of my life. When we got back to the city, I even decided to get a tattoo of a mommy and baby elephant to remember the day (and it’s a tattoo I’ve been wanting to get for a while). If you’re looking for a good tattoo shop in Chiang Mai that specializes in fine line tattoos, I can highly recommend Alice Tattoo Studio!

The next day we did a Thai cooking class with Thai Farm Cooking School. It was a great way to spend one of our last days in Thailand, learning how to make all the foods we fell in love with over that past few weeks. The tour started with a stop at a local Thai market, before driving to the school which is located on a beautiful organic farm. There are a few different dishes to choose from, including vegan and vegetarian options. I opted to make Tom Kha soup, Masaman Curry, Pad Thai and Mango Sticky Rice, some of my favorite Thai foods!

Things to do in Chiang Mai, Thailand

• Explore the temples and street markets of the Old City
• Visit a an ethical, no touch, no bathe Elephant Sanctuary – Chang Chill and Elephant Nature Park are two great options
• Take a Thai cooking class
• Visit Doi Suthep Temple for panoramic city views

Ready to book your trip to Thailand? I hope my Thailand Itinerary gave you an idea of some of the best places to visit in this beautiful country!

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