We’re a little over three weeks from leaving for our trip to South East Asia. We have a rough plan and want to stay flexible but I do need to book that pesky flight out of Singapore so I’m going to have a go at outlining an itinerary.
Three weeks in Central Thailand
4 days Bangkok
3/4 days Kanchanaburi
2 days Sangkhlaburi
1 day Kanchanaburi – Just to break up the journey. I don’t think we would manage seven hours on a bus all the way back to Bangkok!
1/2 days Bangkok
2/3 days Ayutthaya – We’re going to look into a homestay I read about near Ayutthaya
3/4 days Bangkok – We may even stay for a week and rent an apartment if we feel like we need a breather.
Three weeks in Southern Thailand
4/5 days Koh Samui – Lee has a friend living here that we might stay a few days with but we could spend longer or stay in a hotel for some of our stay. Either way, it’s always nice to know a local or expat and to get a chance to socialise.
7 days or more Koh Phangan – I’d like to go back to Thong Nai Pan Yai beach and also check out one other spot, maybe Bottle Beach
7 days or more Sichon/Khanom/Nakhon Si Thammarat – I’d like to check out two or three beach spots in this area
This is where it gets a bit tricky. We could travel on down to the Perenthians via Hat Yai but there was some major terrorist activity here over the weekend. We’ll assess at the time whether we think it’s safe enough to travel through. The alternative is to backtrack to Surat Thani and to fly to Kuala Lumpur and onto the Perenthians.
Three weeks in Malaysia & Singapore
5/6 days Perenthian Islands
Somewhere else in Malaysia / Some buffer time to catch up if we spend longer somewhere else like renting an apartment in Bangkok.
4/5 days Kuala Lumpur
4/5 days Singapore
What do you think of our plans? Too much? Too little? Missing something really great?
I am choosing to skip Northern and North-Eastern Thailand on this trip. I’ve been to Chiang Mai and, being that it’s “digital nomad central”, I’m sure we’ll end up there on another trip. I’ve also got a really cool idea for a road-trip around the North and North-East which will have to wait for another time. It’s tempting to just cram everything in and do as much as possible. Realistically, travelling with a child, we need to go at a much slower pace and factor in plenty of time to just rest and play. I’m also conscious that this is Lee’s first trip to South East Asia so I don’t want him to feel overwhelmed. The thought of $20 a night guesthouses and four-hour bus rides is already well outside his usual comfort zone. I don’t want to push him too far or he won’t want to go back. Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore should be a nice, easy introduction for him – South East Asia 101!
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Looks lovely! The first 3 weeks in Thailand sound a little busy but not undoable – if it was me I wouldn’t be booking too much in advance in case you get here and just find you can’t keep up the pace. Looking forward to seeing your posts from Sichon etc – we really liked it but only got to spend one night and two days driving around there. I’m really keen to go back there again. Out of everywhere we visited in Thailand, that area appealed the most to me.
And of course the main problem with your itinerary is there is no stop in Penang! How rude! Maybe we’ll run into you in the Perhentians – we’re contemplating going back there in late June.
Hi Tracey,
Thanks for your input. I totally agree about not booking too far in advance. I think we’ll just think about the next move ahead at the time and see how we feel.
I am a little concerned that the first three weeks are overly busy too. I figure if the pace is too much we can always rent an apartment in Bangkok for a week for a time out. I’ve seen some really good ones on AirBnB. I’m looking forward to the Gulf coast too – doesn’t sound like there’s a lot of farang, mostly Thai families, so hopefully it’s nice and quiet.
We were actually thinking about stopping in Penang and/or Langkawi. I can’t see the best way of combining that with the Perenthians. Other than maybe there being a flight across on Firefly, I’m not sure we could manage the bus ride. What’s the road like? How long does it take you to drive it? We could always backtrack from KL. I don’t mind long train rides but not so much on a bus! How are Penang and Langkawi in June? We do have an extra week in Malaysia that I haven’t accounted for yet because I don’t want to rush.
Bethaney