Thai Intro 18 Day — Self-Launched

Fly into either Suvarnabhumi (BKK) or Don Mueang (DMK). Skip the taxi tout: the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai costs about £1, then a metered taxi or the river boat gets you to Banglamphu. Check into a hostel dorm near Khao San Road, get a Thai SIM at the airport or any 7-Eleven (~£8 for 15GB), and spend the evening eating street food and having your first beer on Rambuttri Alley.

🚌Airport Rail Link BKK→Phaya Thai ~£1; taxi ~£8-10 from DMK

🛏Hostel dorm near Khao San Road / Rambuttri (~£9/night)

• →Khao San Road & Rambuttri evening wander
• →Thai SIM card setup
• →Street food dinner

Do the classic Bangkok day yourself: Grand Palace and Wat Pho (£13 combined if you book through Klook or pay at the gate), then take the Chao Phraya orange-flag express boat (~£0.40) up to Wat Arun for sunset. Hire a tuk-tuk back for around £3-4 after haggling. In the evening, grab a boat to Asiatique or head to a rooftop bar for the skyline; a self-bookable street-food night tour on GetYourGuide runs about £25 if you want a guide for the evening.

🚌Chao Phraya express boat ~£0.40 per hop; tuk-tuk ~£3-4

🛏Hostel dorm near Khao San Road (~£9/night)

• →Grand Palace & Wat Pho
• →Wat Arun sunset
• →Tuk-tuk ride
• →Optional GetYourGuide street-food night tour ~£25

Book a morning Thai cooking class in Bangkok (~£20-25, most include market visit) then take an afternoon or overnight bus south. The comfortable option is a VIP overnight coach from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) to Surat Thani or Khao Sok, roughly £18-22 and 10-11 hours. Alternatively fly to Surat Thani (£25-40 on AirAsia/Nok Air) and take a songthaew or minivan up to Khao Sok (~£8).

🚌Bangkok→Surat Thani VIP overnight coach ~£20, or domestic flight £25-40 plus minivan ~£8

🛏Overnight coach, or guesthouse in Khao Sok village (~£10/night)

• →Half-day Thai cooking class ~£22
• →Night bus south

Book a two-day/one-night Cheow Lan Lake floating bungalow package directly with a Khao Sok village operator or through Klook (~£45-60 per person including long-tail boat transfer, kayaks, tubing and meals). Spend the day paddling between limestone karsts, floating down the river in a tube, and watching for macaques and hornbills. Sleep on the lake with no Wi-Fi and generators off at night.

🚌Long-tail boat transfer across Cheow Lan Lake (included in package)

🛏Cheow Lan Lake floating bungalow, raft house (~£20-25 share, usually bundled in the package)

• →Long-tail boat through limestone cliffs
• →Kayaking
• →River tubing
• →Monkey & wildlife spotting

Return to the pier and make your way to the islands: minivan from Khao Sok to Don Sak or Surat Thani pier (~£8), then the ferry to Koh Phangan (~£10-14, about 2.5-4 hours depending on boat). Book the ferry plus minivan as a joint ticket at any Khao Sok travel agency. Settle into a beach bungalow around Haad Rin or Srithanu, then ease into island time with a sunset swim.

🚌Minivan to pier ~£8; ferry to Koh Phangan ~£12

🛏Beach bungalow, Haad Rin or Srithanu (~£12-15/night)

• →Island ferry crossing
• →Sunset beach swim

A slow day: hire a scooter (~£5/day, bring your licence and wear a helmet) or use songthaews to hop between beaches. Book a traditional Thai massage at any beachfront spa — around £6-8 for an hour. Afternoon at Bottle Beach or Thong Nai Pan if you're up for the drive, and dinner at a night market for under £4.

🚌Scooter hire ~£5/day

🛏Beach bungalow, Koh Phangan (~£12-15/night)

• →Beach hopping
• →Traditional Thai massage ~£7
• →Night market dinner

Join a self-bookable around-the-island or Ang Thong-style boat trip via Klook/GetYourGuide or a local agency (~£25-30 including snorkelling gear and lunch). If you want the BBQ vibe, many Koh Phangan beach bars do cheap seafood BBQs in the evening (~£8-10) — pick one on the sand and eat grilled fish and squid.

🚌Boat trip pickup from hotel (included)

🛏Beach bungalow, Koh Phangan (~£12-15/night)

• →Island beach boat trip ~£27
• →Snorkelling
• →Beach BBQ dinner

Choose your morning: a drop-in Muay Thai class at one of the island's gyms (~£8-12) or a yoga session at a Srithanu studio (~£8-10). The afternoon is free for waterfall walks or hammock time. If your dates line up with the Full Moon Party at Haad Rin, that's an easy add-on — entry is around £3-5.

🚌Scooter ~£5/day or songthaew ~£1-2 per ride

🛏Beach bungalow, Koh Phangan (~£12-15/night)

• →Muay Thai class or yoga drop-in ~£10
• →Waterfall walk
• →Optional Full Moon Party

A long travel day: ferry from Koh Phangan to either Surat Thani or directly to Krabi/Phuket (~£18-25), then a ferry or speedboat across to Phi Phi Don (~£10-15). Combined joint tickets are sold at island travel agencies. Arrive in Tonsai, check into a guesthouse slightly inland (cheaper than the beachfront), and enjoy the beach bars on Loh Dalum Bay.

🚌Ferry Koh Phangan→Krabi/Phuket ~£22; ferry to Phi Phi ~£12

🛏Guesthouse in Tonsai, Phi Phi Don (~£15-18/night)

• →Long ferry day
• →Loh Dalum Bay evening

Book a Maya Bay–Phi Phi Leh day trip locally or via Klook (~£22-30 with snorkelling gear, lunch and national park fee). Long-tail boats go faster and cheaper but the group speedboat tours cover more stops including Pileh Lagoon and Viking Cave. Evening: catch the plankton light show on a night swim at Loh Dalum Bay — free, and best on a dark moon.

🚌Long-tail or speedboat tour (included pickup)

🛏Guesthouse in Tonsai, Phi Phi Don (~£15-18/night)

• →Phi Phi Leh boat trip ~£26
• →Snorkelling
• →Kayaking
• →Plankton night swim

Climb the Phi Phi Viewpoint Trail early — the 20thb entry fee is about £0.50 and the 1,000-odd steps take 30-40 minutes, best before 8am. In the afternoon take a self-booked long-tail boat to Bamboo Island or Mosquito Island (~£15-20 shared), or join a half-day snorkel trip (~£20). Sunset from the beach bar with a cheap cocktail.

🚌Long-tail boat to Bamboo Island ~£18 shared

🛏Guesthouse in Tonsai, Phi Phi Don (~£15-18/night)

• →Phi Phi viewpoint hike (~£0.50 entry)
• →Bamboo Island long-tail trip
• →Snorkelling

Take the morning ferry or speedboat from Phi Phi to Rassada Pier, Phuket (~£10-14, about 2 hours). Base yourself in Phuket Old Town rather than Patong if you want cheaper rooms and better food — a guesthouse in the old town is about £15. Spend the afternoon wandering the Sino-Portuguese streets and the Sunday Walking Street market if it's the right day.

🚌Ferry Phi Phi→Phuket ~£12

🛏Guesthouse in Phuket Old Town (~£15/night)

• →Phuket Old Town walking
• →Local market food

Fly north: AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air run Phuket–Chiang Mai for roughly £30-45 if booked a few weeks ahead. Alternatively take an overnight VIP coach from Phuket bus station (~£25, 20+ hours) — worth it for the budget but a slog. Land in Chiang Mai, check into a guesthouse inside the old city moat (~£10-12), and orient yourself with a walk around the moat and dinner at the Night Bazaar.

🚌Domestic flight Phuket→Chiang Mai ~£35, or overnight coach ~£25

🛏Guesthouse inside Chiang Mai old city (~£11/night)

• →Night Bazaar food stalls
• →Old city walk

Hire a red songthaew to Doi Suthep (~£4-5 each way, or share with others for less) and climb the 306 steps to the golden chedi — entry about £1. On the way back, stop at Bua Tong (Sticky Waterfalls) in Mae Taeng, where you can literally walk up the limestone cascades; the songthaew round trip including waiting is around £15, or join a half-day GetYourGuide tour (~£20). Lunch at a local khao soi shop for £2-3.

🚌Red songthaew to Doi Suthep ~£9 round trip; private songthaew to Sticky Waterfalls ~£15

🛏Guesthouse inside Chiang Mai old city (~£11/night)

• →Doi Suthep Temple
• →Bua Tong sticky waterfalls
• →Khao soi lunch

Book a two-day/one-night jungle trek through a reputable Chiang Mai operator (in person on Tha Phae Gate or via GetYourGuide, ~£55-75 including guide, meals, homestay and transport). Day one is a walk through rice paddies and forest to a Karen or Hmong hill-tribe village, with a night in a basic village homestay. Choose operators that state explicitly they don't use elephant riding.

🚌Songthaew to trailhead (included in trek package)

🛏Hill-tribe village homestay (mattress on floor, included in trek)

• →Jungle trekking
• →Rice paddy walk
• →Hill-tribe village visit and homestay

Continue the trek downhill through bamboo forest, finishing with a bamboo rafting float on a jungle river (bundled into the same two-day package). Return to Chiang Mai in the late afternoon. Shower, then explore the Nimmanhaemin area for dinner and bars, or the Sunday Walking Street if your day lands on a Sunday.

🚌Songthaew back to Chiang Mai (included in trek)

🛏Guesthouse inside Chiang Mai old city (~£11/night)

• →Bamboo rafting
• →Nimmanhaemin nightlife

Book a no-riding, observation-and-care sanctuary day directly with an operator such as Elephant Nature Park or a smaller ethical project — full day, roughly £60-80 including transport, lunch and hands-on feeding and mud-bath time with rescued elephants. Book at least a few days ahead, as good sanctuaries sell out. Evening: night market and a final Chang beer.

🚌Minivan pickup from guesthouse (included in sanctuary booking)

🛏Guesthouse inside Chiang Mai old city (~£11/night)

• →Ethical elephant sanctuary day ~£70
• →Elephant feeding and care
• →Mud bath / river time with elephants

No activities scheduled. Red songthaew to Chiang Mai airport is about £2-3 and takes 15-20 minutes. If you're carrying on, the overnight sleeper train to Bangkok is around £18-25 for a second-class berth, and slow boats or buses to Pai and Chiang Rai are cheap and easy to book the day before.

🚌Songthaew to airport ~£3, or sleeper train to Bangkok ~£20

🛏N/A (or extend your guesthouse for ~£11)

• →Onward travel
• →Optional Pai or Chiang Rai extension