Royal Bangkok, northern temples and three nights by the Andaman Sea, planned for December–January.
Bangkok opens the journey with the Grand Palace, riverside temples and Chinatown. Chiang Mai changes the scale: temples stand among lanes inside a square moat, with Doi Suthep rising above the city. Phuket supplies the beach days and a different history in its Chinese-influenced Old Town. Three nights at each stop give you two full days to explore before moving on.
Plan this journey for December or January, when the northern cool season overlaps with the Andaman’s main beach season. The flights fall on days four and seven; the sightseeing that defines the trip fits between them. This is a varied introduction to Thailand, with time for meals and the places around the headline sights. If a longer beach holiday matters more than seeing the north, use the Chiang Mai nights in Phuket instead.
Rattanakosin brings the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho together beside the river. Gilded buildings and decorated temple courtyards give the Bangkok opening its character; Chinatown adds a different evening among food stalls and shops.
Chiang Mai was a capital of the Lanna kingdom. Its moat, temple compounds and surviving monuments make that history visible on an Old City walk. The broken brick mass of Wat Chedi Luang contrasts with the gold-covered chedi on Doi Suthep.
Kata has a curved sandy bay and restaurants behind the beach. It makes a useful final base when you want to walk to the sea each day. Patong is the alternative for nightlife; Phuket Old Town offers a town stay away from the coast.
Northern curry noodles and Phuket’s Hokkien cooking give the journey more variety than a succession of temple visits. A noodle-shop lunch in Chiang Mai and a meal in Phuket Old Town fit naturally into the sightseeing days below.
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre adds exhibitions of contemporary art to a trip with several historic monuments. Its curving interior and galleries offer a substantial indoor visit beside BTS National Stadium, with cafés in the same building.
Phang Nga Bay’s steep limestone formations and sea caves offer a different final outing from Phuket’s town streets. Choose a full-day excursion in place of the Old Town day if being on the water is one of your main reasons for coming.
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StartBooker answer
Spend three nights in Bangkok, three in Chiang Mai and three in Phuket, flying north on day four and south on day seven. December and January suit this combination of northern sightseeing and Andaman beaches. The six full days cover the royal quarter and Chinatown, Chiang Mai’s temples and a mountain visit, then Kata Beach and Phuket Old Town. Arrive in Bangkok and fly home from Phuket to avoid an extra return journey. A cooking class or Phang Nga Bay excursion can replace the corresponding day’s main outing.
Explore tours, attractions and local experiences in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket along this route through Thailand.
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The lodging choices below keep the experiences planned for each destination within reach.
3 stops · swipe
1
Rattanakosin monuments, public Chao Phraya boats and Yaowarat after dark
Rattanakosin suits the palace and Wat Pho visits; a hotel near a Chao Phraya pier also works for river journeys. Siam or Langsuan offers rail access for BACC and dining, with a separate journey to the royal quarter.
Read the Bangkok guide →
2
moated Old City lanes, Doi Suthep and northern food or craft experiences
The Old City puts Wat Chedi Luang and temple lanes within walking reach. Nimman offers cafés and contemporary restaurants west of the moat. Choose the Old City for historic walks, or Nimman for evenings in its cafés and restaurants.
Read the Chiang Mai guide →
3
west-coast beaches, Sino-Portuguese Old Town streets and access to Phang Nga Bay
Stay in Kata for a beach finish with restaurants nearby. Patong suits evenings around Bangla Road. Choose Old Town only if food and shophouse streets matter more than walking to the sea; it is inland, with a road journey to the beaches.
Read the Phuket guide →A suggested sequence for December–January. Swap the two full days within a destination when an opening day or your interests make that useful.
Arrive in Bangkok and give the remaining hours to the river rather than a timed monument visit. From the old quarter, a short walk near Tha Chang provides a first look at the Chao Phraya and the palace surroundings. A public boat ride is another option if you arrive early. A late flight leaves this day for the hotel and dinner. The palace visit belongs to tomorrow, so the plan still works without an arrival-day excursion.
Base: Bangkok
Visit the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew in the morning, then continue to Wat Pho after lunch. The Emerald Buddha temple sits within the royal compound, while Wat Pho’s reclining Buddha and decorated chedis give the second visit a different focus. Bangkok became the royal capital in the late eighteenth century; these buildings introduce the city’s ceremonial centre. Palace admission for foreign visitors is THB 500 (≈ US$15), including Wat Phra Kaew, with Wat Pho paid separately. Cover shoulders and wear clothing that meets the Palace’s dress rules. Both visits occupy this day comfortably without another major booking.
Base: Bangkok
Begin at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre beside BTS National Stadium. Exhibition entry is free except for special events; it opens Tuesday–Sunday and closes on Mondays, New Year and Songkran holidays. If this day falls on a closure, exchange it with the palace day. In the evening, explore Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown, where food stalls and Chinese shopfronts give the streets a different character from the royal quarter. Have dinner at T & K Seafood in Chinatown, or browse the nearby food stalls. The museum and the food walk are separate outings, leaving the afternoon free.
Base: Bangkok
Fly to Chiang Mai, then explore a short stretch of the Old City near your hotel. The square moat and surviving walls make the historic centre easy to recognise; the quieter lanes connect temple compounds with small cafés and guesthouses. This afternoon works as an introduction before tomorrow’s longer temple walk. A morning flight leaves more time for it, while a late arrival can go straight to dinner. Airport and airline details for both flights are in the connections section below.
Base: Chiang Mai
Start at Wat Chedi Luang, whose large damaged brick chedi anchors the centre of the Old City. Continue through the lanes toward Wat Phra Singh for another example of Lanna temple architecture. Chiang Mai’s former role as a northern capital explains why so many important monuments sit within this small area. For lunch, order khao soi at Khao Soi Khun Yai. This northern dish combines egg noodles in coconut curry broth with crisp noodles on top. For evening craft browsing, the Night Bazaar around Chang Klan Road is the daily option; Saturday and Sunday walking streets have their own weekly schedules.
Base: Chiang Mai
Take a road trip to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the temple on the mountain above Chiang Mai. Its gold-covered chedi, serpent-lined stairway and terrace overlooking the city make it a different visit from yesterday’s temples. Travel up and back by an arranged vehicle or a shared songthaew, a pickup truck with bench seats. The main approach has over 300 steps, with a funicular alternative. A cooking class can replace the mountain visit: Grandma’s Cooking School combines an organic-garden introduction with hands-on preparation and a meal. In periods of smoke haze, use current air-quality guidance when deciding on outdoor plans.
Base: Chiang Mai
Take a nonstop Chiang Mai–Phuket flight and continue to the hotel in Kata. The change is from a city framed by mountains to a bay on the Andaman coast. If you arrive during daylight, the beach and the restaurants behind it make an easy first outing; a late landing needs only the hotel transfer. Keep the same Phuket room for the final three nights, so neither the beach day nor the town visit requires packing again.
Base: Phuket
Spend the day at Kata Beach. The bay’s sand, water and headlands are the reason to stay here after the two cities, and a full day lets you enjoy the coast without a car journey between beaches. Walk the bay, swim when local flags permit, and use the restaurants behind the shore for lunch. December and January are within the Andaman’s main beach season, but a red flag still means no swimming. If you chose an Old Town hotel instead, this is the day to make the return road journey to Kata rather than expecting a beach beside the room.
Base: Phuket
Explore Phuket Old Town around Thalang and Dibuk roads, where Chinese-influenced shophouses and European architectural details reflect the island’s trading history. The town also gives you a different meal from the northern food: try Hokkien noodles, thick yellow noodles fried with seafood and sauce, in a local noodle shop. O-aew, a jelly dessert served with syrup and shaved ice, is another Phuket speciality. On Sundays, the walking street on Thalang Road adds food and craft stalls. A full-day Phang Nga Bay boat excursion is the alternative to this town day, with limestone scenery and sea caves; follow the marine forecast and operator’s departure decision.
Base: Phuket
Leave Phuket after the ninth hotel night. A later flight may leave time for breakfast and a final walk in Kata; an early departure makes this an airport morning. Arrange the full road transfer from the southern beach and use your airline’s check-in time. This plan finishes at Phuket Airport. If your international ticket departs from Bangkok, add a domestic flight and the connection time, or spend an extra night there. The published ten-day budget excludes that additional journey.
Base: Phuket
Book the Bangkok–Chiang Mai flight for day four and Chiang Mai–Phuket for day seven before fixing the hotel dates.
2 transfers
Bangkok Chiang Mai
Don Mueang–Chiang Mai has direct flights. A departure from Suvarnabhumi uses a different airport transfer, so follow the airport printed on your ticket. Add check-in and both hotel journeys to the flying time.
Chiang Mai Phuket
Choose a nonstop Chiang Mai–Phuket service to avoid a connection through Bangkok. From Phuket Airport, the Smart Bus serves Patong, Karon and Kata toward Rawai; a prearranged vehicle suits late arrivals or a hotel away from its stops.
For 8–17 December 2026, plan THB 68,200–95,700 (≈ US$2,030–2,850) for two adults sharing nine nights. This covers the main sightseeing plan with Kata as the beach base and a 10% reserve. These are planning allowances, not available-to-book package prices.
Booking tips
The three markers show Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. The hotel search starts in Phuket.
Bangkok → Chiang Mai → Phuket route
December and January are the clearest fit for this route: the north is in its cooler season and Phuket is in the main Andaman beach period. Christmas and New Year bring stronger room demand and possible hotel supplements. February is an alternative, with northern air quality becoming a more important consideration.
Yes, but replace a Bangkok hotel night with an overnight train or add a day for rail travel. The seven-day Bangkok–Ayutthaya–Chiang Mai itinerary covers a rail-led northern journey. Phuket has no railway station, so the southern leg still needs a flight or a much longer rail-and-road transfer.
Yes. Use three nights in Phuket, then three in Chiang Mai and three in Bangkok, finding the two flights before booking rooms. This order suits an international arrival in Phuket and a flight home from Bangkok. The beach stay comes first rather than last.
Use Phuket Old Town as the final base and make Kata a single day outing. The town’s shophouse streets and local food are nearby, while the beach requires a return road journey. Alternatively, add the extra days to Bangkok and Chiang Mai and leave Phuket for another trip.
Add it to Chiang Mai if you want both Doi Suthep and a cooking class on separate days, or to Phuket for another day by the sea. Either choice adds one hotel night. It also avoids fitting a food class around the day-seven flight.
The city days involve temple grounds and streets, while Doi Suthep has a long stairway and a funicular alternative. BACC lists lifts and wheelchair facilities. Travellers needing a step-free trip should confirm the chosen hotel entrances and temple approaches; the route does not establish continuous step-free access.
Research editor StartBooker
Checked on 2026-10-26
Updated
Editorial review: Editorial self-review of the route, peak-season timing, daily experiences, source support and budget calculations. The December 2026 budget distinguishes planning allowances from the published Chiang Mai hotel tariff.
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