TukTuks, Temples and the best Pad Thai: 45 days in Thailand (Itinerary)
- Miriam
- Dec 2, 2023
- 7 min read
To help you with your next travel plans to Southeast Asia, here is a 45 days Thailand itinerary of my last trip in January 2023.
When someone asks me if I would recommend Thailand for a Backpacking-Trip: 1000% YES!! To be honest, this is the country with the most warm-hearted and friendliest locals that I’ve travelled to so far. People in Thailand are so welcoming and peaceful and I always felt sooo safe while travelling through this beautiful country. Not to mention the stunning nature and their great organization skills when it comes to transportation and tours. All in all, I spent 45 days there and so I created this guide for you to plan your next trip to Thailand. The first thing to decide when travelling to Thailand is if you want to go to the north or to the south (or if you have enough time I would definitely recommend both!!). So here we go with my Thailand itinerary – sit back and get inspired.
Bangkok: 2 nights
As we had a direct flight from Munich to Bangkok, we decided to stay there for 2 nights so we can arrive and adapt to the new country, new time zone, etc. As someone who grew up on the countryside in Austria, I am not the greatest fan of big cities as they can be quite overwhelming after some time – so 2 nights in Bangkok were just the perfect amount for me personally.
Things to see there:
Chinatown
Temples (Wat Pho, The Great Palace, Wat Arun and many many more)
Floating Market
Khaosan Road (the party road – but even if you don’t like partying that much, it’s definitely worth to go through once)
Cafes and places to eat:
Wallflowers Café (my favorite café!)
Vegan Mango
Chinatown Night Market
Of course, there is so much more to see and do, but as it was the beginning of our travels, we took it very slow and just enjoyed walking around and going to some nice cafes. Our hotel was in the main road in Chinatown, so that was an overwhelming experience by itself. Now it was time for some sun and beaches, so we took the night bus and a ferry to the island Koh Phangan in the south of Thailand.
Bottle Beach, Koh Phangan: 5 nights
Paradise. Nothing more to add. This place is one of my favorite places – a remote beach that is far away from basically everything, with just a few Bungalows and three restaurants directly on the beach. Even if this place is located on one of the biggest party-island in Thailand, you won’t notice that at all once you arrive there. Normally the beach is only accessible by boat (even when you’re already on the island of Koh Phangan) or you take a very bumpy dirtroad. After busy Bangkok, this was the perfect place to relax and totally live in the moment – exactly what we were looking for and what we needed. We stayed in a Bungalow directly on the beach with a hammock on the terrace and front row to the ocean – I think I don’t need to explain more about why I loved this place so much.
How to get there:
Once the ferry reaches the island of Koh Phangan, you have to take a taxi to the top of the island and then take a boat to Bottle Beach.
Thongsala, Koh Phangan: 3 nights
As we were already on the island, we decided to check out the more touristy part of Koh Phangan. After our remote beach experience, it was nice to socialize with people in the hostel and go to a party. Our hostel was called "Puk's Palace" and I can highly recommend it - directly located on the beach! We rented a scooter for one day and went to the following places:
Paradise Waterfall
Koh Ma (very nice for watching the sunset)
Koh Tao: 6 nights
My favorite island in Thailand so far (I know there's still so much more islands to see!). For me, Koh Tao has everything. A nice center where you can walk around, go to cute cafés, eat really good vegan food and shop around. Also if you want to get a tattoo for a good price - this is the place for you! Koh Tao is also really famous for snorkeling and diving. It's actually one of the cheapest places to get your diving certificate. I personally didn't do it, but at least I did a snorkeling trip for a day and it was totally worth it.
Things to do:
Rent a scooter and drive around the island. There are many incredible viewpoints to explore! My favorite is: John-Suwan Viewpoint.
Do a snorkeling or diving trip! We booked our trip with Oxygen Tours (not sponsored) and saw some small sharks and a turtle!
Get a traditional bamboo tattoo! Tattoo shops are literally EVERYWHERE.
Watch the drag show in Queen's Cabaret
Go to Fishbowl if you want to party
Get a massage (it's super cheap and sooo good!)
Good places to eat:
Mama Tam (!!!) - best cashew tofu stir fry ever, I swear! There is always a long queue of people waiting, so make sure to come earlier and bring time, because it's possible that you have to wait for a bit. But it's worth it.
Hostel recommendations:
Savage Hostel
Indie Hostel
Save House Poshtel
Krabi: 2 nights
Krabi is a beautiful province in southern Thailand, full of breathtaking limestone peaks and amazing beaches. Just so you know, we didn't visit the classic spots that you usually do in Krabi (Ko Phi Phi, etc.). Or at least... I didn't. One highlight there is definitely the Tiger Cave Temple. 1,260 steps full of sweat and tears bring you to this beautiful temple with a spectacular view and a big Buddha statue in the middle. And after all that effort you put into getting all the way up - it's even more breathtaking once you arrive at the top. It feels like you really earned this view. And just so you know, the way back down is not for someone who is afraid of heights, because the steps are pretty steep! I put off my Birkenstock and just went barefoot - I had much more control over my steps and it just connects you better with the ground.
On the second day, we wanted to do a boat tour with some island hopping and a barbecue on the beach for sunset. Well... I always say things never come as planned and so it happened that I got sick. Yikes.
I was so sad that I couldn't go on that tour but my travel companion, Theresa, did and updated me with plenty of pictures and videos. I definitely had FOMO. But anyways, if you happen to be in Krabi, do a boat tour to see some of these beautiful islands surrounded by limestone peaks coming out of the water.
Koh Yao Noi: 4 nights
After Krabi, we wanted to go to an island again and asked the locals for some tips. We were looking for an island that the mainstream hadn't reached yet. And so we hopped on a boat to Koh Yao Noi.
I don't quite know what to say about this island. It is beautiful but I didn't get the vibe of it while being there. It's hard to put it into words but the energy was off. Don't get me wrong, maybe it was just OUR feeling and you will totally enjoy this place. I definitely don't want to say anything bad in particular, it was just how we experienced it at that time. Nevertheless, we found some nice places where we could enjoy our stay on this island. So rent a scooter and explore:
Chaba Café and Gallery (my favorite place on this island!!)
Sunset Bar
Mankei Bay (very adventurous bike ride, but it's worth it)
Chiang Mai: 4 nights
I love Chiang Mai. We took a domestic flight from Krabi to Chiang Mai so we could explore more of northern Thailand.
Strolling through the city center, visiting tons of beautiful temples and going to cozy cafés... this is what our trip to Chiang Mai looked like.
Here are two of my highlights in Chiang Mai:
Wat Pha Lat Temple
This beautiful temple is outside of the city, but so worth a visit! It's hidden in the forest and literally feels like a magic place. We could've spent hours there, just sitting next to the peaceful river, enjoying the view over Chiang Mai and meditating.
Baan Kang Wat art village
In this charming artist village, you can wander around in the little houses and stroll through local and handmade products. It's full of beautiful arts and crafts, has a library and nice cafés to enjoy the lovely location.
Pai: 20 nights
I know, I know... 20 nights in Pai sounds a lot. But let me tell you, I love this little town!!
If you're looking for a small hippie place with a great community, amazing food, good music, and tons of beautiful spiritual workshops and yoga - this is the place for you!
After so much traveling and wandering around in Thailand we wanted to settle down a bit and enjoy a certain place for longer without the rush. And Pai was perfect for that.
So after a VERY winding car ride (be prepared, not for the faint-hearted), we arrived in Pai.
Here are some things to do:
Hippie market every Saturday in Good Life Dacha
Every day (except Sunday): Breathwork workshop in Good Life Dacha
Every Sunday 20:30: fire show in Paradise Bar (come earlier for good seats)
Best live music in town: Jazz House
Ecstatic Dance & Yoga
Food market on the walking street (try the tea leaves salad, vegan chocolate pralines, vegan Pad Thai, and the best brownies from Bake Vegan!)
Pai Canyon
Bamboo Bridge
Best places to eat and bars:
Bom Bowls
Ganita Cafe
Coffeestains
Earth Tone
Cheese Madness
Charlie&lek
Thai-Zen Organic Farm And Cafe
Sunset Bar the magic of Pai
Jazzhouse
Paradise Bar
Yoga Retreat, Chiang Mai: 4 nights
Since I started traveling, I always wanted to do a Yoga Retreat, and in Thailand I finally did it: True Nature Chiang Mai - Yoga & Meditation Homestay Retreat. This is not sponsored, I paid for everything by myself. It's just a heartfelt recommendation.
4 blissful days full of yoga, meditation, nature, cooking classes, and the most amazing food I've ever had. And not to forget: the best and most warm-hearted hosts you could ever imagine. The company we had while on the retreat will forever stay in my heart. The place and the accommodation as well as the yoga shala is just out of this world. I felt so comfortable and at peace while being there.
Chiang Mai (again haha): 2 nights
You're probably wondering why we stayed in Chiang Mai for 2 nights.... AGAIN?!
Do not worry, I will tell you the whole story...in the next blog post (since this one is long enough)! 😉
See you next week!
xx Miriam
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