Thailand: The Planning

Asia, Thailand, travel by mackblack22

In January (2015) I convinced my boyfriend to take a trip to Thailand and Cambodia with me, and besides Mexico with his parents, it was his first time out of the country, or on any kind of big trip like that. All I had to do was what I do best and thats plan a great trip. With the details that I put together I was able to convince him to buy a ticket and join me in Thailand. Below is a brief description of the itinerary that I put together.

Tues, Jan 6th
Commute to Los Angeles
Depart Los Angeles (LAX) @ 11:00am

Wed, Jan 7th
Arrive Seoul, South Korea (ICN) @ 5:20pm (layover)
Depart Seoul, South Korea (ICN) @ 6:20pm
Arrive Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) @ 10:10pm
Hotel Check-in, Smart Suites Hotel @ 10:40pm

Thur, Jan 8th
Explore Sukhumvit (hotel area)
Tuktuk to explore Bangkok
Grand Palace Tour

Fri, Jan 9th
Hotel Check-out, Smart Suites Hotel @ 12:00pm
Depart Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) @ 3:10pm
Arrive Chiang Mai, Thailand (CNX) @ 4:25pm
Hotel Check-in, Empress Hotel @ 6:00pm

Sat, Jan 10th
Patara Elephant Tour @ 7:30am-5:00pm

Sun, Jan 11th
Explore Chiang Mai
Visit Chiang Mai Night Market

Mon, Jan 12th
Hotel Check-out, Empress Hotel @ 12:00pm
Depart Chiang Mai, Thailand (CNX) @ 2:20pm
Arrive Phuket, Thailand (HKT) @ 4:25pm
Hour Taxi to Patong Beach
Hotel Check-in, Lotus Hotel @ 4:00pm

Tues, Jan 13th
Explore Phuket (Patong Beach)
Wed, Jan 14th
Ferry to Koh Phi Phi Don @ 8:00am (1.5hr ferry ride)
Explore Koh Phi Phi Don & Koh Phi Phi Le
Return Ferry to Phuket @ 3:00pm

Thur, Jan 15th
Hotel Check-out, Lotus Hotel @ 12:00pm
Depart Phuket, Thailand (HKT) @ 2:50pm
Arrive Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) @ 4:15pm (layover)
Depart Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) @ 7:15pm
Arrive Siem Reap, Cambodia (REP) @ 8:25pm
Hotel Check-in, Passaggio Boutique Hotel @ 9:15pm

Fri, Jan 16th
Explore Siem Reap

Sat, Jan 17th
Angkor Wat Temples @ 7:00am – 6:00pm

Sun, Jan 18th
Explore Siem Reap

Mon, Jan 19th
Hotel Check-out, Passaggio Boutique Hotel @ 12:00pm
Depart Siem Reap, Cambodia (REP) @ 3:35pm
Arrive Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) @ 4:30pm
Hotel Check-in, Hotel Icon @ 6:00pm

Tues, Jan 20th
Hotel check-out, Hotel Icon @ 2:00pm
Depart Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) @ 11:40pm

Wed, Jan 21st
Arrive Seoul, South Korea (ICN) @ 6:50am (layover)
Depart Seoul, South Korea (ICN) @ 2:50pm
Arrive Los Angeles (LAX) @ 8:30am
Commute to San Diego

NOTE:
Book domestic/international flights through Bangkok Airways to travel around Thailand & Cambodia.
kayak.com, statravel.com, airbnb.com

I keep a detailed itinerary with all confirmation numbers in an app on my iPhone called TripIt. It’s great for keeping everything organized and in one place.

In all, it took me about 6 months to plan and purchase all the flights and hotels that I needed for the trip. I start booking things on my credit card way in advance, paying them off as I go so I can build a lot of frequent flyer miles, and manage the payments easier so it’s not all just one giant lump sum at the end.

Questions? Please ask.

I’m going to be breaking my trip down into a “Thailand/Cambodia” series in future posts. Stay tuned.

6 Comments

    1. mackblack22
      Reply

      Hey lauren!

      Not at all, in fact, I’ll even break it down for you to the dollar.

      Initial Flight roundtrip (LAX->ICN->BKK): $877
      Bangkok Hotel: $40 per night
      Flight (BKK->CNX): $70
      Chiang Mai Hotel: $67 per night
      Flight (CNX->HKT):$80
      Phuket hotel: $47 per night
      Flight (HKT->BKK): $70 -layover-
      Flight roundtrip (BKK->REP): $242
      Siem Reap Hotel: $37 per night
      Bangkok Hotel (last night): $62 per night

      Obviously we could have done the trip much cheaper if we had booked through hostels and not hotels and taken trains instead of flying everywhere, but when you’re in a time crunch to see as much as you can in a short amount of time, you realize it’s okay to spend a little extra to get the best bang for you buck. My favorite site for booking hotels and hostels that are cheap and yet have a good traveler rating is though they’re user friendly and offer great discounts for students. Plus, they have a price match guarantee on flights and they may even beat the price of the competitors.

      Liked by 2 people

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