Headed to Thailand at the end of November - mid December.
Is it better to head North first and end your trip in the south? Or vice-versa? Flying in & out of Bangkok.
Also looking for hostel/adventure recommendations & the best places to visit! Anything would be appreciated.

The best thai cookery school! And Mad Monkey hostel in Bangkok

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Chiang Rai is great. Especially the white temple and the black house. Also Chiang mai was beautiful and had lots to see and do. The north is significantly cheaper than the south so just keep that in mind when buying clothing and souvenirs to take home.

anything in Chiang Mai is wonderful- Le Spice restaurant is the best place we ate while there for 2 months!! Try a trip to Pai for couple of days-really fun.

* Derek Li Karen

Jimmy

I am in Thailand right now, feel free to msg any questions. We did not head north, just south and islands then going to Bali

Might wanna reconsider Bali,volcano ready to blow. Have fun be safe.

Darryl it’s been “ready to blow” since August. We’ll be fine we have friends there right now, the media is hyping it up a lot

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We spent a month in South East Asia and started in Hanoi, Vietnam and made our way down the country before crossing into Cambodia for ten days and then another ten days in Thailand. We wished we would have only done two Countries in that time frame and loved Vietnam so much! But we ended in Bangkok for a few nights before flying home and were too tired to really enjoy or see the city! Lol My husband couldn't convince me to leave our hotel and the pool!

The north is also great and much more comfortable temperatures, Chiangmai is a must

Its always nice to end your trip in the south on the beaches so I would say north to south. Chiang mai is a great town to hit up, nearby is thai farm cooking school. Further north is a cool place called Pai and if you have time Soppong for some great cave exploring.

We went north to south then Bangkok at the very end before fly home. It was nice to ape d the last portion by the beach. Chiang mai and Pai are both a must. In Chiang Mai, the Absolute house hostel is fantastic....close to old town gates and the owners are wonderful. Down south, if you go to krabi/ao nang, hike up to the tiger cave temple for some amazing views...the towns are prety mediocre in my opinion though...wouldnt go back there. Snorkelling at Koh Rok is a must!!!! Also, visiting the elephant sanctuaries is an incredible experience. We went to elephant jungle sanctuary in Chiang mai. Enjoy!!

Really liked Chiangmai. Lots to see and do. Many nice restaurants. I would go north to south. Grand Palace and Pho Wat worth seeing.

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North then south, good idea. Only 3 weeks, you may go Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi then Bangkok.

Don't go to Phuket

Quinn Daly
If you want total chill beach island, check out Koh Phayam, near Ranong. Lots of relatively cheap huts on the beach

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Def start in the north. Limit time in Bangkok or see it on the way out and skip Phuket. I spent 10 months in Thailand, before the tsunami, and loved phi phi, ao nang, koh sok, khao lak... diving in the similan and surin islands is amazing. I hear koh Lanta is beautiful. Koh panghan was great but I'd skip koh Tao/samui.

Don't skip Koh Tao!! That was my fav place! Chiang Mai is also really cool. Koh Lanta is quiet but beautiful so it depends what you're after. I started in the islands and ended in Bangkok. I agree about limiting your time there.

Bangkok, hot noisy and super busy!!! Unless you have a personal driver, like we did, you only need to spent short amount of time there

Cole Alexander!!

Joshua Neufeld

If you go north makesure u book a day stay at Elephant Nature Park, please don't ride elephants when in Asia
How long is your trip? That will decide where you can go.

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This is awesome! I'm planning a trip to Thailand for Nov too - thanks for all the recommendations

I'm going in February..two nights in Bangkok then taking the day train to Chiang Mai for week then flying to.Phuket for 10 days then back to Bangkok.

In terms of flights it doesn't matter which region you start first rather its more important to which cities you go to as there are direct flights between the north and south but they are limited to the bigger hubs like Chiang Mai and Puket. Air Asia offers direct north-south flights as well as the most current domestic airline (which seems to change every few years). But I agree with most that beaches at the end are the most relaxing way to end a trip!

We flew into Bangkok slept at a nearby hotel then left first thing In the a.m. for chaing mai. If visiting chaing mai GO to Phatara coffee /spa for Pad Thai, Mango Rice , and yummy frozen Drinks!!! Best food we had hands down! Amazing waterwheel and back garden eating area adjacent to their spa. After that we went to Bangkok, then koh Tao, and koh lanta. We worked our way south and mostly flew from place to place. Every time we took a flight it was around 100$ pp. You can take ferries for less $ but they take longer... for us we valued more time in places and spent the extra money to fly. Good luck!!!! (Ps if you are going diving -book with Bans diving resort koh tao)

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North first then south. Better to have beaches at end of trip. Take sleeper train at least once. It's always a great experience. I also agree with comments about avoiding Phuket

Karen Derek Li

I did North to South but from mid-January to mid-February. Weather up north was very cold (I had to wear my down filled coat that I had packed for a stopover in Japan!) That was almost 4 years ago and it was their coldest cold snap in over a decade. I do think it was an anomaly.
Chiang Mai was my home base in the North. Best $$ I spent was for a private driver guide for 4 days. I saw so many things I would have never ever seen had it not been for my driver/guide. We took a longtail boat up the Pai River to visit the Karan Long Neck Village tribe. Rafting in the Stalacite caves was memorable as well.

How much did the driver charge per day?

I don't recall exactly. The fee included breakfast, lunch, accommodation, & all entrance fees.
Sutthi Hampitak of http://www.chiangmaidriverguide.com/ has solid 5-star reviews on trip advisor which is how I found him. It was almost 4 years ago that I hired him so I'm guessing prices have changed since then.

I went north and then came down south on the east side. Hopped to the west side up to Krabi and flew from Krabi to bangkok for $15.

What.airline for $15? When was this?

Like 4 years ago. I used sky scanner.

I don't recall the airline.

I think the logo had a Red Lion of some sort.

Al check momondo for flights. They list lots of budget airlines. I've already bought a couple of them for my trip in December. Tons of flights with lots of airlines in Thailand

I've flown Air Asia in Thailand

The famous Bangkok "Unicorn Cafe" - this was kind of cheesy but we went because the cafe went viral on the internet so we happened to be in the neighbourhood and stopped by for a milkshake. http://modernmixtravel.com/.../mmv-x-travel-a-visit-to.../

Been 5 times and still haven’t seen it all!!!!Chiang Mai is a must (go to the night bazaar and eat Khao Soi
, go to jungle_daily for an ethical, amazing & inexpensive elephant
sanctuary - that has a baby elephant and definitely stay in the old town!). For a little less touristy destination I would suggest Khao Sok (national park, rainforest & lake). I stayed at ‘Our Jungle House’ in a treehouse with monkeys
on my deck in the mornings) but if your budget allows I would recommend Elephant Hills (I did one night at their luxury Elephant Camp & one night at their luxury over water bungalow camp, all inclusive and a once in a lifetime experience). You can check out my Instagram for more info if interested?: Charmed Nomad, there’s also a link to my Facebook Group from there (of the same name) which goes into more details (on places to stay for all budgets, along with prices & many other things to do)...just too much info to pass along here ;))) You’ll love Thailand