Arrival in Bangkok and an easy first evening
Arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport
Most long-haul flights from the UK land in the early afternoon at Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok's main international airport. The cheapest, most predictable way into the centre is the Airport Rail Link City Line from the basement, which runs to Phaya Thai (interchange with the BTS Skytrain) in about 30 minutes for around 45 baht (roughly 90p); a metered taxi or Grab is easier with luggage but slower in traffic. Bangkok in the middle of the day is hot and humid year-round, so take it slow on arrival. Book flights →
Check in near a rail line
Bangkok is huge and traffic-bound, so the single most useful thing you can do is base yourself within a few minutes' walk of a BTS Skytrain or MRT station, the Sukhumvit corridor or the older Rattanakosin and riverside areas both work well. That way you can hop between eating districts without losing an hour in a taxi. Drop your bags and don't over-plan a jet-lagged first night. Search hotels →
First bowl of noodles near your hotel
Rather than book anything formal, ease in at a busy local noodle or rice shop near your accommodation, look for the place full of Thais with a wok going and a queue. A bowl of guay teow (noodle soup) or a plate of pad kaphrao with a fried egg is the gentle, cheap way to start, usually well under 100 baht (around £2).
Evening walk and something sweet
Take a short stroll once the heat drops to get your bearings and finish with a sweet from a street cart, mango with sticky rice in season, or a folded roti cooked to order. Keep it light and turn in early; the eating starts in earnest tomorrow.
Old Bangkok temples, the river, and Chinatown after dark
Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha
Start early in the old Rattanakosin quarter at Wat Pho, home to the enormous gold Reclining Buddha and the country's most famous traditional-massage school; entry is around 300 baht (about £6.50) and includes a small bottle of water. Go at opening to beat both the heat and the tour groups. The easiest arrival is MRT Blue Line to Sanam Chai, then a short walk. A guided temple walk adds the history and etiquette you'd otherwise miss. Search temple tour in Bangkok on GetYourGuide →
Cross-river ferry to Wat Arun
From the Tha Tien pier beside Wat Pho, the little cross-river ferry runs the couple of minutes over to Wat Arun, the porcelain-studded Temple of Dawn, for just a few baht each way (Wat Arun's own entry is around 200 baht). Climbing the steep central prang is optional and the riverside views are the real reward. This keeps both temples in one tight, walkable morning cluster.
Lunch by the river
Come back across to the Tha Tien side for lunch at one of the simple shophouse kitchens and riverside spots near the pier. This is a good moment for a proper plate of central-Thai food and a cold drink before the afternoon heat peaks.
Afternoon rest out of the heat
The middle of a Bangkok day is genuinely draining, so head back to the hotel to shower, nap or sit somewhere air-conditioned. Pacing the heat is the difference between enjoying the evening's eating and wilting through it.
Yaowarat street-food crawl in Chinatown
Yaowarat Road is the beating heart of Bangkok's Chinatown and one of the best street-food streets on earth, coming alive from around 6pm as the stalls fire up along the neon-lit kilometre, several of them Michelin Bib Gourmand and Michelin Plate listings. Take MRT to Wat Mangkon and simply graze: expect fresh seafood, kuay jab peppery rolled-noodle soup, grilled river prawns, bird's-nest and herbal drinks, and fried-dough pa tong go for pudding, roughly 300–500 baht (£6.50–£11) for a good crawl. Individual stalls come and go, so follow the queues of locals rather than a fixed list; a guided food tour is a low-stress way to hit the best of it on your first night. Search street food tour in Bangkok on GetYourGuide →
Learn the dishes, then eat boat noodles
Thai cooking class with a market visit
The best way to understand everything you've been eating is to cook it, and most Bangkok classes begin with a walk through a fresh market to learn the herbs, pastes and produce before you cook a handful of dishes, typically a curry paste from scratch, a stir-fry, a soup like tom yum and a mango sticky rice. Sessions run three to four hours and you eat everything you make as lunch, so plan a light morning. Search cooking class in Bangkok on GetYourGuide →
Cool-down break
With a market walk and a full cooked lunch behind you, take the hottest part of the afternoon off. Rest up, because the next stop is best approached with a bit of appetite back.
Boat noodles at Victory Monument
Take the BTS to Victory Monument (Anusawari) and walk to the cluster of canal-side shops north of the roundabout known as Boat Noodle Alley, where kuay teow reua is served in tiny, punchy bowls, dark, herby broth, a little beef or pork, and a scattering of crackling. The bowls are deliberately small (around 15–20 baht each, roughly 40p) so the tradition is to stack them up; four or five is a normal sitting. The shops keep varied hours but generally run from late morning through the evening.
Evening grazing in a lively district
Round off the day wherever the street eating is good near your base, the lanes off the Sukhumvit BTS stations, or back towards the old town, both deliver skewers, som tam, grilled meats and single-dish rice plates from pavement carts. Keep it loose and follow your nose rather than a booking.
A world-class fresh market and a night on the river
Or Tor Kor Market
Take the MRT to Kamphaeng Phet (exit 3) for Or Tor Kor, an immaculate covered fresh market that CNN once ranked among the best in the world, a temple to premium Thai produce with pyramids of durian and mango, glistening seafood, curries by the ladle and a ready-to-eat food court at the back. It opens early and daily; come hungry and graze your way round for breakfast. Note that the sprawling Chatuchak Weekend Market next door only runs Saturdays and Sundays, so it's a bonus rather than a plan.
Food-court brunch and a fruit haul
Eat properly at Or Tor Kor's food court, a plate of khanom jeen noodles, a southern-style curry, or grilled river fish, and pick up a box of cut seasonal fruit for later. Prices are a touch above street level for the quality, but still gentle by UK standards.
Afternoon off to pack and rest
This is your last Bangkok afternoon before heading north, so use the heat of the day to rest, repack and sort your onward transfer for tomorrow. A quiet few hours now sets up a good final evening.
Chao Phraya river dinner cruise
See the city from the water on a Chao Phraya dinner cruise, drifting past the floodlit Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho with a buffet or set Thai dinner on board, a relaxed, cooler way to spend a hot evening and a fitting send-off from Bangkok. Boats depart from piers such as ICONSIAM and Asiatique; book ahead as they fill. Search river cruise in Bangkok on GetYourGuide →
North to Chiang Mai and the first night market
Last Bangkok breakfast
Have an easy breakfast near your hotel, jok (rice porridge) with an egg, or coffee and a bag of pa tong go, and check out. Aim to be moving to the airport with plenty of buffer, as Bangkok traffic is unpredictable.
Fly Bangkok to Chiang Mai
The quickest way north is a domestic flight from Bangkok (both Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang have frequent services) to Chiang Mai, roughly 1 hour 20 minutes in the air and often very cheap if booked ahead. The romantic alternative is the overnight sleeper train from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, which takes 11–13 hours and would need to leave the evening before, a lovely experience, but it costs you a night here. Book flights →
Arrive and check in around the Old City
Chiang Mai's airport sits just 3–4 km from the centre, so a licensed taxi or Grab into town is only 10–20 minutes and around 150–200 baht. Base yourself in or just outside the moated Old City, which is walkable and packed with food, and drop your bags. Chiang Mai is cooler and calmer than Bangkok, though from roughly mid-February to April it has a smoky 'burning season' when air quality can drop sharply, check the AQI forecast if you're travelling then. Search hotels →
Wat Phra Singh and an Old City wander
Walk into the Old City to Wat Phra Singh, the most revered temple in Chiang Mai, sitting at the western end of Ratchadamnoen Road with its gilded Lanna hall and quiet grounds (a small donation of around 20–40 baht is usual). Take the late-afternoon light to stroll the lanes between the old temples before dinner.
First northern feast at Chiang Mai Gate market
Head to the Chiang Mai Gate (Pratu Chiang Mai) area, where Talat Pratu market and its evening stalls serve some of the city's best everyday Lanna food. Look for sai ua (herby northern sausage), nam prik with vegetables, sticky rice, grilled meats and curries dished from big trays, cheap, generous, and exactly the introduction to the north you want.
Morning market, khao soi, and a mountain temple
Warorot Market at its best
Get to Warorot Market (Kad Luang), the oldest and largest market in Chiang Mai, early while it's busy with locals shopping for the day. Wander the ground floor for dried chillies, curry pastes, northern snacks and sai ua, and pick up a bag of khaep moo (crispy pork) and some sticky rice to nibble as you go. It's a working market rather than a tourist show, which is the point.
A proper bowl of khao soi
Chiang Mai's signature dish is khao soi, a rich coconut-curry noodle soup with both boiled and crispy egg noodles, usually chicken or beef, topped with shallots, pickled greens and lime. Some of the most famous shops cluster in the Ban Faham area along the river north-east of Warorot; any busy, local-packed khao soi shop will do you a great bowl for around 50–70 baht (£1–£1.50). This is an early lunch worth planning your day around.
Rest through the midday heat
Take a couple of hours back at your accommodation before heading up the mountain. The temple visit is best in the softer light of late afternoon anyway.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Chiang Mai's most sacred temple sits on Doi Suthep mountain about 30 minutes' drive from the city, reached by shared red songthaew from near the university or by Grab; the gold chedi at the top and the view back over the city are the reward for climbing the 300-odd naga staircase (entry around 30–50 baht). A guided trip handles the transport and explains the Lanna history and rituals, which is worth it here. Search Doi Suthep tour in Chiang Mai on GetYourGuide →
Night Bazaar and Anusarn food stalls
Back in town, the Chang Klan Night Bazaar and the adjoining Anusarn market run every night and are a solid, low-effort dinner: food courts and stalls doing everything from grilled seafood and satay to roti and Thai desserts, wrapped around the souvenir stalls. Graze widely and keep an eye on your bill at the sit-down seafood spots.
A day with the elephants
Pickup for an ethical elephant sanctuary
Give the eating a rest with a day trip to one of the ethical elephant sanctuaries in the hills around Chiang Mai. Choose a genuine no-riding, no-circus-tricks sanctuary that lets you feed, walk alongside and observe rescued elephants, reputable operators are explicit about welfare and cap group sizes. Most include hotel pickup, lunch and a couple of hours in the forest, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours each way. Book a well-reviewed, welfare-focused option rather than the cheapest. Search elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai on GetYourGuide →
Lunch at the sanctuary
Most sanctuary programmes include a simple Thai lunch on site, often a buffet of curries, rice and stir-fries eaten with the mountains around you. It's a welcome pause in the middle of the day out.
Back to town and a slow reset
You'll usually be dropped back at your accommodation in the late afternoon, dusty and happy. Take a shower and a breather before a gentle evening, it's been a full day and tomorrow is a big eating one.
Easy dinner in the Old City
Keep dinner simple and close to base tonight, a khao soi or khanom jeen nam ngiao (a northern tomato-and-pork noodle soup) at a neighbourhood shop, or a plate of pad kaphrao. Somewhere quiet and local is exactly right after a day in the hills.
Cook the north, then the Sunday Walking Street
Northern Thai cooking class
Chiang Mai is one of the best places in Thailand to take a cooking class, and northern-focused schools teach the dishes you can't easily get at home, khao soi, sai ua sausage, nam prik ong or noom, and often a market visit first to learn the Lanna larder. Classes run three to four hours and you eat what you cook, so keep breakfast light. Search cooking class in Chiang Mai on GetYourGuide →
Afternoon rest
After a market walk and a cooked lunch, take the afternoon slowly. If it's not a Sunday, this is the day to swap in the Saturday Walking Street on Wualai Road (Saturdays, from around 4pm) or simply another wander through the Old City temples instead of the evening market below.
Sunday Walking Street
If your day here falls on a Sunday, the Sunday Walking Street is unmissable: Ratchadamnoen Road closes to traffic from around 4pm to 11pm and fills for a full kilometre from Tha Phae Gate to Wat Phra Singh with handicrafts, live music and, crucially, food. The temple courtyards along the way turn into open-air food courts. Important caveat: it runs Sundays only, so if you're not here on a Sunday, use the Saturday Walking Street or the nightly Night Bazaar instead.
Eat your way down the street
Treat the walking street as a grazing dinner: sai ua, grilled skewers, khao soi from a temple-yard stall, som tam pounded to order, roti and fresh coconut ice cream. Go slowly, carry small notes, and let the crowd set the pace, this is the best-value feast of the trip.
One last breakfast and the journey home
Final market breakfast
Have a last northern breakfast before you go, a bowl of khao soi or khanom jeen, or coffee and a Lanna sweet from a market stall. Chiang Mai does breakfast quietly and well, and it's a gentle way to close the trip.
Transfer to Chiang Mai Airport
The airport is close to town, so a taxi or Grab is a quick 10–20 minute hop; still, allow the usual buffer for check-in and any onward connection. Chiang Mai's international flights mostly route home via Bangkok or a regional hub such as Singapore or a Gulf city.
Depart Thailand
Most UK-bound journeys connect through a hub, so give yourself generous time at the connection. Head home having eaten your way from Bangkok's Chinatown to a Chiang Mai temple courtyard. Book flights →