Planning Your Trip

There is a ton to do in Thailand! Please see some of our personal recommendations of restaurants and activities in both Bangkok and Phuket below, plus some general tips to make your time traveling easier and safer.

Activities in Phuket

BrassWok Thai Cooking Class
They offer private and small-group cooking classes, with customizable menus. If you’re willing to wake up early enough, you can also join your instructor for a walk through a local market to buy ingredients.
Location: I believe that they were moving locations, so confirm address with BrassWok rather than just going off what’s listed on the website!
Price: $$

Green Elephant Sanctuary Park
If you don’t have time to visit them in Chiang Mai, this is still a great chance to get up close and personal with some elephants! You can chop up sugarcane and fruit for them, rub on a mud mask, and bathe with them in a small lake. Your ticket also includes pickup and drop off from your hotel!
Location: No.4, Soi Cherngtalay 1, Tambon Choeng Thale, Amphoe Thalang, Chang Wat
Price: $$

Visit Old Phuket Town
Old Phuket Town is the historical centre of Phuket Town, which is known for its colorful Sino-Portugese townhouses. There are lots of bars and restaurants, street vendors, nice viewpoints, and interesting architecture in this area – although it is in the southeastern part of the island, which may not be near many people’s accommodation.
Location: Old Phuket Town, Mueang Phuket District
Price: Depends on what you do!

He Island & Banana Beach
You can take a traditional Thai longtail boat or a speedboat to the Banana Beach area of He Island (Koh Hey/Ko He) to snorkel, paddle board, or kayak. The trips tend to leave from Chalong Pier, and you generally get hotel pickup/dropoff included as part of your package.
Price: $$

James Bond or Phi Phi Island
There are a ton of speed boat tours that run from the marinas on the east side of Phuket island, featuring either James Bond Island or Phi Phi Island. Depending on the activities you’re interested in, they usually come with either snorkeling, paddle boarding, or kayaking as part of the excursion. Some also include visits to local fishing villages. The boat rides can be around an hour each way (depending on how many stops you have), so just be aware if you tend to get motion sickness!
Location: Various - e.g. Ao Po Grand Marina
Price: $$

Jet Skiing
You can rent jet skis from a few different major beaches in Phuket. You’ll need cash to pay, and make sure you try at least a bit to haggle with them!
Location: Various - e.g. Bang Tao Beach (near Catch Beach Club), Patong Beach
Price: $$$

Food & Drink in Phuket

Shameena Restaurant and Lounge
A tasty, local Thai restaurant in the Naithon Beach area, about a 5-minute walk away from the Pullman hotel.
Location: Naithon Beach 23/13, Sakhu, Phuket
Price: $

Tawai Thai Cuisine
Just another good, local Thai restaurant, set outdoors in the Laguna/Boat Avenue area. Would recommend the wing bean salad, tom kha gai, or any of the curries. Bring cash to pay. 
Location: 15/1 Lagoon Rd (near Boat Avenue)
Price: $ 

Prodepran Restaurant & Bar
Small Thai restaurant in a convenient location in the Laguna/Boat Avenue area. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, but it’s quite a small place, so would suggest making a reservation if you want to sit indoors. Would recommend the pork ribs and fried fish. 
Location: 49/83, โปรดปราน (near Boat Avenue) 
Price: $-$$

Tukabkhao
Really delicious, slightly more upscale Thai restaurant in Porto de Phuket mall in the Laguna/Boat Avenue area. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, but either way, would suggest that you make a reservation ahead of time as it can get very busy. Would recommend the whole fried fish.
Location: 116 Bandon-Cherngtalay Rd, Tambon Choeng Thale
Price: $-$$

Catch Beach Club
A more upscale beach club, right on Bang Tao beach! They have their dining spaces set up outdoors with several different food options, including brunches and BBQs depending on the day. Day passes are also available, so that you can spend the day on a sun lounger in their private space on the beach.
Location: 202/88, Choeng Thale
Price: $$-$$$

Carpe Diem
Another more upscale beach club, a bit further down Bang Tao beach. The dining space is not directly on the beach, but is open/outdoors with a great view of the ocean. Different brunches and music events are also available if you look at their website. 
Location: 99/1 Bangtao Beach Road, Choeng Thale
Price: $$-$$$

Activities in Bangkok

National Museum Bangkok
For those of you who like museums, we would suggest that this is the first cultural thing you do in Bangkok. It provides a great overview of the different eras of Thai history and the founding of Bangkok, and having that context makes all of the other cultural stuff even more interesting! 
Location: 4 Na Phra That Road, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Khet Phra Nakhon 
Price: $

Grand Palace
It is definitely grand, given that it was previously the residence of the kings of Siam. The ticket for the Grand Palace also includes entry to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which is a few minutes walk away, and to a traditional Khon dance show (which has air conditioning!).
Location: Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon
Price: $

Wat Pho
There are so many different wats (temples) in Bangkok, but Wat Pho is one of the largest, most popular, and was our personal favorite. It’s also the home of the giant reclining Buddha!
Location: 2 Sanam Chai Rd, Khwaeng Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Khet Phra Nakhon
Price: $

Ayutthaya 
Ayutthaya was the ancient capital of Thailand, and its ruins are now a major tourist attraction. It’s located about 1.5 hours outside of Bangkok, and some tours also stop at Bang Pa-In on the way there, which was the royal summer palace. You can find many different tours organised online, or ask at your hotel concierge.
Location: 196 หมู่ที่ 4 Khlong Tho Rd, Pratu Chai Sub-district, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District
Price: Can vary depending on whether you book a large group tour or a small private one. But even the private tours aren’t particularly pricey. 

Maliwan Thai Cooking Class
In case you don’t have time in Phuket (or are looking for a slightly less expensive version), we would definitely recommend taking this class. Our guide was really knowledgeable and answered all of our questions about Thai produce when we toured the wet market, and then we got to cook a ton of great food.
Location: 9 Thanon Sap Sam Hang, Taladyod Phra Nakhon, Bangkok
Price: $-$$

Food & Drink in Bangkok

TEP Bar
This bar celebrates Thailand - it looks Thai, they sometimes have traditional Thai musicians playing live, and they make their drinks with local ingredients and liquors. It’s also located in a neighborhood with a couple of other fun bars, so a good place to go if you want to do a mini bar crawl.
Location: 69, 71 Yi Sip Song Karakadakhom 4 Alley, Pom Prap, Pom Prap Sattru Phai
Price: $$

Moon Bar
Very cool bar at the top of the Banyan Tree Hotel, with a great view of the entire city. It’s definitely pricey for Thailand, but compared to any major city in the UK or US, it’s still quite reasonable!
Location: 21, 100 S Sathon Rd, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon
Price: $$-$$$

Saawaan
If you’re looking for a special occasion meal, this is probably the most affordable Michelin-starred tasting menu you could ever find! Saawaan showcases Thai flavours, ingredients, and cooking techniques for a really fun experience. Definitely look to book a few weeks ahead of time if you’re interested in coming. They are also very accommodating to dietary restrictions, so make sure to flag those. 
Location: 39/19, Soi Suanplu, Sathorn Road Thung Maha Mek, Sathon
Price: $$$

Tookpak Restaurant
Nothing particularly unique about this place, just a really tasty restaurant which is indoors with air conditioning, but still inexpensive. Would recommend their crab fried rice and Milo roti dessert. 
Location: 811, 813 Rama I Rd, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan
Price: $$

Other Tips for Traveling in Thailand

Getting Around
If you plan on renting a car or scooter at any point, you will need to get an International Driving Permit beforehand. If you do rent a scooter, make sure to wear a helmet and be very careful! Unfortunately there are scooter crashes quite often (especially with foreigners).

Taxis do sometimes take advantage of tourists - we would suggest using the rideshare app Grab or booking set-price taxis through your hotel where you can. You can use Grab to book rideshares, like with Uber, but you can also use this to book GrabTaxis, which are just normal taxis which use Grab to find customers. By using GrabTaxis, you will only ever need to pay what was estimated to you on the app, and the driver doesn’t set the price themselves/cannot change it later. In Bangkok, there is also a nice metro/subway system, which we would certainly recommend that you use where possible, because traffic in Bangkok can be a nightmare!

Cash
Keep in mind that you’ll likely use cash much more often in Thailand than at home. For example, small local restaurants often only take cash payments. Also, small cash tips are expected for tour guides.

There is a 220 THB charge (about £5/$6) each time you withdraw cash at an ATM from a foreign account. This applies across Thailand, regardless of how much you’re withdrawing. We would suggest you either bring cash with you to exchange at the airport, or withdraw relatively large amounts of cash each time you must do so (but keep it safe!)