Thailand had been on my list for a long time, and for my first trip I wanted to experience several very different sides of the country.

We travelled as a family, beginning in Bangkok before heading north to Chiang Mai and finishing with a few days of relaxation in Koh Samui. It was an ambitious itinerary and, although we loved the trip, one of my biggest takeaways is that Thailand deserves considerably more time than we gave it.

Bangkok in particular completely won me over. I am very much a city girl, so the food, energy, temples, shopping and sheer number of things to discover made it my favourite part of the trip.

Would I follow exactly the same itinerary again? Not quite.

But for a first introduction to Thailand, it gave us an incredible mix of food, culture, temples, cities and beach time.

Thailand at a Glance

Route: Bangkok to Chiang Mai to Koh Samui to Bangkok

Trip length: 10 nights

Best for: First-time visitors, families, food lovers and travellers looking for a mix of culture and relaxation

Our favourite stop: Bangkok

Don't miss: A private Chinatown food tour, Thai cooking class, Wat Pha Lat, Samui Elephant Sanctuary and, frankly, as much Thai food as possible

One thing we'd change: Stay longer

Our trip began with Bangkok, followed by Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and one final return to Bangkok before flying home.

Bangkok

We spent our first 3 nights in Bangkok, and it was fantastic.

It was loud, busy, hot, delicious and completely fascinating. We packed a huge amount into our few days there, but I left feeling as though we had barely scratched the surface.

If I were planning the trip again, I would absolutely give Bangkok more time.

There are the obvious first-time sights, but there is also an incredible food scene, shopping, contemporary art and entire neighbourhoods we simply didn't have enough time to explore.

Where We Stayed: Casa Vimaya Bangkok

We chose Casa Vimaya Bangkok because the price was right and, most importantly, the location made sense for a first visit. It put us within easy reach of many of the major sights we wanted to see.

The hotel itself looked better online than it did in person. The rooms were fairly standard and, personally, I tend to prefer something a little more luxurious.

That said, it was extremely clean, the staff were incredibly friendly and the breakfast was excellent.

One particularly nice touch, especially when travelling with children, was the complimentary drinks, treats and ice cream available in the lobby throughout the day.

Would I stay there again on a couples' trip? Probably not.

Would I recommend it to families or first-time visitors looking for a clean, friendly and conveniently located base for seeing Bangkok's major sights? Absolutely.

For a future trip, I would love to try Praya Palazzo, which came highly recommended by a friend but was fully booked for our dates.

What to Do in Bangkok

The Grand Palace

For a first visit to Bangkok, the Grand Palace absolutely deserves a place on the itinerary.

We hired a guide, which I would highly recommend. Without one you can certainly appreciate the beauty of the buildings and grounds, but having someone explain the history, symbolism and importance of the Thai royal family gave us a much deeper understanding of what we were seeing.

We also deliberately went early in the morning before the worst of the heat and crowds, which was definitely the right decision.

The cost of the visit is 500 Baht (approximately 13 EUR) and takes a couple of hours. With the same ticket you can also visit Wat Phra Kaew and Queen Sirikit Museum of Textile, which are located inside the Grand Palace grounds. Also the Grand Palace as well as the other temples are sacred places and so dressing appropriately is required and highly monitored (no shorts, sleeveless tops, tight leggings etc).

Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha

Wat Pho was perhaps even more impressive.

The Reclining Buddha is enormous and genuinely breathtaking when you first see it.

One of the experiences I especially loved was buying coins and dropping them into the row of 108 bowls, making a wish or prayer as you go through each bowl.

It was such a simple thing, but somehow incredibly memorable and one of those quiet travel moments that will stay with me.

Lunch at Rongros

We booked Rongros for lunch after visiting the Grand Palace, which worked perfectly from a logistical perspective because it is right by the river and very close to the temples so we could easily visit Wat Pho after lunch.

The setting is beautiful and the views are excellent. The food was good too.

But would I call it an essential Bangkok restaurant? Probably not.

It is considerably more expensive than so many other places we ate in Thailand, and one of the joys of travelling here is that you can eat remarkably well almost anywhere.

You are paying in part for the location and the view.

I would recommend it if you want a comfortable, beautiful lunch stop during a temple day, but I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way for the food alone.

A Thai Cooking Class

On our second day, we had one of our favourite experiences in Bangkok, a Thai cooking class at White Lotus Thai Cooking School.

The experience was supposed to include a visit to the flower market, but this happened to be the one day during our trip when rainy season really made itself known. It absolutely poured, so we weren't able to do the market portion.

Honestly, it didn't matter. The cooking class was super fun and we learned how to make some incredible Thai dishes.

There were only eight people in the group, everyone prepared and cooked their own dishes and there was an almost ridiculous amount of food to enjoy afterwards.

We also learned how to fold a white lotus, which was such a lovely little addition, and at the end everyone received the recipes, a certificate with their name written in Thai and the Lotus flower we folded.

It felt personal, hands-on and genuinely fun rather than like a large tourist demonstration. I would highly recommend this experience.

A Private Chinatown Food Tour

This was one of the best experiences of our entire trip. We deliberately booked a private tour, and this is one occasion where I think paying more for the private experience was completely worth it.

Bangkok's Chinatown is overwhelming in the best possible way. There are locals and tourists everywhere, restaurants, street-food stalls, unfamiliar dishes, smells, noise and an endless number of things you want to try.

Without a guide, it would have been incredibly difficult to know where to start.

Because the tour was private, we could move at our own pace and also tell her which foods we particularly wanted to try. She could adapt the experience around us rather than following a rigid route. She also had many recommendations that we never would have chosen for ourselves. Now when we go back to Bangkok, we will have enough knowledge to tackle the market ourselves.

We also had her full attention throughout the evening, which made the experience feel much more personal. We tasted so many different foods and felt as though we were genuinely discovering Chinatown rather than simply wandering through it.

For a first trip to Bangkok, this would be very high on my list.

Our tour began in Chinatown in the evening, which was a great time to experience the area at its busiest and most atmospheric.

Dinner at TAAN

At the other end of the food spectrum was TAAN, where we celebrated my son's 16th birthday. It was expensive, especially for Thailand.

Our dinner came to around €500, which gives you some perspective when you consider that throughout Thailand we regularly ate fantastic meals for around 80 baht a dish, or approximately €2. But even so, TAAN was worth it.

Everything from the view to the staff, service, creativity and cooking was exceptional. It was on par with many Michelin-level restaurants we have eaten at elsewhere.

My partner chose the wine pairing, and one of the most interesting aspects was that the wines were all Thai.

That made the pairing another way of discovering Thailand rather than simply adding imported European wines to the meal.

It is certainly not how you need to eat in Thailand to eat incredibly well, but for a celebration or special occasion, I would absolutely recommend it.

A Long-Tail Boat Tour

We also booked a private two-hour long-tail boat tour through Bangkok.

I am slightly torn on this one. Being out on the water and experiencing Bangkok from a traditional long-tail boat was fun, and I do think seeing the city from the canals is worthwhile.

What I would change is how we booked it. There wasn't really any advantage to paying extra for a private tour because our driver didn't speak English and couldn't explain anything about what we were seeing. It ended up feeling more like a private boat ride than a guided tour.

I probably would do a long-tail boat again, but next time I would either choose a less expensive shared option or specifically book a tour that includes an English-speaking guide who can give some context along the way.

Shopping in Bangkok

One of my regrets was simply not having enough time to shop.

We did manage to explore Siam Square, which was great for discovering Thai and local brands alongside more familiar international names. But on another trip I would dedicate considerably more time to both shopping and contemporary art.

Bangkok is not a city where I would rush through the main sights and move on.

There is simply too much happening.

Chiang Mai

After Bangkok, we flew to Chiang Mai which felt completely different. The pace was slower, the Old City was much easier to wander and the temples felt more peaceful and intimate. By the time we arrived we were also exhausted, so Chiang Mai became a slightly gentler part of our trip.

Where We Stayed: Phor Liang Meun Terracotta Arts Hotel

We stayed at Phor Liang Meun Terracotta Arts Hotel, right in Chiang Mai's Old City.

The hotel itself is beautiful. The staff were lovely and breakfast was excellent, with a mix of Thai food alongside eggs and other familiar options. Every morning our cappuccinos arrived with a different adorable design, which became one of those small details we all looked forward to.

For this trip, particularly travelling with children, it worked extremely well.

For a future adults-only visit, though, I would love to stay at The Inside House, which had been my original choice but was unfortunately fully booked.

Chiang Mai's Old City

One of the nicest things about Chiang Mai is that you don't necessarily need a rigid sightseeing itinerary. We spent time simply wandering the Old City, visiting temples, cafés, boutiques and quiet side streets along the way. We visited Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh,

After the enormous, busy sights of Bangkok, the temples in Chiang Mai felt much more relaxed. There was less sense of moving through a checklist of attractions and more of simply discovering beautiful places as we wandered.

Wat Pha Lat & Doi Suthep

We had originally planned to travel up to Doi Suthep in one of Chiang Mai's traditional red songthaews. That plan changed fairly quickly. Between the lack of air conditioning, sitting in the open back of the truck, my tendency to get carsick and the very winding road up the mountain, I decided I was simply too old for that particular adventure.

Instead, we arranged a more comfortable trip through our hotel.

It turned out to be a fantastic decision because the hotel recommended adding a stop at Wat Pha Lat on the way up. And Wat Pha Lat ended up being my favourite temple of the entire trip. Hidden amongst the forest on the mountain, it felt completely different from the grand temples we had visited elsewhere. There was something magical about walking through the greenery and discovering the temple amongst the trees.

It was peaceful, beautiful and one of those unexpected places that ends up becoming far more memorable than the attraction you originally set out to see.

From there we continued to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Doi Suthep is undoubtedly impressive and very much worth visiting, but personally, Wat Pha Lat was the highlight of the day.

Shopping in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai was fantastic for shopping. We explored local boutiques, fabric shops and markets, including the Chang Moi area and Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.

This was where we really began discovering Thai designers and smaller local brands.

For anyone who loves textiles, fashion, crafts or independent shops, I would intentionally leave room in your itinerary for shopping rather than treating it as something to squeeze in between temples.

Get a Thai Massage

Our first Thai massage was in Chiang Mai at Come Ma Massage. I don't think any of us entirely understood what we were signing up for. We were stretched, twisted and pounded on for almost two hours. And I have rarely felt better in my life. It was incredible. Highly recommended.

Where to Eat in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai Night Market

Some of our favourite meals weren't formal restaurant reservations at all. Eating at the night market was one of the joys of Chiang Mai: casual, inexpensive and delicious.

It reinforced something we felt again and again throughout Thailand. Some of the best eating experiences are also the simplest ones.

Dash Teak House

Another favourite was Dash Teak House, a family-run restaurant in Chiang Mai.

It was exactly the kind of relaxed, memorable meal that felt right for the city and somewhere I would happily recommend.

Koh Samui

After Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Koh Samui had one job: Relaxtion!

We deliberately planned these days around the beach, swimming pool, massages and very little else, apart from one experience I particularly wanted to include.

And honestly, we needed it.

Where We Stayed: The Culture Samui

The Culture Samui is a beautiful property, but I have mixed feelings about our stay.

We had booked two sea-view rooms. When we arrived, however, both rooms looked directly onto a tree and wall rather than the sea. When I raised it at check-in, the woman helping us repeatedly insisted that they were sea-view rooms. Eventually we asked for the issue to be escalated to the manager. The following morning, the manager was extremely nice and moved us into the correct rooms. However, had we not pushed the issue, I'm not convinced anything would have changed. There was also no particular gesture made to acknowledge that we had spent the first night in rooms below the category we had booked. Putting that aside, the resort itself is very attractive.

The pool is lovely and we succeeded in doing exactly what we had gone to Koh Samui to do: relax, swim and spend a few days doing very little.

I'm not sure I would personally return, mainly because there was a younger, slightly more party-oriented atmosphere than I tend to look for in a relaxing hotel.

But we still enjoyed the stay.

Samui Elephant Sanctuary

This was one of the experiences I cared most about and it became one of the highlights of our entire trip. I love animals, and hearing the stories of what some of these elephants had endured before arriving at the sanctuary was heartbreaking.

It is difficult to understand how such beautiful, gentle animals can be treated so badly.

During our visit, we helped prepare their food and were then able to feed them.

It was magical.

They are enormous, calm and incredibly beautiful creatures, and you could really sense the affection the people at the sanctuary have for the elephants they care for.

What I appreciated most was being able to interact with them in a way that felt respectful.

After spending time with the elephants and learning more about their lives at the sanctuary, we were also served an excellent vegetarian lunch.

I would highly recommend visiting. More than that, I think places like this deserve support for the work they are doing to provide a safe future for elephants that have experienced abuse and exploitation.

Where to Eat in Koh Samui

Khao Horm

Our best restaurant discovery in Koh Samui came on our final night: Khao Horm.

Highly recommended. It was exactly the kind of restaurant we kept finding throughout Thailand: fantastic food without the inflated price tag or ceremony.

One thing to know is that Khao Hom was cash only. And that leads to one of my practical Thailand tips: Always Have Some Thai Baht With You

We came across enough restaurants, markets and smaller businesses that only accepted cash that I would always keep Thai Baht with you rather than assuming you can pay everywhere by card.

Travelling Around Thailand

For this itinerary, flying between destinations made the most sense. We flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, from Chiang Mai via Bangkok to Koh Samui, and finally from Koh Samui back to Bangkok before our international flight home.

For a relatively short trip, I wouldn't try to add another destination. Every transfer takes more time than the flight itself once you account for packing, getting to the airport, checking in, flying, collecting luggage and reaching another hotel. That was one of the lessons of this trip.

What We Would Do Differently

The biggest change would be simple: Stay longer.

For a first trip covering several different parts of Thailand, I now think two weeks should be the minimum. Ideally, I would give myself closer to three.

Bangkok alone deserved several additional days. I would want more time for restaurants, more shopping, contemporary art and simply exploring without feeling as though we needed to move onto the next destination.

I would absolutely return to Chiang Mai too. And while Koh Samui gave us exactly the pool-and-beach break we needed on this particular trip, next time I would probably choose somewhere different for the relaxing part of the holiday. Our route worked.

I just wouldn't do it quite so quickly.

Our Thailand Highlights

Narrowing this trip down to five highlights is almost impossible, but these were the experiences that stayed with us most:

Our private Chinatown food tour: The personal attention, ability to tailor what we tasted and access to food stalls we never would have discovered ourselves made this one of the best things we did.

The Thai cooking class: Hands-on, personal and genuinely fun.

Samui Elephant Sanctuary: Easily one of the most emotional and memorable experiences of the trip.

The temples: From the scale of Bangkok's Grand Palace and Reclining Buddha to discovering Wat Pha Lat amongst the trees in Chiang Mai.

The food: From night markets and 80-baht meals to our extraordinary birthday dinner at TAAN.

And honestly, swimming and doing absolutely nothing beside the pool in Koh Samui deserves a place too. So does our Thai massage. This is why I am terrible at top-five lists.

Is This a Good First-Time Thailand Itinerary? Yes.

But I would slow it down. Bangkok, Chiang Mai and a beach destination work beautifully together because they show you very different sides of Thailand.

Bangkok gave us energy, food, history and city life. Chiang Mai brought quieter temples, markets, local shopping and a slower pace. Koh Samui gave us the opportunity to stop.

What I wouldn't repeat is trying to experience all three quite so quickly.

Thailand is somewhere I would rather experience than complete.

Next time I would stay at least two weeks, preferably three, spend considerably longer in Bangkok and deliberately build in more time where absolutely nothing is planned.

Because after ten days of incredible food, temples, markets, cooking, elephants, massages, shopping, beaches and more food, the main thing I came home thinking was: I wasn't finished.