5 Days Bangkok Trip Itinerary

Here’s our much awaited 5 days Bangkok Trip Itinerary which is a part of our 14 days Thailand trip. As a part of this trip, we initially spent 5 days in Bangkok, exploring the city and doing day trips to nearby places like one to Pattaya and another one from Bangkok to Ayutthaya. And then we did 2 days trip to Sukhothai, wherein we explored the Sukhothai Historical Park one day. Further we spent 5 days in Chiang Mai, doing a walking tour of the Chiang Mai Old City, doing day trip to Doi Suthep & Umbrella making artist village as well as another day trip to Doi Inthanon, visiting the night markets of Chiang Mai, enjoying Thai cuisines & welcoming the new year.

Our Accommodation during our Thailand trip

Wondering where to stay in Thailand on your trip? This is the detail of hotels that we stayed in:

Bangkok: Hotel Evergreen Place Siam (Link to book: Agoda, booking.com)

Sukhothai: Sabai Sabai Sukhothai (Link to book: Agoda)

Chiang Mai: The Empire Residence Nimman (Link to book: Agoda, booking.com)

The hotels in Bangkok and Chiang Mai were both at excellent location, and had all amenities including equipped kitchen. The one in Sukhothai – Sabai Sabai, was far from the Sukhothai Historical Park. But it was a beautiful and expansive resort at a very reasonable price.

 

 

Having said that, let me narrate here about 5 days Bangkok trip itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Bangkok

We booked a morning 9:00am Indigo flight from Bangalore to Bangkok. It arrived in Bangkok by 2:40pm. We flew during daytime because we thought it will be easier with the kids and our parents too. For the same reasons, we obtained e Visa on Arrival by applying online via VFS a week before our travel. ( If you are undecided which visa to take while visiting Thailand or how to apply for one, we are soon going to write our complete guide on how to obtain Thailand visa for Indians ).

PS:Although we flew in daytime, you can take a night flight if your family is likely to sleep through the flight. Advantage of night flight is that you might have a good amount of time at hand to start exploring places the day you arrive in Bangkok.

 

Indigo didn’t give us the Thailand arrival card to fill. So, we thought it is not required. But, actually it is. We had to step out of the e VOA queue, fill the form and then again get into the end of the queue, which delayed us by another 40 minutes. You can easily save this time by pre-filling your Thailand arrival card.

Nevertheless, after arriving at the airport, we followed the signboards  that finally led us to the VOA and e-VOA counters. There, by the time our e-VOA was examined and passports stamped, it was over 4:00pm. Thereafter, we took a metered taxi to our hotel. (Future read: Where to stay in Bangkok to know more about why we chose to stay at Hotel Evergreen Place and it’s locality).

Checkin into Hotel Evergreen Place Siam by UHG

The checkin was fast. We were traveling with our parents and kids. The hotel upgraded us to a family suite at no extra charge which was really convenient for us. After settling down into our rooms and resting for a while, we ventured out in the neighborhood, in search of dinner. However, being tired of the journey today, we didn’t explore much. And settled for simple veg pizzas that we got from the nearby mall – MBK Center Siam.

I will rate Hotel Evergreen Place as the best family hotel in Siam, Bangkok. And also, top amongst the best hotels in Bangkok for Indian families. Whether you are looking for best place to stay in Bangkok with toddler or best place to stay in Bangkok for shopping, this hotel will qualify for each. It was definitely perfect for us on our 5 days Bangkok Trip Itinerary.

Also, if you have time to explore places on the day of your arrival, we recommend you take this trip to the Sea life Bangkok ocean world, which is very similar to the SEA Aquarium that we had previously visited on our trip to Singapore. It will be super exciting for kids. Or, this tour to the famous floating market near Bangkok that we couldn’t go to.

 

Day 2: Exploring Bangkok

Today we explored the attractions of Bangkok including the Grand Palace, the temples at it’s premises including the famous Emerald Buddha Temple, Ramayana Stage Show and Wat Arun. Before leaving the hotel, we installed “Grab” app in our mobile phones to be able to use grab taxis for hopping between the places. Although, fascinated to try a tuk tuk, we took one from our hotel to the Grand Palace Bangkok.

Do remember that the tuk tuk (a form of autorickshaw) will initially ask for more than double the actual price you should be paying. And be ready to bargain hard before hopping in. After exploring all the places, when it was time to return to our hotel, we found it hard to book a tuk tuk. As owing to the evening timing, their ask had gone further up. So, we booked a grab taxi and reached our hotel in about 30 minutes from near the premises of Wat Arun.

To travel Hassle free across Bangkok, we highly recommend you take this Bangkok hop on hop off bus ticket. Also, to hop across the sites located on bank of the river you can take this excellent and very economical boat hop on hop off ticket.  And if you are in to spend a little more for a memorable experience, we highly recommend this trip for today: Bangkok in one day which will take you on a guided tour across Bangkok sites, that will also help you understand the history of the place.

 

Thereafter, once again, we went to MBK Center food court to get some dinner. And today, we ate Indian food from one of the stalls in the food court. Indian food is pricier than local Thai food. But, if you are a vegetarian you will need it once in a while to keep your taste buds satisfied. Because there is really very limited vegetarian food option in Thailand. Although I was paranoid about getting vegetarian food when I had done 2 weeks trip to Europe. But after visiting Thailand I feel it was breeze finding vegetarian food in Europe. Across Rome, Florence & Venice in Italy, Lucerne, Bern, Interlaken, Grindelwald in Switzerland, Paris & Amsterdam, I could easily find one or the other vegetarian food option. Here is our vegetarian survival guide for Thailand, for my vegetarian readers.

Day 3: Bangkok to Ayutthaya

On the third day of our 5 days Bangkok trip itinerary we did a guided day trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya. With a pre-booked van, it took around 2 hours to reach Ayutthaya. We started exploring the historical park of Ayutthaya starting with Wat Mahathat. One of the first things we saw was the famous buddha head trapped in a tree. And then we went through several of the temples in the historical park. After coming out of this zone, we moved to the one adjacent to it and explored that as well. Thereafter we had lunch. Post lunch we visited the Ayutthaya city park complex to see the famous reclining buddha in Ayutthaya. Post this, we returned back to Bangkok. We reached our hotel by around 7:00pm, picked dinner from MBK Mall food court and then came to our rooms.

Here’s the complete details of our Bangkok to Ayutthaya day trip

Day 4: Bangkok to Pattaya day trip

Sanctuary of Truth, Pattaya

Today, after an early and nice breakfast at our hotel, we set on Bangkok to Pattaya day trip. We started by 9:00am and reached Pattaya by 11:30am. Thereafter, we first visited the most famous attraction of Pattaya, the Sanctuary of Truth Pattaya. I really liked the place for radiating message of peace and harmony across all religions and faiths, and also for its various quotes and messages of wisdom “shown” through depictions in the form of beautiful carvings. We took a guided tour of the Sanctuary of Truth. Post which, we had lunch at the same premises, overlooking the Sanctuary of Truth alongside the beautiful blue sea.

Koh Lan Island from Pattaya

Next we went to spend some time on the Pattaya beach. Our original plan was to visit the Koh Lan Island and it’s beautiful beach. But being with kids slowed us down. So, we dropped that plan and settled for Pattaya beach. But I found the beach to be very ordinary. Particularly when compared with the likes of Radhanagar Beach and Vijaynagar beach in Andaman Islands where we had visited just couple of months back. So, we highly recommend visiting the Koh Lan Island by taking a ferry from the Pattaya beach.

 

 

Big Buddha & Mountain Buddha Temples

The next stop on Pattaya day trip should be the famous big buddha temple. Finally, we visited the buddha mountain in Pattaya which has an excellent big buddha image drawn over a hill using laser technique. The area around the hill is very well landscaped with lush green lawns and provision to sit on stones and benches. From here, we departed back to Bangkok. We reached back by 8:00pm. To our surprise, most of the restaurants and food counters in the food courts of malls were either already shut down , or preparing to close. So, we finally settled for some steam rice and a veg curry from one Indian restaurant.

Recommended trips to choose from and book for this day:

private transfer and explore Pattaya at your own pace

2 days tour from Bangkok to Pattaya with private transfers and sightseeing.

Bangkok to Pattaya city and Koh Larn Island trip

Day 5: Back to exploring Bangkok

On this day of our 5 days Bangkok trip Itinerary, our initial plan was to take this day trip to Erawan National Park. But since we did 3 consecutive days of sightseeing in and around Bangkok already. So, we decided to keep this day light and stay back in Bangkok only. We started the morning leisurely today, waking up little late, followed by a hearty breakfast from the lavish breakfast spread at our hotel. Thereafter, we got ready and some of us went to explore the Thai Silk collection at Jim Thompson House & Museum which was at walking distance from our hotel.

The premises consisted of a museum that depicts the life of Jim Thomson and his journey of pioneering the Thai Silk, a few cafes are there on the premises and a big boutique store. The store contains lots of silk and cotton items to buy including wallets, pouches, bags, dresses, scarves, table runners, cushion covers etc. The quality is great, and the prices are high. Did I buy anything? No. And perhaps I am done of buying silk in this lifetime. Since, I witnessed the process of silk thread extraction in Jim Thompson House & Museum. And it appeared pretty gruesome to me! Google about it if you don’t already know how silk threads are extracted.

 

 

We highly recommend this guided tour to Jim Thompson House. From here, we went to MBK Mall for lunch. And then returned back to our hotel for taking some rest. Thereafter, we packed for the next day when we had to say good bye to Bangkok. And take up further journey from Bangkok to Sukhothai. If you have time post visiting Jim Thompson House, go for this Thai spa treatment end of the day, which will definitely be a perfect end to your 5 days Bangkok trip itinerary, which I was planning to take but had to drop due to time constraint.

Summary of our original 5 days Bangkok Trip Itinerary

 

Tips on visiting Bangkok

• If your visit to Thailand is less than 15 days, you can get e VOA or VOA (Visa on Arrival) for Thailand.
• Pack comfortable and light cotton cloths, as the climate is hot and humid in Bangkok and around.
• Install “Grab” for taxi, “Happy Cow” for vegetarian food options if you are a vegetarian & Google Translate as most of the local people don’t speak fluent english, particularly outside of Bangkok.
• You can book day trips and taxis from your hotel or local agencies, no need to book in advance. Even in the peak season, rates are the same all across, and bargainings also happen.
• When visiting temples, dress modestly, with your legs and shoulders covered.
• You might have to take off your shoes before entering inside some of the temples.
• Don’t do Buddha tattoo, or, take a picture with your back turned towards Buddha. Don’t buy buddha and other idols, as you will not be allowed to carry them out of the country.
• I found Siam to be a good locality to stay for families with restaurants, grocery stores and malls all nearby. There, we had a wonderful experience staying in Evergreen Place Siam by UHG.
• Bangkok is generally safe. Take the safe precautions that you would take back home. Venturing out till late at night is not a problem. Beware of pickpockets in crowded areas.
• If shopping from night markets or taking tuk tuk or metered taxis, remember to bargain. They always quote higher price. And can come down to 50% of what they originally quote.
• End of the year will be best time to travel to Bangkok with least hot weather.
• THB is generally accepted currency. Although exchange centers are available all over Bangkok. Also, keep some change handy for street side vendors, taxis and tuk tuks while you can exchange bigger currencies like 1000 THB note at hotels, restaurants and in shopping malls.

Things to pack for your Bangkok trip

• Few light cotton dresses, shorts, tops, scarves and longer trousers for temple visits. (Ref: Packing tips and tricks to pack like a pro)
• Light shoes or slip ons, comfortable to walk in.
• Sunscreen, sunglasses, hat and umbrella.
• Your travel documents, passport, hotel booking confirmation, return air tickets.
• Emergency contact numbers.
• A travel adaptor to use with your phone chargers and any other electronic devices.
• Over the counter medicines.

Pretty much it! rest everything you can get in Bangkok, it’s a metropolitan city.

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