Prefer temples and mountains instead? Our 10-day Thailand itinerary for the north covers Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pai on the same timeline. Both routes start in Bangkok; which one you pick from there comes down to warm water and a slower pace versus culture and cooler evenings.
| Duration | 10 days / 9 nights |
| Route | Bangkok → Koh Samui → Koh Phangan |
| Budget per day | ฿900-1,300 backpacker (€24-35) · ฿3,000-4,500 mid-range (€80-120) |
| Best time | February to April, or June to September. Avoid October to December: the Gulf's wettest months |
| Book ahead | Bangkok to Koh Samui flights around Full Moon dates, when fares climb fast |
| Stippl tip | Most travellers plan about 3 nights per stop, so 10 days works out to 3 real stops, not 5 |
Budget
€20–30
dorm or fan room, street food, buses and ferries, occasional day trip
Mid-range
€55–90
private room with pool, restaurant meals, domestic flights, guided activities
High-end
€180+
resorts and boutique hotels, private transfers, diving and premium tours
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Bangkok
Two to three days covers Bangkok's headline sights without over-allocating time to a city most travellers are glad to trade for the coast.
Day 1Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Chinatown
Start at the Grand Palace when it opens at 8:30am, before the tour buses. It's a ten-minute walk to Wat Pho next door for the 46-metre reclining Buddha, then a three-baht cross-river ferry to Wat Arun for sunset over the Chao Phraya. After dark, head to Chinatown (Yaowarat): it's the country's best street-food district, and it only really comes alive once the sun goes down.
Day 2Khlongs, Chatuchak, rooftop bars
A longtail boat tour through the khlongs (canals) in the morning shows a Bangkok most visitors miss entirely: stilt houses, vendor boats, monitor lizards. If it's a weekend, spend the afternoon at Chatuchak, the country's biggest market at around 15,000 stalls. In the evening, go up: Bangkok has more than fifty rooftop bars, and the sunset hour is worth planning around (see our full guide to Bangkok's rooftop bars for which ones are worth the elevator ride).
Day 3Cooking class, then the flight south
A half day before you fly south. A Thai cooking class or a proper massage both work well as a low-key morning.
Stay near a BTS or MRT stop: Sukhumvit is the easiest first-timer base with direct transport links, Silom balances nightlife with location, and Banglamphu (a street or two back from Khao San, not on it) is the budget pick. Bangkok's heat and traffic make walking between areas impractical, so proximity to the train line matters more than which hotel you pick.
Read more: things to do in Bangkok
Koh Samui, easy islands with real infrastructure
Fly direct from Bangkok, about 1 hour 10 minutes, for 2,600-5,800 THB one way (roughly €70-155). Koh Samui is the only major Thai island with its own airport, which makes this the smoothest transfer of the whole trip: no ferry, no connecting bus.
Day 4Arrive on Koh Samui
Arrive and settle in. Chaweng is the obvious first-timer base for nightlife and centrality; Choeng Mon or Bophut suit a quieter, family-friendlier stay, both 15 to 20 minutes from the airport.
Day 5The temple circuit, then Chaweng
The northeast temple circuit, done early before the tour buses: the Big Buddha (Wat Phra Yai), Wat Plai Laem's floating temple, and Wat Khunaram, all free to visit. Spend the afternoon on Chaweng or Lamai beach.
Day 6Ang Thong by boat
Ang Thong National Marine Park is the island's number-one day trip: 42 limestone islands reachable only by an approved tour boat, with snorkelling, kayaking and a viewpoint climb. A big-boat day runs 8 to 9 hours for €29-40 (1,100-1,500 ฿), plus a €8 (300 ฿) park fee that most operators don't include in the headline price. It's closed from 1 November to mid-December, so check before booking a room around those dates.
Day 7Waterfalls, the interior, a night market
Explore the interior by scooter: the Na Muang waterfalls, the hand-built Secret Buddha Garden, and sunset on the quieter west coast at Lipa Noi. In the evening, follow whichever night market is on: Fisherman's Village in Bophut is the flagship, running its walking street on Friday evenings.
Read more: things to do on Koh Samui
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Koh Phangan, the calmer side of the Gulf trio
A fast boat from Koh Samui (Bangrak or Maenam pier) to Thong Sala takes 20 to 35 minutes and costs €8-11 (300-420 ฿). There's no airport on Koh Phangan at all; every arrival comes by sea.
Where you base yourself matters more here than almost anywhere else in Thailand: Haad Rin, in the south, is the Full Moon Party village, loud and crowded around the event and fairly quiet the rest of the month. If a big night out isn't the plan, Baan Tai or Baan Kai sit 15 minutes from the party scene without being in it, and the west coast beaches (Haad Yao, Haad Salad) or the wellness quarter at Srithanu are genuinely calm, 30 to 50 minutes' drive from Haad Rin.
Day 8West coast beaches, or Full Moon
A beach day on the west coast: calm water, low-tide sandbanks, and sunset views the east coast doesn't get. If you time your trip around the Full Moon Party instead, check the exact date on fullmoonpartythailand.com rather than a generic calendar: the dates shift when a full moon falls on a major Buddhist holy day, and entry is €5.50 (200 ฿), cash only, at the gate.
Day 9Chaloklum and the Koh Ma sandbar
A scooter loop north to Chaloklum, a working fishing village, and the Koh Ma sandbar walk at low tide, where the sea splits to let you walk out to a small islet. It's a different island from the one the party reputation suggests.
Day 10Boat back to Samui, fly out
Boat back to Koh Samui and fly out, or take the cheaper bus-and-ferry combination via Surat Thani if you have a later flight and want to save the fare difference.
Read more: things to do on Koh Phangan
Getting between stops
| From | To | Best option | Time and cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangkok | Koh Samui | Direct flight | ~1h 10 · €70-155 (2,600-5,800 ฿) |
| Koh Samui | Koh Phangan | Fast boat from Bangrak or Maenam | 20-35 min · €8-11 (300-420 ฿) |
| Koh Phangan | Koh Samui | Fast boat back to Thong Sala | 20-35 min · €8-11 (300-420 ฿) |
Turn these stops into a route
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Practical tips for 10 days in the islands
Book Bangkok to Koh Samui flights early, especially around Full Moon dates. Koh Samui's airport is privately run with limited daily capacity, and fares climb sharply in the weeks around a party date.
Match the season to the coast. The Gulf islands run on their own calendar: good February to April and again June to September, worst October to December, when Koh Phangan alone can take almost half its annual rain in a single month.
Withdraw cash in one go. ATM fees run €7-9 (250-350 ฿) per withdrawal across Thailand, and the islands are cash-first for boats, scooters and market stalls.
The Full Moon Party is easy to avoid if it's not your thing. It's confined to one beach, one night a month; the rest of Koh Phangan, or Koh Samui instead, is genuinely calm.
Check the Ang Thong closure dates before you book Koh Samui nights around it. The park shuts from 1 November to mid-December every year, which removes the island's best day trip from the calendar.
Plan this route
Ready to build this route properly? Add Bangkok, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, and the transfers between them, to a Stippl trip, and the app lays out the days and the travel times for you. Free forever.
Read next: the 10 day north route if the mountains tempt you more than the Gulf, Koh Samui vs Phuket if you are still choosing an island, Thailand in November before you fix the dates, since this coast dries out later than the Andaman side, and where to stay in Bangkok for the night either side of the flight.
There is more to find — browse the map in Stippl and save what you like straight to your trip.
Frequently asked questions about Thailand
For one direction, yes. Most travellers who plan with Stippl spend about three nights per stop, so 10 days comfortably covers three stops: exactly this route. Adding the north on top would leave barely two rushed nights per place.
Bangkok, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, in that order: three days in the city, four on Samui, three on Phangan. Samui's own airport makes the first transfer easy, and the short boat to Phangan afterwards keeps the second one simple too.
Roughly ฿900-1,300 (€24-35) a day backpacker style, or ฿3,000-4,500 (€80-120) mid-range, excluding international flights. Both islands sit above mainland prices for rooms and food.
Yes, at least once: Bangkok to Koh Samui has no realistic overland alternative worth the time. The hop from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan afterwards is a short boat, not a flight.
Islands for beaches, warmer water and a slower pace, at a higher daily cost. If temples, mountains and a tighter budget sound better, our north version of this itinerary covers Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pai on the same 10-day timeline.
