5 Days in Thailand: Phuket-Bangkok Travel Itinerary

Early 2016, I bumped into a seat sale promotion which perfectly coincided with my homecoming trip. I have been planning to bring the parents to Bangkok and Phuket has been in my travel bucketlist for so long; hence I took the cheap flight offer as a sign to make a family trip happen. 

Wanting to make the most of our less than a week stay in Thailand, I quickly jotted down a Phuket and Bangkok itinerary never really knowing if it's doable for our family or not. Thankfully, although it was quite a hectic schedule for the seniors, my itinerary worked!

Here's our Phuket - Bangkok 5-day tour itinerary.    

Day 1: Hello, Phuket!

00:30 - Arrival in Phuket International Airport

As expected, our flight from Manila was delayed for two hours. We were supposed to arrive in Phuket at 10:00 PM, but it was already half past midnight when our plane landed. It took us around 30 minutes at the passport control and baggage claim, and at 1 AM we were welcomed to Thailand by a man holding a placard with my name on it. Thank goodness he was still smiling despite the delay! 

I booked the two-way airport transfer at Phuket SRC Travel website for 1,400 THB (plus 200 THB due to early pick-up) during our travel date - March 2016. 

02:00 - Check-in at The Frutta Boutique in Patong

Patong is an hour drive from Phuket International Airport. It was already 2 in the morning when we checked-in at The Frutta Boutique. It is an affordable accommodation in the most touristy town of Phuket.

Read: Fruity, Budget-friendly Hotel in Phuket 

3 nights was at 1,800 THB / Standard Double Room for 2 people without breakfast

The Frutta Boutique

10:00 - Pick up for Phuket City Tour

After a few hours of sleep, we commenced our Thailand trip with a private Phuket city tour. We rented a family van for 6 hours and asked the driver to take us to the attractions we want to visit. 

I opted to book all our tours in Phuket at Phuket SRC Travel as it was more convenient for me in terms of communication. Their rates are pretty reasonable as well. 

For a flexible city tour itinerary, I paid 1,700 THB.

Here's our city tour schedule. 

For more details, kindly refer to this blog post: 10 Things To Do in Phuket

11:00 - Old Town Phuket

12:00 - Wat Chalong

13:30 -  Big Bhudda

14:30 - Lunch at Kan Eang@Pier

16:00 - Promthep Cape

17:00 - Karon Viewpoint

18:00 - Drop off in the hotel

We rest a little, then headed out for dinner.

20:00 - Bangla Road

We rode a tuktuk from The Frutta Boutique to Bangla Road to experience the infamous Phuket nightlife. 

One-way tuktuk fare: 200 THB

22:00 - Back to the hotel

Soi Romanee

The Golden Buddha near the Big Buddha in Nakkred Hills

Karon Viewpoint

Day 2: Phi Phi Island Hopping Tour


8:00 - Pick up at the hotel

It was time to cross out #8 in my 20 before 2020 list!

For more details, kindly refer to this blog post: Island Hopping in Koh Phi Phi.

8:30 - Royal Phuket Marina

9:00 - Departure to Phi Phi

10:00 - Maya Bay

11:00 - Viking Cave

11:30 - Monkey Beach

12:00 - Lunch at Phi Phi Don

14:00 - Snorkeling

15:00 - Khai Nok

16:30 - Back to Royal Phuket Marina

17:30 - Drop off at the hotel

This all-inclusive island hopping trip was at 1,800 THB per person.

18:30 - Patong Beach

It was our last day in Phuket; hence, we hurriedly went to Patong Beach to catch the sunset. It was then followed with a Thai street food dinner.

20:00 - Back to the hotel

Maya Bay

Koh Phi Phi

Day 3: Hello, Bangkok!

5:00 - Pick up at the hotel

8:00 - Flight to Bangkok via Nok Air

We flew from Phuket to Bangkok via Nok Air - a Thai domestic budget-airline. Service was excellent. Light snack was served on board without additional fee.  

9:30 - Arrival at Don Mueang International Airport

Unlike Phuket, I did not arrange an airport transfer in Bangkok as I have read that traveling to and from the airport is easy via public transportation. There is a designated taxi stand outside the airport. I simply showed our hotel address and the journey was a breeze.

Taxi rate is based on meter plus 50 THB airport surcharge. 

11:00 - Check in at Chang Siam Inn

Chang Siam Inn is a lovely and affordable accommodation in Makkasan. But based on our experience, I would rather not recommend it for those who will only spend two nights in Bangkok. The location is quite far from the BTS. It is 10 minutes by foot from Ratchaprarop station, then we had to take a train to Phaya Thai which is connected to Phaya Thai BTS. 

BTS is Bangkok Skytrain with two lines which run through the main attractions in the city. To ride the BTS, you need to purchase a Rabbit card for 80 THB plus a minimum 100 THB top up. It is quite similar to our Dubai Metro NOL Card. 

15:00 - Terminal 21

We had a short rest at the hotel, then took the train to Terminal 21. It is a travel-themed shopping mall; each floor was built to look like a world-famous city. One of the floors in Terminal 21 made me feel like I was back in Istanbul. And other floors took me to Tokyo, London and San Franciso! 

We had our late lunch in Tim Ho Wan - known as the "cheapest Michelin restaurant" in the world. 

18:00 - Asiatique The Riverfront

Just in time for sunset, we took the boat to Asiatique. It is a large night market with entertainment, retail shops and restaurants.

To get there, alight in Saphan Taksin BTS and ride the Asiatique's free shuttle boat in the pier.   

21:00 - Back to the hotel

Chang Siam Inn

Terminal 21

Tim Ho Wan in BKK

Day 4: Bangkok Old City DIY Tour

10:00 - Breakfast 

Breakfast was not included in our booking at Chang Siam Inn. It was totally fine with me as there was an interesting Thai breakfast in McDonald's that I wanted to try. What do think about McD Porridge and Patongko? :) 

We opted to take a tuktuk to our breakfast spot instead of riding the train to save time.

One-way tuktuk fare from the hotel to a BTS station is 100 THB.  

11:00 - Chao Praya River

Our main itinerary for the day started in Sathron Central Pier in Chao Praya River.

For more details, kindly refer to my blog post: Old Town Bangkok Itinerary

12:00 - Wat Arun

14:00 - Wat Pho

15:00 - Lunch in AMA Art and Eatery

16:00 - Grand Palace

18:00 - Back to Sathorn Central Pier

After temple hopping in Bangkok, we took the BTS to a famous shopping mall.

19:00 - Siam Paragon

Apparently, this mall was the world's most instagrammed place in 2013!

21:00 - Back to the hotel  

family in Wat Arun

The Reclining Buddha

temples in the Grand Palace 

Day 5: Last day in Thailand

7:00 - Pick up at the hotel

I booked a floating market tour for our last day in Bangkok. A DIY visit to the floating market is possible, but since we didn't have a time to waste, joining a guided tour was the best option.

We checked out at the hotel before the tour and stored our luggage in the lobby as our flight to Manila was still at midnight. 

9:00 - Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Damnoen Saduak has the most popular floating market in Bangkok. It is vibrant and very touristy. Food was affordable, but souvenirs were extremely expensive!

Read: 8 Things to do in Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

The tour costs 800 THB per person.

12:00 - Chang Puak Camp

Our floating market tour includes a stop at Chang Puak Camp where elephant rides are offered. I highly advice not to patronize this activity though!

13:00 - Souvenir Shop

Guided tours are never complete without a souvenir stop. So, we spent an hour in a woodcraft shop.

15:00 - Drop off at the Hotel

16:00 - Platinum Mall

Since we still had extra hours to spend in Bangkok, we went to Platinum Mall for early dinner and some last minute shopping. 

19:00 - Back to the hotel

20:00 - Taxi ride to Suvarnabhumi Airport

00:35 - Flight to Manila

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Thai Food

The Beautiful Chaos

Update: Since I've been getting lots of messages on travel expenses, here is an estimated budget for this itinerary, excluding flight tickets.

Details	Estimated expenses in Thai Baht
Accommodation small hotel, deluxe room for 2 people 3 nights Phuket/2 nights Bangkok	1800 THB/person
Transportation Phuket: pick up/drop off, tour van, Tuk tuk Bangkok: Taxi, Train, Boat, Tuk tuk	800 THB/person
Activities Phuket: City Tour, Phi Phi with Maya Bay tour Bangkok: Temples, Floating River	3800 THB/person
Food Inexpensive food stall: average 50 Baht/dish Mall restaurant: average 100 Baht/dish	800 THB/person
Total	7200 THB/person Around 10,900 PHP or 215 USD/person excluding airfare.

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