Northern Thailand Explorer — Self-Launched

Land at Suvarnabhumi and get to Chinatown the cheap way: Airport Rail Link to Makkasan (£3), then MRT Blue Line to Wat Mangkon (£1). Check into a guesthouse or hostel near Yaowarat Road. Spend the evening eating your way down Yaowarat's street-food strip — grilled seafood, kuay jab noodles, mango sticky rice — and orient yourself along the river. No fixed plans: this is your arrival day.

🚌Airport Rail Link + MRT ~£4

🛏Hostel/guesthouse in Chinatown or Banglamphu (£14)

• →Yaowarat (Chinatown) night market food crawl
• →Riverside orientation walk

Book a longtail boat at Tha Chang or Tha Tien pier for a 1.5–2hr loop through the quiet Thonburi canals with a stop at Wat Arun side — negotiate ~£15–20 for the boat (split it with other travellers from your hostel). Walk to Wat Pho for the Reclining Buddha (£5). Late afternoon, take a metered taxi or MRT to Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bang Sue) station for the 20:00 sleeper train to Nong Khai — book a second-class fan or A/C sleeper berth on the State Railway of Thailand site or at any station, ~£20–25 for the lower berth.

🚌Longtail boat ~£8 pp shared; sleeper train Bangkok–Nong Khai ~£22

🛏Overnight sleeper train (2nd class berth)

• →Thonburi klong longtail boat tour
• →Wat Pho Reclining Buddha
• →Overnight sleeper train

The train rolls into Nong Khai around 07:00. From the station, take a songthaew or local bus to the Chiang Khan minibus stand; minivans run the riverside road south along the Mekong in ~2.5–3hrs (£3–4), with Laos visible on the far bank. Arrive Chiang Khan mid-morning and check into a wooden guesthouse on the walking street. Afternoon is free: rent a bicycle (£2) and ride the riverside path, or just sit in a café watching the Mekong go by.

🚌Minivan/songthaew Nong Khai–Chiang Khan ~£4

🛏Riverside wooden guesthouse, Chiang Khan (£12)

• →Scenic Mekong riverside drive
• →Chiang Khan walking street
• →Bicycle hire along the river

Set an alarm for ~06:00. Buy a basket of sticky rice and sai oua sausage from a vendor on the walking street, then join the line of locals kneeling along the pavement as the monks file past for tak bat (alms-giving) — dress modestly, keep your head below theirs, and don't photograph faces. The rest of the day is yours: hire a bike to Kaeng Khut Khu rapids, climb Phu Thok viewpoint for sunset over the Mekong, or nap in a hammock. Chiang Khan is the point of this stop — nothing is scheduled.

🚌On foot / bicycle ~£2

🛏Riverside wooden guesthouse, Chiang Khan (£12)

• →Morning alms-giving (tak bat) with local monks
• →Kaeng Khut Khu rapids by bike
• →Phu Thok sunset viewpoint

Local bus or minivan south to Phitsanulok, roughly 4–5hrs with a change in Loei or Phetchabun (£6–8). Check in near the river and walk the town: Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat holds Thailand's most revered Buddha image, Phra Buddha Chinnarat — £1 entry, shoulders and knees covered. In the evening find a flying morning glory (pad pak bung fai daeng) stall on the night market and watch the woks flame up.

🚌Local bus/minivan ~£7

🛏Guesthouse near the Nan River, Phitsanulok (£12)

• →Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat
• →Phitsanulok night market and flying morning glory

Early bus to Sukhothai (1hr, £1.50). Rent a bicycle at the Historic Park gate (£2) and spend 3–4hrs rolling between the ruined temples of the first Thai kingdom — Wat Mahathat, Wat Si Chum's giant seated Buddha, Wat Sa Si in its lotus pond. Park entry £5. Continue by bus to Lampang (~3hrs, £5) and head out to a traditional Lanna village homestay — book through a local community-tourism outfit or your guesthouse in advance (£15 including dinner; ask them to arrange a weaving or pottery demonstration). Help cook dinner if your hosts invite you.

🚌Bus Phitsanulok–Sukhothai ~£1.50; bus Sukhothai–Lampang ~£5; local transfer to village ~£3

🛏Lanna village homestay, Lampang (£15, dinner included)

• →Sukhothai Historical Park by bicycle
• →Lanna homestay stay
• →Craft demonstration with village hosts

Bus from Lampang to Chiang Mai (~1.5hrs, £2.50). In the afternoon take a red songthaew from Chang Phueak gate up to Doi Suthep (£1.50 shared) and climb the 306 steps to the golden chedi with the city spread below — £1 entry. Come back down and eat your way through the Saturday or Sunday Walking Street night market (or Night Bazaar any night): khao soi, sai ua, mango sticky rice.

🚌Bus Lampang–Chiang Mai ~£2.50; songthaew to Doi Suthep ~£3 return

🛏Hostel or guesthouse inside the old city moat (£11)

• →Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
• →Chiang Mai night market street food

A full free day. Options: rent a bicycle (£3) and ride the flat lanes out past rice fields to Wat Umong forest temple; take a half-day countryside cycling tour booked on Klook (~£20); or a Thai cooking class at one of the many old-city schools (£22–28 incl. market visit). Alternatively ride a songthaew to Bua Tong sticky waterfall (£4 return) and climb the limestone falls that grip like velcro.

🚌Bicycle hire ~£3 or songthaew ~£4

🛏Hostel or guesthouse inside the old city moat (£11)

• →Countryside cycling or sticky waterfall
• →Wat Umong
• →Optional cooking class

Two activities worth booking ahead on Klook or GetYourGuide: a morning market-to-table cooking class (£25–30 incl. pickup, market tour and a full lunch you cooked yourself — khao soi, green curry, som tam) and an afternoon traditional Thai massage at a local massage school (£8/hr, no need to book). Wander Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh in between. This evening board the overnight sleeper south to Ayutthaya — departures around 17:00–18:00 arrive ~04:30, second-class sleeper £18–22.

🚌Sleeper train Chiang Mai–Ayutthaya ~£20

🛏Overnight sleeper train (2nd class berth)

• →Thai cooking class with market tour
• →Traditional Thai massage
• →Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh

If you'd rather not move straight from class to train, shift the cooking class to this morning and take the evening sleeper instead — build a buffer day into your own plan and use it for the Flight of the Gibbon zipline (£45 on Klook), Mae Sa waterfalls, or simply the night market and a massage. Either way, this night is spent on the Chiang Mai–Ayutthaya sleeper unless you've shifted it.

🚌Sleeper train ~£20 or local transport ~£2

🛏Overnight sleeper train or Chiang Mai guesthouse (£11)

• →Optional ziplining
• →Optional Mae Sa waterfall
• →Night market shopping

Off the 04:30 train, nap at a café until sunrise then rent a bicycle (£2) for the Ayutthaya Historical Park — Wat Mahathat's Buddha head in the banyan roots, Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Wat Phra Si Sanphet. Combined ticket £5. Midday, take a minivan or third-class train towards Kanchanaburi (£3–4). Visit the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre (£3) and the Allied War Cemetery, then walk to the Bridge on the River Kwai. To ride the historic Death Railway stretch, take the local train from Kanchanaburi to Tham Krasae (£2, check the twice-daily timetable) for the cliff-hugging wooden section. Sleep riverside in Kanchanaburi town or a jungle raft house (£15).

🚌Minivan/train Ayutthaya–Kanchanaburi ~£4; Death Railway local train ~£2

🛏Riverside guesthouse or raft house, Kanchanaburi (£15)

• →Ayutthaya Historical Park by bicycle
• →Thailand-Burma Railway Centre and Allied War Cemetery
• →Bridge on the River Kwai
• →Death Railway train ride

Free day to pick your adventure. Options: a songthaew or rented scooter to Lawa Cave (£4 boat trip inside) and the Sai Yok area; a half-day jungle trek booked through your guesthouse (£20–25); or Erawan early if you want it quieter. Evening back on the river with a Beer Chang and grilled fish.

🚌Songthaew/scooter ~£5

🛏Riverside guesthouse or raft house, Kanchanaburi (£15)

• →Lawa Cave boat trip
• →Jungle trekking
• →Riverside evening

Catch the first public bus from Kanchanaburi bus station to Erawan National Park (~1.5hrs, £1.50 each way; buses leave roughly hourly from 08:00). Entry £5. Hike up through all seven tiers of the waterfall — the lower pools are busy, so push to tiers 4–7 for the emptiest water and the best swimming. Bring reef-safe sunscreen, water and shoes with grip. Be back in town by late afternoon.

🚌Public bus Kanchanaburi–Erawan return ~£3

🛏Riverside guesthouse or raft house, Kanchanaburi (£15)

• →Erawan Waterfall seven-tier hike and swim

Morning bus or minivan back to Bangkok (~3hrs, £3) — or take the scenic local train on the Burma Railway line to Nakhon Pathom and connect by ordinary train to Thonburi station for about £2. Drop your bag at a hostel, do a last lap of a Bangkok market, and head to Suvarnabhumi on the Airport Rail Link for your flight.

🚌Bus Kanchanaburi–Bangkok ~£3; Airport Rail Link ~£3

🛏—

• →Optional Nakhon Pathom chedi stop
• →Last Bangkok market visit