Thailand in 7 days: Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Krabi

A week is enough for Bangkok properly, a day among the ruins of the old capital at Ayutthaya, and three nights on the Andaman coast — provided you pick one beach and stay on it. The flight that makes it work, the Grand Palace dress code, and why Krabi beats Phuket on this timeline.

Southeast Asia
7 days
≈ AED 2,400 / person
One city, one ruined capital and one beach, without a domestic flight every other day

Researched & checked by Nitesh Parasher Last verified 30 October 2026

Before you go

Seven days in Thailand works if you stop at two places and accept that the north is a different trip. Bangkok, a day at Ayutthaya, and the Andaman coast is the shape that fits.

What does not fit: Chiang Mai. It is a 90-minute flight in the wrong direction and a week cannot hold both it and a beach without most of the week being spent in airports. The ten-day route adds the north properly.

Bangkok deserves three nights and most people give it one on the way to somewhere else. Ayutthaya is 90 minutes north — the capital the Burmese sacked in 1767, now a UNESCO site of headless Buddhas and brick towers you can walk around in a morning. Krabi is the beach, and it beats Phuket here because the airport is small, the transfers are short, and the limestone is better.

Figure THB 22,000 (≈ AED 2,408) per person. November to February is the season, and March is the last good month before it gets serious.

Before you go: the admin

Entry

Visa exemption covers most nationalities, including Indian passport holders, for stays of up to 60 days as of the 2024 rules. Check your own — Thailand has changed this repeatedly.
The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) replaced the paper form in 2025 and is completed online before arrival.
Proof of onward travel is occasionally asked for at check-in rather than at immigration.
Six months’ passport validity.

Getting between the two halves

Bangkok to Krabi is a 90-minute flight. Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion, Nok Air and Thai Vietjet all run it several times daily and it is cheap if booked more than a fortnight out.
The overnight bus and train exist and cost you a night and most of a day. On a seven-day trip, fly.
Ayutthaya is a day trip from Bangkok — 80 minutes by train from Krung Thep Aphiwat for very little, or 90 minutes by car.
Krabi airport to Ao Nang is about 40 minutes by taxi or shuttle.

Money

Thai baht. ATMs charge a flat fee of around ฿220 per withdrawal, so take out larger amounts less often.
Cards work in hotels, malls and larger restaurants. Street food, markets, boats and tuk-tuks are cash.
Tipping is not expected but rounding up is normal.

The Grand Palace dress code, which is enforced

Shoulders and knees covered, for men and women both. No vests, no shorts, no see-through fabric, no ripped jeans.
They will sell or lend you a cover-up at the gate, and the queue for that is long. Dress correctly and walk past it.
The same rule applies at Wat Phra Kaew and, less strictly, at every other temple.

Day by day

Day 1 — Bangkok, the river

08:30 — The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew first thing. It opens at 8:30 and is uncomfortable by 11. The Emerald Buddha inside is 66cm of jade and the most revered object in the country — and it is dressed in one of three seasonal gold costumes, changed by the king himself.
Shoulders and knees covered, and they enforce it. Sarongs are lent at the gate against a deposit.
11:00 — Wat Pho next door for the 46-metre reclining Buddha and the massage school, which is where Thai massage is formally taught. An hour there costs a fraction of a hotel spa.
14:00 — The Chao Phraya express boat, which is the best transport and the best sightseeing in the city at the same time. The orange-flag boat is the cheap local one.
17:30 — Wat Arun across the river at sunset, reached by a ฿5 ferry. The photograph everyone wants is taken from the Bangkok side looking back.
19:30 — Chinatown — Yaowarat Road — after dark. The single best eating street in Thailand, and it only really starts at seven.

Day 2 — Markets and museums

08:00 — Chatuchak at the weekend, 15,000 stalls, and go early before the heat settles under the tin roofs. Or Tor Kor across the road is the food market and far calmer.
12:00 — Jim Thompson House for the teak houses and the story of the silk entrepreneur who vanished in the Cameron Highlands in 1967 and was never found.
15:00 — The National Museum, or Wat Saket’s Golden Mount for 300 steps and the city from above.
18:00 — Amphawa on a weekend evening if your dates allow — this is the real floating market. Skip Damnoen Saduak: it is two hours out and almost entirely staged for photographs.
21:00 — A rooftop bar, or Khao San if you want the other end of the scale.

Day 3 — Ayutthaya

07:30 — Eighty minutes by train, and the train is the pleasant way to do it — third class with the windows open costs almost nothing.
09:00 — Hire a bicycle at the station. The island is flat and the sites are spread out; a bike turns a hot slog into a good day.
09:30 — Wat Mahathat for the Buddha head held in the roots of a banyan tree — the image on every poster, and genuinely striking in person.
11:00 — Wat Phra Si Sanphet with its three restored chedis, the royal temple of the old palace.
13:00 — Lunch, and sit out the worst of the afternoon.
16:30 — Wat Chaiwatthanaram on the river, best in late afternoon light.
The ruins are what the Burmese left in 1767. The headless Buddhas are not weathering — the heads were struck off.
19:00 — Back in Bangkok.

Day 4 — Down to Krabi

09:00 — Fly from Bangkok in the morning and be on a beach by lunch. The flight is 80 minutes and there are a dozen a day.
13:00 — Ao Nang is the practical base — restaurants, boats, pharmacies — and is not itself beautiful. Tonsai is the climbers’ beach next door.
15:00 — The first swim, and book tomorrow’s boat through your hotel tonight — it is cheaper and they know which operators actually run.
18:30 — Sunset from Ao Nang beach, then the seafood places along Soi Sunset on the rocks at the north end.

Day 5 — Railay

09:00 — Railay, a peninsula reachable only by longtail boat, with limestone walls rising straight out of the sand. Ten minutes from Ao Nang and there is no road.
Railay East is mangrove and Railay West is the beach.
11:00 — Phra Nang beach at its southern end, the best in the province, with a cave shrine full of carved offerings to a sea goddess — fishermen leave them for a good catch.
14:00 — Rock climbing, if you want it: this is one of the world’s great sport-climbing sites and the schools take complete beginners for a half day.
17:30 — Sunset from Railay West, which faces the right way, then the longtail back.

Day 6 — The islands

08:30 — Hong Island is the better trip if you only do one, and the lagoon at high tide is the reason — check the tide table before you book.
Or the four-island tour by longtail: Chicken Island, Tup, Poda and Phra Nang. Go on a longtail rather than a speedboat; it is slower, quieter and half the price.
At low tide a sandbar joins Tup, Mor and Chicken islands and you walk between them.
16:00 — Back, and a last swim.
Longtails do not run in a swell — if the morning is rough, take the day on the beach and do not argue with it.

Day 7 — Out

08:00 — The hot springs and Emerald Pool inland, 90 minutes each way, if you have a late flight.
Or Tiger Cave Temple’s 1,237 steps to a hilltop Buddha, which is a serious climb in the heat and a genuine view.
12:00 — Fly back from Krabi rather than returning to Bangkok overland. The airport is 25 minutes from Ao Nang.

Costs and practicalities

Best time to visit

November to February on both coasts, and this itinerary is built for it.

November–February — dry, 28–32°C, low humidity by Thai standards, and the Andaman sea is calm. Peak season, peak prices, and the right months.
March–April — hot, building to 40°C inland by April. Songkran in mid-April is a nationwide water fight: either the highlight of the trip or an obstacle, depending entirely on your temperament.
May–October — the southwest monsoon. Rain is usually a heavy afternoon hour rather than a washout, prices drop by a third, and the Andaman gets rough enough that island boats are cancelled on some days.
September–October are the wettest and the only months I would actively avoid for a beach half.

Travel tips

Book the Bangkok–Krabi flight early. Two weeks out it is cheap; three days out it is not.
Dress for the Grand Palace and skip the cover-up queue entirely.
Use the orange-flag river boat, not the tourist one. Same river, a fifth of the price.
Agree tuk-tuk fares before getting in, or use Grab, which settles it in advance and is usually cheaper.
Longtail over speedboat for island trips — cheaper, quieter and you can hear the guide.
Carry small notes. Nobody at a food stall wants to break ฿1,000.
Do not touch anyone’s head, or point your feet at a Buddha image. Both land badly.
The tailor and gem “special offers” that start with a friendly stranger telling you the palace is closed today are a scam. The palace is not closed.

What this trip actually costs

Two people, 6 nights, mid-range comfort, international flights excluded:

Item	Cost
Hotels, 6 nights	THB 14,700 (≈ AED 1,609)
Food and drink, 7 days	THB 9,800 (≈ AED 1,072)
Bangkok to Krabi flights, two people	THB 7,000 (≈ AED 766)
Island tours, temples and entries	THB 8,000 (≈ AED 875)
Local transport, boats and transfers	THB 4,500 (≈ AED 492)
Total for two	THB 44,000 (≈ AED 4,815)

Roughly THB 22,000 (≈ AED 2,408) per person, which makes this one of the best value weeks on the site.
Food is the line you control. Street food is a dollar or two a plate and is better than most restaurant cooking.
Peak season beach hotels in Krabi run well above this figure between late December and early January.
Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.

What to pack

Shoulders-and-knees clothing for temple days, in cotton or linen.
A sarong or scarf, which solves every dress code instantly.
Reef-safe sun cream and a rash vest for the boat days.
Shoes you can get wet. Longtail boats mean wading in and out.
Strong repellent — dengue is present and its mosquito bites by day.
A dry bag for the island tour.
A Type A/B/C adapter; Thailand’s sockets take most plugs.

FAQ

Krabi or Phuket for a short trip? Krabi. The airport is small and quick, transfers are 40 minutes rather than 90, the limestone scenery is better, and it is cheaper. Phuket wins only if you want nightlife or a direct long-haul flight.

Can I add Chiang Mai to seven days? Not without ruining the week. It is a 90-minute flight north from Bangkok and the opposite direction from the beaches. Ten days is the minimum that holds Bangkok, the north and a beach.

Is the tap water safe? No. Drink bottled or filtered, including for brushing teeth. Ice in restaurants and bars is made commercially and is fine.

How much should a tuk-tuk cost? Less than the first price, always. Short hops in Bangkok are ฿100–150. Grab removes the negotiation and is usually cheaper than the agreed fare anyway.

Do I need to book the island tours in advance? A day ahead through your hotel is enough, and it lets you check the weather first. Booking from home costs more and locks you into a date the sea may not cooperate with.

Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 30 October 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.