The Itinerary 
Thailand with kids in 7 days: Bangkok, a beach base and the elephants
Two nights in Bangkok and four on a beach, with the temple circuit cut to one morning and Ayutthaya dropped. How to tell an ethical elephant sanctuary from a bad one, which beaches are safe for small children, and why the transfer time matters more than the resort.
- Southeast Asia
- 7 days
- ≈ AED 2,500 / person
- Two bases, one flight, and an elephant sanctuary that does not let you ride
Before you go
The seven-day Thailand route runs Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Krabi. Ayutthaya is a full day of ruins in full sun, and with a four-year-old it is the first thing to go.
Two nights in Bangkok, four on a beach, one flight between them. One temple morning, one elephant day, and the rest is sand.
The transfer from the airport to the resort matters more than the resort. Krabi and Phuket airports are both an hour or more from many beaches — ask the number before you book, because a ninety-minute minibus at the end of a long-haul flight is the worst hour of the holiday.
Figure THB 23,000 (≈ AED 2,517) per adult. November to March.
Before you go: the admin
Entry
- Visa exemption for a long list of nationalities, commonly 60 days, including the GCC states, the EU, the UK and India.
- An online arrival card is required before travel.
- Children need their own passport and arrival card.
- Six months’ passport validity.
- Last checked: 30 October 2026. Apply on official sites only.
Elephants, which needs saying plainly
- Do not ride elephants. Riding requires the animal to be broken, and the saddle damages its spine.
- A genuine sanctuary does not offer rides, shows, painting or bathing-with-tourists. Bathing has become the new problem — it looks gentle and still means the animal is handled all day.
- Look for: no riding, no bathing, limited daily visitor numbers, elephants in a herd rather than chained, and an explanation of where each animal came from.
- “Sanctuary” is not a protected word. Several riding camps renamed themselves.
- The good ones are observation-led — you walk, you watch, you feed from a distance. Children find this perfectly satisfying.
Getting around with small children
- Bangkok’s BTS Skytrain and MRT are air-conditioned and fast, but many stations are stairs-only or have lifts on one side only. A carrier beats a buggy in Bangkok.
- Taxis are cheap; insist on the meter. Grab works well.
- Tuk-tuks have no seatbelts and no doors. Fine for a short novelty ride, not for moving a family.
- Car seats are not standard in taxis or transfers. Request one when booking a private transfer and expect it may not appear.
- Pavements in Bangkok are uneven and obstructed. Genuinely difficult with a buggy.
Beaches and water safety
- Not all Thai beaches are safe for small children. Steep shelves and rip currents are common on the west coast.
- Khao Lak and Ao Nang have long, shallow, gently shelving beaches and are the better family choice.
- Red flags mean do not swim. They are enforced loosely and drownings happen every season.
- Jellyfish seasons vary. Ask at the hotel rather than assuming.
Day by day
Day 1 — Arrive in Bangkok
- Land and go straight to the hotel. Stay by a BTS station, on the river if you can.
- Afternoon — the pool. Nothing else.
- 18:00 — A river boat. The Chao Phraya express boat costs very little and is the best-value hour in the city — a breeze, boats to watch, and temples sliding past.
- 19:30 — Dinner somewhere with air conditioning.
Day 2 — One temple morning, then the flight
- 08:00 — The Grand Palace and Wat Pho together, early. By ten it is 33°C and packed.
- Dress code is enforced: shoulders and knees covered, adults and children. Sarongs are available at the gate.
- Wat Pho’s Reclining Buddha is 46m long and reads to a child in a way that a palace does not. If you only do one, do this one.
- 10:30 — Back to the hotel, pool, lunch.
- 14:00 — Fly south. Bangkok to Krabi or Phuket is about 90 minutes.
- 17:00 — Transfer to the resort. Check this is under an hour when booking.
Day 3 — The beach, and nothing else
- Deliberately empty. Day three of a family holiday is for letting everyone sleep and swim.
- Morning and late afternoon on the sand, the middle of the day in the shade or the pool.
- Reef shoes — much of this coast is rock and shell at low tide.
Day 4 — The elephant day
- 07:30 — An early pickup. Sanctuaries are usually an hour or more inland.
- A half-day visit is plenty. Full days are long and hot for small children, and the extra hours add little.
- You will walk with a herd, prepare food and watch them eat. No riding, no bathing, no shows.
- Ask before booking: how many elephants, how many visitors a day, where the animals came from, and whether chains are used. A good operator answers all four without hesitating.
- 14:00 — Back for the pool.
Day 5 — Islands, or the gentler version
- The long-tail boat island trip is the classic day here — Railay, Hong Island, the Phi Phi group.
- With a four-year-old, choose a short, private long-tail over a full-day speedboat tour. Speedboat day trips are long, loud and bouncy, and seasickness is common.
- A half-day to one or two beaches is the better version.
- Check life jackets are available in child sizes before you get on. Do not assume.
- Alternatively: a mangrove kayak, a hot spring, or the beach again. None of these is a waste of a day.
Day 6 — The flexible day
- If the island trip went well, repeat it somewhere else.
- If it did not, the beach.
- Emerald Pool and the hot springs near Krabi are an easy half-day inland and shaded.
- A Thai cooking class — many take children and the market visit beforehand is the good part.
- Late afternoon — the last swim, and an early dinner.
Day 7 — Out
- Fly home from the southern airport if you can, rather than routing back through Bangkok. It saves most of a day.
- Morning — a last swim.
- Allow an hour for the transfer plus three at the airport.
Costs and practicalities
Best time to visit
November to March.
- November to February — dry, 28–32°C, calm seas on the west coast. The season, and the best window for small children. December and January are the busiest and priciest.
- March and April — hotter, up to 35–38°C, and April is the hottest month of the year. Songkran, the water festival, falls in mid-April — enormous fun with older children, overwhelming for a four-year-old.
- May to October — the southwest monsoon on the Andaman coast. Heavy, short rain, rough seas, and many island trips cancelled. Rates fall a long way.
- The Gulf coast runs on a different cycle — Koh Samui is driest from February to August — which is the alternative if your dates are fixed in summer.
Travel tips
- Ask the transfer time before booking the resort. It is the single most common family mistake on this coast.
- No riding, no bathing, no shows. That is the whole elephant test.
- One temple morning, early, with shoulders and knees covered.
- Choose a gently shelving beach — Khao Lak or Ao Nang rather than a steep cove.
- Check child-size life jackets before boarding any boat.
- A carrier, not a buggy, in Bangkok.
- Request a car seat for transfers and have a plan if it does not turn up.
- Red flags mean do not swim, whatever other people are doing.
- Mosquito repellent at dusk, and check dengue advice for the season.
What this trip actually costs
Two adults, 6 nights, mid-range hotel and beach resort, international flights excluded. Children’s costs are listed separately below.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Bangkok hotel, 2 nights | THB 5,200 (≈ AED 569) |
| Beach resort, 4 nights | THB 14,000 (≈ AED 1,532) |
| Domestic flights, two adults | THB 7,000 (≈ AED 766) |
| Elephant sanctuary half-day, two adults | THB 6,000 (≈ AED 657) |
| Transfers and local transport | THB 4,000 (≈ AED 438) |
| Food and drink, 7 days | THB 9,800 (≈ AED 1,072) |
| Total for two | THB 46,000 (≈ AED 5,034) |
- Roughly THB 23,000 (≈ AED 2,517) per adult.
- A child of four is commonly free at the sanctuary and on domestic flights sits on a reduced infant or child fare. Resorts usually include one child under 12 in the room.
- A reputable elephant sanctuary costs more than a riding camp. That difference is the point of it.
- Food here is very cheap if you eat outside the resort, and street and market food is where the good eating is.
- Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.
What to pack
- Reef shoes for everyone. Much of this coast is rock at low tide.
- UV swimsuits and high-factor sunscreen.
- A baby carrier rather than a buggy for Bangkok.
- Mosquito repellent suitable for children.
- Rehydration sachets. Heat and a stomach upset together are the thing that spoils a week.
- Light long sleeves for temple mornings and evening mosquitoes.
- A Type A/B/C adapter, 220V.
Part of a bigger trip?
- Thailand in 7 days is the adult-paced route with Ayutthaya.
- Thailand in 10 days adds Chiang Mai.
- Thailand’s islands in 8 days is the beach-focused route.
- Bangkok in 3 days if the city is the trip.
- Phuket in 4 days is the short beach version.
FAQ
How do we find an ethical elephant sanctuary? No riding, no bathing with tourists, no shows, limited daily numbers, elephants kept in a herd, and a straight answer about where each animal came from. “Sanctuary” is not a protected word and several riding camps simply renamed themselves, so ask those questions directly before booking.
Which beach is best with small children? Khao Lak or Ao Nang — long, shallow and gently shelving. Many of the prettier coves on this coast shelve steeply and have currents, which is a poor combination at four.
Is Bangkok manageable with a buggy? Not easily. Pavements are uneven and obstructed and many stations are stairs-only. A carrier is far better, and the Skytrain and river boats are the pleasant ways to move.
Should we do a full-day island tour? Not at this age. Speedboat day trips are long, loud and bouncy, and seasickness is common. A short private long-tail to one or two beaches gives you the same scenery and a much better day.
When should we avoid? May to October on the Andaman coast — heavy rain, rough seas and cancelled boat trips — and mid-April, when Songkran is enormous fun with older children and overwhelming for a four-year-old.
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.
