Thailand holidaysfrom Nairobi

Thailand is the Asian holiday that asks least of you. The flight lands you somewhere hot and well organised, the food is worth the trip on its own, and the country is set up so a first-timer and a fourth-timer get the same easy week out of it.

Nairobi to Bangkok is a direct Kenya Airways flight, which is why Thailand sits so comfortably on a Kenyan calendar. It is the destination in this part of the world we are asked about most, and the one we have been running longest.

Bangkok is the arrival and it deserves more than one night: the Grand Palace and Wat Pho in the morning, the river in the middle of the day, the markets once it cools. Then the country splits three ways. The Andaman coast has the limestone islands and the clearest water. The Gulf has Koh Samui and the quieter islands around it. Chiang Mai has the temples, the hill country and evenings you need a jacket for.

What we spend most of our time on here is not the hotel. It is the excursion list: the day boats, the cooking classes, the temple mornings, the island transfers that unravel when nobody has booked them. We keep our own, built from the trips that worked, and it goes in before you fly rather than getting sold to you at a desk in the lobby.

Thailand also travels well in company. We run it with Malaysia and with Vietnam as one continuous route, which is usually the better answer if you have a fortnight rather than a week.

Where you’ll go

Bangkok. The palace, the river, the markets, and food that runs from the pavement cart to the top of the tower.

The Andaman coast. Phuket and Krabi, the limestone islands offshore, and the diving and snorkelling end of the country.

The Gulf islands. Koh Samui and its quieter neighbours, for the half of the trip where nothing is scheduled.

Chiang Mai and the north. Temples, hill country, night markets and cooler air. It is the part of Thailand people skip and then regret skipping.

Practical notes

Draft: awaiting owner verification. Indicative only; confirmed in writing with your quote.

• Excursions and island transfers are booked with the itinerary, not on arrival. That is the difference between a boat you have a seat on and one you queue for.
• The two coasts do not share a season. Tell us your dates and we will tell you which coast they suit.
• Domestic flights carry the internal legs and get booked first, because they fix everything after them.
• Entry requirements differ by passport and change. We confirm yours before ticketing.