Road trip from Phuket to Chiang Mai

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I am planning a road trip next month from Phuket to Chiang Mai. Our plan is to drive 3-5 hours a day and stop and stay a day or two where ever there is something interesting to see and do. Does anyone have any suggestions of beautiful or interesting places to visit on this route (or a bit off it)?

We are mostly interested in nature (caves, waterfalls, amazing views) and outdoor activities (nice treks, canoeing, archery, that type of stuff)

[phuketrichard]

the best areas are north an north west of Bangkok;

Head to Tak an follow the road that runs alongsdie Burma all the way to Mae Hong Son than head to Chiang Mai

Other than that i drive from phuket to Hua Hin , stop for the night andnext night am in Mae Sot

[carbine1125]

You can drive as far as Chumpon the first day, stay at the hotel Chalicha hotel, which is fairly cheap and good value. Chumpon has nice beachs and a great night market. Another 3-4 hours takes you up to Prachup Kiri Khan, a lot of nice beaches there also, and a great temple set into a large cave, can't remember name. Another stop if you want in Hua Hin. Nice waterfall there, Pa la u, which has a lot of different levels and well worth a visit. Then onward and upwards to the north. Another option is to drive up on the Andaman side as far as Ranong, nice hot springs there, then across the mountains to Chumpon again. Anyway whatever you decide, have a great time and a safe trip.

[pete66]

Heck of a drive. Stay safe.

[BKS22]

Your just about driving the length of the country. What you could see between Phuket & Chiang Mai is endless. Maybe grab an up to date Lonely Planet book and choose a fun day to day goal plan.

[robertthebruce]

I think your trip sounds AMAZING, but DRIVING, ??? , TOO DANGEROUS FOR SURE.., i value my life more....

[maybefitz]

Try Phuket to Cha-am, (nicer than Hua Hin), then ring road of Bangkok to Ayuthaya .That's worth at least a 2 day visit. Then up to Tak for an overnight, then CM.

[phuketrichard]

i have driven it 2 times Phuket-Hua Hin- Mae Sot- Mae Sariang- (along the burmese border) Mae Hong Son--Chiang Dao-Fang -Chiang Rai-Chiang Khong and one time north -south where i took in Chiang Mai

and 2 times Phuket-Hua Hin- Auyuthaya- Phitsanulok-Lampang- Chaing Rai- Chiang khong

These are photos of my last trip which also took in Laos and Cambodia, http://phuket.zenfolio.com/f475905242

35 days 7,200 kms!!! ( the trip i wrote above)

and the one in 2012 http://phuket.zenfolio.com/p408083573

Phuket-Hua Hin is 9 hours

Phuket-Chumpon about 5

Phuket-Ranong 4

I 100% reccomend having your own car!!!!

Have car will travel!!!!

Edited January 30, 2014 by phuketrichard

[tomdfc]

We made the return trip for 5 years (2006-10), taking 3 days - or 4, if veering off for a night in Bangkok. The north and south are interesting in different ways, the central belt less so. The road system is good though there are occasional - but sometimes very deep and dangerous potholes. The biggest risk of course is not the roads themselves.

More specifically, we "discovered" a great road running literally in a straight line from east to west in the isthmus, for hours, with almost no traffic (at least in those days). At Phang Na, head south (as opposed to the more logical north) and take signs for Surat Thani. No need to go all the way into ST unless you're curious but head north hugging the Gulf of Thailand.

The second "find" for us then was the Ban Krud bay in Bang Saphan district. (Turn off for Bang Sapahn Noi, if I remember.) Undeveloped, beach territory with some nice, unpretentious accommodation. Beach bar-b-q's. Lovely sunrises too. A 7 / 8 hour trip for day 1.

Good luck and have fun.

[makecoldplayhistory]

I'm reading this with interest as am planning a similar trip (Phuket to somewhere) with my wife and 2 year old over Easter. Less daily driving with the wee one though!

[duanebigsby]

A bit of a side trip but Khao Sok Park is really beautiful. I drove Phuket to Chiang Rai with a buddy and the roads are really quite good.

Plan a couple days at Sukhothai too.

[Ace of Pop]

I do much the same every 2 Months or so, go mid week and take it easy. I take the Suphanburi route its quieter, and pop up in Nakarsawan, after the traffic light fiasco there, its easy on. Enjoy. Cha Am is nicer by the way.

[johnsuma]

There is a very nice white temple past phitsanulok the way to chiang rai/chiang mai

[RedQualia]

Several nice temples in Phitsanulok, and the Sukhothai ruins are just to the west of there, with Si Satchanalai not so far away either. You might also want to check out the "Ancient City" area of Phichit.

Check out a map. All of the places mentioned are relatively close to one another. Perhaps you could go up by the Myanmar border and come back on highway 11, I think it is. You could probably spend several days in this area, if you were of a mind to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phitsanulok

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhothai_Kingdom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Si_Satchanalai_Historical_Park

http://www.ancientcity.com/th/news/1777?q=/en/location/TheGatewayofWatPhoPrathapChang_Phichit

[phuketrichard]

I'm reading this with interest as am planning a similar trip (Phuket to somewhere) with my wife and 2 year old over Easter. Less daily driving with the wee one though!

I made a nice trip in Oct, Phuket down to Koh Lanta-Satun- over the boarder into Malaysia an across the top of Malaysia ( beautiful countryside) and then re entered Thailand at Betong an on to Yalla, ( another beautiful drive) back thru Hat Yai-Phuket

Next month and heading down again but this time heading to Ipoh than Cameron highlands across Malaysia and back to Thailand at Kota Bahru.

Lots of good trips out of Phuket :-)

[positiveaction]

i ve driven it..stopped in Kanchanaburi for night...Bridge over River Kwai etc...breaks the trip in about half...

[Muhendis]

Here are two possibilities for you although they may be too far off your chosen route.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khao_Yai_National_Park

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pang_Sida_National_Park

[LeoViotti]

Absolutely great trip, I something like that between 20/12 until 6/01 this year. Can't really point out the best spots, I enjoy the "ride" more than the "stop", but the roads going in/out from Phuket (specially if you go east, through the forest, and not north on Petchakasen) are beautiful. You'll eventually get to the boring stretch of road between Krabi and Bangkok, endless km of non stop slow people followed by crazy idiots followed by even crazier buses, traffic lights, traffic... when you pass all that, get Kanchanaphisek West, going north, and from there get Highway 32 going to Ayutthaya. Again an endless stretch of straight roads (you could go through through Kanchanaburi and get minor roads, around Srinakarin Dam, north going to Uthai Thani and Nakhon Sawan, great road, but much longer and slower ride).

Eventually you'll get to Tak, then head to Mae Sot, and there get Highway 105 north, going to Mae Sariang, along the border with Burma, as someone said here. I passed there less than a month ago, and at moments, you feel you'll get nowhere, you see no one... road gets pretty ugly (small cars can pass, but very slow, it's STILL a road, just the asphalt is long gone). After 4-5h driving there (or more, if you go slower) you'll get to Mae Sariang in Mae Hong Son, I would advise to rest there...

From there you keep on Highway 108 north, towards Mae Hong Son (east goes to Chiang Mai). Another great road, HOWEVER, you must like endless turns near the edge of the mountain, several view points. If you stay there you'll pass by Mae Hong Son, then Pai, then turning left back to Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai. After Pai, you can turn right (GPS or follow the places) for the Baan Rak Thai, the burmese village with the woman who use the metal coils in their long necks, nice place to visit also. LOTS of national parks on the way, waterfalls, rivers, markets... just depends on how much time you have and how adventurous you are.

If you are EXTRA adventurous and have either a SUV or a pickup, from Pai, get a rural road I forgot the name (have to retrieve my routes on Waze) and go through a national park bordering the burmese border, over 100km of unpaved roads and nearly zero civilization, eventually leading you to Highway 1178, still near the border with Burma, going to Chiang Mai/Doi Ankhang. Absolutely great drive, but it all takes a few days, since the roads are really slow. Bring a GPS.

(I came the other way, from Nan bordering Laos, to Phayao, Chiang Rai, Golden Triangle, then still bordering Burma, to Doi Suthep, Doi Ankhang... almost 10,000km em little over 2 weeks, counting my first stretch from Bkk to Phuket, then Phuket to Bkk, then all the way north. When I got to Mae Sot though, I headed straight to Khon Kaen, rested for a day there, and then back to Bangkok!

[samuijimmy]

I'm reading this with interest as am planning a similar trip (Phuket to somewhere) with my wife and 2 year old over Easter. Less daily driving with the wee one though!

I made a nice trip in Oct, Phuket down to Koh Lanta-Satun- over the boarder into Malaysia an across the top of Malaysia ( beautiful countryside) and then re entered Thailand at Betong an on to Yalla, ( another beautiful drive) back thru Hat Yai-Phuket

Next month and heading down again but this time heading to Ipoh than Cameron highlands across Malaysia and back to Thailand at Kota Bahru.

Lots of good trips out of Phuket :-)

Yes, it's a good trip down south... been there done that!.... well a lot of it! ... (albeit from Samui! , same same but different! )

Just so you know, going into Malaysia is simple enough, but you do have to get Thai plates translated ... then just after the border at Sadeo, there is a place to get "English lettering sticker" to go on car or bike... plus insurance (good for three months if I remember) ...

Highway to KL has a number of Toll booths .... unless on a motorbike, then you by-pass them in special lanes...

Avoid Cameron Highlands on week-end if possible... lots of locals head there for the week-ends!

If just staying in Thailand Thali Noi lake area is very nice... too!

[JulesMad]

Great trip, go slowly, stop a lot and relax a lot It all depends how much time you have; 1 week would be too short (there is just too much to see); 1 month sounds about right...

Have Fun and take it easy (with the traffic)

[Hornell]

I used to do this trip a lot and it's a fairly easy run, but tiring as you need to keep your wits about you the whole time. Agree that Cha am is a better place to stop than Hua Hin and I reckon tak is a good next stop . I now live in the Isaan and am planning to drive to Chiang mai next week connecting with Route 1 at Nakhon Sawan and was looking through the replies to see if there was any reference to road blocks on Route 1 by disgruntled rice farmers..... Does anyone know if any parts of Route 1 from Nakhon Sawan to Chiang Mai are affected in this way? What about Chiang Mai itself - any info here? - I suppose all bets are off until after the election!