Thailand Tours with Flights from €1,050

The default Thailand itinerary runs Bangkok-Chiang Mai-south, and after 119 departures worth of data it is clear why: it is the one route that hits all three landscapes without doubling back. Two nights in Bangkok gets you the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun and a Chao Phraya river trip, plus one night market dinner that will be better than anything you eat back home. Then either the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai (13 hours, around €30-€50 in second-class AC berth) or an internal flight with AirAsia or Nok Air (€35-€70, 75 minutes).

Three nights in Chiang Mai covers the old-city temples, a day at an ethical elephant sanctuary, and a cooking class or a trip up to Doi Suthep. From there, you fly south. Bangkok Airways, Thai Lion and AirAsia all run Chiang Mai-Phuket and Chiang Mai-Krabi daily for €60-€120 one way. Budget 3-4 nights in the south: one in Phuket or Krabi town, two on an island.

PrestiGo Asia's Thailand Classic in 12 Days hits exactly this spine at around €1,530 land. Realistic Asia's Amazing Thailand In 9 Days is the compressed version at around €900. Both are fine; nine days is tight once you factor in travel days, so 11-12 is the honest sweet spot.

If you only have 8-9 days, pick a side. The trips that try to do everything in a week end up with you on a plane or minibus more than on the ground.

North-focused trips base in Chiang Mai and radiate out. Add Chiang Rai (3 hours by road, the White Temple and the Golden Triangle border point), Pai for 2-3 nights (4 hours of switchback road, a slower hippie-backpacker vibe, waterfalls and canyons), and a proper ethical elephant day. On the elephant question: book with Elephant Nature Park, BEES or Boon Lott's — all observation and feeding, no riding, no bathing circuses. Skip anywhere that markets elephant riding or performing shows. The old Tiger Temple near Kanchanaburi was shut by authorities in 2016 for welfare violations; any operator still pointing you at a tiger-cuddle venue is a red flag.

South-focused trips are island hopping. Phuket is the big airport hub with direct flights from some European cities, but the island itself is the most built-up and the beaches are not the best ones. Use it as a gateway and head out. Koh Phi Phi is spectacular limestone scenery and completely overrun — day-trip in from Krabi or Koh Lanta, do not base there. Koh Lanta is the quiet, long-beach, mid-range-family pick. Koh Samui (Gulf side) is bigger, more developed and runs on a flipped monsoon calendar. Koh Tao is for divers.

Honest rule: Phi Phi for photos, Lanta to sleep, Samui if you have kids.

G Adventures runs the deepest Thailand catalogue on Multiday.tours and skews 25-45, mixed-age, mid-range hotels, internal flights included. Their National Geographic Journeys range adds better hotels and smaller groups at roughly €500-€900 more. Fine default pick if you are travelling solo or as a couple and want company without it being a party trip.

Intrepid and Exodus sit in the same bracket as G Adventures. Intrepid's Basix range is the cheapest-end (dorm or simple hotel, 12-day Thailand trips from around €900 land) and their Original range is the mid-range equivalent. Exodus leans slightly older (40-65), runs stronger on the walking and cycling trips, and prices a touch higher.

TruTravels is the backpacker end, 18-35 focused, hostel-based, more party-oriented. Their 14-day Thailand Island Hopper at around €1,310 land is the single most-booked 14-day south-coast trip on the platform for that demographic. INTRO Travel plays in the same space.

Realistic Asia, Bravo Indochina Tours and PrestiGo Asia are the in-country specialist operators. Smaller groups, more local guides, fewer brand-name hotels, and the most flexible on tweaking an itinerary. They quote in USD and the price converts to roughly €600-€1,700 depending on duration. Strong pick if you want the classic Bangkok-Chiang Mai-Phuket spine run by people who live there.

SpiceRoads is the cycling specialist. Their Thailand supported-cycling trips run 7-12 days, van backup, 40-70km a day on decent roads. Niche but very good if that is your thing.

Thailand has three seasons and — here is the catch — the two coasts of the south are on opposite monsoons, so "the wet season" depends on which beach you are aiming at.

November to February is the dry, cool season across the country. Bangkok and Chiang Mai sit at 22-30°C with low humidity, both coasts are swimmable, and every postcard shot works. This is peak: book tours 4-6 months out, flights from Europe go €650-€950 return, and Christmas and New Year are the single most expensive weeks of the year (add 30-50%).

March to May is hot-dry season. Bangkok hits 35-40°C with heavy humidity; Chiang Mai gets smoke haze from agricultural burning in March (genuinely unpleasant, worth avoiding if you have asthma). April is Songkran (Thai New Year water festival, 13-15 April 2026) — good fun if you want to be part of it, wet-phone chaos if you do not. Islands are fine in this window.

June to October is rainy season and the cheapest window. Tour prices drop 25-40%, flights can fall under €500 return, and accommodation on the islands gets deals you will not see in December. Rain patterns: Andaman coast (Phuket, Krabi, Phi Phi, Koh Lanta) is at its wettest June-October, with rough seas and some ferries cancelled. Gulf coast (Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao) is actually at its driest June-August and only gets properly wet in October-November. If you want islands during European summer holidays, go Gulf side.

Sweet spot for most travellers: second half of November and early February.

Bangkok has two airports and they are not the same thing. Suvarnabhumi (BKK) is the big international gateway, 30km east of the city, used by Thai Airways, Qatar, Emirates, Etihad, Singapore, and most European flag carriers. Don Mueang (DMK) is the low-cost carrier hub 25km north, used by AirAsia, Nok Air, Thai Lion and Scoot. If your tour itinerary lists a domestic flight, check which airport it leaves from — a Suvarnabhumi arrival and a Don Mueang internal departure is an hour-and-a-half transfer you do not want to cut fine.

From Europe there are no straightforward direct flights from Ireland or most secondary hubs. The reliable one-stop routings are Qatar via Doha (13-14 hours total, usually the price-leader around €600-€850 return), Emirates via Dubai, Etihad via Abu Dhabi, Turkish via Istanbul and Lufthansa or Swiss via Frankfurt or Zurich. Thai Airways runs direct from London, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Copenhagen, Milan and Stockholm in various seasons — 11-12 hours nonstop, usually €750-€1,100 return.

Phuket (HKT) takes direct charter and scheduled flights from some European cities (TUI, Edelweiss, Condor, Eurowings Discover) in winter season November-March; these start at €550-€800 return and skip Bangkok entirely. Useful if you are doing a south-only trip or your tour starts in Phuket.

When you bundle on Multiday.tours the Kiwi.com price sits next to the tour price in euros, so you can see the full per-person total before committing to either side of the booking.