Chiang Mai: The Best Family-Friendly Holidays in Thailand
Part 2: 5 Quick and Clever Things to Look Out For
Travelling with children is a bit of a challenge – let’s be real for a moment! Travelling overseas with kids, or going to a foreign country can make it so much more so. The last thing you want is to spend a fortune on a family holiday, and then need a holiday when you get back home!
In this, our second part of the series ‘Best Family-Friendly Holidays in Thailand’, we focus on Thailand’s second largest city: Chiang Mai.
If you are planning a holiday or weekend away with the kids, here are 5 clever tips to keep you (and them) sane:
1. Do Your Homework
First of all, if your kids are old enough to have a useful opinion, it’s probably a good idea to find out what each member of the family expects from this holiday. Otherwise, someone’s going to be disappointed if all you want to sit by the pool and pretend to read a magazine while you actually catch up on some much-needed sleep, and they want to go ziplining through the jungle! If they’re still young, discuss what you and your spouse have in mind and the kids can fall in with your plans.
Bearing in mind you can’t please everyone, at least this way you can set expectations right away, and set aside certain days for adventure, and some for relaxing.
This will also help you determine where you will stay, which leads us to our second tip.
2. Easy Access
“Are we there yet?”
Regardless of the age of your children, nothing kills holiday spirit more than a long road trip.
- If you are flying to your holiday destination, be sure to keep the kids and yourselves hydrated, fed and entertained, so that the getting-there doesn’t smother good family feelings before the holiday even starts.
- Find a family friendly resort that is within a half hour or so drive from the airport.
The resort or hotel should be seen as the home base for your holiday, and centrally situated to your activities.
- If you’re keen on town, museums, markets and temple tours, then choose a hotel in the city centre.
- If your holiday is in the countryside and you want to get back to nature, listen to mountain birdsong, or go rock climbing, ziplining, and jungle trekking, then Baanpong Lodge is right in the middle of that. Plus it’s child-friendly with a pool right by the restaurant, so you can relax with a meal and your kids are never out of sight.
3. Variety of Excursions
Don’t run out of things to do after your second day on holiday. Find a place that has a wide selection of outings in close proximity to it.
Water Buffalo While Jungle trekking in Baan Pong
In Chiang Mai countryside you might want a resort that is has easy access to these star attractions:
- The Giant Tree
- Bo Sang Umbrella Village
- Crazy Horse climbing (for teens and older)
- Muang On cave exploring
- San Kamphaeng Hot Springs (great for school-going kids)
- Jungle trekking (from easy to moderate, these jungle treks are perfect for primary school kids and older)
4. Private and Secluded
The very purpose of a holiday retreat is to break away from the stress and manic pace of your day-to-day activities. A hotel that has the same stressful pace, plus exposes you to noisy neighbours, loud music and street noises will only leave you feeling exhausted.
Find a resort that has the following:
- Private rooms or chalets for some peace and quiet.
- Beautiful surrounds and scenery.
- Small enough for personal attention and friendly care, so you don’t feel like a number.
- Quiet and tranquil setting
- Understands that kids are kids
- Family-friendly sleeping options, such as adjoining rooms or twin beds
This might sound like a tall order, but once again Baanpong Lodge ticks all the boxes. We create the balance between stress-relieving breakaway and family-friendly resort perfectly. Plus we have free bicycles and scooters for the bigger kids to go exploring with, and a trampoline for the little ones to bounce away all that extra energy before bedtime.
5. Birthday Parties or Family Weekends
If you are a resident of Chiang Mai, and you need a weekend retreat, or better still, a place to host your family event or kids party, then the countryside is ideal for this.
- Alpine Golf Resort has a large restaurant and bar at the clubhouse for your group or party.
- Baanpong Lodge has a full-service poolside restaurant and bar, plus a private function venue for a more intimate setting. Plus you don’t have to do clean up afterwards and your guests don’t have to drive home – they can just book a room at the resort!