Hua Hin & Bangkok, 5 Nights

Met at Suvarnabhumi and driven south-west, around three hours or a little more depending on Bangkok traffic, to Hua Hin on the western shore of the Gulf. The town grew up around the royal summer palace and the railway in the 1920s and still has a quieter, more settled feel than Pattaya or Phuket. After check-in, the best use of the evening is the beach itself and dinner at the night market in the town centre, where seafood is grilled to order and fruit stalls stay open late.

Khao Takiab, the small headland at the south end of the bay, has a golden standing Buddha looking out to sea and a hilltop temple where monkeys are bold, so keep bags zipped. Wat Huay Mongkol inland is known for its enormous seated statue of the revered monk Luang Phor Thuad. Rajabhakti Park follows, a ceremonial ground with seven bronze kings from Sukhothai to the present dynasty. The afternoon ends at a vineyard in the hills behind the town, one of the few places in Thailand growing wine grapes; non-drinkers get the views and the grape juice.

A day planned for children. The Swiss Sheep Farm, just north near Cha-am, is an Alpine-style park with chalets and flocks that small children can feed. Vana Nava, back in Hua Hin, is a large jungle-themed water park with slides for every age and plenty of shade. Neither is sophisticated, and both are exactly what younger travellers remember. Adults who would rather not can spend the day on the beach instead; the old wooden railway station in town, with its royal waiting room, is a pleasant half-hour detour.

An early start north towards Bangkok with a stop at Damnoen Saduak, whose canals fill with boats selling fruit, noodles and coconut sweets in the morning; the market is at its liveliest before eleven. A motorboat takes you through the side channels before the drive continues into the city. After check-in and a rest, the evening is a dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya, passing the floodlit spires of Wat Arun and the Grand Palace as the city lights come up along the river.

Two temples with very different stories. Wat Traimit, at the edge of Chinatown, holds a seated Buddha cast in solid gold, weighing several tonnes, that sat unrecognised under a plaster coating until the 1950s. Wat Benchamabophit, built for King Chulalongkorn, is faced in white Italian marble and is among the most elegant temples in the city. Shoulders and knees must be covered at both. The afternoon is free for Chinatown's Yaowarat Road, which comes alive with food stalls from dusk, or for the malls around Siam.

Breakfast and checkout. Bangkok traffic is unpredictable, so the private transfer to Suvarnabhumi is timed with a wide margin, usually leaving three and a half to four hours before an international flight. If there is time before that, a short walk to a local market or a last Thai massage near the hotel is the right size of activity for a departure morning.