Thailand with kids

During our flight to Thailand, a man came up to me on the plane and asked me why I would take my children there. I was puzzled, why wouldn't I take my children there.
Thailand is so culturally different that it is exhilirating. My children learned the history of Buddhism, they were blessed by monks, they visited a dozen temples, they learned some basic Thai, they learned to cook traditional Thai dishes, they learned how to train and care for an elephant, they cuddled tiger cubs, they drove Tuk Tuks, they had back massages, foot massages and fish massages, they explored an entire floating town, they spent the night on a train and a bus, and so much more.
Besides the cultural, once you get to Thailand, it is so inexpensive to live, eat and do that you can just enjoy.
We spent 3.5 weeks in Thailand. Of course, we used American Airlines miles on partner airlines Japan Airlines to fly round trip to Tokyo and then one way through to Bangkok. On the return, we had to buy 5 one way tickets with points from Bangkok to Tokyo on United Airlines due to availability. Each tickets cost 15,000 United Airlines miles.
We stayed at the Sheraton Royal Orchid with 7,000 Starwood points per night. While in Bangkok, we took a daytrip to visit a train market and the floating market, pet the tiger cubs and see the Bridge Over The River Quai.
We decided to take the overnight train to Chiang Mai. The other option is to fly, domestic flights are super cheap.
Chiang Mai is one of the most spirtual and beautiful places I have ever visited. We chose to pay for a homestay which was outside of town. For kids, you can train elephants, zipline and take a cooking class. The temple in Chiang Mai is amazing and highly worth the cab ride up the hill.
I would recommend flying from Chiang Mai to one of the town's in the south. We went to Phuket where we took a daytrip out to the islands. The islands are amazing! The kids got a chance to play soccer on field that floats in the middle of the ocean. They canoed through caves and jumped off the boat.
Phuket is a bit more Americanized so hamburgers are available everywhere, but I was super pleased that my kids chose to eat more Thai food.
Though we paid for hotels in Chiang Mai and Phuket, we rented out our house while we were away and broke even on the entire trip. Now that's almost FREE family travel.

*If you would like a copy of our itinerary plus contact information for all of the tours and guides we used, check out the itinerary page on the website. They are available for purchase for just $5.