Thailand with kids

Feeding and observation only. Anywhere offering rides or bathing is not the kind you want — check the wording before booking.

A steep road to a white marble Buddha and the best view on the island. Shoulders and knees covered, children included.

Small, cheap and out at Cape Panwa. Ninety minutes, and the obvious answer to a wet afternoon in low season.

A jungle walk to a clear green pool, then a soak in warm rock baths nearby. An hour inland from Ao Nang and gloriously not a beach.

A large aquarium under a Phuket Town mall, with a walk-through tunnel. A different place from the Phuket Aquarium out at Cape Panwa — this is the indoor, air-conditioned one.

Walkthrough aviaries and a lot of shade. Small, gentle and cheap — the one to do with an under-five when the beach has stopped working.

Feeding and observing only — no riding, no bathing, no shows. Ask any camp you consider the same three questions before booking.

An enormous lit theme-park-and-parade evening in Kamala. Sensory overload in the best and worst senses; not for a child who dislikes noise.

Calmer than Patong and better for small children. Watch the flags — the rip currents in low season are real.

Near the airport, with a wave pool and a decent toddler zone. Useful on an arrival or departure day when you cannot check in yet.

The big water park on the island, themed on Thai mythology, with a proper toddler area away from the slides. A whole day, and busy at weekends.

An indoor play park with a splash area, and the wet-afternoon answer in a place that has plenty of wet afternoons.

A small soft-play centre, about ten dollars. Not a destination, but it buys an hour when nobody can face the sun.

Limestone stacks and sea caves by paddled canoe. Gentler than the Phi Phi speedboat runs and much better for under-eights.

Ziplines and a canopy walk through rainforest in the middle of the island. Weight and height minimums apply — check the exact ones before you book.

Three small islands twenty minutes offshore with shallow, calm water. Much gentler than the Phi Phi run and a better first boat trip.

A long day on a catamaran, which rides better than the speedboats. Maya Bay is capped and crowded; the swimming stops are the real reason to go.

A lagoon ringed by cliffs that you can wade in, plus a beach stop. The best of the Krabi boat days for younger children.

The Sino-Portuguese shophouses, the big Buddha and a viewpoint, with the driving handled. Cheap, and it fills a day the sea is too rough.

Sino-Portuguese shophouses, dim sum and hokkien mee. Sunday evening is the walking street market.

Be at the gate by eight. Dress code covers shoulders and knees, children included, and it is enforced.

Underneath the mall, which makes it the reliable answer to a hot Bangkok afternoon.

A drive-through safari plus a marine park, an hour out of town. A full day and a long taxi ride each way.

A glass floor 78 floors up. Genuinely unnerving, which is the point — and there is a solid deck alongside for anyone who would rather not.

Hands-on science exhibits aimed at primary age. Small, indoor and a good hour when the heat has won.

A drive-through-style animal park at Ayutthaya, cheap and small. Worth pairing with the temples rather than a trip of its own.

A dated but cheerful theme park north of the city with a snow room children find hilarious in the heat.

Indoor trampolines and soft play on the top floor of half the big malls. The default answer to a Bangkok afternoon.

The old Siam Park City — a water park and a fairground on one ticket, out east. Dated in places and very cheap.

An indoor playground at Seacon Square, about six dollars. The cheapest hour of air conditioning in this list.

Unlimited arcade and sports games on Banthat Thong Road. Aimed at older children and very cheap for what it is.

Transport and sightseeing at once, for a few baht. Children prefer it to a taxi and so will you.

A ferry across the river to the green loop, then elevated concrete paths through mangrove. Flat, shaded and a different city entirely.

The blue tourist boat with a day pass, which is not the same as the orange-flag commuter boat — more expensive, less crowded, and it stops at the temples.

An evening boat along the canals to the trees where the fireflies gather. Late finish, and worth the tired next morning.

Market walk then four dishes, in a school used to beginners. Say when you book if a child cannot take chilli — they will adjust.

Traditional dress hired for temple photographs. Children's sizes are stocked, and it makes the Grand Palace dress code a non-issue.

Enormous, hot and only on at weekends. Go at opening, agree a meeting point, and leave before lunch.

A buffet plus the revolving observation floor on one ticket, and about twenty dollars. Dated, enormous, and unbeatable value for the view.

Two hours downriver past the lit temples with dinner on board. Buffet food, good view — book the earlier sitting with young children.

A riverside mall buffet with a children's rate. The answer on the evening when the market food has been rejected.

Damnoen Saduak by boat plus the Maeklong market where the stalls fold away as the train passes. Very early start and thoroughly touristed, but the train is worth it.

The ruined capital an hour north, with the summer palace and a Buddha head grown into a tree. Hot and open — go for the morning departure.

The bridge, the death railway and the war cemetery, two hours west. The history is grim and needs explaining first; from about nine it lands properly.

A rescue sanctuary an hour north where the elephants are observed and fed, never ridden. Book weeks ahead.

306 steps up a naga staircase, or a funicular if legs will not have it. Cooler than town and worth the drive.

An open tram after dark past giraffes and zebras. Sillier and cheaper than the Singapore original, and the children do not mind.

Built into a hillside below Doi Suthep, with a monorail to save legs. Cooler than the city and rarely busy.

Feeding and mud-bath care, no riding and no performances. If a camp offers rides or shows, that tells you what you need to know about it.

The highest point in Thailand, with a short boardwalk trail and a waterfall on the way. Ten degrees cooler at the top — take a jumper.

Limestone you can genuinely walk up, against the current, without slipping. An hour out and free, and the best afternoon near Chiang Mai.

An inflatable obstacle course floating in a flooded quarry. Life jackets compulsory and enforced; strong swimmers only for the deep course.

An inflatables hall in the mall, about five dollars. Nothing special, and exactly right in the burning season when outdoors is off.

Market first, then pad thai and a curry paste pounded by hand. Most schools take children with an adult and will leave the chilli out.

Dress and photo session in the old city, around ten dollars. Cheaper here than in Bangkok and the temples are quieter.

A farm kitchen outside town, market trip included. Northern Thai food is milder than the south, which helps.

Khao soi, mango sticky rice and a food court with seating, which the street stalls do not have.

Northern food served on a low tray with Lanna dancing alongside. Touristy, cheap, and it holds a child's attention better than a restaurant.

The white, blue and black temples, three hours each way. A long drive for buildings — but they look like nothing else and children notice that.

A red-and-cream royal waiting room from 1926, still a working station. Twenty minutes, and time it for a train coming through.

A temple on a headland with several hundred macaques on the steps. Carry nothing in your hands and keep small children close.

The main reason to bring children to Hua Hin. Shaded, well run and rarely as crowded as the Bangkok parks.

Long, flat and gently shelving, with pony rides at the town end that are a fixture of every Thai childhood holiday.

Smaller and calmer than Vana Nava, with a lazy river and a good under-fives area. Half the price, too.

The bay has steady onshore wind from November to April and several schools that teach from about eight. Ponies work the sand at the town end for anyone smaller.

Friday to Sunday evenings, with a stage, craft stalls and a proper food court. The pleasant end of a Thai night market.

Grilled seafood picked from ice, on one covered street. Busier and cheaper than Cicada, and open every night rather than weekends only.

An enormous open zoo where the animals have space and you drive or tram between sections. The best zoo in Thailand and about ten dollars.

A tunnel aquarium on the Sukhumvit road. Small and old-fashioned, and cheap enough not to mind.

Freshwater giants — arapaima, catfish, stingrays — rather than reef fish. An hour, and a genuinely different aquarium.

Formal gardens with a dinosaur valley walk that children head straight for. The garden is the draw; skip the elephant show.

An entirely wooden carved temple on the sea, still unfinished after forty years. Hard hats are issued because work continues overhead.

Thailand's landmarks at 1:25, plus a world section. Dated and charming, and it takes about an hour.

A water park themed on Ghostbusters and Jumanji, with a decent shallow zone. The biggest single day out here.

Carved ice in a freezing hall, coats provided, next to a sand-sculpture garden. Twenty minutes of genuine cold.

A trick-art museum built for photographs. Sounds thin, works completely, and fills a wet afternoon.

An outdoor adventure park with ropes, rafts and a dinosaur trail. Hot work — go early or late.

The island forty minutes out, where the water is clear in a way Pattaya's own beach is not. Half a day is plenty.

A ropes-and-zipline course in the trees at Sattahip. Height minimums apply and the harness fitting is thorough.

Craft workshops — umbrella painting, weaving, sweet-making — in a reconstructed village. Doing rather than watching, which is the difference.

A proper outdoor kart track with junior karts. Around twenty dollars a session and the queue moves.

A built-for-visitors floating market, which means it is clean, easy and about three dollars in. Good eating, no pretence of being ancient.

A cafe on a boat-shaped deck over the water. The setting does the work; the food is fine and the children can move about.

Feeding only, no riding and no bathing. Short, cheap, and the right kind of elephant visit.

Forty-two limestone islands an hour offshore, done on a big wooden boat rather than a speedboat — slower, and far kinder to small stomachs.

The three-islands day with the sandbar between them. Ninety minutes each way in open sea — a long crossing for a young child.

Ziplines through jungle above Lipa Noi, with a waterfall stop. Height and weight minimums apply.

Up into the interior for viewpoints, a waterfall and lunch. The roads are steep and rough — that is the appeal and also the warning.

An outdoor track near Chaweng with junior karts, transfers included. Pricier than the Pattaya one for the same thing.

Market first, then a kitchen by the sea. Southern Thai food is the hottest in the country — say so when you book for a child.

A drop-in class at a working gym, about twelve dollars. Pads and technique, not sparring — check that when you book.

A clifftop hotel tea, expensive and worth one afternoon. Book it — the terrace is small and it fills.