Thailand has thousands of tours popular with tourists and taking a tour is a very good way to get to know a country better. There are various types of tour to book, you can take a cooking or food tour, go snorkelling or island hopping, engage in crafts or wildlife, or simply explore interesting places, … Read more
IMPORTANT UPDATE: March 2025. The Thailand Earthquake of March 2025 has caused damage in Bangkok. Both airports were closed but I’m reading that they have reopened after safety checks. The epicentre was in Myanmar, so I’m assuming the whole area between Bangkok and the Myanmar border is affected. Trains and Metro services in Bangkok were affected. … Read more
Pai is a small town and district in the north of Thailand in Mae Hong Son Province, not far from the Myanmar border. It has long been a destination for backpackers, digital nomads and long term slow travellers with a cool relaxed hippie vibe, low prices, and rural surrounds. Pai isn’t really a mainstream tourist … Read more
The Jim Thompson House is a popular tourist destination in Bangkok Thailand. The house itself is made of traditional teak, Thai style with beautiful tropical gardens and original furnishings and decorations. It is worth visiting the Jim Thompson House if you have free time in Bangkok or a particular interest in Jim Thompson, silk, art, … Read more
Thailand is a fantastic, easy, and cheap country to travel around. Thousands of backpackers, travellers and holidaymakers travel within Thailand, and all the other countries in Southeast Asia, daily, this post is about travel options, booking tickets, and arranging travel in and around Thailand, but the same applies to all countries adjacent to and near … Read more
Need to know some cool and interesting facts about Thailand? This post is stuffed with Thailand facts and trivia, history, geography, and more. Thailand is one of our favourite countries to visit, with the best food in the world, so here are some facts about Thailand, for kids. We homeschooled or worldschooled our kids, travelling … Read more
Thailand is a country in Asia, and one of the countries in Southeast Asia, a region which spans the north and southern hemispheres with Thailand being located entirely in the northern hemisphere. Thailand is a country, and is not transcontinental, ie Thailand is entirely part of Asia and no other continent. This post answers the … Read more
Sukhothai is a city in central Thailand and home to Thailand’s first ancient capital. For lovers of history and culture, or kids learning about history, Sukhothai is a must-visit. We’d encourage anyone to add Sukhothai to their Thailand itinerary. However, getting to Sukhothai isn’t so easy, it’s a little off the main train lines, so … Read more
IMPORTANT UPDATE: March 2025. The Thailand Earthquake of March 2025 has caused damage in Bangkok. Both airports were closed but opened again after inspection. The epicentre was in Myanmar. We send our deepest condolences to the wonderful people of Thailand and Myanmar. I have spoken to friends in Pattaya and Chiang Mai, they say everything … Read more
This is the question I’m asked most in our Facebook group – Living Differently. Do I need onward flight tickets, a return flight ticket, or other proof of onward travel, to fly into Thailand. It’s not always Thailand, sometimes it’s Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but we’ll address Thailand in this post. First I’d like to … Read more
A reader asked me to write a Thailand itinerary for her 3-week vacation, I think it’s best to start with 2 weeks because that’s how long most holidaymakers have, and add on some optional extras as trip time allows. A Thailand itinerary is something unique to each person, one man’s dream tour is another’s trip … Read more
Northern Thailand is one of the best places to visit in Thailand if you want to see beautiful temples, villages, unspoilt landscapes and “real” Thailand, away from the holiday beaches. This post coverst the best, most beautiful places to visit in Northern Thailand and gives you ideas for a Northern Thailand Itinerary, we talk about … Read more
This week we’re touring northern Thailand by car, it’s amazing, fascinating and fun with the added bonus of being incredibly cheap. This part of the world is pretty affordable anyway and for a family of 4, hiring a car beats bus prices hands down, but what’s made our holiday within a holiday super cheap is … Read more
This is how we renewed a UK passport in Bangkok. British passport renewal in Thailand. Our younger son’s UK passport was down to less than 6 months and we had absolutely no desire to head back to the UK to get it renewed. We were in Vietnam and about to travel to Malaysia so it … Read more
Hiring a car in Thailand is pretty straightforward and a great way of seeing the country. While renting or hiring a car in Bangkok maybe isn’t such a great idea, other parts of Thailand are perfectly set up to explore by road. We tried our hand at driving in Thailand with a self drive vehicle in … Read more
Thailand for families, best places and parts of Thailand for families to visit. Thailand highlights for families to enjoy on a visit. trip, or vacation. Information on visiting Thailand as a family, for families. Thailand is a fantastic and relatively easy destination for families, for you and your kids. We’d certainly rate it the easiest … Read more
6 weeks in Thailand, what a ride! If you’ve been following us on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll know a lot about our trip already, but some of you don’t and some of you will want more detail, so here’s a round-up on our 6 weeks in Thailand, where we went, what it cost, what we … Read more
Yesterday my husband, chef and dad at World Travel Family, competed in the Ironman Thailand Phuket half distance Ironman event. This was his second event in a couple of months, most recently he completed a full distance Ironman event in Tenby, Wales. (See photos and write up on Ironman Wales 2016 here). We travel the world … Read more
Thailand is one of the more tricky countries for travellers to handle their travel money at minimum cost. We normally tell our readers just to get money out at ATM s or cash points, but in Thailand, that costs a lot. Just withdrawing cash from an ATM in Thailand can cost you half a day’s budget, … Read more
The long neck women of Northern Thailand, on the Burmese border near Mae Hong Son. These long-neck ladies belong to the Karen tribe and the rings around their necks are traditional in their culture. We were welcomed in their village, bought some trinkets, had a look around. We were the only Western tourists visiting on … Read more
There are several Hill Tribes in Thailand, mostly in north Thailand. These Thai villages can be visited by tourists, and it is possible to arrange overnight stays in Hill Tribe villages. 20 years ago I took an extended trek in Northern Thailand staying in various Hill Tribe villages in the Mae Hon Song area. This … Read more
This Thailand travel blog and guide has all of our best Thailand travel information, tips, stories and experiences to help you plan your trip, or to decide if Thailand is somewhere you’d like to go. We’ll also tell you where you should go in Thailand, and where not to go, how much you should spend, … Read more
Getting to Laos from Thailand. This post is about the journey from Kanchanaburi Thailand, to Bangkok, to Nong Khai on to Laos, Vientiane, and on to Vang Vieng. We had to get out of Thailand, we loved Kanchanaburi and were very happy just chilling there, but our visa was running out and we needed to … Read more
We’ve been in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, sitting here on the River Kwai for a week now. What have we been doing? A Kanchanaburi blog from this sleepy riverside town in Thailand. Well, nothing, really. Sleeping on a raft, eating, reading, using computers and just watching the world go by. We did managed a little bit of … Read more
This year I returned to Hanoi for the first time in 20 years. I took my son, it was his first time visiting Hanoi in the north of Vietnam after living in Hoi An and exploring Central Vietnam pretty thoroughly over the years. We LOVED Hanoi, here’s why, in words and pictures. At the end … Read more
If I told you that travelling in Nepal with kids was easy, I’d be lying. Nepal has been the most challenging place we’ve ever taken the children, and that includes India, but it’s been worth it many times over. They got sick less in India and didn’t have to hike up any mountains. So whether you’d like … Read more
Eating at Jay Fai’s Michelin Guide restaurant is something we really wanted to do in Bangkok. We’d seen this celebrity chef working the woks in her trademark goggles on our last trip, but we hadn’t had the chance to eat there. Her shop is easy to find and it’s not far from most of the … Read more
You can travel to Jaffna by bus, car, minivan, train, or even plane. Unfortunately, few of these options are available from Kandy. We have a great way for you to find the best, cheapest, or fastest way to travel from Kandy to Jaffna, just use this site! We can also tell you how to get … Read more
In this post we’ll share some of our favourite places to see in Singapore’s Chinatown, with photos of these beautiful, scenic or interesting spots. We’ve visited Singapore a handful of times, often in transit between Australia and Europe. It’s a very cool city, and country and Chinatown is one of our favourite areas. Make sure … Read more
Family travel is a wonderful thing. It has made our family tighter and been an education for all of us. We set out purposefully to provide the kids with maximum education through travel and it was something we thought about each time we chose a destination. Today, after 20 years of educating my kids outside … Read more
We travelled full-time for over 6 years (with kids, mostly in Asia) and, yes, we all had minor health problems from time to time. The travel medical kit was essential. My younger child and my husband have been what my mum would call “proper poorly” in Laos. Poorly is only proper if you have a fever … Read more
World Travel Family is the name of a website or blog belonging to the Long family, that’s us. I’m Alyson Long, mum, wife, author, scientist, farmer, and blogger. The whole family has been involved in website creation from time to time. World Travel Family is a name picked for SEO reasons, we don’t call ourselves … Read more
Last year we went through Cyclone Jasper. We were fairly well prepared, but we should have been better prepared. I already wrote a little about that in a post titled “Mistakes we made in cyclone prep.” That was at the end of 2023. This year, 2024, cyclone season is just around the corner. I’ve been … Read more
The short answer is yes, I’ve done it, I’ve proved it. In February 2024, just before the catastrophic March Google update that killed off incomes for so many bloggers, I started a new blog or website. This was purely coincidental, I didn’t know that update was coming. I just felt like making a new one … Read more
Are you looking for something new to see in Bangkok? Maybe somewhere you missed on your first visit? Head out to The Erawan Museum, it’s quirky, magnificent, and awe-inspiring all in one go. This museum is a fabulous hidden gem of Bangkok bypassed by most visitors. It’s refreshingly just a little off the main tourist … Read more
It’s time for us to write a post on our favourite and recommended hotels, hostels, and guest houses in Southeast Asia. Hostels in Southeast Asia are generally very good and many have family rooms, however, they’re not always the cheapest accommodation option. In this post we give you our tried and tested favourites, some we’ve … Read more
Travel, international or domestic, be it for a week, a month, or multiple months is very much easier if you just pack a carry-on bag. Luggage slows you down physically and mentally. Learn to ditch the extra luggage and travel with just a carry-on bag. It’s the way to go! In this post, we tell … Read more
In my opinion, the best place to stay in Bangkok Thailand is in Old Bangkok, Rattanakosin Island. This is the Phra Nakon area. This puts you within walking distance of the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, The Khao San Rd, Golden Temple, Giant Swing, and more must-see icons of Bangkok. You can walk to the river … Read more
A favourite part of any trip to Thailand, the Bangkok to Chiang Mai journey, is to be enjoyed not endured. Yes, it’s very possible with kids, my kids have taken this sleeper train from the ages of 6 and 8 years, they’ve also flown. Chiang Mai is a fantastic destination, it is cheap, relaxed, and … Read more
On this site we talk a lot about “worldschooling“. It’s how our kids were educated on the road, learning from the world around them. It’s as natural as breathing to me, wherever we go, we find the learning. Not everyone gets this concept. I’ve just been on a call with a lady on the other … Read more
We “world schooled” our children for almost 7 full years. By that I mean we were travelling full-time with them throughout that period and home educating. They never went to a conventional school, other than 1.5 years for my elder son, before I knew any better. We never felt any need to be part of … Read more
If you’re setting out on a world schooling adventure what are your travel essentials? Travel essentials are the things we all need to pack every time, for every type of destination or travel style. They can also be items that are essential for a specific activity or place. As world schooling generally involves multiple destinations, … Read more