“Thailand is a bright, colorful country and the people are warm and open,” says Virtuoso advisor Lisa Hollo, based in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. “You get amazing architecture and ruins, royal history, a close look at Buddhism, and great shopping opportunities.”

Our recommendation for a week to ten days in Thailand? Start with Bangkok. Few cities make an impression like Thailand’s capital does – a delightful dual immersion in earthly pleasures and spirituality amid golden Buddhas, banyan trees, bustling nightlife, and some of the best street food you’ll ever taste.

Next, move north to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, where monasteries and temples punctuate rice paddies and dense forest.

Finish in the south, where the siren call of white-sand beaches, coral reefs and limestone karsts, traditional fishing villages, and jet-set beach clubs tempts travelers from Koh Kood to Phuket.

“Travelers love Thailand for its rich culture and lush landscape,” says New York-based trave advisor Elisabeth Brown. “From the smell of street food in Bangkok, to walking with and feeding elephants in Chiang Mai, to the turquoise surrounding the Phi Phi Islands, Thailand can be a shock to the senses in the best way.” The country’s gentle culture makes it a wonderful family-friendly destination as well, she says: “Most of our clients come home with plans to return to the region within the next year or two.”

Whether it’s your first visit or a return one, we found ten things you might not have known you could do in Thailand.