THAILAND costs scuba diving etc

smk135

Hello all,

my sister and I will be heading to Thailand in January and have yet to book flights...

Anyone know the best and cheapest airline to go with?

Also, we are trying to get a realistic budget for spending money over there - we will want to scuba dive and do all the touristy stuff but also check out the North, maybe see some villages and stuff... Any ideas on where is best?

I heard Chiang Mai is brilliant to get a real feel for the 'real thai people' but what's the trains/planes like to get from there to say phuket or down south afterwards? Prices and times etc...

We can only really go for about 10 days including travel so what do you all reckon? should we just stick to the south or try get everything in?

Ok hope that wasnt too long and boring.. thanks for reading!

Ps: PMs are easier for me of you have any info as I dont usually have that much time on the net...

S.

ro1798

lufthansa are pretty cheap... go to their site..

booked my ticket for june... cost 550 return one stop in frankfurt

or ebookers they compare a good few

ronan

Zascar

I got a fantastic deal from www.destinations.ie give them a call

Go to Kao Tao for Diving - I was with Asia Divers http://www.asia-divers.com - 5 star resort (Well, it's 5 start for a diving resort) ask for Giles - he is a legend.

30d1a

flights , you're better off pricing a couple of places ,

generally , north of bangkok (Chang Mai etc...) is more of the thai feeling

while south is more touristy ...


gettin around is simple , it jus depends on your budet really ...
most places hav local travel agencys where trips , trains, flights etc... can be booked ,

however get somewhere thats reputable and gets a lot of business so you dont get done over , if you can for the likes of flights or trains , book online if you can ,


your goin in the high season too so everthin is that bit expensive (thai baht speaking)

for a basic hotel room expect to pay 800 - 1000 baht absolute minimum ..

hostels or places without air con can be considerably cheaper , my bet is somewhere european standard wise wit air con etc.. , around bangkok an the south will cost you 2 to 3 thousand baht a night ( around 50 to 70 euro)


as for diving , this is a price list i got for Phi Phi Island,

Intro 1: 3100 Baht (about 75 Euro)
intro 2: 4000 Baht (about 80 Euro)
Scuba diver course : 7300 Baht (about 170 Euro)
Open Water Course: 11900 Baht (about 275 Euro)
Adventure Diver Course: 6700 Baht (about 150 Euro)
Advanced Diver Course: 9500 Baht (about 220 Euro)
EFR : 4500 Baht (about 105 Euro)
Rescue Diver : 11500 Baht (about 255 Euro)


remember this is in Phi Phi , one of the more expensive places to dive and in high season there will be most likely 1000 baht added to prices ,

Koa Tao is probably the cheapest in Thailand , even in high season the prices would be cheaper than above in most cases

oh yeah , try talk them into givin you your PADI books too or it'll cost you 8 to 1000 baht , or try pick them up 2nd hand .

30d1a

also ,

buy the Lonely Planet Book on Thailand


they're the absolute business

mac123

smk135 wrote: »

Hello all,

Anyone know the best and cheapest airline to go with?

We can only really go for about 10 days including travel so what do you all reckon? should we just stick to the south or try get everything in?

S.

China airlines are cheap, but not a good airline and they have a poor safety record!

With only 10 days id stay either north or south, go to koh tao for diving and koh phangan for beaches and partying. can get a reasonable room by the beach on koh phangan for about 400 baht.

If you decide to go north you will find its alot cheaper but the trekking and village trips are very touristy and fake. There were more tourists than locals in one of the hilltribe villages we stayed in! Chaing mai is a nice city tho!

Zascar

I flew with China airlines and would not recommend them

Nothing terrible to report, but an anciest plane and I just found it uncomfortable... Pay a liitle extra it's probably worth it