Thailand - Bangkok and islands

king_of_inismac

Hi,

We're heading to Bangkok and south to the islands. Need some advice on places to stay in the capital for a few days (a mid range hotel).

Also which islands should we visit? We're looking for a relaxing rather than hard partying holiday

Were going for three weeks.

Thanks,
M

Grab a Lonely Planet for the hotel in Bangkok question.. You need to decide what area you wanna stay in before ya start lookin for a hotel.

As for the islands, Koh Phi Phi should be seen along with Maya Bay. Lovely place but not as quiet as you might like.. I wouldn't really bother with Phuket since it's so so so touristy.

Funny enough, the western side of the "full moon party" island, "koh pha ngan" is exactly what you'd be looking for... Literally miles removed from the madness and really beautiful. Alot of nice resorts and beachside bungalows with quiet perfect beaches.
If you just want to relax, fly from Bangkok to Koh Samui, spend a while there and then get the boat over to the Koh Pha Ngan and stay in the North West.. Really nice roads for renting bikes aswell. Then fly back to Bangkok and home.



There's more islands that are probably more suited to what you're looking for but I'm just speaking from my limited trip down there.. Prefered the North.

king_of_inismac

Thanks Ads by Google,

Everyone is saying to avoid Phuket. We were planning to fly there just as a base to explore the islands.

If we go to Koh Samui, aren't we a long way from the other islands, like Phi Phi?

Yea, it's the opposite side.. I just meant flying to Samui for a relaxing time.
If you fly to Phuket, spend a day on a moped and on Patong beach.. Undeniably a great sunset! Then the boat to Phi Phi.. From there, a day trip to Maya Bay (The Beach).
Make it over to Krabi after that and if you want to do rock climbing, raleigh is beside that. Afterwards, you can get get over to the mainland and onto Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan.
The bus/boat back to Bangkok from there isn't too bad if you wanna save a bit of cash.

Again though, there's other islands so maybe a look at some blog websites or lonely planet thorn tree forums could be a good idea.

king_of_inismac

That's perfect. Really appreciate the help mate!

muireann50

I would def recommend Ko Tao, after the crazyness of Bangkok its so lovely and peaceful. Also Raleigh is beautiful, theres very little there but the beaches are amazing. I would second koh pha-ngan and Phi Phi too.Have a great time

Chefburns

I wouldn't rule out Phuket all together there are some nice areas there too. The very touristy place is called Patong beach. Very seedy and some what of a blemish on the face of Thailand....:p I stayed in Karon beach its a nice fishing village about 15mins away from Patong beach. So if you decide to go and investigate Patong, its not too far a drive and if you don't like it then you are far enough away to not have to go near it!:D

whatsyourquota

I would advise going to the islands in the gulf of thailand, koh samui, koh phangnan and koh tao if you are going during the summer as you will have a better chance of good weather. the monsoon season will be hitting phi phi and phuket at that time. When I was in phuket last summer it rained solidly for 3 days