Suggestions about Thailand

getoffme

Hi everybody

Just wondering is there anyone who can help me out,wanting to go to thailand next year for about 10 to 14 days either mid july or mid sept.Have no idea where to head from Bangkok or how long go stay in each resort/island,heading with my better half,looking for a bit of relaxation,sightseeing and a little partying.......is it expensive to flight internal?At the moment im thinking 2nights bangkok....then on to Ko Samui and maybe on to Phuket??
Any suggestion greatly appreciated
thanks in advance:)

Stinicker

I would recommend a minimum of two weeks but for any real value from the trip you'd be better off with three considering its distance and cost of flights, it not like a weekend in Spain where you can easily go back without large expense.

I was there for three weeks in February and March and travelled a good bit taking in 7 days in Bangkok, 3 in Pattaya, 5 in Chiang Mai, 5 in Ko Samui and two nights spent on overnight trains getting from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and also down from Bangkok to Samui.

Alot of what you do in Thailand really depends on the type of person you are and what you are interested in etc.

If you were going for two weeks then maybe four night in Bangkok with three at the begining and one at the end before flying home unless you fly out of Phuket which is more expensive. Ko Samui isn't that great I thought and places like Krabi and Ko Phi Phi are supposed to be better supposedly although I've never been there myself. Ko Phangan maybe a better choice and the full moon party maybe worth checking out if your a teen or in your twenties less so if you are retired or middle aged.

There is loads to see and do in Thailand and I love the country and the people and my trip which was my first foray outside the developed world left a lasting impression on me and I hope to return sometime next year again as there is just something about it that appeals to me personally.

Internal flights are quite cheap (with the exception of Ko Samui where the airline owns the airport) and a last minute flight from Samui to Bangkok one way set me back €105, so best book that leg early if you are going to do it, overnight train is a great way to travel for very little money, however the train + ferry to Ko Samui is not worth the hassle as you have to disembark the train at 4am to get a bus to the ferry and onwards, I had money stolen there also so I guess I am biased against this option. If your going to Ko phangan or Ko Tao you will have to take the ferry as of those three islands only Samui has an airport, but you could fly to Samui and get the ferry onwards too.

P.s Welcome to boards

fuddy1

Would defo recommend heading up north to chang mai. Had a fantastic time there. lots of relaxing, culture, white water rafting and swimming with elephants! great memories

Tieko

I would recommend spending as little time as possible in Bangkok. I am just back from a round the world trip and bangkok is still in my top 3 places I liked the least.

Koh Phangan is a lovely island. If you are not into all the partying, the north west side of the island is very relaxing, with nice beaches, like Haad Tian and Haad Salad.

Koh Tao is nice but very touristy and really aimed at diving. Its quiet small but nice for a day or two.

Koh pi pi is really expensive and not great in my opinion. I heard really good things about koh Chang and Krabi but never made it there.

Chiang Mai is nice and worth 4-5 days. I definitely recommend the Elephant Nature Park, it was an amazing day out. it is a sanctuary for the elephants who have been maltreated and forced into giving rides and painting pictures. I also enjoyed the Tiger Kingdom.

You will hav plenty of time in 2 weeks, just get out of bangkok quickly. I would probably recommend flying to the islands. it is a bit of a trek from Bangkok and on the ferry over and back, everyone was sick, not pleasant

getoffme

Thanks for everyones opinions much appriecated

igorbiscan

Hey there,been to koh chang a few years ago,good spot,very relaxing if you wanna chill.Had a great luxurious hut on the beach for small money.Only thing watch out for the weather,rainy season n all that,had a couple of very heavy rainy days there,.but a really nice place and not overrun with tourism like some other parts of thailand.

Polygon_window

Tieko wrote: »

I would recommend spending as little time as possible in Bangkok. I am just back from a round the world trip and bangkok is still in my top 3 places I liked the least.

Koh Phangan is a lovely island. If you are not into all the partying, the north west side of the island is very relaxing, with nice beaches, like Haad Tian and Haad Salad.

Koh Tao is nice but very touristy and really aimed at diving. Its quiet small but nice for a day or two.

Koh pi pi is really expensive and not great in my opinion. I heard really good things about koh Chang and Krabi but never made it there.

Chiang Mai is nice and worth 4-5 days. I definitely recommend the Elephant Nature Park, it was an amazing day out. it is a sanctuary for the elephants who have been maltreated and forced into giving rides and painting pictures. I also enjoyed the Tiger Kingdom.

You will hav plenty of time in 2 weeks, just get out of bangkok quickly. I would probably recommend flying to the islands. it is a bit of a trek from Bangkok and on the ferry over and back, everyone was sick, not pleasant

eh Phi Phi is class - probably the best island, lost a little bit of character due to the tsunami and a crappy oirish bar is now open there but apart from that its fantastic!! to say phangnan is nicer that phi phi is just farcical!! clearly you didnt get a boat around to the little islans off it and to where they filmed the beach, what exactly did you do there? It is one of the more expensive islands in thailand but its buttons to pay for paradise!!

bamboozle

Tieko wrote: »

I would recommend spending as little time as possible in Bangkok. I am just back from a round the world trip and bangkok is still in my top 3 places I liked the least.

Koh Phangan is a lovely island. If you are not into all the partying, the north west side of the island is very relaxing, with nice beaches, like Haad Tian and Haad Salad.

Koh Tao is nice but very touristy and really aimed at diving. Its quiet small but nice for a day or two.

Koh pi pi is really expensive and not great in my opinion. I heard really good things about koh Chang and Krabi but never made it there.

Chiang Mai is nice and worth 4-5 days. I definitely recommend the Elephant Nature Park, it was an amazing day out. it is a sanctuary for the elephants who have been maltreated and forced into giving rides and painting pictures. I also enjoyed the Tiger Kingdom.

You will hav plenty of time in 2 weeks, just get out of bangkok quickly. I would probably recommend flying to the islands. it is a bit of a trek from Bangkok and on the ferry over and back, everyone was sick, not pleasant

Kao Phanang & Kao Tao are sweet spots, we spent ages in a lovely hotel in Haad Salad,
i wouldnt spend any time at Kao Samui, just fly there and take ferry out to Phanang & Tao.

beagle001

Polygon_window wrote: »

Tieko wrote: »

I would recommend spending as little time as possible in Bangkok. I am just back from a round the world trip and bangkok is still in my top 3 places I liked the least.

Koh Phangan is a lovely island. If you are not into all the partying, the north west side of the island is very relaxing, with nice beaches, like Haad Tian and Haad Salad.

Koh Tao is nice but very touristy and really aimed at diving. Its quiet small but nice for a day or two.

Koh pi pi is really expensive and not great in my opinion. I heard really good things about koh Chang and Krabi but never made it there.

Chiang Mai is nice and worth 4-5 days. I definitely recommend the Elephant Nature Park, it was an amazing day out. it is a sanctuary for the elephants who have been maltreated and forced into giving rides and painting pictures. I also enjoyed the Tiger Kingdom.

You will hav plenty of time in 2 weeks, just get out of bangkok quickly. I would probably recommend flying to the islands. it is a bit of a trek from Bangkok and on the ferry over and back, everyone was sick, not pleasant

eh Phi Phi is class - probably the best island, lost a little bit of character due to the tsunami and a crappy oirish bar is now open there but apart from that its fantastic!! to say phangnan is nicer that phi phi is just farcical!! clearly you didnt get a boat around to the little islans off it and to where they filmed the beach, what exactly did you do there? It is one of the more expensive islands in thailand but its buttons to pay for paradise!!

Got to disagree with you,
Being going to pi phi island for over 10 yrs and ever since the tsunami the place has just gone ridiculously expensive for what you get,it's over run with tourists and has lost the island feel.
While koh phangnan is a nitemare during the full moon with drunk falang outside of this time it's relatively quiet,you can drive around at ease it's no where near as expensive as koh pi phi and it has that island backpacker feel which is becoming more elusive in Thailand these days.
Word of warning to the op the prices in the guide books do not represent the prices in Thailand right now,it has become an expensive country and with a weak euro even more expensive to visit but it's still a great country to travel to.

two wheels good

Avoid the overnight buses from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

I recently read of a tragic story of three friends killed in road accident on a journey with a private bus company. Apparently it's a high risk journey. Government bus companies are supposed to be better but the emphatic advice was take the train.

shellybelly08

Hey

Not sure whether any of you can help going to thailand on 30th Nov for two weeks before Oz.. Headin to Bangkok/Phi Phi/Koh samui/Koh Phangan

Would you recommend everyone gettin the general vaccinations??

Any help greatly appreciated..

Thanks

Michelle!

FurryFace

Don't miss Safariland in Bangkok.

Stinicker

two wheels good wrote: »

Avoid the overnight buses from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

I recently read of a tragic story of three friends killed in road accident on a journey with a private bus company. Apparently it's a high risk journey. Government bus companies are supposed to be better but the emphatic advice was take the train.

The overnight train in to Chiang Mai would be a better way to travel or else fly. The biggest risk of travelling by Bus is probably not death by traffic accident but rather theft of your belongings, it happens very regularly there and if travelling by bus take a bum bag (fanny pack) or money belt with all your money, credit cards and passport etc on your person, and leave nothing of value in your bags if they are going in the hold of the coach as they have guys in the hold with flashlights opening bags and stealing the money, cameras etc. Happened to me on a bus and they stole almost $300 in cash but thankfully they left the netbook and camera as these guys were after cash only; and I'd have been gutted to lose the photos and videos I took so another good idea if you have a camera is to put the SD cards in with your valuable also or else back the photos up onto a memory stick and store them in with your money.

shellybelly08

Hey there

Can someone please tell me the easiet way from Phi Phi to Koh Phangan... a flight from Phuket to Koh Samui and a boat over ??

Naid23

shellybelly08 wrote: »

Hey there

Can someone please tell me the easiet way from Phi Phi to Koh Phangan... a flight from Phuket to Koh Samui and a boat over ??

Thats pretty much the only way. I did it that way in the opposite direction - Koh Phi Phi - Samui and it was something like 60e for a one way flight which wasnt too bad and it cancels out the hassle of getting buses etc - I heard some horror stories from travellers in Thailand about that.

Get to Phi phi if you can!.. Amazing doesnt cover it and if you get the right accomm it aint that expensive. My BF and I spent 7 days there and barely spent 300E between us!!

Enjoy