Thailand for 2 weeks - any ideas?

boredatwork82

Hi there,

Myself and 1 of my mates (both of us late 20's)are thinking about going to Thailand for 2 weeks at the start of November.

I don't really know too much about Thailand other than Bangkok is supposed to be mental, and then all the islands are lovely!

So what we would kind of be looking in at is a few days (2-3 Nights) in Bangkok, see the sights and get mental!
And then move down to the Islands.
I called into a travel agent just out of curiosity, He suggested 3 nights in Bangkok (Majestic Grande to be specific looks ok, seems to get mixed reviews on tripadvisor), and then go to some place called Pattaya (staying in the IBIS, although he recommends upgrading to some woodland place).

He said to book in there, for 9 nights and there is enough islands and stuff to do and you can do them on day trips.

He said that you are best off having your hotels booked before you go out, or you could get ripped off and end up in dodgy places. I have a feeling that this is probably him trying to make a sale, or is he right?

Anyways if we had 12 night in Thailand, Wanting a bit of craic, and also islandy type thing. What would you recommend? The idea of going to an island and staying for a night or two or three and moving on to the next island sounds cool. Is it worthwhile doing this?

Anyways any opinions and advice welcome.
He came out witha total cost of €1100 each ( 800 flights, 300 accomadation)

If it worked out cheaper to do it myself I would have no problem doing it that way.

Thanks in advance.

wallpaper12

Christ almightly don't go to Pattaya. Prostitute capital of the world and none of the islands are near it.
As you are short on time I would fly to phuket, air asia do good deals, then get a bus/boat to Phi phi/krabi/koh lanta there are loads of islands around that area.
I also wouldn't bother booking accomodation except in Bangkok and if you want maybe the first night or two in the islands this then gives you the flexibility to move somewhere new whenever you want.

granty1892

trailfinders all the way, couldnt recommend them highly enough!

vibe666

i went there with my wife for 2 weeks and it was the best holiday we ever had, although all we keep saying is that we should have gone for a full month.

we saved a lot on our flights by booking them from the UK instead of Ireland and then getting connecting flights with ryanair from/to dublin and it shaved almost 50% off the price at the time, although i'm not sure if that would be the case now, its definitely worth looking at.

do you really want to stay in a posh hotel?

we stayed in the shanti lodge in bangkok and it was great. at the time i think it was 2-3 quid a night for a hostel type room where you just got a bed in with other people, but we 'upgraded' to our own air conditioned double room with bathroom which was about €8 per night inc. breakfast. EDIT: looks like it's about €20 these days, but it was a while ago that we went. the dorm room beds are about €6 now too.

we had 3 days in bangkok before going off exploring and then 2 days on the way back before we flew home again.

i did hav the huge advantage of knowing someone who lived there and spoke the language before we went and he collected us from the airport and drove us around to places we'd never have seen without him, inc. driving up to the bridge on the river kwai, as well as riding on the rebuilt rail line that fairly closely follows the old burma rail line with stops off to see all the old prison camps and graveyards and everything that goes with all that. a little morbid, but makes you appreciate how easy we have it these days and the vast sacrifices that were made that ensured our freedom.

and there was a nearby tiger temple which had hundreds of visitors there, but we were literally the only westerners, so that was a bit of a treat to see.

we also got to spend a night in the jungle staying with the parents of our friends which was somewhat of an experience and definitely something i'm never going to forget.

there's heaps to see there, so don't just limit yourselves to bangkok and the islands, it's a big country with a lot going on that is well worth seeing.

above all, just try everything and enjoy soaking it all up, it really is the experience of a lifetime.

boredatwork82

Thanks for all the replies folks. Yeah just doing a bit of reading and Pattaya seems to be dirty and horrible and covered in litter and the likes.

We used trailfinders before to organise a big group to South Africa - they were excellent. Must check them out again.

So phi Phi, Phuket and all teh other Islands are probably fair better than Pattaya. Must have a look at a map of Thailand to get a scale of it.

Kamjana

boredatwork82 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies folks. Yeah just doing a bit of reading and Pattaya seems to be dirty and horrible and covered in litter and the likes.

Some of us like dirty and horrible,and the litter is no worse than any town or city in Ireland.

Each to there own i guess

BuzzFish

Also check out Koh Phangan for the full moon party. One of those things you have do do before you die! It's on the opposite side of the mainland to Phi Phi but you can get a bus across (experience in itself).

As per the previous comments, avoid pattaya unless you are going t Thailand for that sort of thing.... and I'd almost say the same about Phuket because it's not that far behind these days. We said we'd go for the craic but the craic soon disappeared when I saw grown men "hanging out" with boys of about 12 after dark.

Just my 2c

Enjoy... it is an amazing country with amazing people and equally good food!

boredatwork82

I suppose your right about everywhere you go. But I think Phuket and that area is probably a bit nicer than Pattaya .

Looked it upd. We won't be around for a full moon party, but I think there is a half moon party. They are probably just as good. The other lad reckons we hostel it up, which I am cool with! So if they only cost a couple of a € a night, that would be sweet.

I suppose just book the flights and start planning then.

I did a check and it is probably ideal to fly in at one city and out at the other (ie Fly in at Phuket and fly out of Bangkok)

Would anyone have any preference for doing bangkok at the end or the beginning of your trip.
Maybe book into a nice 4* hotel for the last 3 nights of the holiday before you fly home.

Thanks again for all the feedback folks.

Sappa

boredatwork82 wrote: »

I suppose your right about everywhere you go. But I think Phuket and that area is probably a bit nicer than Pattaya .

Looked it upd. We won't be around for a full moon party, but I think there is a half moon party. They are probably just as good. The other lad reckons we hostel it up, which I am cool with! So if they only cost a couple of a € a night, that would be sweet.

I suppose just book the flights and start planning then.

I did a check and it is probably ideal to fly in at one city and out at the other (ie Fly in at Phuket and fly out of Bangkok)

Would anyone have any preference for doing bangkok at the end or the beginning of your trip.
Maybe book into a nice 4* hotel for the last 3 nights of the holiday before you fly home.

Thanks again for all the feedback folks.

Definitely Phuket over Pattaya,as for hostels forget about them in Thailand they are rare and not what you get in other countries with large communal areas.
Really why bother sharing a room when you can have your own for the same price,plenty of nice accomodation in Patong for 500 baht along Nanai road,no need to book just get a mini bus taxi from the airport to drop you off there towards the end on Patong beach side and plenty of great guesthouses.
As for leaving Bangkok til the end of your trip I would`nt,while I really like it your not going to be looking forward to a hectic city after the beach life,do 2 days in Bk at the start,if you want a really nice hotel look at the Anantarra Silom,quality place.

Fratton Fred

I spent two nights in Pattya and as long as you aren't easily shocked, it is a very good place, some great golf courses around there apparently and I found the markets there to be cheap.

RadioClash

Regarding Pattaya, was there twice going to and from places as a convenient stopping off place for a night. Yes, it does have it's seedy side but in fairness it is trying to shed its sex tourism image. Some decent shopping to be had there and as someone mentioned earlier, golf if you're into it. It also has decent Thai and Western restaurants(home to the worlds biggest hamburger believe it or not). But I wouldn't go there by design.

boredatwork82

RadioClash wrote: »

Regarding Pattaya, was there twice going to and from places as a convenient stopping off place for a night. Yes, it does have it's seedy side but in fairness it is trying to shed its sex tourism image. Some decent shopping to be had there and as someone mentioned earlier, golf if you're into it. It also has decent Thai and Western restaurants(home to the worlds biggest hamburger believe it or not). But I wouldn't go there by design.

Pattaya just went up a few notchs in my book!
Man Vs Food Thai Style!
It would definitely be worth it just for that so!

Tefral

Op you might get some ideas out of my thread.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=77383776