What part of Thailand for Christmas?

fifib

hi guys, just booked flights for our honeymoon to Thailand in December. We will be there over xmas too and wondering should we aim to be on the islands for xmas day and stephens days as opposed to bankgkok and Chiang Mai.
We plan to go to the obvious places - bangkok, chiang mai and maybe 2 of the islands. do we do the typical route - bangkok for 2/3 nights, chiang mai for x nights and then down to islands? Were going from Dec 10th to Jan 2nd so just over 3 weeks. we also have new years there too and thinking maybe Bangkok for this
would love any advice at all

killbillvol2

Do you want to celebrate Christmas or ignore it?

I was in Bangkok last Christmas day and it was just a normal working day there. I'm sure I could have sought out other farang and gone to an Irish bar or whatever but I didn't. Even though I don't like Christmas it felt weird.

If you want some festive spirit I'd say the islands would be your best bet.

Tipperary animal lover

You'd want to be booking ASAP for over the Xmas period, the place is very very busy with Brits Aussies swedes and Russians. Prices will be doubled even treble in some resorts even in the local run places.... For party islands either Samui or Phuket/phi phi ... It all depends on what ye want!!

fifib

weve decided we want to be on one of the island for xmas so we have started looking into our accomadation for that now. were also going to be in chiang mai for new years
question on chiang mai - where is the center? Is it the big square north east of the airport? reading some reviews and they say a bit out from the center...does this really matter? whats transport like? especially at night?

killbillvol2

fifib wrote: »

weve decided we want to be on one of the island for xmas so we have started looking into our accomadation for that now. were also going to be in chiang mai for new years
question on chiang mai - where is the center? Is it the big square north east of the airport? reading some reviews and they say a bit out from the center...does this really matter? whats transport like? especially at night?

The big square you see on the map is the old town, surrounded by a moat. In the middle of that is the night market. I always stay near the night market - plenty of activity there. I don't know why anyone would recommend staying away from the centre, unless you want resort type places. Taxis are plentiful but I usually have a car when I'm there.

fifib

would these hotels be considered very far out from the center?
Singha Montra Lanna Boutique Style Hotel

Centara Khum Phaya Resort & Spa

killbillvol2

fifib wrote: »

would these hotels be considered very far out from the center?
Singha Montra Lanna Boutique Style Hotel

Centara Khum Phaya Resort & Spa

Silly prices from a quick look. I'll come back to you tomorrow with better info and maybe some recommendations.

What kind of place are you looking for?

fifib

its our honeymoon so reason i liked first one was cos of bath tub on balcony. seems bit more luxurious than others. price i saw for 4 nights is 430...prob bit over the average? but its new years too so prices prob up all over.
but we don't want to be too far out either stuck in hotel at night cos too far into the center.

fifib

also we were looking into doing a week in koh samui and a week in krabi or PhiPhi but doesn't look like you can get from one side to other without going back up to Bangkok?? or do people normally stick to one side for the islands?

killbillvol2

fifib wrote: »

its our honeymoon so reason i liked first one was cos of bath tub on balcony. seems bit more luxurious than others. price i saw for 4 nights is 430...prob bit over the average? but its new years too so prices prob up all over.
but we don't want to be too far out either stuck in hotel at night cos too far into the center.

I can see the attraction of the first one for a honeymoon and it's not too far out. Taxis are cheap anyway. It doesn't get great reviews though. The second one is kind of isolated but looks nice. The two places I would normally recommend are booked out I see.

killbillvol2

fifib wrote: »

also we were looking into doing a week in koh samui and a week in krabi or PhiPhi but doesn't look like you can get from one side to other without going back up to Bangkok?? or do people normally stick to one side for the islands?

You could do ferry and bus but that's not an experience you want on honeymoon! If time is tight just pick one side.

Graham_B18C

fifib wrote: »

also we were looking into doing a week in koh samui and a week in krabi or PhiPhi but doesn't look like you can get from one side to other without going back up to Bangkok?? or do people normally stick to one side for the islands?

Done this very journey (Koh Tao-Phi Phi) about 4 weeks ago, very easily done but as the previous poster said it's not something I'd wanna be doing on my honeymoon. We got a 6am ferry and after being left in Krabi Town for an hour and a half and the port for a further hour and a half, we got to Phi Phi at around 3pm. By no means our worst journey but certainly not fun!

I'd recommend getting a nice hotel on Samui and maybe Pha ngan and spend the few days there. Phi Phi is a cool place but if it rains it can smell pretty bad! Although Maya bay is probably the most gorgeous place I've ever been.

Here's a two min video I made while on a boat trip around Phi Phi, may help you decide if the trip would be worth it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75lc3cBr3vc

Oh and on the Chaing Mai thing, I'd stay somewhere inside the Old Quarter, it's not as crazy as the likes of Bangkok so you won't be kept up by traffic of drunk people! And make sure you go to the Thai boxing while there, special fight in the middle where they blindfold 6 fighters and they all fight, there's a red in the ring at the time! Probable the funniest thing I've ever seen!

fifib

hey guys, thanks for all the advice! been a great help. can I pick yer brains again on one last thing...we have 2 options to make most of less travel time and more time to enjoy ourselves

Option1 - Arrive in Bangkok and stay 3 nights, then fly to Koh Samui (Bangkok Airways) for 13 nights. Will book 3 of these nights down south of koh samui over xmas in fancy hotel and maybe another 2 nights in Koh Tao. Fly direct to Chiang Mai (again Bangkok Airways) for 4/5 nights including new years and leave Chiang Mai Jan 1st for last night in Bangkok. Return to Ireland Jan 2nd at noon.
total cost of the 3 flights for this is €350 each

Option2 - Arrive in Bangkok and stay 3 nights, then fly to Koh Samui (Bangkok Airways) for 10 nights. Leave Koh Samui and fly to Krabi (Bangkok Airways) for 3 nights for xmas on Railay beach. From here get Air Asia flight to Bangkok and then to Chiang Mai (all on same day - would take about 4 hours including stopover time) and have 5 nights in Chiang Mai to take in new years. return to bangkok on Jan 1st and fly home Jan 2nd.
Again 5 flights (mix of Bangkok Airways and Air Asia) is costing €350

I know option 1 means less flights but would we be bored in Koh samui for 2 weeks??
Phi Phi looks fab but by time we fly to Phuket/Krabi from Koh Samui and ferry etc, it seems like a lot of time travelling.

If we did all air asia flights we would be looking at €200 each but pretty much 2 days taken out getting to and from koh samui. so for extra 150 each I think shorter travel times would be best.

Graham_B18C

I only spent one day in Krabi after Phi Phi and didn't think it was up to too much, time far better spent in Chiang Mai IMO

killbillvol2

The area around Krabi is lovely but I don't think it's worth hopping around the country to stay there for a few days.

Will you be bored in Samui for 2 weeks? I would be but I won't be on my honeymoon!

Option 1 is your best bet - maybe spend an extra couple of nights in Chiang Mai instead of Samui.

Forget about the fly/ferry option to Samui - it's not a pleasant journey. Better to pay the extra for direct flights.

fifib

thanks so much for the advise guys. we've gone for option 1- 3 nights in bangkok, 13 nights in Koh samui and 5 nights in chiang mai. if we went to chiang mai earlier for more nights we would be travelling on xmas day and we wanted to spend it down in koh samui on the beach.
also glad we are getting direct flights to and from koh samui, would have been 2 whole days taken up just travelling so for us its worth the extra expense.

fifib

killbillvol2 wrote: »

The big square you see on the map is the old town, surrounded by a moat. In the middle of that is the night market. I always stay near the night market - plenty of activity there. I don't know why anyone would recommend staying away from the centre, unless you want resort type places. Taxis are plentiful but I usually have a car when I'm there.

is the night market called Night Bazaar? or do you mean in the middle of the square/old town?

Graham_B18C

fifib wrote: »

is the night market called Night Bazaar? or do you mean in the middle of the square/old town?

No the night bazaar is just outside the old town, it's ok but the street market in the old town is absolutely huge! It's very impressive and lovely to walk around. Only on once a week afair

ThunbergsAreGo

Hi,

How did you get on with this in the end? Thinking of Christmas abroad this year

bewhiched

We have booked for Stephens day fly to Amsterdam then down to Bangkok for 3nights then chaing mai for 3 nights kind of stuck of where of the best islands to stay. On our way home we fly to kuala Lumper with Malaysian airlines any help me great we fly out the 26th December and home the 18th January

fifib

naughtb4 wrote: »

Hi,

How did you get on with this in the end? Thinking of Christmas abroad this year

we had a fantastic time. we spent xmas in koh samui and new years in chiang Mai. was a big festival in chiang mai for new years. concerts every night we were there and all the streets were covered in stalls with food and clothes and other bits and bobs each night.
xmas in koh samui was great. wasnt very xmassy though most hotels have tree and decorations up. we even had xmas carolers (hotel staff) come to our room xmas eve singing jingle bells. was lovely but if your big into xmas it prob be a bit of a let down. its just another day there really with sun shining and people out on the beach as normal. you see a few around with xmas hats etc but it didnt feel like xmas all the same if you know what i mean.