Thailand Recommendations

toadfly

Hi All,

Myself and hubby are hoping to go to Thailand in September 2014 for three weeks. Hoping to go to Bangkok. Chiang Mai and Koh Samui so looking for recommendations for hotels in those areas. Also ways to go from one to the other. Flights Bangkok-Chiang Mai are only €30pp each way but nearer to €200pp Chiang Mai-Koh Samui. We will fly I think if possible to save time. Are the overnight trains ok or a bit of a nightmare?!

We have been to Bangkok for 4 nights on the way to Australia but that was 8 years ago

We are only starting our research so the the above places aren't set in stone. Any recommendations are very welcome of places to go, things to see.

Definitely want to get 5 days or so on an awesome beach but I know its rainy season so the east/gulf side is better weather wise from what I have read. Also hoping to go a jungle trek in Chiang Mai.

So all recommendations welcome, thank you.

athtrasna

Depends on your budget but I love the Dusit hotels. They're a Thai luxury hotel chain. Their flagship hotel the Dusit Thani in on the Silom Road in Bangkok so really well located. The have a really funky hotel the D2 in Chiang Mai too. Unfortunately they don't have a Koh Samui property.

cowlove

I was in Thailand 3 years ago for our honeymoon. We did bangkok and koh tao. Friends of ours had told us it was the nicer island than koh samui. We got the overnight train to the islands and I could not recommend it enough. It was one of our highlights of the trip!

When on koh tao we stayed in accommodation for approx 10 euro per night and they were perfect. We splashed out one night and stayed in the koh tao resort which was paradise! That was about 100 euro for the night.

We didnt go to Chang mai so I can't offer any recommendations for that. We went up to kanchanaburi and visited the waterfalls and rode elephants there.

Very jealous if your trip. I'd go back tomorrow.

toadfly

athtrasna wrote: »

Depends on your budget but I love the Dusit hotels. They're a Thai luxury hotel chain. Their flagship hotel the Dusit Thani in on the Silom Road in Bangkok so really well located.

Budget not massive and those look more expensive than we can afford but hoping to get a nice hotel for last few nights in Bangkok so thanks that one might be suitable.

cowlove wrote: »

I was in Thailand 3 years ago for our honeymoon. We did bangkok and koh tao. Friends of ours had told us it was the nicer island than koh samui. We got the overnight train to the islands and I could not recommend it enough. It was one of our highlights of the trip!

When on koh tao we stayed in accommodation for approx 10 euro per night and they were perfect. We splashed out one night and stayed in the koh tao resort which was paradise! That was about 100 euro for the night.

We went up to kanchanaburi and visited the waterfalls and rode elephants there.

I was looking at Ko Tao before Koh Samui but didn't see how to get there! Do you remember the accommodation on Ko Tao?

Also looking at Kanchanaburi instead of Chiang Mai, is CM worth the longer journey?

cowlove

toadfly wrote: »

Budget not massive and those look more expensive than we can afford but hoping to get a nice hotel for last few nights in Bangkok so thanks that one might be suitable.



I was looking at Ko Tao before Koh Samui but didn't see how to get there! Do you remember the accommodation on Ko Tao?

Also looking at Kanchanaburi instead of Chiang Mai, is CM worth the longer journey?

You get to koh tao the same way as koh samui, by boat. You either get off the boat at koh samui or koh tao.

We stayed at freedom beach when we first arrived (Google it, the views are amazing!), koh tao resort is right next door. We also stayed in Tanote bay (great for snorkelling). These areas are away from the main part of the island which is sairee beach, where most of the hotels and bars are. Wherever you stay nothing is far away. It is a very small island. We moved around and stayed in a different place each night!

J-B

I would definitely recommend going to Chiang Mai as it is a lovely city to visit. There are loads of day trips you can do while there and one which I would absolutely recommend is to visit the Elephant Nature Park (its about 60k north of CM). Its a sanctuary for older/rescued elephants and its really beautiful, the elephants are looked after really well and you get to walk around with them, feed them, wash them etc. There are a lot of elephant activities in Thailand which involve the elephants "painting", dancing etc but the Nature Park is one of the few places that they are treated properly. Another great day out is to go to one of the cooking classes in CM - you learn to cook loads of different dishes and get to try them as well

Gatica

Went to the Elephant Nature park in Chiang Mai. It was a brilliant experience to spend the day observing and feeding the elephants. They look after abandoned and injured elephants so it's a worthy cause. The food provided is also quite good and the drive out is very scenic.
Also went to Tiger Kingdom but it's a bit of a rip off in my opinion.

toadfly

cowlove wrote: »

You get to koh tao the same way as koh samui, by boat. You either get off the boat at koh samui or koh tao.

Sorry I meant there are flights from Chiang Mai - Koh Samui but not Ko Tao.

J-B wrote: »

I would absolutely recommend is to visit the Elephant Nature Park (its about 60k north of CM). Its a sanctuary for older/rescued elephants and its really beautiful, the elephants are looked after really well and you get to walk around with them, feed them, wash them etc. There are a lot of elephant activities in Thailand which involve the elephants "painting", dancing etc but the Nature Park is one of the few places that they are treated properly. Another great day out is to go to one of the cooking classes in CM - you learn to cook loads of different dishes and get to try them as well

These are the kinds of things I would be interested in, thanks! I really don't want to support the kinds of places that exploit animals so I love the sounds of the Elephant Sanctuary. Definitely interested in a cooking class. Would that just be booked from any of the hotels?

Gatica wrote: »

Went to the Elephant Nature park in Chiang Mai. It was a brilliant experience to spend the day observing and feeding the elephants. They look after abandoned and injured elephants so it's a worthy cause. The food provided is also quite good and the drive out is very scenic.
Also went to Tiger Kingdom but it's a bit of a rip off in my opinion.

Thanks Gatica, Elephant Nature Park is on the to do list!

Any recommendations for diving or treks?

J-B

You should be able to book both from your hotel. I cant remember the name of the place I did the cooking class but if you look at Tripadvisor it will give you the names of the most popular classes.

enricoh

koh tao over koh samui everyday. fly to koh samui though - coolest airport i was ever in! its made outta bamboo!

Leslie91

enricoh wrote: »

koh tao over koh samui everyday. fly to koh samui though - coolest airport i was ever in! its made outta bamboo!

I'm also looking at Thailand for a family holiday this year. Many are recommending Koh Samui as it is easier to get to. But I must check out Koh Tao if it is not too hard to get to.

We are looking for something handyish seeing as we are travelling with kids. Once there we want to stay in the same place/resort chill out and eat fantastic Thai food. We don't have a whole lot to spend mind you so we'd be looking for best value place to stay with competition in the food business nearby. Hate to think one 'had to eat' where one is staying and so they can charge what they like.

chopper6

I wouldnt even think about bringing kids to thailand....it's an extremely long way away,the heat can be brutal,sanitary facilities may not be the best and roads/paths/transport generally can be very taxing for adults nevermind kids.

First Up

Take a look at Adelphi Suites as a hotel option in BKK. It is close to the Sky Train and in the heart of the Sukhumvit area. Excellent rooms and facilities.

enricoh

enricoh wrote: »

koh tao over koh samui everyday. fly to koh samui though - coolest airport i was ever in! its made outta bamboo!

totally agree with this, the nicest airport i have ever been in EVER!!

johnnybegood

What are the best islands to visit in February? Andaman?

Leslie91

Some are saying Hua Hin as it is only a bus transfer from Bangkok. Anybody know of any nice resort style places in Hua Hin?

First Up

Leslie91 wrote: »

Some are saying Hua Hin as it is only a bus transfer from Bangkok. Anybody know of any nice resort style places in Hua Hin?

Hua Hin has somewhere for every budget. Easy drive from BKK. Nice town - popular with Scandinavians but lots of Thais go there too. Mercifully free of Russians and the low lifes you find in Pattaya.
I've stayed in a place called Yaiya which is nice but not cheap and a bit out of town.
Have a good look on Tripadvisor and Virtual Tourist.

Leslie91

First Up wrote: »

Hua Hin has somewhere for every budget. Easy drive from BKK. Nice town - popular with Scandinavians but lots of Thais go there too. Mercifully free of Russians and the low lifes you find in Pattaya.
I've stayed in a place called Yaiya which is nice but not cheap and a bit out of town.
Have a good look on Tripadvisor and Virtual Tourist.

Thanks so much... seems like the Hua Hin area might be the place alright. We'd ideally like somewhere not far from town but close to a/the beach. We'd like to have a choice of where to eat/drink at night and I understand the town is quite good in that regard. I will trawl thru tripadvisor to see can I find a resort that will give us what we are looking for.

First Up

Leslie91 wrote: »

Thanks so much... seems like the Hua Hin area might be the place alright. We'd ideally like somewhere not far from town but close to a/the beach. We'd like to have a choice of where to eat/drink at night and I understand the town is quite good in that regard. I will trawl thru tripadvisor to see can I find a resort that will give us what we are looking for.

I would certainly go back, but would look at different hotel options than last time. The food scene is great -fantastic seafood on the piers. Probably cheaper hotels if not right on the beach but would only be a short stroll.

toadfly

Ok so flights are booked. We are going for the first 3 weeks in September. Still undecided where to go but thinking Chiang Mai (4/5days), Koh Samui (3 days), Koh Pha Nang (2 days), Koh Tao (5 days), Bangkok (4 days).

What do ye reckon?

First Up

toadfly wrote: »

Ok so flights are booked. We are going for the first 3 weeks in September. Still undecided where to go but thinking Chiang Mai (4/5days), Koh Samui (3 days), Koh Pha Nang (2 days), Koh Tao (5 days), Bangkok (4 days).

What do ye reckon?

All great spots but five locations in 18 days is putting you under more travel stress than I would advise. Chang Mai is very different from the islands so definitely do that but three islands might be one, or maybe two more than necessary. I would also give BKK more than four days given that two of them might be your arrival and departure days.

toadfly

We are arriving 9am 31st August, thinking heading straight to Chiang Mai until 5th Sept, fly to Koh Samui until 8th Sept, Koh Pha Nang until 10th Sept for full moon party, Koh Tao until 15th and then Bangkok until 19th.

Maybe we should cut out Koh samui and do Koh Pha Nang for 4 night instead?

chopper6

toadfly wrote: »

We are arriving 9am 31st August, thinking heading straight to Chiang Mai until 5th Sept, fly to Koh Samui until 8th Sept, Koh Pha Nang until 10th Sept for full moon party, Koh Tao until 15th and then Bangkok until 19th.

Maybe we should cut out Koh samui and do Koh Pha Nang for 4 night instead?

Thailand is kinda different to anywhere else..you need a lot of time to travel the place properly.

And a visit benefits from not having concrete travel plans...some places you will like better than others and some you'll want to stay in for longer.

For example koh phanang pretty much empties after the full moon party and a lot of people leave samui then too.

If you were to do one island before chang mai i would reccomend Koh Samet...It's only 3 hours bus ride from BKK,there's plenty of nightlife(including a full moon party) but it's also pretty laid back and is the driest of the islands during monsoon.

Go with the flow but try not to spend too much time getting from one place to another,its wasting time you could be enjoying.

First Up

chopper6 wrote: »

Thailand is kinda different to anywhere else..you need a lot of time to travel the place properly.

And a visit benefits from not having concrete travel plans...some places you will like better than others and some you'll want to stay in for longer.

For example koh phanang pretty much empties after the full moon party and a lot of people leave samui then too.

If you were to do one island before chang mai i would reccomend Koh Samet...It's only 3 hours bus ride from BKK,there's plenty of nightlife(including a full moon party) but it's also pretty laid back and is the driest of the islands during monsoon.

Go with the flow but try not to spend too much time getting from one place to another,its wasting time you could be enjoying.

Completely agree; last thing you need in Thailand is having to work for a schedule rather than having it work for you.

toadfly

Could either of you suggest a rough itinerary for our dates?

I'm happy enough to book as we go but thinking we will need internal flights booked in advance. I would prefer to do Chiang Mai area first and Bangkok last.

justback83

johnnybegood wrote: »

What are the best islands to visit in February? Andaman?

Similian Islands - amazing!! Only accessible from November - March. These are the most beautiful places I have ever been!

toadfly

Any other recommendations? Thinking of booking Park Plaza in Bagkok for first two nights to get some sleep and have a look around. Have Sandlewood booked in Koh Samui for four days near the end and that's all so far.

Do we just book trains, ferry etc when we want to travel or does it need to be done in advance?

How much should we expect to pay in a taxi from BKK airport?

Really unsure of where to book in Chiang Mai. Just book the first night and then play it by ear?

Thanks everyone