Thailand

tonto24

Hey guys, my GF and I are planning a trip to Thailand. We have no idea where to start tbh! I need yere expertise on how to start planning. We have either 2/3 weeks time not sure yet! Best time of year to go? Flights? Where/How do i get a bargain? Should we try include vietnam/cambodia? Any info available is appreciated!

mel123

2/3 weeks you wont fit in Vietnam and Cambodia as well as Thailand, so my advice would be to stick to just Thailand if thats the country you want to see.
If you tell me what you want to do while there I could offer some advice, Ive been to Thailand many times, its my favorite place in the world :-) When I say what do you want to do, do you want to go trekking in the jungle, spend it on the beaches, full moon party, do a diving course....there is so much to do there, so if you can go for three weeks rather than two, i would defiantly recommend it.
Flights, just go on skyscanner and find the flights you want. I would say dont necessarily pick the cheapest, i always look at the travel time. Try and get there and back in the quickest time possible rather than going cheap and spending 7 hours in the stop off airport waiting on a connecting flight.

tonto24

mel123 wrote: »

2/3 weeks you wont fit in Vietnam and Cambodia as well as Thailand, so my advice would be to stick to just Thailand if thats the country you want to see.
If you tell me what you want to do while there I could offer some advice, Ive been to Thailand many times, its my favorite place in the world :-) When I say what do you want to do, do you want to go trekking in the jungle, spend it on the beaches, full moon party, do a diving course....there is so much to do there, so if you can go for three weeks rather than two, i would defiantly recommend it.
Flights, just go on skyscanner and find the flights you want. I would say dont necessarily pick the cheapest, i always look at the travel time. Try and get there and back in the quickest time possible rather than going cheap and spending 7 hours in the stop off airport waiting on a connecting flight.

Thanks for replying Mel. Jungle trek sounds cool. Defo goin t full moon party! Plan is to do 3 weeks! We wanna see the sights but have time to relax too.

Grahamf

Thailand is a great place for a 3 week holiday. The obvious places to visit are Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chaingmai Krabi and Koh Samui/Koh Phangan. Bangkok is fun and is a must just for the vibrance of the city (despite the traffic). Pattaya is Sin City and the GF might not be so impressed. Phuket is a mecca for tourists and offers a full range of tourist attractions. Chiangmai is in the mountains, very beautiful and a visit to Pai (150 km bus ride) should be on the to-do-list. Krabi is a real nice low key destination. Koh Samui, my personal favourite, is the stop off point for the Full Moon Party on Ko Phangan. Samui also offers great beaches and beautiful, afforable hotels. Things to be aware of: unless you are an experienced motorcycle driver, avoid renting a scooter, they are downright dangerous, Bangkok and Phuket police have imposed a 14.00 to 17.00 alcohol sales ban :-{, this ban appears not to be observed in Samui and other cities. Taxis drivers are rip-off merchants, don't trust them. Railways are great, but somewhat unreliable and breakdown regularly, the route from Bangkok to Suratthani (for the ferry to Samui) is beautiful hugging the coast through Hua Hin. Apart from the Full Moon Party, diving/snorkeling is great in Krabi, Phuket and Samui (Kho Tao), you can't come to Thailand without riding an elephant, jungle safari in a jeep is also enjoyable, river trip in Bangkok is interesting. Plenty of nightlife in all the centres and do not forget what is probably, some of the best eating in the world!!!! Enjoy your holiday.

athtrasna

Pattaya is nasty. Sin City suggests a comparison to Vegas and it's far from it other than the in your face prostitution everywhere. Spent 5 days there, wouldn't go back if you paid me.

On the other hand I loved Bangkok and have been there several times, as well as Chiang Mai and Hua Hin (we met the Queen)

Grahamf

Try Samui next time, it really is paradise on earth.

JohnCleary

I'd recommend at LEAST 4 weeks for Thailand. We've been there several times. Our last trip was just 4 weeks and despite that we've been there before, any less time would have been too rushed.

Best time to go? Winter - November - April is dry season (actually it could start raining in April, Google it). We go December / Jan and it's at the 'coolest' time - just perfect, usually around the 30's and dry. BUT, it's more expensive ('high' season) - worth it IMHO.

What are you into? Jungle and green, or island and beaches? We've covered almost all of the main areas from North to South, so give a little info and i'll guide you.

Finally - 3 weeks holiday and also do Cambodia / Vietnam? Forget it, stick with Thailand and enjoy it.

PS. Visa on Arrival as long as you're flying in, lasts 30 days, so nothing to worry about there. Before landing, you'll be handed a slip on the plane. Fill the whole lot in and you're sorted... when you land join the Q (usually pretty busy but can't comment as we use Fast Pass) and they'll stamp your passport.

tonto24

Hey guys thanks for replying.
Ok so we've decided on 3weeks doing just Thailand. We have been into trailfinders and they have sent us on an example trail in the middle of July as follows: cork-london-kuala lumpar-koh samui (3nights) -kho pha ngan (3 nights) -koh samui (2nights) -phi phi (4nights) -krabi(1night) -Bangkok (3nights) -hanoi (2nights).

So now that weve decided to not do hanoi weve got 2 nights to spare. Again none of this is set in stone. We're totally up for suggestions and improvements etc. This from trailfinders comes to 5200 for the 2 of us. Seems steep to me.

Again all advice is welcome! 🙌

JohnCleary

tonto24 wrote: »

Hey guys thanks for replying.
Ok so we've decided on 3weeks doing just Thailand. We have been into trailfinders and they have sent us on an example trail in the middle of July as follows: cork-london-kuala lumpar-koh samui (3nights) -kho pha ngan (3 nights) -koh samui (2nights) -phi phi (4nights) -krabi(1night) -Bangkok (3nights) -hanoi (2nights).

So now that weve decided to not do hanoi weve got 2 nights to spare. Again none of this is set in stone. We're totally up for suggestions and improvements etc. This from trailfinders comes to 5200 for the 2 of us. Seems steep to me.

Again all advice is welcome! 🙌

You'd be mad to do a package in Thailand, everything is SO easy to do yourself.

Your below itinerary shows NO Northern Thailand, which is fine if you just want beaches. But, I think you're missing out.

What i'd be inclined to do...
Land in Bangkok - no less than 2 nights

'Fly n Ferry' down to Koh Lipe (the nicest island i've been on in thailand) - Cheap with Nok Air - http://www.nokair.com/nokconnext/aspx/Index.aspx

(You're now right down South, so it's all back up North from now on, so not wasting any time looping over yourself)

Up to Krabi and on to Phi Phi.

Phi Phi to Railay (this can be skipped, but it's a lovely 'honeymoon' destination - amazing)

Railay into Krabi and fly from Krabi to Samui. If budget does not allow, you can still do this on a bus / ferry combo in one day.

Onto Samui (personally i'd give it a miss, but people seem to like it)

Koh Samui to Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan on to Koh Tao (has received deserved bad press with murders recently, but we've been there many times and never had an issue)

From Koh Tao, 'fly n ferry' back up to Bangkok. Another night or two in Bangkok (if it's your thing)


Back to reality

Take it at face value. I've been to Thailand numerous times with the GF and we're quite familar with the system over there. Don't be tempted to get on too long of a bus journey, or an over-night one. A long bus journey is a pain in the hole, and an over-night you waste TWO days... one day hanging around somewhere, and the day after is also wasted cause you're so knackered from the journey.

I repeat, Thailand is VERY easy country to get around with (generally) cheap internal flights (or dirt cheap busses / trains if that's your thing). The only expensive flights will be to / from Koh Samui as Bangkok Airways owns the airport hence has a monopoly.

PS. July is monsoon season, it's going to rain a LOT. That said, I think one of the seas (Gulf of Thailand / Andaman Sea) is less prone to rain... do a Google will tell you quickly. We only ever go in December / January as it's 'winter' so not as hot and drier.