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Thailand for 14 Days
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28-03-2017 5:41pm#1
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As mentioned above, you're trying to do too much (imho) in 14 days.
Bangkok alone deserves 3 days between exploring / shopping.
Phuket? Personally i'd give it a miss.... you'd may aswell be in Tenerife.
Samui the same, although it's a handy stop off point between the islands.
You're missing the best parts for picture perfect beaches (islands right down South) but forget about it with your time-scale.
Flying is your best bet since you've so little time, don't even consider wasting a day/night on long haul busses.
If it were me, i'd restrict it to: Bangkok => Fly to Samui => Stay Koh Samui 2-3 nights => Boat to Koh Phangan => Phangan for a few nights => Boat to Kao Tao => Koh Tao for a few nights => "Fly n' Ferry" from Koh Tao back to Bangkok (you get a ferry to Chumpon and fly from Chumpon to Bangkok)
This is probably not what you want to hear but honestly the worst thing you can do is try to squeeze too much in too little time... what will happen then is you'll be able to say you went to loads of places but you'll have spent the majority of your 14 days travelling rather than enjoying places. Honestly you want 2-4 days at least on each of the islands as otherwise you'll only be starting to enjoy it and you'll be packing your bags to head off.
This is just my opinion as someone who has been travelling to Thailand for the past 5 years (I'm not a creep, I go with my Irish GF as we love the adventure / sun mixture of Thailand)
:pac:
-Edit- Just to add, i'm not even mentioning the North here as you simply won't have time. But if you ever go back, time up North will be time well spent... lovely part of the country.
Krabi was mentioned and if you had the time i'd definitely spend a night or two at Railay - real honeymoon destination and a wonderful chill out spot. Krabi town itself should only be used to pass through, but the surrounding area is lovely.0 -
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Firstly, thank you all so so much for your recommendations... will definitely be taking them all on board! You're all really generous with your time and tips!Your trying to squeeze a lot in for a 14 day trip. Bear in mind some internal flights in Thailand can be expensive, in particular the Samui - Bangkok route is a monopoly. Full moon is only on once a month so if it's something your keen to see then that will most likely dictate your route.
Going between Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao is all ferrys of about 60-90 mins. Getting to the otherside to go to Phi Phi/Phuket is around the 7 to 8 hours by boat/bus/boat. It's not an awful trip and is about 15 euro per person and is easy to book when on the ground there.
With full moon time you need to bear in mind most places have a minimum stay of around 4 days and you need to book well in advance to ensure somewhere decent at a good price. Any questions through them at me.
Thanks Duffman! Noticed alright that Bangkok - Samui and vice versa is a little steep (€130 one way ticket), which is a little annoying. We actually land in Bangkok the morning of the Full Moon party, so we won't get to see it. But we aren't overly dissapointed about that to be honest as have heard mixed reviews about it.
We were thinking of flying from Phi Phi to Samui to save some time. It might be a stupid question, but what are the views like on the boat? Is it worth getting the 7/8 hour boat over flying just for the views or are they incredibly cramped and stuffy etc? Would you be able to sleep on one of these?pinkmonkey045 wrote: »(my favourite place- loved Chang mai city, did a coking course in the countryside, and visited a fab elephant sanctuary). Then flew to ko samui direct. Stayed in bophut (nice place, I had gotten tips on this!). Went to ko tao for 2 days - it was ok but not amazing. If the weather is good on the west side (phuket etc) I'd stay over that side only if you had to pick.
There is a cheap ferry that seems to take you from ko samui to phuket (I'm sure there's a us in between!) so I wouldn't bother with another internal flight for that, if you decide to do both.
Good luck!
Thanks Pinky Monkey! Can I ask, do you remember the name of the farm etc of where you did the cookery class? This is something that we would really love to do! Can this only be done in Northern Thailand, or can elephant/ tiger sanctuary be visited on any of the islands?
Definitely going to look up Bophut and see what it's all about!Went to Thailand last year for 3 weeks with the GF. Absolutely loved it.
Started in Koh Samui, liked it a lot! We stayed in Bophut in an unreal hotel. Buses to the busy area of Chaweng went to and from our hotel nearly every hour! Loads to do and plenty to see. We did a day trip to Koh Nang Yang in Koh Tao, along with some snorkeling along the way, which was reasonably priced.
We then went to Koh Phangan by ferry for the full moon party. Crazy experience and a must if you like to party. Stay as close to the beach where it happens as possible as taxis are a rip off and really hard to get when trying to get out of there in the early morning.
Back to Samui for 1 night and onto Krabbi, stayed there 2 nights, nice beaches etc but I wouldnt mark it as a must. You're in Thailand, nice beaches are a given nearly everywhere you go!
Ferry to Phi Phi, not a nice experience in a cramped up boat with very lil room and no aircon. We stayed in a resort in Phi Phi outside of the actual busyness of town. Although this was the nicest place I stayed in for the whole holiday I would not recommend it. Getting longboats to and from there was expensive and we missed out on most of the night life.
Back to Krabbi and flight up to Chiang Mai. Amazing place. Elephant sanctuary and flight of the gibbons are a must! We also went to tiger sanctuary - a lot of people disagree with it but up to yourself. Would put Chiang Mai on the must list.
Back to Bangkok where we stayed for few nights. I see a lot of people saying they disliked it but I thought it was really cool. I would spend at least 2 nights there. Loads to do and some crazy stuff going on in the red light districts. Definitely worth a look.
You have 2 weeks there. I felt like we rushed a lot of stuff in 3! You need to decide what you wanna do there i.e jungle in Chiang Mai, or just beaches of the islands!
PM for any hotel info or anything at all you want to ask!
Thanks for the tips Tonto... the 2 of you as a couple seem to be into the same kind of things as myself and himself! Would love to do snorkelling so definitely going to look into this! Any recommendations of companies?
In relation to Krabbi, is there anything to do on this Island that you can't do on any other island? If not, I think we will leave it off!
Flight of the Gibbons looks AMAZING, so definitely going to look into this! Would love to know some more info on the Tige sanctuary is possible?JohnCleary wrote: »For Bangkok rooftop bar, skip the Banyan Tree (over-priced)
Instead, go to Octave @ Marriot Hotel on Sukhumvit Rd. Very easy to get to, just get the BTS (Skytrain) to 'Thong Lor', walk 100m east and you can't miss it.
No strict dress code, but don't arrive in a wife beater and flip flops. Nice shorts and runners are fine.
Between 5-7pm they do Happy Hour = 2for1 (400baht for 2 drinks which is good value for rooftop).
When sun sets I prefer the view looking down Sukhumvit rather than looking at the river.
Thanks John, just had a look at this, looks beautiful, so will do that instead of Banyan Tree!JohnCleary wrote: »As mentioned above, you're trying to do too much (imho) in 14 days.
Bangkok alone deserves 3 days between exploring / shopping.
Phuket? Personally i'd give it a miss.... you'd may aswell be in Tenerife.
Samui the same, although it's a handy stop off point between the islands.
You're missing the best parts for picture perfect beaches (islands right down South) but forget about it with your time-scale.
Flying is your best bet since you've so little time, don't even consider wasting a day/night on long haul busses.
If it were me, i'd restrict it to: Bangkok => Fly to Samui => Stay Koh Samui 2-3 nights => Boat to Koh Phangan => Phangan for a few nights => Boat to Kao Tao => Koh Tao for a few nights => "Fly n' Ferry" from Koh Tao back to Bangkok (you get a ferry to Chumpon and fly from Chumpon to Bangkok)
This is probably not what you want to hear but honestly the worst thing you can do is try to squeeze too much in too little time... what will happen then is you'll be able to say you went to loads of places but you'll have spent the majority of your 14 days travelling rather than enjoying places. Honestly you want 2-4 days at least on each of the islands as otherwise you'll only be starting to enjoy it and you'll be packing your bags to head off.
This is just my opinion as someone who has been travelling to Thailand for the past 5 years (I'm not a creep, I go with my Irish GF as we love the adventure / sun mixture of Thailand):pac:
-Edit- Just to add, i'm not even mentioning the North here as you simply won't have time. But if you ever go back, time up North will be time well spent... lovely part of the country.
Krabi was mentioned and if you had the time i'd definitely spend a night or two at Railay - real honeymoon destination and a wonderful chill out spot. Krabi town itself should only be used to pass through, but the surrounding area is lovely.
Thanks John, really valuable info.
What is the story with Fly n Ferry price wise? Is it much cheaper than flying Samui - Bangkok and what is the time?
Totally agree with not trying to fit too much in, so that's why I've strated planning so early!
Really appreciate anything else that you think will help me with the planning?!I went to Thailand at the start of last December for 2 weeks with my gf. We did a few nights in krabi and then 1 night on KoTao and a few nights on Ko phanghan, 1 night in Bangkok. we were looking for tropical peace and scenery. we did not like Bangkok. we stayed in a wooden palace on ko phanghan and that was by far the best part of our trip. rented a kayak for the day and went out to Railay beach was also a major highlight. my advice is travel at the start and then keep a few days at the end to relax. if you have to travel you will be planning that and not relaxing.
Hi Zenify, thanks for the above... can you remember the name of the wooden place in Ko Phangan? How long does it take to kayak from Ko Phangan to Railay Beach?I would avoid Phuket and Koh Samui. Phi Phi is very touristy but a good spot for partying.
Koh Lanta was very nice and chilled.
You probably don't have time to visit the North but Chiang Mai is great , lots of trekking and things to do. We did a cooking class on an organic farm and it was one of the highlights of our trip last year.
Thanks Grahamor! Can you remember the name of the cooking class? Also, do you know if cooking etc can be done in teh southern part of Thailand?0 -
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