Thinking Thailand - Where should I start.

moneysavvy35 wrote: »

Is the Centara karon a good choice then? as in quite central? Reviews seem good on Trip Advisor. Also any hotel i'm looking at will look to see if I can use any 10% off vouchers bringing the price down abit when im ready to book.

this chiang mai is also looking appealing...the more research im doing the more i see that Thailand isnt just Bangkok & Phuket...:think::

Spot on with that bit of thinking.:)

Unless you fall in love with Bangkok quickly, and know how you're going to allocate your time, then the city will soon get in your face and you'll be itching to leave. I tolerate it for a couple of nights, and only really use Bangkok as a Gateway to SE Asia as there are plenty of flight options [but you know that:)]. We stay in Banglamphu close to the river, and pay no more than £50 a night for a comfortable hotel sat right on the river, with swimming pool and buffet breakfast included. Most of the time is spent outside of the hotel, so there's no need to spend a fortune for fancy table cloths and facilities you won't use.

Phuket is also a marmite destination. While it's an island, you don't need to travel by water to get either on or off it, as there's a causeway linking the mainland. Instead of being drawn in to Phuket when you land at the Airport, you could go north a bit up the Andaman coast and stay in one of the Khao Lak Resorts. Khao Lak is very popular, best to stay close to one of the two townships of Bang La On, or Bang Niang, both an hour north by taxi from Phuket Airport.

There's also a pleasant small town 5 minutes from the Airport called Nai Yang. It's got a beautiful beach and is quite low-key compared with Paton and Karon.

Most of Chiang Mai's attractions are out of town, so you need to plan what to see. Traffic is very busy, almost a smaller version of Bangkok. Personally, I'd have chosen Kanchanaburi for a side-trip from Bangkok...

https://www.seat61.com/Bridge-on-the-River-Kwai.htm

Kanchanaburi is a beautiful area, with plenty of culture and history, especially WWII history.

I think that too long has been spent on trying to convince you which flights to get, rather than concentrating on where to go, and what to do.

I'm off to Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina in an hour, so no more input from me......happy planning.:)

PompeyPete wrote: »

Spot on with that bit of thinking.:)

Unless you fall in love with Bangkok quickly, and know how you're going to allocate your time, then the city will soon get in your face and you'll be itching to leave. I tolerate it for a couple of nights, and only really use Bangkok as a Gateway to SE Asia as there are plenty of flight options [but you know that:)]. We stay in Banglamphu close to the river, and pay no more than £50 a night for a comfortable hotel sat right on the river, with swimming pool and buffet breakfast included. Most of the time is spent outside of the hotel, so there's no need to spend a fortune for fancy table cloths and facilities you won't use.

Phuket is also a marmite destination. While it's an island, you don't need to travel by water to get either on or off it, as there's a causeway linking the mainland. Instead of being drawn in to Phuket when you land at the Airport, you could go north a bit up the Andaman coast and stay in one of the Khao Lak Resorts. Khao Lak is very popular, best to stay close to one of the two townships of Bang La On, or Bang Niang, both an hour north by taxi from Phuket Airport.

There's also a pleasant small town 5 minutes from the Airport called Nai Yang. It's got a beautiful beach and is quite low-key compared with Paton and Karon.

Most of Chiang Mai's attractions are out of town, so you need to plan what to see. Traffic is very busy, almost a smaller version of Bangkok. Personally, I'd have chosen Kanchanaburi for a side-trip from Bangkok...

seat61.com/Bridge-on-the-River-Kwai.htm

Kanchanaburi is a beautiful area, with plenty of culture and history, especially WWII history.

I think that too long has been spent on trying to convince you which flights to get, rather than concentrating on where to go, and what to do.

I'm off to Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina in an hour, so no more input from me......happy planning.:)

It's a honeymoon! All the more reason to have beautiful and comfortable accommodation.

Some people might set their sights a bit higher than a glorified guest house that's not that cheap anyway, if you refer to the New Siam Riverside
£60 per night for a river view double room with a tiny shower seems a bit much.
Honeymoon, I want Jacuzzi and champagne. I'd use the facilities just because they are there. Not some place just for sleeping.
Then there is the lack of convenient transport. Good for river travel, but no connection to the BTS or MRT.

I agree with the finding of your own special places, but how would they know what they like until they find it?
So it seems a good idea to settle the flights around the main places and then build an itinerary around that, according to what is left in the budget.
Five or six nights allocated to Bangkok allows for excursions to other places, such as Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai.... Once decided, they can book the accommodation around that.
A layered approach. Though perhaps trying to fit too much in.

To be honest, I would just land in Phuket and then get off the island as soon as possible. It is a real rip off place as wife's son has lived there for about 14 years now and usually gives us updates every week or so.
Lots of Chinese there now who have replaced the Russians, so the themes are being changed to cater for them.
Better to just hire a car and drive off the island to probably Khao Lak, or cheap flight to Chiang Mai and then to Chiang Rai which is far better.

Thomsons have return flights to Phuket for October and November for £283

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/london-to-thailand-for-283pp-return-thomson-2807911