A few questions about Thailand

lovesgshp

I would second Richardw on Khao Lak. Phuket is the great rip-off place in Thailand and can almost be compared to Pattaya.
You fly into Phuket airport and then get back off the island to Khao Lak.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Khao_Lak

dingends

been last year for a Month! Weather is great, not to hot not to cold, flights as already said try air asia, they have quite often nice sales, got many inland/international flights for very little money.

towards beach resort.. did u think about Koh lanta? Koh Phi Phi?

lanta is nice, rent a motorcycle, gonna be around 5 USD a day. phi Phi is more for party, but has some nice hidden beaches, in general no cars allowed, just the council has a few cars for rubbish collection and the police has mainly bicycles. walked over the whole island! if you wanna do island hopping, fly into krabi, take a ferry to one island, and than to another, they are quite close together and ferries very reasonable priced, u can compare them as soon u are there, not worth booking online as you pay at least twice as much as if u shop around when there!

for your stay in bangkok, have a look at statravel, I got there last year 4 nights in 4 star hotel for £30 in total, the hotel was nice and had rooftop pool but the location was in a side street, 10 mins walk to metro. dont bother visiting grand palace, in my opinion not worth the money and u need to change clothes most likely where you get charged again for rental. few nice temples on the other side of the river tough. go for bed and breakfast, AI is not worth the money as you can eat nice and cheap in restaurants:)

hope that helps

Leanne1812

I'm going to Khao Lak in June for 10 days and have had slightly mixed reports but it appears to fit the bill for what I'm looking for. A nice beach resort that's not sleazy like Phuket can be. I chose Khao Lak as Emirates fly direct from Dubai so no need to do 3 flights. My closest airport is Glasgow so I can't do direct anyway. Possibly a consideration would be UK to bangkok, 3 nights would suffice, fly up to Chaing Mai ( never been so can't advise) then fly down to phuket and travel either to Khao Lak or Krabi. Then from phuket-dubai-UK. i don't have experience of avios so can't help there.

I've been to Phuket,Koh Samui, Krabi & Koh Lanta. Of them all I liked Koh Lanta best but it is very quiet, maybe too quiet for a teen.


Accommodation is very reasonable in Thailand. Would all 3 of you share a room or need 2? I'd suggest £50-£60 a night for Bangkok. Not sure for Chaing Mai but I know a friend got a hotel for £15 a night a couple of years ago and said it was fine. In Khao Lak possibly a bit more, beach resorts usually are. Try travelbag for your hotels. I've just booked and they can have some really good deals. Eating out can be very cheap if you use the local restaurants. Probably in the region of £3-£4 last time I was there for a rice or noodle dish with prawns or meat. European food is a little more expensive £5-£6 for a basic pasta dish or small pizza etc.

Also use tripadvisor, you can check prices, reviews and use their forum to ask questions or just read the topics and get some ideas. You'll also get ideas on day trips & their costs which can vary widely. Get as much information as possible as unfortunately in Thailand if you go unprepared you will get scammed.

Happy planning.

PompeyPete

Khao Lak covers a 25Km AREA about an hour+ by taxi north of Phuket Airport. It's all 'hemmed' in by the very busy Highway 4 (be v.careful crossing).

There are several resort areas, Bang La On and Bang Niang being two of the popular ones.

There are lots of different types of accommodation to suit all pockets. A lot of the bigger places are inconveniently situated, and need wheels to get out and about.

Just spent a week in Bang La On, and then a week in Bang Niang. Much prefered Bang La On, as Bang Niang (imo) is scruffy, and in places pongy, but it does have a good and v.popular afternoon/evening market on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Some of the beaches have quite a harsh surf, which aren't good for swimming or taking your eyes off young children.

There's a heck on a lot of building going on along that coast, and some of it isn't very easy on the eye

Glad we went, but will stick to Bangkok and the north, west and east of Thailand in future.

PompeyPete

Anyone wanting superb budget accommodation in Bang La On will NOT do better than Walkers Inn...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g297914-d1742191-Reviews-Walkers_Inn-Khao_Lak_Phang_Nga_Province.html

And the food at Walkers is spot-on too, although judging by the last review you can't please everybody...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g297914-d1790742-Reviews-Walkers_Inn-Khao_Lak_Phang_Nga_Province.html

holidaysforme

Thank you everybody. I have a wealth of information here. Lots for me to research over the coming months. I feel a bit better informed now. Lots of places I hadn't thought of going as they were not so obvious, so really appreciate that.

I'm not so sure the use of avios is going to work out. The taxes we would have to pay on BA flights are Silly. It would be better for us to book early for a good cash deal.
Also internal flights seem very reasonable.

Thanks again,- may come back over the coming months to ask more questions.
Also going to research Cape Town and Cancun, - the other two destinations we are Looking at.

Ballard

Krabi has always interested me but I haven't been. Chiang Mai is a great place and I'd highly recommend it.
Four days in Bangkok might be a bit much as it's hectic. Have a look at Ayutthaya which is the old capital and much more peaceful and manageable. It's close enough to Bangkok to get to easily so if you wanted you could do two days in each.
If you fancy something more adventurous you could spend a night in Siem Reap in neighbouring Cambodia. From there you'd see Angkor Wat which is magical if you like that sort of thing (which I do). You used to be able to get your visa on arrival for USD20 but you'd have to investigate if you did fancy going as I went in 2003.

PompeyPete

I like Ayutthaya, it's one of those places that grows on you, so it's definitely worth a couple of nights.

The best way to get there from Bangkok imo is by 3rd Class train from Hualamphong station. Takes 2.5 hours, costs 15 baht [fifteen!], and is a great way of getting close to ordinary Thai folk.

Also have a look at Kanchanaburi. Ride the Death Railway to Nam Tok. Visit Hellfire Pass, where so many Allied POW gave up their lives constructing the infamous Thai-Burma railway. Even if WWII history isn't your thing, it's still a fascinating part of Thailand to visit.

PompeyPete

#19 (Ballard). VOA for Cambodia is now. US$30.

I think that Cambodia's a good suggestion, but not just for one or two nights. It's well worth spending a couple of weeks, and seeing a bit more than just Angkor.