Thinking Thailand - Where should I start.

WAYT

moneysavvy35 wrote: »

Just done a dummy run on opodo £536 with Thai Airways - this is just a quick search I will be looking at all kinds of options...what do you think about this on price though?

LHR 11:50 - 11h 25m DIRECT 26/02
06:15 +1 BKK
Bangkok

BKK 22:40 - 23:59 HKT 02/03
Phuket

HKT 21:25 08/03
Phuket
15h 55m
1 STOP
06:20 +1 LHR
London

Price is fine. But with Opodo you'll have no ATOL protection and if you need to change anything on the booking, you'll either no be able to do it or it might be a costly exercise.
Do you work at the weekends? Strange choice of dates.

moneysavvy35

WAYT wrote: »

Price is fine. But with Opodo you'll have no ATOL protection and if you need to change anything on the booking, you'll either no be able to do it or it might be a costly exercise.
Do you work at the weekends? Strange choice of dates.

No I dont work weekends thank goodness:)

I was thinking 26/02 5 nights in Bangkok then leave on 02/03 to spend 6 nights in phuket (or wherever)

Re the ATOL booking, i'm assuming the only way I would get this is to book with airlines direct right as I probably would anyway - I heard emirates are the best!

WAYT

You can choose Krabi as an alternative;



Not necessarily a recommendation. Just an illustration....as I actually preferred the east coast. But places are changing all of the time.

WAYT

moneysavvy35 wrote: »

No I dont work weekends thank goodness:)

I was thinking 26/02 5 nights in Bangkok then leave on 02/03 to spend 6 nights in phuket (or wherever)

Re the ATOL booking, i'm assuming the only way I would get this is to book with airlines direct right as I probably would anyway - I heard emirates are the best!

Nope. Just book with a UK travel agent. Opodo are based in Spain.
Emirates no good, as there will be time wasting stopovers. THAI is fine for what you want to do
Why not make use of the weekend to extend your holiday, since it doesn't come out of your holiday allocation?

You do know that arriving on the 27th and leaving on the 2nd is three nights, don't you?

PompeyPete

WAYT wrote: »

Stick to my Bangkok location for all things to do with culture. The river Express boat will take you to the main places around the old city. The Skytrain will take you to the new city.

The Chao Phraya Ferry website contains just about all you need to know about the public ferries...

http://www.chaophrayaexpressboat.com/en/home/

The Chao Phraya is the heartbeat of Bangkok. A great way to spend a few hours is to take the ferry from Central Pier all the way upstream to Nonthaburi and back. Make sure you get the Orange Flag ferry, a ticket costs 15 baht. Along that route [look at the Route Map on the link above] are several Piers that you could get off to see some of the sights, eg. Chinatown [Pier 5], Royal Palace [Pier 8], Khao San [Pier 13].

WAYT wrote: »

The islands are not about culture, but nature.

Just make sure you choose carefully, ditto with the accommodation

WAYT wrote: »

I'd say at least three nights in Bangkok. I don't necessarily agree with those who state that you should stay overnight in Bangkok the day before your flight.
Best to look at that once you decide on the best use of your time.

3 nights maximum I reckon for a first visit. Bangkok is one of those marmite destinations, some love the place, others want to move on asap. It can be overwhelming, you'll soon see how vast it is when you travel into the city from the airport, so make sure you choose your accommodation carefully and how you want to allocate your time. We've stayed in the popular areas, but now we always stay close to the Chao Phraya River in the Banglamphu area. It's Old Bangkok, and you don't feel continually hemmed in by skyscrapers, mega malls, and choking traffic. As mentioned by others in the thread, it's best to stay close to a Skytrain [BTS] or Underground [MRT] station, or close to a River Pier.

All the public transport options are detailed in this link, just click at the top of the link for which transport option that you want...

http://www.transitbangkok.com/mrt.html

If you have a domestic flight on the same day as your international exit flight you are taking a big risk. Flights in SE Asia get delayed or cancelled all the time. Why chance it, the sound advice is to always have your final night in the city you have to catch your international flight from.

Doshwaster

moneysavvy35 wrote: »

No I dont work weekends thank goodness:)

I was thinking 26/02 5 nights in Bangkok then leave on 02/03 to spend 6 nights in phuket (or wherever)

Re the ATOL booking, i'm assuming the only way I would get this is to book with airlines direct right as I probably would anyway - I heard emirates are the best!

5 nights for a first time visit might be a little too much. I love the city but it is best done is small doses and usually by the third day I want to escape the constant noise, pollution and crowds.

You may want to play around with your flight times depending on how your body clock works. I like arriving in Bangkok early evening so you can get to the hotel, freshen up, have some dinner and a good nights sleep before exploring the next day. Arriving early in the morning can really mess you up especially if you don't sleep on planes and can't get straight into your hotel.

Personally, if flying economy I quite like a stop in the middle east (Dubai, Abu Dhabi) to stretch my legs at the halfway mark but don't do a stopover for more than 2-3 hours. A 12 hour non-stop flight in steerage really does test my endurance limits.

PompeyPete

As for flights. I always book direct with the Airline. If there are any problems about your flights, then it's far easier to deal direct with the Airline than a 3rd Party. The difference in price will be marginal, do comparisons on Skyscanner first. The Airline will always keep you informed by e-mail of any changes. The earlier you book the more the chance of a schedule change.

Who you fly with is up to you, bur Airlines like Emirates and Qatar have several flights each day from London, and you can choose the times that suit you. We prefer a lunchtime flight from Gatwick with Emirates via Dubai. The usual transfer time in Dubai is about 3 hours, and the connecting flight lands in Bangkok at around lunchtime. Both flights are give or take a bit, 7 hours, and stretching your legs midway is very welcome.

PompeyPete

Doshwaster wrote: »

5 nights for a first time visit might be a little too much. I love the city but it is best done is small doses and usually by the third day I want to escape the constant noise, pollution and crowds.

You may want to play around with your flight times depending on how your body clock works. I like arriving in Bangkok early evening so you can get to the hotel, freshen up, have some dinner and a good nights sleep before exploring the next day. Arriving early in the morning can really mess you up especially if you don't sleep on planes and can't get straight into your hotel.

Personally, if flying economy I quite like a stop in the middle east (Dubai, Abu Dhabi) to stretch my legs at the halfway mark but don't do a stopover for more than 2-3 hours. A 12 hour non-stop flight in steerage really does test my endurance limits.

Typing at the same time Dosh.....I agree with all of that.

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

If you have a domestic flight on the same day as your international exit flight you are taking a big risk. Flights in SE Asia get delayed or cancelled all the time. Why chance it, the sound advice is to always have your final night in the city you have to catch your international flight from.

Very true. I have been travelling to SE for years but I always treat published internal flight schedules with a huge pinch of salt. They are regularly cancelled, rescheduled or delayed for bad weather, "operational" reasons or just general SEAsian attitudes to time keeping. Clocks really do work differently in that part of the world.

I'm off to Vietnam soon and I've already had 2 booked internal flights rescheduled or changed from direct to indirect. That's not too bad if you have a flexible itinerary but if you have a long haul flight to catch home then you really are asking for trouble.

richardw

Thai airways are using new A350 and A380 aircraft on the route from LHR direct non stop to BKK, long haul flights on new aircraft are better because of better air quality and lower pressurisation in the cabin, you feel less tired when you arrive.
Consider booking a multi-stop trip flying on Thai airways including domestic flights, you get the benefits of new long haul aircraft and through ticketing.