Where should I go in Thailand?

[Cynicor]

Hi everyone!

I was reminded that I want a holiday by the recent SQ sale, so I'm looking at going to Thailand in late Nov for probably 7-9 nights. Unfortunately, the only part I've ever been to is coughet (Patong), on day visits during cruises so I'm not sure where I want to be staying, or even what to do there.

Even if I narrow it down to coughet and the surrounding islands (and I haven't) there's a whole host of different beaches so I thought I'd open it to the floor for suggestions and thoughts.

Some information to help:
I am 24 and will (hopefully) be going with my girlfriend.
She's not really into shopping, and big city tourist stuff won't be her cupp of tea I think. (I.e. Bangkok probably isn't in)
We're both outdoorsy/active people
Looking to do some rainforest/trekking type activities
Looking to dive/snorkel
Will try to stay at a mid-range 5 star resort (not quite Banyan Tree) with nice pools and bars for evening coughtails
Happy to spend a bit of time or meals in the resort if the town is further away.
Looking for somewhere with some nightlife, but it doesn't need to be overrun with people.
Wouldn't mind some cultural/temple/ educational things too

So- where do people suggest? One idea I had was maybe 5 nights on coughet island somewhere then 2-3 on one of the smaller islands, possible with a stopover in Singapore on the way from/to Perth.

Feel free to ask questions or convince me to go somewhere else in the world!

Thanks everyone

Jon M

 

[Homer]

Great post Jon...I'm just planning a two-week trip to Thailand myself - and we've never been before - so I'm going to stalk your thread if you don't mind...

 

[N860CR]

I visit Thailand about twice a year and have not yet found a holiday destination to top it.

Bangkok is an amazing city, however it is exactly that - a city. It has excellent shopping and some very interesting attractions, but if your girlfriend isn't really into that then I can see her getting bored there fairly quickly.

Chiang Mai and Mae Ho Song in the north make for great cultural stops, however again probably not the go for you.

It's very hard to have a bad time in coughet. Even with all the commercialism and huge tourist numbers its always very much enjoyable. I've stayed at Patong once which was great for the nightlife, however it gets draining pretty quickly. Kamala beach is the next one around from Patong and I've stayed there about three times. Theres a wonderful resort (Kamala Beach Resort) which is dirty cheap and is an Intl 4 Star standard. It's only a short drive to Patong for shopping etc etc (250THB).

My favourite, however, is Samui which is slightly further north than coughet. It is expensive to get to (compared to coughet) as you're basically limited to Bangkok Air from Bangkok, coughet or Krabi. Thai also now fly BKK-USM. The added cost provides a (as much as I hate the term) "high class" of tourist and the resorts charge as such - they're very nice though. Chawang beach isn't as touristy as Patong so you can stay there, otherwise there are some nice quiet resorts scattered around the Island.

Krabi also rates well, however I haven't been there. Hua Hin is going to be my next stop - although I haven't experienced it as yet.

 

[auriga]

I can't imagine not going to Bangkok if you are visiting Thailand. So much more authentic compared to those island resorts.:mrgreen:

 

[serfty]

I like Bangkok, especially browsing the halls of Pantip Plaza. But that's techo - not touristy.

Staying on the Chao Phraya is a bit of fun.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Hi everyone!


We're both outdoorsy/active people
Looking to do some rainforest/trekking type activities
Looking to dive/snorkel

I like all of those and have been to Thailand several times....I wrote this below in another thread:

Continued:



Yes 10 nights in any one location is too much. However in Thailand it is very easy to combine in 10 days two or three locations. From coughket...a couple of hours drive north can take you here:

Khao Sok Riverside Cottage

A great change from the beach and the elephant riding here is better than on coughet Island. I actually stayed the extra day with my three kids and did the lake tour too (the lake tour is passive though).

This was a great small place where one could chat with the staff and get to know the local Thais more than you can ata large hotel.

The Gibbons were tame...well kind of. They could turn door knobs and so if you did not lock your door they would enter your room which was quite a surprise the first time it happened!!!

Day 1 ​

Arrival and Check In at Khao Sok Riverside Cottages And then relax .19:00 Dinner and stay overnight at resort
Day 2 08:30 Breakfast 09:00 Canoe Tour or Adventure Tubing ( 2 Hours ) 12:30 Lunch at resort14:00 Elephant Trekking ( 2 Hours )19:00 Dinner and stay overnight at resort
Day 3 08:30Breakfast09:30Jungle walk ( 2-3 Hours )13:00Lunch14:00Check Out

3 Days 2 Nights Include
2 Night Accommodation with American breakfast
2 Lunch
2 Dinner
1 Canoe Tour
1 Elephant Trekking
1 Jungle Walk or Half Day Khao Sok Sightseeing Tour

• Singapore is ok for very short stop-overs only.
• Last time there I stayed at the very funky New Majestic Hotel
• new majestic hotel My daughters loved the stylish and quirky rooms even if they were a bit on the small side. http://www.newmajestichotel.com/NMH_TRAVEL+LEISURE.pdf
• It is only about 40 m from the an underground station and so very easy to get to places.
• It is walking distance from the main parts of Chinatown (for dining and shopping. Dinner with Hawkers!!!)
• 
  
  
  Trip before thatabout 5 years earlier when the girls were 12, 9 and 6 after 8 weeks backpacking through Egypt and Jordan we finished off with 2.5 weeks Island Hoping.
  • Several Nights at the Karon Whale on coughket
  • Then jumped on a ferry for 3 nights on Ko Phi Phi (Tsnuami flattened the place since, but is revuilt now)
  • Then ontoa ferry for the very relaxed Ko Lanta I think for 4 or 5 nights...
  • Then ferry to Krabi and minivan to the West Coast to stay at Poseidon Bungalows Poseidon Bungalows and Similan Tour (great primitive hut where the steps literaly got covered by the high tide!!!
  • 
  • & then liveaboard Similan Tour in the Ko Similan's for some of the worlds best snorkeling (and I have snorkled on the Great Barrier Reef at various locations, Whitsundays, Fiji, Bali, Red Sea etc..). However you are there off-season and so cannot do it this time.
  Cheers

 

[moa999]

Id second Ko Lanta for a relaxed beach environment with bars on the beach etc. Mix of accomodation there and much more chilled than coughet.
Diving/ snorkeling ok but an hour boat ride away.

PhiPhi has better snorkeling etc within close distances.

Krabi has some very good 5-star places which can sometimes be gotten for very cheap rates.

 

[Cheesy]

Ah, my favourite holiday destination. Usually revolves around an Australia Day party in Chiang Mai every year since 2004, but I think that based upon your description of yourself and your GF, CNX could still be a worthwhile destination.

I just got back from taking my younger brother there for his 18th birthday, and we did the Flight of the Gibbon (there is also one halfway between Bangkok and Pattaya). 2km of flying-fox lines through the rainforest and also a few treks around the waterfalls as well. A very nice day trip away from the main town. (More info available at Unforgettable Thailand Holidays: Flight of the Gibbon Adventure Tour). You've also got the X-Centre if you're into a bit of adventure, with Bungy Jumping, Go-Karting, Off-Road Buggies, Dirt Bikes, Zorb and Paintballing (Chiang Mai X-Centre).

Although, being up in the mountains doesn't give you the opportunity to do the dive/snorkel options, but there are plenty of cheap flights within Thailand on a number of carriers now.

My two cents worth anyway!

 

[Optics]

I visit Thailand about twice a year and have not yet found a holiday destination to top it.

Bangkok is an amazing city, however it is exactly that - a city. It has excellent shopping and some very interesting attractions, but if your girlfriend isn't really into that then I can see her getting bored there fairly quickly.

Chiang Mai and Mae Ho Song in the north make for great cultural stops, however again probably not the go for you.

It's very hard to have a bad time in coughet. Even with all the commercialism and huge tourist numbers its always very much enjoyable. I've stayed at Patong once which was great for the nightlife, however it gets draining pretty quickly. Kamala beach is the next one around from Patong and I've stayed there about three times. Theres a wonderful resort (Kamala Beach Resort) which is dirty cheap and is an Intl 4 Star standard. It's only a short drive to Patong for shopping etc etc (250THB).

My favourite, however, is Samui which is slightly further north than coughet. It is expensive to get to (compared to coughet) as you're basically limited to Bangkok Air from Bangkok, coughet or Krabi. Thai also now fly BKK-USM. The added cost provides a (as much as I hate the term) "high class" of tourist and the resorts charge as such - they're very nice though. Chawang beach isn't as touristy as Patong so you can stay there, otherwise there are some nice quiet resorts scattered around the Island.

Krabi also rates well, however I haven't been there. Hua Hin is going to be my next stop - although I haven't experienced it as yet.

I would also recommend Samui as a great holiday destination. We stayed at Chaweng last September, and it was a really good location. The beach is not great for swimming, but the beach life with restaurants and bars is fantastic. For under 10 AUD you can sit at a table right on the beach and have a meal with a couple of beers and watch the world happen around you.
You should also consider the seasons. Apparently Samui and coughet, being on opposite sides of the peninsula, have almost opposite wet seasons. Weather in Samui in September was good, while that time of year in coughet can be wet I'm told. Not sure about November, so you should check.
I would also say a short stay in Bangkok on the way to or from whatever island you choose is worth it as well.

 

[craven morehead]

Krabi is quite a small place or more correctly AoNang beach where the action is. It is very laid back and has one of the better elephant rides at a place called Nosey Parkers. I have been to Krabi a few times both flying in directly and also catching a boat over from coughet. The boat ride over was in the low season not very crowded and the scenery was spectacular. May -Oct you virtually have the place to yourself. :mrgreen:

 

[craven morehead]

Also if you only have 7-9 nights you don't want to waste too much time on internal travel. I would suggest landing at BKK staying for maybe 2-3 nights to sample the place do maybe the tiger temple and River Kwai and then decide whether you want to go north or south. I think you would want at least a 14 night stay to do the lot. coughet and Krabi have 5 star accom. :mrgreen:

 

[Cynicor]

Thanks for the replies so far, given me a few places to think about but it's still as hard as ever to choose. Anyone know the a good place for day trips through the forest or that sort of outdoor thing?

Homer, feel free to add your own requirements into the thread, it doesn't bother me. Probably stop it from the inevitable off-topicness that eventually results!

Jon

 

[Homer]

Homer, feel free to add your own requirements into the thread, it doesn't bother me. Probably stop it from the inevitable off-topicness that eventually results!

Jon

Thanks for the opportunity to chime in Jon. Our trip is a bit simpler than yours because half of it is part of an organised food/cooking tour of Bangkok and Chiang Mai (our first organised tour - we're usually proudly independent travellers) and the second half is just sitting on a beach/by a pool at coughet. Anyway as it happens I do have a question about which airline to take but so as not to annoy the mods I have posted a separate question about this over here.

 

[Cynicor]

Thanks for all the replies!

Have now booked on the SQ sale, arrive Mon 23rd Nov @ 0900 and depart 1740 Wed 02 Dec from coughet (HKT) via SIN, with a 2 night stopover on the way home.

We've decided on Khao Lak for a few nights as a fairly safe bet, not the biggest tourist spot and close to national parks and diving. We're also tossing up between a coughet beach or one of the Phi Phi islands.

Next step is accommodation- I'm thinking about the Le Meridiens and the Sheraton, purely as those were all accessible form the same site. Anyone have recommendations for hotels in any of the above places? Doesn't need to be with a major chain and looking for a nice standard 4-5 star place probably.

Thanks, Jon

 

[MEL_Traveller]

...is Samui which is slightly further north than coughet. It is expensive to get to (compared to coughet) as you're basically limited to Bangkok Air from Bangkok, coughet or Krabi. Thai also now fly BKK-USM.

Just for future reference Thai Airways also now flies to Samui from Bangkok. 2 flights a day (at least on the days I was looking for) - although fares are comprable to Bangkok Airways and thus artificially high (compared to flights of similar length elsewhere in Thailand).

 

[kamchatsky]

Thanks for all the replies!

Have now booked on the SQ sale, arrive Mon 23rd Nov @ 0900 and depart 1740 Wed 02 Dec from coughet (HKT) via SIN, with a 2 night stopover on the way home.

We've decided on Khao Lak for a few nights as a fairly safe bet, not the biggest tourist spot and close to national parks and diving. We're also tossing up between a coughet beach or one of the Phi Phi islands.

Next step is accommodation- I'm thinking about the Le Meridiens and the Sheraton, purely as those were all accessible form the same site. Anyone have recommendations for hotels in any of the above places? Doesn't need to be with a major chain and looking for a nice standard 4-5 star place probably.

Thanks, Jon

I have been prompted by PMs who found my old post in regard to my honeymoon, so I will add my 2 cents here

We had our honeymoon in Thailand in 2007 and that was our itinerary:

- Le Meridien Khao Lak (6 nights)
- Holiday Inn coughet (3 nights)
- Holiday Inn Bangkok (2 nights)

We flew in and out of Thailand at Bangkok on Cathay Pacific and we flew AirAsia Thailand and then Nok Air for one-way trips from Bangkok to coughet and back.

Khao Lak is 1.5 hour north of coughet Island so it costs us like 1300THB for taxi from coughet Airport each way. Always negotiate with the driver before getting on the taxi.

Positives for Le Meridien Khao Lak:
- Excellent pool facilities and beach. The beach is all for yourself, unlike the ones in Patong.
- It is quite quiet and does not get big tour groups (a serious plus for me). Most of the people who go there are couples and rarely have kids).
- The buffet breakfast is great, have western/thai/chinese/ japanese choices.
- The facilities were new and great (3 nights in Pool Villa and 3 nights in standard rooms). The Pool Villas are massive (almost too big for us) and have their own plunge pool. Even standard rooms are well decorated and beautifully presented.
- At that time (not sure now), the rooms in Khao Lak were cheaper than the ones in coughet for similar quality.

Negatives for Le Meridien Khao Lak is:
- Not located centrally to Khao Lak town, so need to catch the shuttle bus (have to pay) or get taxi to town.
- Hotel food is expensive (but this applies to all 5 star hotels), the quality of OK though.
- Some of the staff don't really understand English.

Khao Lak itself is just a small town without too much entertainment such as Patong. So if you want place that is not too commercialised than Khao Lak is pretty good. But I would not stay there for more than 6 nights because you will start to get quite bored.

Holiday Inn coughet is almost a complete opposite to Le Meridien Khao Lak: very convenient, lots of people (esp the tour groups) stay there, so everybody is trying to fight for pool chairs. But yes, very convenient.

I stayed in Bangkok for final 2 nights for some shopping and quick sightseeing before leaving Thailand.

I personally prefer Khao Lak than Patong for peace when I go to resorts.
Hope this helps.

 

[whoistheg]

If you are heading to coughet check out Surin Beach.

Its about 30min away from Patong and its really nice and quiet.

We stayed at 2 places there

Twin Palms and The Chedi.

Both were awesome but Twin Palms was better.

Cheap and great food just 2 min walk down the street.