Phuket, Krabi and Bangkok

[briangriffin]

Have booked to go on Thursday for just over a fortnight with the missus, we're a mid twenties couple. We're planning a week in Phuket (booked 4 nights in Patong on the beach to start then going to continue at the same hotel if it is top notch)

Then off to Bangkok for 3 nights not booked hotels yet but wondering where is best to stay and what is good to do there?

Then on the return from Bangkok we're looking to spread the remaining 5/6 days in Krabi and or Phi Phi Islands just wondering what's best to do there is it worth a couple of nights in Phi Phi?


Looks like we can see elephants and tigers in tours close to Patong so that keeps the missus happy. any other suggestions of what to do, expect and be clued up on would be handy,

many thanks

[alfaman]

I live in Singapore.

Have been to all 4 places.

Patong is busy with young tourists from UK / Oz / Russia - plenty of bars n entertainment

IMO - Krabi is better than phi phi . Best place to stay is at Railey. Lovely beach and scenery - and too notch rock climbing if u are into that.

There is also 'reasonable' scuba diving in the area - but I wouldn't say it is particularly good for Asia ( there are better places to go for diving ( Bali / Lombok / Gili / tioman etc ).

Sand and sea resort at Railey beach has great rooms if u get one of the new refurbed ones ( food is 'ok' - but plenty of other options)

For Bangkok : the temples / palace in the old part of town are well worth a visit . The water bus up down the river is a good way of getting about . As is the elevated mrt. The new art museum and Jim Thompson house are also both very good - and not far apart. If u want some greenery Lumphini (?) park is quite peaceful.

[Norfolkit]

We're about to do something similar but from what I've read Phi Phi is a bit past it's sell by date. The Sunday Times Travel section described it as "the Lindsay Lohan of the southern Thai islands and just as unlikely to make a comeback". We went for Ko Lanta although you might find that too quiet.

By way of hijacking the thread, any advice on internal flights, AirAsia always seems cheapest, I know the had a bit of "trouble" flying from Surabaya last year, are they generally OK?

[alfaman]

Air Asia are cheap.

And I had a 7 hour delay with them once from SG to Bali - total fk up.

Also try : Tiger airways. And Silk Air ( slightly cheaper subsid of Singapore air lines : very good)

Jetstar also do budget flights inside Asia .

Generally budget carriers are cheaper / full service better but more reliable . Same as Europe

[kiethton]

Did this last year - also couple in our mid-20's

Definitely go to Phi Phi, we spent one night but wished it was 2 - enjoyed the roof terrace of Banana Bar!

Krabbi is a bit boring (from what we saw) but the market is pretty good - we stayed just down the coast in Ao Nang? but would also highly recommend a night or 2 in Railay (we only spent a day)

We stayed at the bliss resort - £10-20 per night and room directly out onto the beach http://www.booking.com/hotel/th/bliss-resort-khlon...

But if you have a bigger budget the Nakamanda Resort is brilliant: http://www.booking.com/hotel/th/nakamanda-resort.e...

If you stay in Bliss go the the Nakamanda for dinner, we went a few times and really enjoyed it

From here we hired a scooter and went to Ao Nang daily/ (multiple times a day) and explored the beaches in between - even trekking to Krabbi centre on it a few times

[nyt]

Bangkok: Anantara Siam has some good rates (for a luxury hotel) at the moment. Check prices on Agoda.

Stay near a sky train station - this is important - getting around bangkok is slow work otherwise. Traffic can be awful.

I like hotels on the river. I like the contrast between the relative peace of the river and the bustle of bangkok. Shangri-la, Mandarin Oriental.

Do a search for some of the better restaurants. They tend to be good value compared to the UK.

Also search some rooftop bars. Splendid way to see the city at night.

One thought .. why are you putting Bangkok in the middle. Krabi & phi phi are a boat ride (several hours on a ferry) from Phuket. No need to go via Bangkok.

Edited by nyt on Monday 9th November 17:42

[5harp3y]

mid twenties?

defo PhiPhi over Krabi, Krabi is just a port town and you have to get a boat to Railey beach etc and theres not much else.

PhiPhi is a full on party island but worth it for a couple of days.

[AMG01]

Norfolkit said:

We're about to do something similar but from what I've read Phi Phi is a bit past it's sell by date. The Sunday Times Travel section described it as "the Lindsay Lohan of the southern Thai islands and just as unlikely to make a comeback". We went for Ko Lanta although you might find that too quiet.

By way of hijacking the thread, any advice on internal flights, AirAsia always seems cheapest, I know the had a bit of "trouble" flying from Surabaya last year, are they generally OK?

I used Air Asia and Bangkok Air, a few years ago now, for internal flights in Thailand, relatively cheap and no issues. Bangkok to Phuket, Phuket to Koh Samui and Koh Samui back to Bangkok

[rich85uk]

nyt said:

One thought .. why are you putting Bangkok in the middle. Krabi & phi phi are a boat ride (several hours on a ferry) from Phuket. No need to go via Bangkok.

Edited by nyt on Monday 9th November 17:42

Thats what i was thinking, all UK flights go to BKK so you will land in Bangkok, go to Phuket, back to Bangkok for a few days then on to Krabi for 5/6 days then go back to Bangkok, thats 4 internal flights within 2 weeks! if its not too late do Bangkok and the beginning and end of your holiday

I would consider both Phi Phi and somewhere like Ao Nang/Railay and spend your 5/6 days between then, Ao Nang is much more family friendly than Patong so it might be a welcome chill break from the partying of Bangla Road and the hectic capital, once recharged you can spend a few nights on Phi Phi its only about an hour on the ferry

[HotJambalaya]

rich85uk said:

Thats what i was thinking, all UK flights go to BKK so you will land in Bangkok, go to Phuket, back to Bangkok for a few days then on to Krabi for 5/6 days then go back to Bangkok, thats 4 internal flights within 2 weeks! if its not too late do Bangkok and the beginning and end of your holiday

I would consider both Phi Phi and somewhere like Ao Nang/Railay and spend your 5/6 days between then, Ao Nang is much more family friendly than Patong so it might be a welcome chill break from the partying of Bangla Road and the hectic capital, once recharged you can spend a few nights on Phi Phi its only about an hour on the ferry

I hated ao nang so much that I left after 2 nights, with 3 mores days prepaid on my hotel. My mate left after 1 day...

Re flights Bangkok Airways>Air Asia>Thai

[alfaman]

It's easy to get speed boat transfers between phi phi / Krabi / Phuket .

Think there are also buses from Phuket to Au Nang ( drop off point for Krabi / Railey beach )

Au Nang is not that exciting / Railey much nicer.

If u want full on 18-24 backpacker-beach-rave-music scene your best spots are Koh Phangan ( east side of peninsula / near Koh Samui) or Phi Phi Don.

Depends what you want ....

[Moominho]

Norfolkit said:

We went for Ko Lanta although you might find that too quiet.

By way of hijacking the thread, any advice on internal flights, AirAsia always seems cheapest, I know the had a bit of "trouble" flying from Surabaya last year, are they generally OK?

I stayed in Lanta last year and loved it. It may be a bit quiet for the OP, but I would be happy to go back there again.

Last time I was taking internal flights, I found Nok Air cheaper than Air Asia. Both are pretty average, but flights aren't long. And they are certainly better than Ryanair or Easyjet.

[Cybertronian]

My wife and I spent a couple of days in Bangkok over the summer and stayed at the Lit. No more than 5 minutes' walk from the main road where MBK, Siam Centre and Siam Paragon shopping centres are, along with a Skytrain station. More of a boutique hotel, it had a gym, pool (really welcome in the afternoon), nice breakfast, free wifi. Price might be a little more than you want to pay, but we found the location so convenient that we only used taxis upon arrival and departure, with the rest of the time relying on walking, the Skytrain and the water bus.

Edited by Cybertronian on Tuesday 10th November 09:00

[briangriffin]

Our initial flight goes to Phuket from the UK with a quick stop over in China. Was the cheapest way. That's why we're doing it first.

Bangkok is just in the middle as that's when we're gonna do it a bit cheaper as we'll have our late late nights there so will only really need a bed.

That leaves us more cash for hotel in either krabi or phi phi probably up to the £80 a night mark if we want to. Not sure what to do in regards to phi phi or krabi now, maybe more time in phi phi if there's more going on there?

Also what experience have people got of sorting your hotel when you get there? Is it cheaper than online and can you barter a bit?

[rich85uk]

Well you are going in high season but not peak season to that part of Thailand like I did, IMO it's easier and cheaper in advance and most the good hotels are fully booked with pre bookings. I had a nightmare finding 1 room in Ao Nang in January for 2 nights and Railay/Phi Phi has much less options so you could be fked, unless it's low season most people tend to book these days even if it's a few days before

Phi Phi is tiny and a party island, Railay is VERY quiet with a few hotels and Ao Nang has the most hotels and restaurants with a few lively bars near the beach end, all 3 have nice beaches and I still think you can do 2 of these places in 6 days as I wanted to move on from each after a few days but then I get bored easily

Have a look at what hotels take your fancy in each place, due to supply and demand you don't get much for your money on Phi Phi

[anonymous-user]

Nobody stays in Krabbie town, all that Alfaman says, except I think Rai Lay as had it these days, Ah Nang is better and just go to Rai Lay for the day.

[Corpulent Tosser]

I thought Bangkok was great, very busy/hectic/a bit mental but I loved it, we hired a guide for two days, without her we would not have seen to much or experienced Bangkok in such a great way.

The company we used is http://www.thaitourguide.com/privatetourguide.html and the guide we got was Miss Aom (pronounced Om) she was a lovely woman and really made our visit to Bangkok a bit special.

The website gives different interaries but they are happy to change it to suit what you want to see, we even changed things on the day with no problems.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

BTW we stayed at Terminal 21 which is really handy for both Skytrain and Metro, not the cheapest but we got a decent rate.

[Corpulent Tosser]

HotJambalaya said:

I hated ao nang so much that I left after 2 nights, with 3 mores days prepaid on my hotel. My mate left after 1 day...

What was so bad about it ?
We are booked to go there at the end of January, staying at Brabi Resort, and thought it would be like a quieter more laid back Phuket.
We plan to be out of Ao Nang most days either on the water or trips inland but will be there every night and thought about snorkeling at the nearby island some days.

[2hoots]

I'm in Ao Nang also at the end of January and like you plan on using it as a base to visit the other islands. Why all the hate for Ao Nang, I've been told it's fine and that I'll love it.

[HotJambalaya]

Corpulent Tosser said:

What was so bad about it ?
We are booked to go there at the end of January, staying at Brabi Resort, and thought it would be like a quieter more laid back Phuket.
We plan to be out of Ao Nang most days either on the water or trips inland but will be there every night and thought about snorkeling at the nearby island some days.

It was dead, properly, quietly dead. One street of shops, and bugger all to do. To put it into context though I had a few days on the rip in bangkok, then a few more in Phuket, it was like screeching to a sudden stop. If you are actually looking for peace and quiet it will be perfect, but I still found very little to actually do in the evenings. This was a few years ago (maybe 6) so it may have got better.