Thailand for two
Discussion
Following on from advice on Mauritius, we are now looking at a beach holiday in Thailand. Is Thailand a place to visit with the girlfriend in tow? We would like to avoid the more 'seedy' places and everything that attracts. Can anyone recommend where to go? Recommendations on Hotels would be good too.
Looking at spending around a 2-3k for hotel and flights. Is it worth going half board / full board in some of the 'nicer' hotels as allot of the reviews on trip advisor mention how good the food is in the hotel but also how expensive it is?
Any advice is appreciated.
Looking at spending around a 2-3k for hotel and flights. Is it worth going half board / full board in some of the 'nicer' hotels as allot of the reviews on trip advisor mention how good the food is in the hotel but also how expensive it is?
Any advice is appreciated.
In terms of suggestions on hotels and resorts, it pretty much depends on when you want to go.
There are very different levels of rainfall at certain times of the year.
There is certainly no problem in going to Thailand as a couple and wanting to avoid the more "colourful" resorts.
In terms of beach destinations, you can look at Phuket, Kao Lak, Samui or any of the less developed islands such as Koh Chang, Koh Tao or Koh Samet.
Areas of Phuket and Samui are very developed, if not spoilt now. However, there are still very traditional towns and villages on both islands.
Regarding the meal options, it depends on where you stay. Some of the more exclusive are isolated and therefore you options outside of the hotel are limited.
We never go full or even half board, due to the fantastic range of opportunities outside the hotel.
For your flights, there is limited choice on LHR-BKK direct. Look at BA/Qantas, Thai and EVA.
EVA suit our needs well and have well priced tickets in Prem Economy and Business, but go through Trailfinders or similar for the best deals. You might be able to bundle up the international flight, with the domestic and hotel and get a good deal.
Alternatively, you can book direct on the net with Bangkok Airways or Thai for your domestics
Say a little more about when you want to go and what you want to do when you are there.
There are very different levels of rainfall at certain times of the year.
There is certainly no problem in going to Thailand as a couple and wanting to avoid the more "colourful" resorts.
In terms of beach destinations, you can look at Phuket, Kao Lak, Samui or any of the less developed islands such as Koh Chang, Koh Tao or Koh Samet.
Areas of Phuket and Samui are very developed, if not spoilt now. However, there are still very traditional towns and villages on both islands.
Regarding the meal options, it depends on where you stay. Some of the more exclusive are isolated and therefore you options outside of the hotel are limited.
We never go full or even half board, due to the fantastic range of opportunities outside the hotel.
For your flights, there is limited choice on LHR-BKK direct. Look at BA/Qantas, Thai and EVA.
EVA suit our needs well and have well priced tickets in Prem Economy and Business, but go through Trailfinders or similar for the best deals. You might be able to bundle up the international flight, with the domestic and hotel and get a good deal.
Alternatively, you can book direct on the net with Bangkok Airways or Thai for your domestics
Say a little more about when you want to go and what you want to do when you are there.
In all honesty we are going to relax and get away from things for a while. We want a nice beach, fairly quiet so we can relax and spend some time together. A few bars and restaurants is more than enough (So we can escape the captive prices of the hotel). Will try and book flights and hotel together as it appears to offer a better deal. Emirates to dubai from Newcastle, then Dubai to Bangkok, more than likely.
R8BWT said:
Is Thailand a place to visit with the girlfriend in tow?
Looking at spending around a 2-3k for hotel and flights. Is it worth going half board / full board in some of the 'nicer' hotels as allot of the reviews on trip advisor mention how good the food is in the hotel but also how expensive it is?
Any advice is appreciated.
1) Yes, absolutely - we've been there as a couple twice (pre- and post-wedding), and it's still one of our favourite places.Looking at spending around a 2-3k for hotel and flights. Is it worth going half board / full board in some of the 'nicer' hotels as allot of the reviews on trip advisor mention how good the food is in the hotel but also how expensive it is?
Any advice is appreciated.
2) No chance. There are SO many good little restaurants in every tourist resort that you'll be wasting money AND the hotel food (unless 4*) probably won't be as good despite being 2-3x the price. Don't think we've had a BAD meal in Thailand...a couple of 'OK' ones, a couple of over-spicy ones, but nothing we didn't eat or made us ill...they love their cooking over there! In Bangkok, try a place called 'Cabbages & Condoms' if you're anywhere near it.
Recommendations?
- Bangkok is a must-see, even if only for 3 days. Superb place - Royal Palace and Wat Arun should top your sight-see list, followed by Chatuchak market, the floating markets, and the Temple Mount. Ayutthaya is a nice (& different) day-trip you can arrange as well if you've time (but don't bother if you're doing Angkor - Ayutthaya is similar but smaller).
- Beach-wise, west-coast resorts are 'picture postcard', east-side are more party-land (either seedy or clubby) - so depends how old you are/feel and what you want. Peninsula (Cha Am the other one) are more 'golfing resorts' I understand. For a couple, I'd suggest Krabi/Phuket/Phi-Phi depending on budget and what style of place you want.
- Culture-wise, there's also Chiang Mai, which we really liked, or Cambodia - the Angkor temples near Siem Reap are a short and cheap flight from BKK. I understand they've changed a little, but we went in Jan-05 and they absolutely blew me away...think Angkor still tops my TripAdvisor 'favourite places' list.
What time of year are you looking at?
Edit: IMHO ditch any planned time in Dubai and spend the time in Thailand instead - living costs will be <<50% of the Jumeirah beach area, and the Thai's are so much more genuine than those working in the tourist parts of Dubai. We thought Jumeirah Beach was one of the worst value-for-money breaks we've had. Worth flying Emirates though, as they're still one of the best airlines we've used. Thai are pretty good too, if you'd consider flying out of LHR direct to BKK...
Edited by havoc on Saturday 16th January 12:33
You'd be mad to do half/full board in a hotel. And a lot poorer than you need to be 
Me and the missus really enjoyed Koh Phangan (I can recommend Salad Hut at Haad Salad in the North West), Koh Tao (recommend Seashell (they were building some new bungalows and a pool 'complex' this time last year)) and Koh PhiPhi (Koh meaning 'island'). We stayed in all sorts of places, and to be honest the best for us were the bungalows. The hotels we tried were trying desperately to be 'Western', and as such just didn't sit right with us, and the guesthouses were basic, as you'd expect. A bungalow with AC was perfect.
Me and the missus really enjoyed Koh Phangan (I can recommend Salad Hut at Haad Salad in the North West), Koh Tao (recommend Seashell (they were building some new bungalows and a pool 'complex' this time last year)) and Koh PhiPhi (Koh meaning 'island'). We stayed in all sorts of places, and to be honest the best for us were the bungalows. The hotels we tried were trying desperately to be 'Western', and as such just didn't sit right with us, and the guesthouses were basic, as you'd expect. A bungalow with AC was perfect.
YAD061 said:
bloody hell......was it really 5 years ago?
Definitely. We flew out 3 days after it happened. Was quite an interesting 3 days, as we were scheduled to go to Krabi...cue manic re-arrangement of that part of our holiday to Koh Samui instead (ended up at the Amari there, which was fantastic...nice to fall on your feet sometimes...)
R8BWT said:
we have narrowed it down to two choices. Krabi, or hua hin, the nakamanda resort and spa or the evason respectively. Anyone been or can recommend either? Thanks again. Will be booking today hopefully!
Nakamanda looks lovely, and that part of Krabi is closer to Phang Nga Bay (which has James Bond Island - from Man with the Golden Gun - you can probably get a long-tail boat over there, depending on how adventurous you are - they do bounce around a bit in open water), but to be honest there's those fantastic limestone karsts all round that area. Caution though - you won't be getting into Krabi or Ao Nang towns from there without an expensive taxi/transfer, not unless the hotel runs something like that. Sadly not been to that part of Krabi so can't tell you any more...there's at least half-a-dozen hotels in that area (inc. Sheraton and Sofitel), so there'll be a decent choice of food and probably some independents set-up nearby...worth a search on TripAdvisors forum, see if anyone has talked about that bit (Klong Muang beach).Hi
If you still go to Hua hin?
Maybe here some info about hua hin
http://www.huahininthailand.com
If you still go to Hua hin?
Maybe here some info about hua hin
http://www.huahininthailand.com
Edited by jurgenderksen on Tuesday 28th December 15:27
Fine with the girlfriend, just buy some big sunglasses as there's a lot to look at...
Hua Hin is a decent spot - about 3 hours from Bangkok, nice beach, plenty of restaurants and hotels at reasonable prices.
Phuket is probably the most family friendly resort, but I've never been there so can't comment too much. Heard good things, but also heard it's very pricey.
Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Pangyang have some lovely beaches, great diving and are fairly reasonable price wise, lots of backpackers though.
If you want to get away from everything and you're a bit adventurous, then I'd hire a car, drive down the coast and stop in any number of charming small towns near the beach. Many of them have beach huts that won't be more than GBP10 a night, tons of cheap, interesting food and lots of fun to be had.
Hua Hin is a decent spot - about 3 hours from Bangkok, nice beach, plenty of restaurants and hotels at reasonable prices.
Phuket is probably the most family friendly resort, but I've never been there so can't comment too much. Heard good things, but also heard it's very pricey.
Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Pangyang have some lovely beaches, great diving and are fairly reasonable price wise, lots of backpackers though.
If you want to get away from everything and you're a bit adventurous, then I'd hire a car, drive down the coast and stop in any number of charming small towns near the beach. Many of them have beach huts that won't be more than GBP10 a night, tons of cheap, interesting food and lots of fun to be had.
I've stayed at the banyan tree on Phuket. You wouldn't have to leave the resort if you didn't want to. It has a small private beach, free bikes for getting around or if you want just call for a golf cart. We hired a driver and mini van for a day to explore the island and went on a few other trips too. 214 best villa looking over the lagoon with floating bedroom 2 jacuzzis and pool. We booked the chef to come cook a BBQ at the villa but skipped the dinner floating in the middle of their lake. Eating out within 10 mins of the main resort was something like £10 for 2 Inc drinks. Can't remember whether that price included the drivers meal too though.
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