General info on Thailand

[Debs]

Hello there!

I'm new to this forum - hello everyone. Myself and my boyfriend are planning a trip over to Thailand over next Christmas and New Year and we were looking to book something in the next few months (so we can pay it up&#33.

We were planning 4/5 nights in Northern Thailand and 6 nights on a beach resort. There are so many different places to go we don't know where to start. I've heard Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are fantastic places to go but I don't know much about them, I am wanting to see and do as much as possible in the time we have e.g. organised trips, cookery etc. For our time at the beach we would like lots of water sports and to learn how to dive.

Could anyone give me some suggestions regarding the best places to go and links to information websites if poss!

Many Thanks
Debs

[harikeo]

Welcome to the forums

You'll find plenty of helpful people here and if you want, you can learn lots about Thai life, customs and where to go iand what to do f you read through the old posts.

I haven't been to the north of Thailand yet but will be in March. I have a few links and here are some of them for Chiang Mai. Some of the pages contain links for cookery, tours etc but I have no personal recommendations. I'm sure other people will know of the better places to go for what you want.

Chiang Mai Travel Guide

Window to Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai On-Line

Some links to accomodation:

Passion Asia

Sawadee Chiang Mai

Google Search

Chiang Mai Hotel Travel

Hope that helps a bit and enjoy your trip

[Betti]

hi Debs,
I'm sure you will find this site http://www.thailandguidebook.com/
an excellent base to start from. there are lots of photos and tips about the "must-see" things in all regions and provinces in Thailand, but you don't get the feeling that you're overwhelmed with information and you don't feel even more lost as you read on :-)
there is plenty to do in both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai for 4-5 days. usually, there is no need to organise tours in advance, because there are numerous agencies in both towns where you can compare offers and book something for the next day. also, there are lots of places where you can easily go on your own: there is no need to book a tour for visiting Wat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai but you can just take regular local transport, and you can hire a motorbike to go to the elephant camp - orchid garden - waterfalls daytrip. you just can't miss the cooking classes or other activities either. Chiang Rai is smaller than Chiang Mai, more laid back, but also offering a good variety of activities. it is personal preference really, but I definitely wouldn't miss Chiang Mai, and there are plenty to do and see in those 4-5 days.
as for the islands, Ko Tao is a very good place for diving, the whole island seems to be devoted to this activity. however, overall there isn't as much to see and do as in some of the more developed islands like Phuket and Samui. so it really depends on your personal preferences again, the kind of activities / nightlife / daytrips you would like.
www.kohsamui.com, www.kohtao.com and www.phuket.com are very good sites with lots of local information, contacts, photos and maps that can help you with in-detail planning.
well, I hope all this information is of some help, and you will enjoy your stay in Thailand.

[harikeo]

If you go to Samui I would recommend Big Blue Diving to learn Scuba. I used them for my Open Water course and they're excellent and they also have schools on Koh Tao and Khao Lak.
Big Blue Diving

I can't recommend other dive schools so searching Google or on-line forums will probably allow you to hear from divers who have used other schools in the past and you'll get personal recommendations which are always best imho

[Debs]

Hello

That's great!! Thank you all for your info, I'm going to get started on my research today!

Do you have any suggestions on travel agents to use, would it be best to book this as a package or through something like Expedia? I got a rough quote from my local travel agents and they were going to charge us £2450 each! I thought that was way too expensive for 10 nights?

Thanks Again
Debbie

[andytc]

Quote[/b] (Debs @ Oct. 15 2005,15:43)]I got a rough quote from my local travel agents and they were going to charge us £2450 each! I thought that was way too expensive for 10 nights?

Thanks Again
Debbie

£2450 each! wow that is waaaaaay toooooo much.

[harikeo]

Ouch!!!

Yesterday I booked my return flight to Bangkok in March for £380 but flights are very expensive over Christmas and New Year. Flights to Chiang Mai from UK are stupid prices for some reason no matter what time of year and imho there is no reason to use an operator to book hotels in Thailand.

I think the best thing to do is to get a ticket to Bangkok and a seperate ticket to Chiang Mai using Bangkok Airways but where I got my £380 ticket from the quote for 23rd Dec to 13th Jan is £1207. Do you have to go over Christmas/New Year?

Here is what it would cost me return to Chiang Mai in March:

Gatwick - Bangkok return = £380
Bangkok - Chiang Mai return = £75

Total price = £ 455 + hotel of about £150 per person

[Debs]

I thought it was quite expensive!!

We can either go over xmas and new year or in the August holidays but from what I've read the best months weather wise is Nov - Mar so we would prefer to go when the weather was at it's best (for the beach part of the hol).

I'm going to get a few quotes from different travel agents and also see what the cost would be if I organised the whole trip by myself.

Again thanks for you help!!

Debs

[harikeo]

If it helps the cheapest I found in UK are either Wefly or Southall Travel.

I booked through Wefly time before last and Southall two days ago. They made an error on the web form and I was charged a surcharge for using a credit card when I actually used a debit card to pay. I queried it last night at about 11.00 and this morning I had a call on my mobile to say they would repay it within a few days which I think is good customer service.

I found Samui too hot in March (I don't tan easily) and August was okay but still very hot. Between 11a.m. and 4p.m. I had to stay to riding a bike or keep ducking into air-con buildings to keep cool. On the beach I felt like a chip in a deep fat fryer so avoided it but I still love Thailand