otto

Hey all,

In the discovery phase of looking at Bangkok/Phuket.
Hotel suggestions in each please?
Is March/April a good season?
Traveling from New York, do you need one week or two?

Thank you.

Kathie

If traveling from NY, if you only have one week, choose one location (you will lose two days in transit). But March/April is not a good time to go. April is the hottest month of the year. Start with a guidebook, which should give you general weather info as well as an idea of many things to do/see in Thailand. Also take a look at www.weatherbase.com for historical weather averages.

Are you planning to just visit Thailand or do you want to visit any nearby places like Angkor Wat in Cambodia?

rhkkmk

Two weeks minimum..

Hotel budget per day? Services needed?

otto

thanks all. 2 weeks sounds right. perhaps we'll delay until the fall if april is the hottest time of year. we were just thinking of checking out the beaches, and some temples, have some thai food...haven't considered going to angkor wat, how close by is it?

rhkkmk

It is only an hous flt, but they are quite expensive...

Plan to go after oct 15 to avoid rain and flooding

Kathie

I prefer to wait until after Nov 1 to go because of the rain. October is a transition month.

I always recommend that for your first visit to Bangkok, stay along the river. Actually, Ive been to Bangkok more than two dozen times and I still prefer to stay riverside.

When you think about beaches, you might prefer a beach near Phuket but not actually on Phuket - consider Krabi or Bob's (above) current favorite Khao Lak.

Angkor is truly a wonder. You might take a look at Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples to get an idea of your level of interest. The flights are pricy, but you can use the Bangkok Air Discovery Pass, which reduces the price quite a bit.

otto

very helpful! thank you. any other not to be missed or specific lodging suggestions would be welcome.

rhkkmk

otto-- a budget for daily housing cost from you would yield man more suggestions...

otto

thank you. typically our budget is $300 or less a night.

Kathie

For Bangkok, the Pen gets great reviews and it is located on the river.

rhkkmk

for $300 you can have all but a few hotels in bkk..

As Kathie suggests the peninsula would be a good choice on the river.... plaza anthanee in town... any of the Marriott family... Sheraton grande... four seasons, hyatt.. conrad

a jr suite at the anantara riverside...

fromdusktilldawn

Two weeks is just fine. Enough to explore the best beaches and see some of the amazing temples, while enjoying Thai local food and the Thai massage! As for the hotels in BKK, checkout the Intercon and Sukhothai (Asian feel). In Phuket, it's actually overwhelming, but given your budget, I recommend Marriott or Renaissance. Love their buffet and great customer service. The golden sands on the beach was a nice sight to see too.

otto

Thank you all!

Jen_71E

April isn't a bad time to go if you like songkran festival. It's around the 12-16th of April, but it will be high season so prices will go up and if you don't like getting wet, then I would avoid going over this period. In the south of Thailand, I would recommend Natai beach near Phang Nga bay, less touristy, really stunning, not too far from the international airport as well. Aleenta resort there is amazing. Love their personalized touches and fantastic service. They have a super nice wellness centre there as well, their jet lag treatment is really great!

BillT

For a first trip to Bangkok, I say stay on the river. AsBob suggests get a junior suite at the Anatara. It has in my opinion the best pool and its a nice boat ride from the hotel to the sky train. As an added benefit the hotel boat makes a stop at Asiatique, an evening venue of shopping and restaurants that you will want to check out.

Kathie

Jen, Songkran can be an interesting festival to observe, but it is hotter than hell in April.