jetskreemr

My husband and I are 30-somethings who love traveling to archeology sites as well as viewing natural beauty, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, etc. We have traveled to China and Taiwan previously, and now want to add Thailand to our list. We are planning a 2 week trip at the end of March.

Here are our current itinerary thoughts:

- Starting the trip with 4 nights/3 days in BKK, probably at the Shangri-La. We just want to hit the highlights of the Palace, the major Wats, maybe a bit of shopping, etc.

- We then want to fly to Angkor Wat Cambodia for 3 nights/2 days of temple viewing. Again, don't need to see every bit of it, but want to hit the highlights. We originally considered visiting Chiang Mai instead of AW, but are hearing about the burning in the area, and also think our visits to rural China may have been similar to this part of Thailand, so don't need to repeat it.

- We want to spend the remainder of the trip in the beach area of Thailand, and this is where I have the most questions. We would prefer snorkeling, kayaking, and hiking, and we would like to see a lot of the beautiful scenery of this area. We would also love to relax and not feel crowded. Is this possible in this area?

We are thinking of spending 2 nights/1 day in Phuket specifically so we can take the John Gray Sea Canoe Starlight Hong tour of the Phang Nga Bay area. We would prefer to stay somewhere quieter and away from most tourists. We are open to mid- and high-budget options. Any ideas?

Then we were thinking of ferrying over to stay on Phi Phi the next 4 nights/3 days at the Holiday Inn Beach Bungalows. However, we are concerned with hearing how many tourists clutter Phi Phi every day. We planned to take a couple of boat tours around the Phi Phi islands, particularly Phi Phi Ley and hopefully more quiet places (away from Maya Bay so as to steer clear of the crowds). Are we still going to be overrun with tourists? Is it possible to stay on this island and feel relaxed and secluded? Or is there a better option in this region that still has spectacular scenery? And for that matter, is this too much time to spend on Phi Phi in the first place???

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Kathie

If you love visiting archaeological sites, two days three nights at Angkor won't be nearly enough. No chance you'll see all of it - even if you stayed for weeks. But if you just want to se the "major" temples, you'll need three full days. We spent a week and would have loved even more time.

I highly recommend you buy Dawn Rooney's book "Angkor: A guide to Cambodia's Wonderous Temples."

Your time in Bangkok is just enought to give you a sample of this incredible city. We have a regular poster here, Leigh, who believes that the Hiliday Inn at PhiPhi is heaven on earth. He'd say that 4 days is certainly not too long.

Any chance you can add a day or two to extend your time at Angkor?

You are welcome to view our Angkor photos at www.marlandc.com

jetskreemr

Thanks for your reply. I loved the photos. We are reconsidering how to best divide up our time.

If anybody has any other recommendations/opinions on our itinerary, please let me know. Thanks in advance!

jamesexton_1

We are doing Seim Reap( Ankor Wat) also in March after a 7 day cruise up from Saigon. We had originally booked accommodation in Seim Reap for 3 nights but after a airline scheduling change we were so please too take an extra night in Seim Reap. We are staying at the Pavillon Indochine there and although we haven't yet been there their 3 and 4 day packages sound great and cheap and with great reviews.

rsn

My husband and I are going to Thailand for 2 1/2 weeks in April. Our itinerary is as follows:

BKK - 2 days - staying at the Peninsula (we switched from the Shangri-La because they're doing some construction on the hotel)

Chaing Mai - 4 days - staying at Ratilanna - we decided to stay for a few extra days in Chaing Mai to go to the elephant conservcation centre, we're doing a cooking class, and to just relax and enjoy.

Angkor Wat - 2 days - staying at Hotel de la Paix - we got a really good deal at this hotel and they have some 4 night packages that are very reasonable.

Koh Phi Phi - 3 days - staying at the Phi Phi Island Village (after much debating between hotels including Holiday Inn and Zeavola)

Krabi - 2 days at Tubkaak - if you are looking for relaxation, private beaches and "isolation" (in a good way) then you should check out this hotel which came highly recommended to us.

We then have 3 days in Hong Kong on our way back to Canada.

People have told us that we're doing too much and moving around too much, but we are comfortable with our decisions. We wanted a mix of cities, outdoor adventure, and relaxation. We also know that we won't be able to return to Asia for a long time, so we wanted to maximize our time there. You need to find a pace that works for you.

Hope this helps!

jetskreemr

Thanks for your help everyone! We are still doing our planning, although added another day at Angkor, so if anyone still has any other thoughts, let me know! Thanks in advance!