alevi7475

My husband and I will be going to SE Asia for 15 nights at the end of January. We need some help. We are planning on Siem Riep, Hanoi, Bangkok, Chiang Mai and a beach location. (I know it is a lot but we like to get a taste of many places and will ultimately get back to some of them). My first question is for a beach suggestion. We do not want to go to Phuket. I am looking for something more off the beaten path, nice, quieter. Beautiful beach, good seafood, good diving.
Next question is for hotel suggestions for any of these cities. Again, not the mega hotels but smaller, quainter. Bed and breakfast or boutiqish...Nice (and luxurious, when possible)
Any and all suggestions would be wonderful!!

Thanks and looking foward to spending lots of time over the next three months on the forum.

Allison

travelduo

For the island location you might like Koh Chang, its off the beaten path, and we had some nice dives on some of the islands close to there. We stayed at Barali and we loved it, had a beach front bungalow for about US $100 a night. In BKK maybe you could check out The Bangkok Inn, we havent stayed there but it came to mind first when you said "boutiquish". I am sure many others can give you a better option about a place to stay in BKK.

Kathie

Let's see, 15 nights.. is that 15 nights on the ground in Asia or does that include travel time to and from your home? And you want to visit 5 locations, meaning you will lose one half to almost a full day each time you change locations.

Frankly, this isn't even enough time to get a taste of these locations other than a beach and Chiang Mai, each of which can be done in a few days.

Asia lends itself best to slow travel. You have to slow down to get any sense of the place. In a day or two in these places, you can check off a few sites seen, but you'll have no real sense of the people and the culture.

For Siem Reap, you really need a full three days just to see the major temples. If you aren't interested enough in Angkor to spend three full days there, then I'd cut it.

Hanoi is a fascinating and charming city, and is well worth a minimum of three or four full days.

Bangkok is a vibrant city and you really need 4-5 days to even scratch the surface of it.

If it were me (and obviously, it isn't), I'd cut Chiang Mai and the beach and visit Siem Reap, Hanoi and Bangkok in 15 days. It would still be a crowded and busy trip, but it would give you enough time to get a taste of each of those places.

rhkkmk

too many places, too few days....cut out chiang mai, and either SR or hanoi...

koh chang is laid back....look at the amari emerald cove, barili, and tropicana....

smartcookie

I agree. Way too much. If you'll be in Hanoi, you should most definitely do at least a 2 day/1 night trip to Halong Bay. That's two full days right there and you need another 2 days to actually see Hanoi itself. That means you need at least 4 days there (4 nights considering travel time). That leaves 11 days for the rest of your trip. Siem Reap requires 3 days and flights are very expensive there (so not worth going for 1 day where you won't see anything anyway), so that leaves 7 days after travel time. The most you can do with that is 2 more places, i.e. Bangkok and Chiang Mai or Bangkok and the beach, and it will still be rushed. If I were you, I would skip Hanoi this time around and concentrate on Thailand and Siem Reap. You need a visa for both Vietnam and Cambodia. May not be worth the hassle and cost to get one to travel all the way to Hanoi with such limited time. By the way, we're doing a similar trip in 22 full days which includes more time on the islands and a stop in Hong Kong. We're flying everywhere and it's still rushed.

For the beach, look into Samui, Koh Phangnan or Ko Tao. Cheaper accomodations are called guesthouses and bungalows on the beaches.

alevi7475

Thanks for the advice. It is 15 nights on the ground (does not include travel to Asia.) But maybe cutting out Siem Riep isn't such a bad idea. We will definitely consider that. I will look into Koh Chang for the beach stop. I think that we will want something more upscale than a guesthouse on the beach, I will definitely research Barali. Has anyone stayed at the Sukothai in BKK?

Thanks,
Allison

Kathie

I haven't stayed at the Sukothai, but I don't like the location. And I wouldn't consider it a boutique property. There are a number of interesting boutique hotels in Bangkok. There have been a number of threads about them in the last year... look for Ibrik on the River and Ibrik in the city, the Arun Residence, the Eugenia (if you don't mind all of the animal heads), etc. Do a search.

lskohn

I stayed at the Sukothai last December. Lovely, quiet, good food at breakfast, but Kathie's right -- lousy location for touring around, and I would not call it "quaint" - it's actually quite business-oriented, for visitors to the many embassies that surround it.