WorldTraveller2017

Me and my girlfriend will be arriving in Bangkok on October 26th, 2017and staying for 1 month. We want to get the most out of our trip on a resonable budget. I have been to Hong Kong and Bangkok on a previous trip including the northern areas of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai as well as the Golden Triangle, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

However, we have never been to the southern Thailand and this wil be my girfriends first trip outside of Europe. Therefore, I would like this to be the trip of a lifetime especially for her. So naturally, we want to concentrate on southern Thailand and its beautiful ad famous beaches without limiting ourselves.

Not knowing that part of the world, I am looking for a perfect and smart itinerary that allows us to make the most of our trip. We would love to experience the most magical places in southern Thailand and possibly the surrounding areas. We love beautiful beaches with crystal clear water, places with a great vibe and atmosphere, exotic getaways, great Thai food, vibrant as well as untouched beaches, interesting markets and people, fish markets, anything exotic connected to adventure...

1) Do you have a great itinerary in mind starting in Bangkok with specific places taking into account the above criteria and that would allow us to increase the likelyhood of great sunny weather taking into account the dates of travel (I mean we know the weather in this region can change anytime,but it is all about increasing the likelyhood)

2) What we are looking for is a compact,smart itinerary that enables us to experience the biggest gems/treasures of southern Thailand while eliminating unecessary travel if it does not significantly add to the overall experience (meaning we are more than willing to travel, but it has to be WORTH it and if so, in the right order so that we do not end up going back and forth unecessarily)

3) If in this itinerary, you can include roughly the number of days that you would spend in each area and hidden gems/treasures for beautiful and reasonably priced (steals) places to stay in each partciular area, that would be greatly appreciated.

4) My girlffriend would also like to see Vietnam. I am not so sure about that. Taking into account that we have one month, would you recommend to focus on southern Thailand or would you recommend we should go to Vietnam (or if not Vietnam, would you recommend another beautiful region(s) in southeast Asia that we should definitely include?

5) Please include the best websites we should use for getting the most amazing deals/steals when it comes to accomodation rates in southern Thailand.

Thank you so much for your help. Any advice is GREATLY appreciated.

lcuy

This is to be her first time in SE Asia and you want it to be a "trip of a lifetime"? Somehow, a month in southern Thailand does not ring the trip of a lifetime bells for me. What places did you love on earlier trips?

Though toward the end of the rainy season, that whole area of Thailand will be hot and very wet, not great for beach or nature events. I'd lean toward Vietnam. Still could be wet, but better odds.

crellston

Listen to lcuy and your girlfriend they know what they are talking about . Vietnam would make a great trip for a month even if you top and tail it with a few nights in Bangkok. In fact that is exactly what we will be doing in a few days as we fly back from New Zealand next week.

If it helps, broadly, our Itinerary is:

2 nts Bangkok
4 nts Hanoi
6 nts in Ha Giang province
2 nts Hanoi
5 nts Saigon
5 nts Mekong Delta or Phu Quoc (for diving)
4 nts Saigon
4 nts Bangkok

We have been to Vietnam many times, a country we love, and whilst some places will be new, some we will be revisiting. If you want some ideas, do have a look at our blog of previous trips @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/vietnam/

Good Websites for SE Asia travel are https://www.travelfish.org www.airasia.com for flights and www.seat61.com if you are interested in trains in Vietnam.
I use booking.com for hotels when I am not staying at www.accor.com hotels - nice places and great rewards scheme.

I am not suggesting that my Itinerary above will suit you guys but it could make a good starting point. There are many places in the north you could add in - Ninh Binh Bai Tu Long Bay etc. The delta is a must see imo and lends itself well to linking up with some beachtime in Phu Quoc or even along the river to Phnonm Penh. Kampot and Kep are close to PP and are very pleasant for a few days.

If you want to make it a "trip of a lifetime" my advice is to mix and match your accomodation, homestays , mid range with the odd luxury place thrown in. Always end on a high note - Bangkok is full of lux. Hotels at excellent rates.

People here will be happy to share their recommendations but yo7 need to provide some idea of your budget in terms of actual €$£ s.

PS you don’t have much time to get this sorted!

crellston

NB see my post re floods in Vietnam

khunwilko

bnormal trip down south. Bkk
Prachuap kiri Khan - avoid Hua hin, the beaches South are much better.

Kaeng Krachan National PaRK.

Sam Roi Yot, NICE BEACH. Ban Krut etc
loads more all the way to Ban Saphan

Suratthani - most people visit Samui or Pha Ngang islands.

Cross over from Samui to Khao Sok NP with fantastic karst lake landscapes and jungle trekking.

Next Khao Lak or Phuket then Phi Phi and all that stuff

maybe Trang.

You can then return up the west side of Thailand via Ranong crossing back over to Chumphon and then back up the coast to Bangkok.

South of Phuket in Krabi with Koh Lanta - a relatively undeveloped island

OR
a quick excursion down to Penang, Malaysia. before retuning back.

For "unspoilt" beaches you will be largely disappointed on the larger islands these days, better to try getting a boat to the smaller islands - the more difficult the access the better the beach.