10 days in BKK
 

My husband and I will be in Thailand for our honeymoon this December/January (I've posted some questions before). Out itinerary as of now gives us 10 days in BKK which I think may be too long. We are looking for some recommendations for another place to travel to for about 4 days thus giving us 6 days in BKK.
Here are the places we have thought of:
1)Udon Thani
2)Trat-Pattaya- Si Racha
3)Hong Kong

Thanks in advance for any help!

Actually 10 days in Bangkok is great. Gives you the time to take some day trips and also go to a spa a few times and do things in a non rushed way. I promise that you won't be bored.And if you're staying at one of the fabulous luxury hotels it will give you the time to fully enjoy it.

Could fly to the beaches of Phuket or hills of Chiang Mai on One-Two-Go by Orient Thai Airlines - http://www.fly12go.com/en/main.shtml for about $75 USD. 3-4 days in Bangkok is enough. Can ride elephants and tour the county side on scooters ($5/per day to rent)in Chiang Mai. You could fly to Vietnam for about $200. Fly Air Asia or Thai Airlines to Udon Thani which sounds like a great place - my daughter will be there in just a few days -will let you know what she thinks. Airfare to Hong Kong is rather high. Really love staying on the river in Bangkok at Shangri-la.

I looked at your other posts but wasn't able to tell where else you are going besides Bangkok on your honeymoon. I could easily spend 10 days in Bangkok (and have a number of times). There are interesting day trips outside the city.

If you give us more idea of where else you are going and what you are interested in, we can offer more help.

Generally, my advice would be to stay somewhere in Thailand or nearby rather than flying to Hong Kong.

Ten days in Bangkok...not a problem. Just take day trips as mentioned above. Plus, 10 days will give you time to SLOW DOWN and RELAX. I wouldn't fly off somewhere else, in this situation. It IS your honeymoon. Go to spas,drink champagne, swim, and just honeymoon! Happy Travels!

It depends on what you're looking to get out of the trip...Rest and relaxation? See several countries?

Personally, I find Bangkok exhilirating, but not at all relaxing. If it were me, I'd look hard at Phuket or perhaps Singapore if you want to see a second country. Laos, if you stick to Vientienne, can also be a great experience.

I would not ordinarily recommend Udon, although I have been there a number of occasions. Not much going on for someone on a limited timeframe. It would be like visiting the U.S. for the first time for 10 days and spending 4 days in Boise.

Shade

Thank you all for this feedback.
We start our trip off in Chiang Mai for 4days/4 nights (12/20-12/24). That time could be extended but from what I gather from the posts on this site 4 days is enough time. From there we head to BKK and do not have a set itinerary until January 3 when we head to Phuket for some relaxation for the remainder of the honeymoon. We depart on 1/8 back to Philadelphia.
With this itinerary in mind, any other suggestions?

You should either spend all 10 days in bangkok or add 2 days for Chiang Rai or Mae Hong Son. BUT whatever you do you should book now as this is the high season and many hotels may be booked.

A couple of thoughts: You could certainly spend all 10 days in Bangkok. In addition to the usual city things (fabulous wats, delicious food, incredible shopping, etc) Bangkok has wonderful spas for relaxing. There are several interesting day trips you can take as well. Where are you staying? My concern is that if you don't already have reservations, you may have a hard time getting them, especially as you'll be in Bangkok the busiest time of the year - the week between Xmas and New Years.

I would recommend a few days at the Anantara at the Golden Triangle, but I think it's very unlikely you could get reservations at this late date.

You could add some beach time. Both Koh Samed and Hua Hin are motorable from Bangkok, 3-4 hours, good roads. Advantage of this is gives you more flexibility in terms of not needing to add a flight. Hua Hin is larger, more choice of hotel, etc. Koh Samed is less crowded, beaches IMO better - only 1 nice property, Le Vimarn. Hua Hin you could splurge on Chiva Som spa, go boutique with Aleenta or stay at Anantara, Hyatt, Sofitel or Marriott. 2 nights at either might be just right.

If you stay in Bangkok for 10 days, stay at more than just one hotel. Stay in hotels in different areas of the city otherwise you might get bored with 10 days at the same hotel and in the same area.Maybe choose two hotels for 10 days. There are so many great hotels in Bangkok. Happy Travels!

I would agree with that-even though I love the Bangkok Marriott Resort, (and think it is a great honeymoon hotel) if I were staying 10 days in BKK I would definitely break it up by staying part of the time on the river, and part of the time at one of the hip downtown hotels, Plaza Athenee, Cosmopolitan, Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit, for example. Do some research on tripadvisor.com as to those hotels which interest you and have favorable reviews.

But I should think you'd want to hit the beach during your honeymoon as well-so I would vote Hua Hin and Ko Samet in that order (rather than Ko Samui) as beach destinations to consider.

Have you considered flying to Angkor Wat in Cambodia for a couple of days -- Bangkok Air flies direct from BKK to Siem Reap, and Angkor is far more interesting than any temple in Bangkok.

I disagree with switching hotels in Bangkok -- better unpack, settle in and travel around the city. Moving would only prove disruptive.

Personally, and I have been many times to Bangkok, 10 days is at least 5 too many to see the city. You can better use those five days in Cambodia, for example.

Michael

Michael-I know a number of people, including myself who would say 5 days in Cambodia would be 4 days too long.

Have you been to Cambodia -- Angkor Wat, one of the world's great temple complexes and one of the very best UNESCO World Heritage Sites, deserves at least two days, and Phnom Penh also has plenty to see to fill one, but better, two days (Killing Fields, National Museum, markets, genocide museum, cruise on the river, shooting AK-47s).

I'm not saying I couldn't enjoy 10 days in BKK, just that when I travel that far, I prefer to get the best bang for my buck, and I don't think BKK has enough to offer for 10 days (I don't lump it in the same class as NY, Paris, London, Beijing, Jerusalem, Rome, where one can easily spend 10 days).

I do prefer BKK to Hong Kong, however, so I wouldn't advise Tulajack to trade one large Asian city for another. Better, IMHO, to use that time to see something, like Angkor Wat, that cannot be found in the US.

Spygirl- count me as one who would do only one day in Cambodia. I have seen pictures of Angkor Wat and am of the opinion that the temples and palaces in BKK are far more spectacular that those of Angkor Wat- in fact as I recall the Grand Palace in BKK has a replica of Angkor Wat so in a sense I've seen it- abeit on a miniature scale! The wife can't take more than a hour of temple viewing as she gets templed out. I can do it for an afternoon or a day at most and even I get templed out.

Horses for courses, I guess. If we all liked the same things, those sights would be far too crowded, so much better that we all have different interests.

I have visited Thailand several times now and think 4 full days is about right in Bangkok. Must sees are the floating markets, river kwai trip, temples and palaces.
I have tied this in with a week in Phuket on my first trip, a week in Koh Samui on my second, a week's cruise around Thailand and Malaysia on my third trip and lastly a trip up to Northern Thailand to Chang Mai, Chang Rai and The Golden Triangle. All trips are fantastic you will not be disappointed and the people are wonderful.
Depends whether you want the rest of your trip to be cultural or beach I guess. Beach is nice after the hustle of Bangkok

Thanks again for all of this fabulous feedback. In taking your advice we have booked the Marriott Resort and Spa for 7 nights (12/27-1/2). So Bangkok will be a 7 day/7 night experience for us, we will head to Phuket on 1/3.
Now we have 2.5 days to play around with. Can anyone suggest a good way to spend that time - more time in the north or south? Chiang Rai versus Hua Hin or Koh Samet? While Angkor Wat does sound lovely, I don't think we will fit it in on this trip.

With just a couple of days to play with, I'd add The Golden Triangle on to your trip (stay at the Anantara). But it may well depend on what you can book. Another northern Thailand option is Mae Hong Son (Fern Restort).