2seeds

Hi!
My husband and I are in our mid 30's and have used this site frequently to plan our vacations. It has been great (we have never been disappointed with the advice given here) and we are hoping you can help again with this year's trip. We don't have a price limit on accommodations however if we can save money with a place that is nice and clean and in a central location we are fine with that. We like to be VERY active on our trips and can often pack a lot into one day.
Phuket Dec 18-21:
We will be arriving in Phuket on Dec 18th and plan to stay there through the 21st.
Is this enough time?
Someone recommended the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa. Does anyone know if this hotel sustained damage during the Tsunami and if so is it OK to stay there or are there other recommendations while in Phuket? Also, if we stayed there is it worth it to get the breakfast inclusion?
Ko Samui Dec 21-24:
We are both certified in Scuba and have heard this is a place to visit for both scuba and snorkeling. Is it good weather this time of year and worth a visit?
Where would you suggest we stay?
Is this enough time?
How do you get there from Phuket?
How is easy or difficult is it to get from Ko Samui to Chiang Mai? We assume we would have to go through Bangkok...
Chiang Mai Dec 24-27:
No idea about anything here. Just told it's a great place to see. A lot of things to visit and do. Thoughts and recommendations first for a place to stay? Someone said the Sheraton Chiang Mai was good?
Bangkok Dec 28-Jan 2:
We are booked at the Shangri-La
Thoughts on this?
We also emailed Tong to see if she can give a tour for 2 days, keep your fingers crossed. Otherwise we are confident in our abilities to find our way around, we managed China last December with no command of the Chinese language.
On that note, is it necessary to have destinations written in Thai when we arrive at airports or is it fairly easy to get around in most places?
Thanks in advance for your help; I know this is one of the longer posts.

Kathie

A few comments. Koh Samui will be rainy in December and the water won't be clear enough for diving or snorkeling. Give it a miss. If you want to visit two beach areas, they should both be on the Phuket side - you might look at PhiPhi or Krabi or Koh Lanta. This will cut your travel time and expense (it is rather expensive flying in and out of Samui, as the only airline that services it also owns the airport). Make your reservations soon - this is the busiest time of the year and some of the places you may want to stay will already be full.

You can then fly through Bangkok to Chaing Mai. There are many things to do in CM ranging from visiting an elephant camp, treking, shopping, cooking classes, etc. Do read a few of the posts here about CM. I really can't make any recommendations to you not knowing what you might be interested in. I can't say that I've ever read a good review of the Chaing Mai Sheraton. Personally, I wouldn't stay there. Many people on this board like Baan Orrapin (do a search). I chose teh Yaang COme Village for my upcoming stay. Take a look at www.sawasdee.com for lots of hotel options. I usually use them for hotels in Thailand.

I always recommend that peple stay along the river in Bangkok. The Shang is well-located, on the river and right next to the skytrain.

When you arrive at airports, you will always find taxis. Some airports there is a taxi desk and they will convey the instructions to the taxi drivers. Most taxi drivers speak some English. If I am going somewhere unusual, I do have someone write down my destination in Thai. Also, always carry a hotel card with you so you can get back.

Let me suggest that you get a good guidebook. This will give you ideas of what you may want to do/see and you can ask more detailed questons here once you know what you want.

2seeds

Thanks Kathie!
I'll look into those hotels in Chiang Mai. If we skip Ko Samui and don't go to another place on the Phuket side would you suggest we use the addtional days somewhere like Chiang Rai or would that be too similar to Chiang Mai?
Also, are you familiar with the place I mentioned in Phuket?

Kathie

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the Hilton you mention on Phuket. Give us some idea of what you want on Phuket - a busy beach with lots of bars and restaurants? a place that is very quiet and isolated? Phuket has many differnt areas ranging from the very busy Patong to less busy places to very quiet places.

If you want to go somewhere else rather than a beach, here are a couple of ideas: I love the Golden Triangle area (you fly into Chaing Rai) and the Anantara is absolutely wonderful. You could do this instead of Chaing Mai. It is, however, a malarial risk area. (If you are interested in this, better check now and see if you can book the Anantara)

You might consider going somewhere outside of Thailand. The temples at Angkor are an incredible expereince. You'll need a minimum of three daus on the ground in Cambodia for this . This is also a malarial risk area.

Luang Prabang, Laos is another option, again a malarial risk area.

A picture is worth a thousand words... perhaps you might find our photos to be helpful in making a decision www.marlandc.com

Craig

I agree with most of Kathie's recommendations. I would favor the Peninsula over the Shangri-La in Bangkok but it may be too late to change your reservation - the Shangri-La is well situated on the river and certainly not a bad hotel. Looks like you have 5-6 days in Bangkok, which is fine for a first visit.

Looks like you have 6-7 days for beach time - that would be too much for me but may be about right if you stay in more than one place.

You will probably spend the better part of a day getting from southern Thailand to Chiang Mai.

I stayed at the Sheraton in 2000 (it was a Westin back then). I think that now there are better places to stay in Chiang Mai. Kathie mentioned a couple that are popular on this board. Others opinions may differ but I think you can see most of what Chiang Mai has to offer in 2 full days. If you still have extra time in your itinerary, you could continue north and spend some time in the area of Chiang Rai and the golden triangle (Kathie mentioned staying at the Anantara).

When I previewed this reply, I saw that you have been going back and forth with Kathie. Luang Prabang is also a great place - I do believe you would have to return to Bangkok to fly there though.

2seeds

Thanks again! I will take a look at the pictures later today when I am with my husband. As far as Phuket goes, we are interested in some relaxing time since we will just be arriving from the US via Singapore on the 18th but we are also active in that we don't want to spend most of our time laying on the beach. We would like to experience that, to adjust when we get there, but we also don't want to get stuck in the middle of a tourist area. We like to experience things as the locals do. This goes for any of our vacations.

Craig

2seeds, if you and your husband are interested in looking at photos, please feel free to check out our Bangkok and Luang Prabang photos from last February:

http://craigandjeane.photosite.com/Album1/

2seeds

Craig- thanks for the suggestions. I'll be willing to "chat" with who ever has an opinion on my itinerary so I hope the suggestions keep coming. Wasn't sure of the travel time but figured it would be at least a day. Need to look into the internal flights next. We are definitely flying into Phuket though. We thought this would help a bit.
Not really interested in spending more than a few days on the beach. I wasn't familiar with the golden triangle so I will look into that now.
Thanks for the advice so far. I know the fodorites wouldn't let me down.
Keep the suggestions coming!

rhkkmk

i would add some time to bangkok and keep to about 4 days in CM....the sheraton CM is ok but not in the middle of the town....you will always need transportation from there to town...

the shangri-la is a lovely huge hotel with great facilities....its best feature is that it is right next to the skytrain...

personally i prefer the marriott resort and spa also on the river and it is slightly cheaper....you would not be disappointed with the sh-la however...

i have a restaurant listing if you are interested for bkk...just ask at:

[email protected]

if you have not been to SEA before you will be surprised at how difficult it is to pack the day...its just so hot and humid that you want and need to slow down....its not like europe...

on day one and two you will need to go slow too because of jet lague

2seeds

ttt, can't have anyone forget about our need for help with our trip

2seeds

hotel in Phuket- does anyone know anything about the JW Mariott? How does this compare to the Hilton Arcadia?

Kathie

There have been lots of reviews on this forum of the JW Marriott in Phuket. Use the search function (if it's working). If you read maybe a half a dozen trip reports about Phuket, you'll get some more ideas on hotels.

rhkkmk

the jw marriott is one of the best hotels on phuket....it is a fantastic place....it is quite remote however....not a good place if you intend to leave the hotel often for activities....it is almost at the northern tip of the island, just before the bridge...