My family (2 adults, 2 children, 11 and 12) want to go to Thailand for about nine days, eight nights, in mid-February. We would travel from NYC. It is school vacation and that is all we can fit in at that time of year, with a day to recover from jet lag. Maybe we would split the time between Bangkok and Phuket.

Is this simply too short and are we setting ourselves up only for exhaustion? How bad is jetlag from a 16 hour flight? Our maximum flt previously has been about 12 hours. Maybe we could spend all 8 nights in Bangkok, at some place with a nice pool. I know we would have a little bit more time to do this trip during the summer but, that seems to be rainy season. Tokyo was also a possibility but I fear it would be too cold.

We are looking for a sophisticated city, good food and good beaches or pool. If not Thailand the other option is Hawaii, which I think might only have the good beach part.

And, ironically, with most airfares expensive nowadays the fares to Hawaii and BKK aren't all that differet, and BKK is cheaper once we arrive, I think.
Thank you.

Maybe we'll be on the same flight out of JFK as we are also going mid-February. We also took that flight this past February. It arrives late afternoon, Bangkok time. You probably won't get much sleep on the way to Bangkok as it is mostly during New York daytime hours. So plan on having a light snack when you arrive and then getting some sleep. You will not be 100% the next day so plan on taking it easy. This past February, we flew to Cambodia early the next morning after we arrived and toured all day - we wouldn't want to do that again - it was exhausting, especially with the heat.

I assume your kids get a week off. Are you planning on taking extra days or is the nine days, eight nights Saturday to Sunday? Keep in mind that in order to get 8 nights in Thailand you would have to leave on Thursday and return the following Saturday (there is no Sunday flight). The return flight leaves at 1 AM so you really wouldn't have a full night on your last night in Thailand. The return flight arrives at JFK at 6 AM the same day. You will able to sleep on that flight but you will still probably need the rest of the weekend to recover.

You could easily spend all of your time in Bangkok. Under the Saturday to Sunday scenerio you would leave JFK at noon on Saturday and arrive BKK at 5 PM on Sunday. That gives you 5 full days in Bangkok. As I said before, if you were willing to depart JFK a day or two earlier, you could buy some extra time.

We have been to Thailand in July and the weather did not disrupt our vacation - an occassional downpour but otherwise not bad. It is really really hot all the time, especially in Bangkok. With the amount of time you have, Phuket is not an option in February. If you go in July, Koh Samui is the better beach option as it is rainy in Phuket.

If you do choose to go to Bangkok for the week, the Marriott Resort on the river would be a good choice. It has a great pool and has been repeatedly recommended on this forum.

8 days is short, but you say you have a full 8 days on the ground in Thailand. If so, do it. (I've done 1 week to Asia trips a number of times.) Everyone is different as to jetlag. And if you are on the non-stop Thai flight (JFK-BKK), that will make the flight easier.

With just eight days, I agree with your thought to stay in Bangkok the whole time. No doubt Bob will recommend the Marriott, which has a great pool area and is on the river. As you know, we can recommend zillions of things to do, places to eat, spa treatments, etc. With that much time you can also do a day trip or two.

Thank you.

What kind of day trips? Do they all require flights?

Although I posted after Kathie, her post appears before mine for some reason so take note. The common day trips are all by car, bus or boat. The two most common are Ayuttya/Ban Pa In summer palace (out by bus, return by boat) and the floating market (1-1/2 hours by car).

I meant to say that Kathie's post is after mine so you might not have seen it.

Yes, we must have been typing at the same time, Craig. Kanchuburi was the other day trip I thought of, and it might be of more interest than Ayutthya for the kids. It would be a full day driving trip.

take a few extra days...
so the kids will miss a couple of days.. no big deal (in my opinion).

I am taking my kids (8,4) away this october. it's over a 1 week holiday vacation + 2 weeks out of school/kindergarden time.

I'd spend the whole 8 in Bangkok. Happy Travels!

the only hotel for you in bkk, imo, is the marriott...perfect for everyone but best for families in your situation....the only negetive is that they will want you to have two rooms, although i suspect you could crowd into one room....would not be pleasant...

you can do it nicely in one week if you stay in one place...moving from one area to another takes 1/2 day minimum and for all intents really takes the whole day....

so go to bkk and pick either the marriott or the sheraton---marriott is better for you really...why?? the pool is the best in bkk and the area is large and kid friendly....the attached mini mall has burger king, mcdonalds, small shops, a drug store, a bank...some activities for the kids...ice cream....a perfect family place....i have suggested this place to many families and not one has not loved it 100%....

the price in feb will be about $135-140 per nite inclusive of breakfast for 2 and tax/service using one of the discount hotel sites....
i prefer: www.huahin.20m.com but their prices are not available for another couple of weeks...i just paid $136 from asiaroom.com for nov....same price as february....

there is tons to do in bkk and great food at reasonable prices...

i have a restaurant listing if you want it just ask: [email protected]

outside of town there are two or three places to go for day trips....you might like the floating market with a private driver....

a klong tour is a must in bkk....long tail boat ride through the canals of thornburi....about 400 B per hour and takes 2-3 hours....go in the afternoon...a riverside hotel would arrange a boat for you or get one at taskim pier---end of the skytrain...

GO TO THAILAND YOU WILL LOVE IT AND SO WILL THE KIDS....

Wow, the information you gave me is invaluable.

Yes, we would leave a couple of days before the February school break. That would mean depart on a Thursday and return the following Saturday. I think that is about 8 nights, though a 1 a.m. return flight seems awful. On the ThaiAir website I can't figure out if they are consistently using military time or "regular" time. Thus, I'm not sure on the departure times of the non stops from NYC to BKK, or the return. I tried calling the airline but maybe it was early in the a.m. because I got into some endless muzak.

On the Marriott hotel, that seems great, although so does the Shangri-La. I think they may not be that different in price, but I haven't checked the discount sites you mentioned. If so, is the Shangri-La way more "Thai" and also upscale? My wife and I would prefer that. Probably the kids too. Also, the Marriott site says 2 kids under 12 are OK in the same room. We generally do that. First reason is cost and second is that the kids will not sleep in a separate room. (Don't ask; that is one big family issue.) Thus, we have actually had the situation where we have moved beds into our room. Alternatively, we take a suite and put them in the living room.

Finally, for those who have flown the Thai non stop, I assume it is way better than stopping somewhere and, is it the case that by hour 14 you want to jump out the emergency exit door? And, is the jetlag completely debilitating? We are probably middle of the road on jetlag; it affects us but doesn't knock us completely off. Yet, BKK is an entire day difference, does that mean you can't function for a few days both coming and going? Thanks.

Jet lag is a very individual thing. Some people are really debilitated by it, others are not. If you are a melatonin responder, you may be able to quickly re-set your internal clock with melatonin. There are lots of tips on let lag on this board, you can do a search for jet lag.

The Shangri-La is more upscale than the Marriott (and the price will be higher). Both are along the river, which is the right location for you. You could opt for a suite in either place.

The non-stop on Thai will make a difference in your jet lag I expect. When you stop somewhere (I always have to stop at Narita) it does interfere with sleep, and makes it harder to adjust times. Take books, games, etc, on the flight. There will be movies shown non-stop.

With kids, you should look into taking an Amazing Bangkok Cyclist tour. We did this with our kids and it was one of the highlights of our week in Bangkok. Very easy physically, and you get to see many areas of Bangkok...pedalling right thru markets, travelling by boat to the rural side of the city, and stopping for snacks in little neighborhoods.

You could get away with 5 full days in Bangkok and 3 in Chiang Mai(8-19 degrees cooler than Bangkok in Feb.) where the kids would really enjoy the Elephant Conservancy in Lampang. They can even ride an elephant for a 1 hour trek. They treat the animals very well. A day to visit the hill tribe inhabitants is very interesting with a guide/driver like Poon, Ratt's sister, or Kai (I read he is very good, we enjoyed 4 days with Poon)and a trip to an amazing temple Doi Suthep (3 hour trip including 1+ hour at the temple) and a bit different type of night market than those in Bangkok. If you are there on a Sunday they have a special larger market from 4PM to around midnight.Just a thought.

I'll repeat some of what I said above because I think you missed it.

The 1 AM BKK - JFK flight is on Saturday morning. It is good because you will go right to sleep and when you wake up the flight will be half over. Reserve your hotel room as if you were staying another night. Most hotels will not give you late checkout past 6 PM but its worth it to pay for the extra day so you can nap or take a shower before you depart. For the 1 am departure, you will leave your hotel at about 10 PM.

The flight times are as follows:
depart JFK noon, arrive BKK 5 PM (the next day)
depart BKK 1 AM, arrive JFK 6 AM (the same day)

If you take it easy on your first full day in Bangkok, you should be fine. Your first full day will be Saturday if you depart JFK on a Thursday.

You will arrive home early in the morning on Saturday if you take the Saturday flight. It will take the rest of the weekend to recover.

We did this flight last February. We have also flown to Thailand via Tokyo. It is definitely better to fly non-stop. If you connect, most flights arrive at BKK late at night and depart BKK very early (6 AM) in the morning - this means you don't get much sleep on the night you arrive and on the night you depart.

I would recommend also looking at the Peninsula, as it is one of the finest hotels in the world and not all that expensive - the pool is not that large though. I would choose the Marriott over the Shangri-la for the pool since that is important to you. Also, the Shangri-la gets a lot of tour groups.

I would not bother to try to fit in Chiang Mai. It will take the better part of two days to get there and back. The Thursday - Saturday itinerary you are considering will give you 7 full days in Bangkok (Saturday to Friday).

Singapore Air flies nonstop our of Newark (we are doing it in December). Their flight leaves at 11 pm and arrives in Singapore 6:40 am (you then take another flight to Bangkok arriving there at 10:10. We are traveling straight to Bangkok, then spending a few days in Singapore on the way back (there is no charge for this "stopover" holiday). The flight for Newark leaves Singapore at 12:30 pm and arrives Newark 5:30 pm.

The advantage to this is you get another day abroad (we are limited by school vacations).

peachy, I don't see how the Singapore Air flight gives you "another day" abroad, as you still deal with crossing the international date line, and the flight through Singapore takes longer to get to (and from) Bangkok.

If everyone is going to be in the same room, you might look at getting a suite. The Royal Orchid Sheraton has reasonable prices for suites and junior suites. they have "discount" on their website for AAA or AARP. The pool at the ROS is very good. in fact there are two pools. The rooms are not fancy, but the location is excellent, right on a river ferry stop. You might also inquire of the Marriott concerning a suite. The extra room might prove relaxing, especially considering that BKK can be frantic and ungodly hot.

Go to Joe Louis Puppet Theatre at the Suan Lum Night market. Buy tickets at the theatre at 6 for the 7 o;clock show. There are several nice restaurants adjacent. After the show explore the market. It's very calm compared to the other night markets. The goods are nice and prices competitive. You can take in a Thai boxing match nearby. I saw the boxers warming up at the edge of the market.
I don't know why so few people mention this venue. I had a great time.

you are 4 people. Get a two-bedroom serviced apartment. Then at least you'll have space and save on food since you can cook some meals. Happy Travels!