Working on my trip to Thailand on next January, will apprecciate any advice on this portion of the trip. Need advice on wether to spend 6 days on CM/Maehongson or CM/Golden Triangle. One of the days wil be dedicated to Elephant Camp in Lampang. Thanks for yuur suggestions.

I think you can't go wrong with either choice.

If you are looking for a bit of luxury on the trip, that might sway you to go to the Golden Triangle to stay at the Anantara. I noted that it was recently voted the best resort in Thailand. I don't know who votes, but I loved the resort. The view of Burma and Laos across the river, beautiful pool and spa,,, it's a wonderful place to stay. We did a day trip that we enjoyed, and we enjoyed relaxing, taking a great cooking class, etc. They also have a small Elephant Conservation Camp on the grounds of the hotel, and you can bathe the elephants or even learn how to handle them.

Thanks Kathie for your promt response. Maybe I should clarify the question a little. Is Maehongson more scenic than the Golden Triangle area? What about Hilltribes? Will I be missing any must see if decided to spend the time in the CM/Mhs Aerea (aside from the Anantara resort)?

The Mae hong Son area is probably a bit less touristy in terms of hilltribes but if you do some reading you can easily get off the beaten path in the chiang rai area as well. But you can't do it by simply booking a guide or driver or tour. You need to figure out what you want to see and why. The touristy hilltribes are all decked out in their native wear. The non touristy ones are in jeans -- their "costumes" are saved for special occasions. The touristy ones have some English. For the non touristy ones you will need a translator if you want to communicate and you need to be prepared for poverty. That said, I have spent some of my happiest travel experiences in the non-touristy villages of northern thailand.

Thanks Glorialf for your input. Regarding things to do: Is the best option to reserve hotel and then decide what tours or trips to do from Chiang Mai? I've seen tour operators that have a package of 6/5 nights that includes trip to Mae Hong Son (one night) and Golden Triangle (one night) plus 3 nights in Chiang Mai. Is this to much for that time frame?

I would definitely not do a package tour. Book your hotel and you can ask on this forum for names of guides or drivers for a specific area.

Thanks again for you valuable info. Now I'm almost set for my first trip to Thailand. This is my itinerary:

4/3 Bangkok (Marriot Resort & Spa)
6/5 Chiang Mai/Mae Hong Son (Still searching)
4/3 Angkor Wat (need hotel for less than 100 dollars/night)
5/4 Bangkok (possibly Chateau de Bangkok)

Can anyone recommend any Travel Agent to help me with the logistics for flights and transfers for this trip?

Looks like a great trip. You can book flights yourself online or there is an agent in Bangkok some of us have used for tickets not easily booked. His name is eddie, and of course, I don't have his email here. Bob posts his address often (something like [email protected]). If the search function is working, you'll be able to find it here.

There is no need to prebook transfers. You can take taxis easily.