jpgal3

My fiance and I are considering a trip to Thailand and the area for our honeymoon in October. We will be travelling from the east coast of the U.S. and should have 2 (maybe 3) weeks. Other than exploring and seeing the land and experiencing the culture, we would like to scuba dive for a few days. We also enjoy hiking, surfing and just relaxing!! Any suggestions as to where to go for info on a trip like this - or if you happen to have suggestions - would be greatly appriciated. We will consider any other recomended destinations posted - I would love to go to Indonesia, but am very wary of the current political situation. Our budget could be anywhere from $5,000-7,000, but we would like to upgrade our flights to business class. We may have some freq miles for that! Thank you for your help. J.P.

rhkkmk

the island of bali comes to mind...forget the terriotist diversions...i'm going to bali in june for the east coast with no thought of it at all....

the thai islands are quite nice: phuket, koh samui are often subjects on this forum...

there is lots of lux places to spend a few days in banbkok too: the peninsula, oriental and shangra-la hotels are all excellent....i particularily like the peninsula...

the later in october the better for weather...there are some thai weather situations that others will chime in on...it will be very hot in every area...

the north of thailand is good for hiking...ther golden triangle area is interesting...check out chiang rai...

there are lots of web sites....just pt in thailand and you will spend hours looking them over

rhkkmk

my first paragraph should have said from the east coast--boston...we use northwest airlines by the way to bangkok

Andrea_expat

Congratulations! Sounds like you'll have a WONDERFUL trip! Either location will be amazing.

My only thought is that your money MIGHT go farther in Bali right now - their tourism industry has been hit the hardest. I've been there twice since the first big bombing in the bar, and everyone in the country takes security very, very seriously now.

Either way, with that much time, you should have time to do 3 days in Angkor in Cambodia, which I highly recommend. It's an incredible, wonderful place, with dozens of ancient palaces deep in the jungle. I wish I could explain it better - too early in the morning for me - but hopefully you can find a more eloquent description.

Have a great trip!

Kathie

There are plenty of options for you. First, I'd recommend that you take three weeks if you possibly can, It's a very long flight, and you'll want to have the time to enjoy your destinations. Things move more slowly in SE Asia, and you need to slow down in order to enjoy. If you are planning to upgrade to business class with frequent flier miles make your reservations ASAP. I always make my reservations 11 months in advance to assure myself of an upgrade.

Thailand is a popular honeymoon spot. If you opt for Thailand, plan to spend some time in Bangkok as well as time at a beach location. If you have three weeks, you could add something more adventuresome and fly to Cambodia to visit the temples at Angkor or fly to Luang Prabang, Laos.

Bali is another wonderful destination, If you opt for Bali, you'll use Singapore as your gateway, and can spend a few days there on either end of your trip. Malaysia also has some lovely beaches to consider.

You'll find that you can afford wonderful luxury in these Asian destinations.

aarti

Hi. I live in Indonesia and I think its a wonderful country (no im not indonesian). Bali tops my list as far as 'island life and culture' goes. Will not recommend it for diving. My husband and I are avid divers and one of our favorite spots is the Bunaken marine reserve up in Manado (on the island of Sulawesi). If you want to head to Malaysia, you HAVE to go to the island of Sipadan. Sipadan is a divers paradise.

If you need any additional information please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Have fun planning your trip! And if you're coming all the way to SE Asia, definitely visit Indonesia, you will not be disappointed.

Regards/Aarti

sandi

jpgal3 -

We visited Thailand and Cambodia in '02 and booked thru a company in New York with most competitive prices. Everything was perfect and we went 5* with just about everything. Also recommended this company to a couple planning their honeymoon who initially wanted to arrange all on their own, but in the end were also extremely satisfied with everything planned for them.

You might want to contact:

InnovAsian Travel who can arrange for anywhere in Asia. You can check their website and/or contact them directly and tell them what you want:

www.InnovAsian.com
or email:
[email protected] (ask for Greg)

Check them out.

gard

Hi

My wife and I have been on vacation to Thailand twice and it is a great vacation destination I have posted our experiences in trip reports on my personal homepage www.gardkarlsen.com In the trip reports you will also find lots of pictures from our trips to Bangkok, Hua Hin, Samui, Phuket and Krabi (Ao Nang). Have a great trip

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

jpgal3

Thank you to everyone that has given suggestions and information. It sounds like we have some decisions to make in the very near future. From all the responses to this, and other posts, I think Bali may be the way to go along with a side trip somewhere - Angkor? Most likely we'll use a travel agant - we will look at innovasian travel - just to make sure we get everything done correctly. Thanks again!!

Kathie

Bali and Angkor are a fair distance apart. If you're headed to Bali, you'll likely use Singapore as your gateway to Asia. SIlk Air does have flights into Siem Reap, but they don't operate every day. So Bali + Angkor are do-able but not especially convenient.

Do some readings in guide books, and take a good look at a map. I'd suggest clustering your destinations together to cut down on travel time. If you go to Thailand, Cambodia (Angkor) and Laos (Luang Prabang) are close by. If you go through Singapore, Bali is a close hop, and you could visit another destination in Indonesia.

rhkkmk

take a look at the hyatt site...they are offering great rates for bali just now at their two locations....i am taking advantage of one in june