Hi all,

We are taking our first trip to Thailand in April and have a few questions we were hoping you could help us with.
To give you some background, this is what our itinerary looks like:

Day 1 -- Fly NYC to Bangkok -- Old Bangkok Inn
Day 2 -- Bangkok -- Old Bangkok Inn
Day 3 -- Bangkok -- Old Bangkok Inn
Day 4 -- Chiang Rai -- Anantara Golden Triangle
Day 5 -- Chiang Rai -- Anantara Golden Triangle
Day 6 -- Koh Lanta -- Sayang
Day 7 -- Koh Lanta -- Sayang
Day 8 -- Koh Lanta -- Sayang
Day 9 -- Phuket -- Le Meridien Phuket (using Starpoints)
Day 10 -- Fly from Phuket to NYC

First off…yes, we know this is a jammed up itinerary
We are used to moving around a lot when we travel and wanted to experience as many different parts of the country on this trip as possible.
So on to the questions…

Air Asia: any thoughts on this carrier? They seem to be the cheapest.

Golden Triangle/Anantara: Many of the tours offered here sound very interesting but are very expensive…is it possible to hire a local guide to do something similar to the "3 Country Tour" they offer that includes a visit to Burma & Laos? Has anyone done this who can recommend someone?

Also re: elephant trekking, are there any other elephant camps nearby? Again, the treks through the hotel seem very expensive -- I'm sure they are worth it for the experience, but just wanted to make sure there is not another option we dont know about…either way this is something we don’t want to miss.

Hotel transfer to Anantara -- is it feasible to hire a local driver once we get off the plane in Chiang Rai or best to stick to the hotel limo transfer?

Getting from Chiang Rai to Ko Lanta (flying into Krabi)-- it looks like we need to change in BKK. Is there any specific carrier that has flights that match up well to get between these two places, starting as early in the day as possible? We are just worried about the first flight being delayed and missing the second one, etc. if we book these separately.

Thai New Year -- we will be in Bangkok and Chiang Rai during Thai New Year…is there anything special going on that we should make sure not to miss?

Any other suggestions on favorite things/places to see/places to eat/things to do along our itinerary would be very much appreciated as well!

Thanks very much for all your help!!

Michelle

Michelle- several things.

1. Try Thai Air for CR-BKK and BKK-Krabi flights.
2. The 3 country tour is very likely to be hokey and a waste of time. I would go see The Queen Mother's Chalet and the opium museum. The Anatara has elephant activities available.
3. You might consider skipping the Meridien for a day. although we like this hotel a lot, it's about a minimum 3 1/2 hour ride from Krabi.

Thai New Year is probably the most fun you can have. It's one big water fight for a week. I suggest buying a super soaker in the states to take with you. Be advised, when using your super soaker to avoid the face and just try to shoot people's bodies. One year, we rented a tuk-tuk for three hours and just drove around spraying everyone - what a blast!

Make sure you are considering transit times in your itinerary.

If you leave NYC on Day 1, you don't arrive in Bangkok until Day 2. If you are taking the Thai non-stop, I think you get in around 4 pm. You'll likely to get to your hotel just in time for dinner. How many nights do you actually spend in Bangkok?

When you fly from Bangkok to Chaing Rai, consider it will take a minimum of 4 hours door to door - hotel to BKK 1 hour, check in 1 hour in advance, 1 hour flight, 1 hour drive to the Anantara. So you lose half a day there. It appears you want two night at the Anantara, which means you'll have basically a day plus a little there.

Then from CR to Koh Lanta, it will take basically the whole day to get there. I expect you have one night in Phuket at the end to make getting to your flight easier, but basically, you'll have two full days in Koh Lanta before you leave for Phuket. You'll have a night in Phuket, then you fly home.

It doesn't look to me like you have allotted any time for a vacation. Even if you have a full 10 days on the ground in Thailand, you really need to restrict yourselves to two locations to have any time to rest, relax and see a tiny bit of Thailand.

The Anantara also offers you choice of booking a car/driver with guide or without if you like. Doing it this way and designing your own itinerary comes out cheaper than their set tours....or it did for us at least. They contract with an agency (forget the name) whose only customer is the Anantara. We easily arranged our trip the night before.

We spent a day with guide and driver in Mae Salong and Tachilek in Myanmar. Great day, and we were very glad we got some time in Myanmar...once past the border market area, very interesting place. Mae Salong is stunningly beautiful, and is somewhere we'd like to stay for a few days next time.

In Sop Ruak, there are several shops that sell tours and can arrange guides/drivers etc...probably they are cheaper than the Anantara's. There are also a few nice looking restaurants and some typical tourist shops...cute place to spend a couple of hours.

I was not thrilled with our stay at the Anantara for many reasons, and came away with the impression that it is vastly overpriced for what you really get, and that it might want to be a 5* hotel it has a long way to go to get there. The setting, though, is lovely, as are the actual buildings and grounds. Our issues were housekeeping, services and inclusions in our rate that were charged for or never materialized, and value for money, not aesthetics. Service was fine, but weirdly, although there is a 10% service charge added to everything you purchase, there was also a line on the check you sign designated for tip, which I had not encountered anywhere else in Thailand over the years, and I thought it was a bit over the top to request guests in effect pay for service twice.

Others, however, did not have the same issues we had..we must have indeed been very unlucky over our 5 days, or perhaps I am more picky, not sure. I will not go back, though, to find out. Checking prices just yesterday for someone else, I found that the current rates are much higher than what we paid, and unless they have really polished the place up and improved, I'd actually consider springing for the Four Seasons Tented Camp as a better value for money experience.

There is an elephant camp right at the hotel, and they offer a variety of experiences. We did the 3 day mahout training program, and found it was 3 identical days of elephant riding and nothing else...and since our stay, several others have made the same comment...so one day there is sufficient, or even an hour ride and some time spent hanging out in the camp would be fine. If you were interested in mahout training, the 3 day program at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang is more varied and interesting, though the accommodation is simple. The Anantara's elephant program is based on the TECC's, but really is inferior in every way except riding. The Four SEasons Golden Triangle elephant camp is under the same management as the Anantara's, and at the FS it's included in your rate.

We used Air Asia for some of our flights last trip, and they were fine. Seat pitch is no tighter than other carriers I have flown. Boarding was orderly, with a FA standing in the aisle to encourage people to sit quickly and front to back. One of our flights had an hour delay...but what airline doesn't have delays. I'd fly them again, no problem.

We had the transfer to the Anantara included in our rate. It's about an hour from the airport in Chiang Rai. Although we did not do it, I'm quite sure you could get taxi/limo service from the airport for much less than the Anantara's price. It was nice being greeted by the hostess and driver, and the car was comfortable, but at about $75.00 one way is very expensive.

imo, no reason for a guide in CR and golden triangle....rent a car from avis or budget and drive yourselves...its very easy and far cheaper....there are not that many roads so it is easy.....from the CR airport i think there are only about 4 turns to the hotel driveway and it takes one hour...
this will give you total flexibility as you can then drive yourselves around...the one must see place is doi tung, the princess's former home....not a chalet, but not a mansion either but fabulous grounds, a couple of restaurants and shops...its on the top of a mountain....hill tribe people live near-by also...

most feel the forays to laos and cambodia are not worth it...

When I visited Chiang Rai in 1996 I stayed in an Akha village. The chief Apae took me and a couple of Japanese guests on tour of the Golden triangle. I see there are still taking guests though I have no idea what it's like after 10 years or so. This is their website:

http://www.akhahill.com/

The "three countries" tour seems a bit unlikely. There's not really a wjhole lot to see and do in Vientiane anyway, most people head for vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and beyond. I think you can get day passes into Myanmar from the border.

http://www.travelsinasia.com/Thailand/ChiangRai.html

The three countries tour does not go to Vientiane, but goes just across the river into Laos. There are some stalls set up with very cheap (and poorly made) goods. The foray into Burma goes into a border town. Mostly such tours enable one to say they were in all three countries without actually having seen or experienced the countries.

You need to check Bangkok connections with care for Chiang Rai-BKK-Krabi, and of course you have to get from the Anantara to Chiang rai, then flight to BKK and on to Krabi, once in Krabi you have the road and ferry.

With Air Asia although cheap do appreciate that if for example you arrive at connecting point 'too late' for a connection that is bad luck and you will no doubt have to but another ticket.

Do note Songkran ( Thai new Year ), flights will be heavily booked Friday 11th through to mid/late following week !

Thai has a connection:
Chiang Rai dep 1110
Bankok arr 1225
dep 1430
Krabi arr 1550

I would look at the Thai 'pass' for multiple flights, i.e BKK-Chiang Rai-BKK-Krabi and then Phuket-BKK

Perhaps also think about flying Chiang Rai to Bangkok late on last day in Chiang Rai, overnight near BKK and then taking earliest flight BKK-Krabi in the morning. That would be a more pleasant Krabi-Koh Lanta journey for you.

Thanks so much for all your replies!
We will take all this into consideration...thanks again