Hello!
have been sorting through the posts here for the last few days and need some general advice from experienced visitors to Thailand.

My husband and I are taking our honeymoon in Thailand from 12/23 - 1/1. We are very aware that this is the busiest and most expensive time of the year to go, but due to vacation time and my school schedule, it was either visit then, or don't go... so we decided to brave the holiday madness.

We arrive in Bangkok on 12/24 at midnight, so we have basically lost the first two days, i suppose.

We then have the 25-1st. We are not sure how to break the trip up. We are very interested in seeing Chiang Mai, a beach adn the city, which is a LOT for such a small amount of time.

How would our time here best be spent? We would like to see Bangkok, but really are more interested in getting out into either the hills of Chiang Mai and/or to the beach. Should we go straight to another location and return the day before New Years to join festivities in Bangkok or other way around?

As far as beaches go - is Phuket the best bet? I have heard a lot about Ko Samui - any preferences?
Husband wants to dive and we would like to stay relatively active during the whole trip with maybe a day or two of down time.

Last general question is regarding air travel within the country. have noticed many people posting about comparing several airlines within Thailand - is there a good comprehensive website for air travel in Thailand?

thanks for your advice - just trying to get the important things done in advance, like a general itinerary and airline tx.

For that short time I would really skip the beach. If beach is your priority go someplace a lot closer to home and save thailand for another trip. If you're going to travel that far you really should spend your time in places where you can experience thai culture and history and the beaches just don't do that.

You basically have 7 days. If I were you I would spent Dec. 25th in Bangkok -- stay on the river; take a klong ride and and enjoy the amentities of your hotel. Perhaps go to a spa and have a great dinner. Then go to Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai for 3 or 4 days and return to Bangkok.

With such a short time you have to make some tough choices, because you can't do a three point holiday justice in the time available. It's either BKK and a quick visit to CM and the hills, or BKK and the cultural wasteland of a beach.

If it's your first time in Thailand, I would unquestionably follow Gloria's advice. If it's important to bend to your husband's will this early in your marriage, perhaps setting a precedent that lasts a lifetime - go diving. Koh Tao would be OK in December.

Whatever you decide, do it quickly, because the best and popular hotels in Thailand pretty much fill-up over Christmas and New Year.

I hope you make the right choices.

i disagree with all of the above....i would choose a wonderful bkk hotel and stay there the whole time....you will spend all your time moving about and not get to enjoy each other very much or thailand...?? there is plenty to do in bkk to keep you busy also...the first two days will be a wash out really if you are coming in from overseas so you are really down to 5 days...

skip the beach...."the hills"....well i really don't think of CM as the hills--it's thailand's 2nd biggest CITY...yes there are hills but not wonderful rolling green hills in the NA sense...to be fair i really don't like CM so i am biased....

the penn, oriental, shangri-la, jw marriott, marriott resort and spa, sukhuthai, intercontinental, conrad, 4 seasons, hyatt, sheraton grande, plaza anthanee, and many others would all be wonderful places to spend your time in bkk.....river hotels offer a plus, especially the ones with the great pool areas....marriott resort, sh-la and penn come to mind immediately...

Gloria is spot on. You can only do 2 locations. I would choose between CM and the beach. BKK is unique. It should not be missed. There's a very good chance T-land will captivate you and you'll be back. I think a beach is a beach is a beach and would recommend trekking out of CM, but it's your choice. Don't agonize too much. You really can't make a mistake. You'll have a great time even if you do ignore our advice.

Bob-- I would also spend the whole time in Bangkok but they said they are more interested in being outside of Bangkok. It's true that Chiang Mai is a city but it is a much smaller city in actuality and feel than Bangkok and you can be in a rural area in a few minutes. They can also go to the chaing rai area or the mae hong son area -- hire a driver to take them so they can enjoy the scenery etc. Based on their interests I would focus my time in northern thailand.

I love diving so would probably spend a few days in Bangkok and then head to the beach. Diving in Thailand is better off the Andaman coast (Phuket side) and there are some beautiful hotels there for a honeymoon

From the beach aspect there are countless beaches and islands in Thailand. Phuket and Koh Samui are busy tourist destinations, weather would be slightly better December but roughly the same in January on Samui and Phuket area.
There are numerous beaches and islands, near Phuket you have Krabi area, Koh lanta island, quiet and relaxing with some amazing resorts, south from there the Trang area.
On the Gulf side in addition to Koh Samui you have smaller islands such as Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, across the Gulf Koh Chang, Koh Samet plus mainland beacheces from Jomtien alsong to Rayong.
South from Bangkok along the Sunrsie Coast are Cha Am, Hua Hin and then a little further down Pranburi and Bang Saphan and Chumphon. Many of these quieter beach areas have some nice accommodation but are close to local villages, local fishing villages, farmlands and a more rural life, temples, local markets and festivals etc, so getting away from the tourist trail yet having nice accommodation is not a problem at all.

Although I have yet to travel to the region and cannot speak with authority, I have many friends who have been to Angkor Wat. They have all emphatically thought that Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) is the most impressive of all sites. Just an idea, consider a roundtrip 1 hr flight from BKK to Siem Reap for your short excursion to get out of the city.

In the amount of time you have and with your stated interests I would absolutely NOT go to Sien Reap on this trip. Yes it's wonderful but it requires at least 3 full days and it's not relaxing -- it's work. You will be much better off in bangkok and northern thailand.

wow! thank you all for such detailed responses. i see that we definitely have some big decisions to make as more than two destinations would be too much.
I didn't realize that Chiang Mai was such a large city... and maybe i have written BKK off too soon???

I appreciate all of your opinions on destinations... and even the marital advice tucked away in on one post

If we decided to stay in BKK for three or 4 of the days and Chiang Mai for the others, is there a beach that we could visit for a day trip? or maybe even just an overnight?

Day trips to the beach from Bangkok 'are done' but it's a rush and not really worth it. from Bangkok Airport it is expressway through to the 2 main beach areas close to Bangkok, heading south east to Pattaya area ( about 1 hr 30 )and onwards to Jomtien ( 1 hr 45 ) each and beyond, but if you just want some beach relaxation before your flight I would head down the south coast (West side of the Guld of Thailand )to Hua Hin ( 2 hrs 30 ), some lovely relaxing beach resorts like the Anantara Resort and Spa, Hyatt Regency resort, Chiva Som, Sofitel, Dusit, Hilton, Marriott etc, or a smaller boutique style Spa like S'Mor Spa and Kaban Tamor, enjoy some spa and relax in the cool breeze, you are then 2.5 to 3 hrs from Bangkok Airport and many head straight back direct from Hua Hin to Bangkok for return flight, or you can fly in about 35 minutes from Hua hin's small local airport direct to Bangkok Airport.

huahin about 3 hours south of bkk by car would make an ok overnite beach run but nothing else is worth the effort for the day....a nice pool like at the marriott is a good second..