Help a First Timer with Itinerary!
 

Hi,

I am traveling to Thailand (first time to Southeast Asia!) in July and will be there for 13 days excluding travel.

We are interested in visiting the following places: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, a beach, and Siam Reap. My sense from the helpful posts on this board is that we probably need to choose 3 places max - is that correct? We're pretty set on Bangkok and a few days on a beach, so which should we choose between Chiang Mai and heading over to Cambodia? Or is there something else we're missing? I am so torn at this point... I realize this won't be my one and only trip, but it will likely be the only trip for some time as I can't often get so much time away from work, so I want to make it count. Thanks for your thoughts!

You've read right - choose three places. Otherwise, you'll never have enough time anywhere to experience the culture. It takes most of a day to get from one place to another, so you end up with lots of time in airports and taxis if you move around too much.

Since Bangkok and a beach are must-dos for you, the choice is between Chiang Mai and Siem Reap. Some people love CM, some don't (I'm in the don't group). The temples at Angkor are truly a wonder. If you are at all interested in them - go. You need three full days in Siem Reap just to see the major temples.

Perhaps browsing photos will help you decide. You are welcome to visit www.marlandc.com and see out SE Asia photos.

Thanks very much for the advice - your pictures are fantastic. Angkor is definitely a "must see" at some point... just trying to figure out if we'd be short-changing ourselves in our Thailand experience by skipping Chiang Mai.

If I were you I would skip the beach which is the least interesting part of thailand and definitely the least "thai" or "asian".

Totally understand that the beaches aren't going to be much of a cultural experience, but we were hoping for a few days of classic beach time to unwind. If we really can't decide on the other sites though, we definitely may go that route. Thanks!

Siem Riep is unique, but much more expensive than Chiang mai. If your budget can take it, go to Cambodia. It's being built up, so the sooner the better.

In July, the beach you want is Ko Samui. The weather is much better than Phuket.

lissa13,

We were in Chiang Mai and Siem Reap in november. If you absolutely had to choose between the two, I'd suggest Siem Reap. The temples are wonderful.

Chiang Mai: There are a few lovely Wats to see. Apart from the Sunday market (which we missed), the night market is entirely devoted to tourists. There is also a local market where you can shop. In Chiang Mai you could do a cooking course, but you can do the same anywhere in Thailand, I imagine. Other things people do there is to get out and go river rafting/visit Doi Inthanon (highest peak in Thailand). It was also nice to walk about in the "old city".

On the other hand, the temples of Cambodia take you back 1000 years and are almost a living example of Khmer history, culture and life. A good guide (I recommend Dara/Ponheary) is a must otherwise you'll find yourself walking around and getting bored.

We truly loved Chiang Mai, but given a choice, and the fact that you mentioned you'd visit Thailand again in the future, the temples are not to be missed!

i would stick with thailand for your first trip... there is plenty to do there....

i always suggest that people start and end their trip in bkk....several days each time....the arrivals days are a bit of a blur because it takes you time to recover from the long flight and to adjust to the heat and humidity and there will be plenty of that in july---think 90+ and 80+....

the key to enjoying bkk is to choose the best hotel in your price range....most of us like to encourage people to stay along the river, but unfortunately that is one of the most expensive places to stay, but also one of the nicest...look at the marriott resort and spa as it is about the least expensive and july the rates are lower....two hotel sites:

www.huahin.20m.com
www.asiarooms.com

the advantage to both of these is that breakfast and tax/service (17%) are included in the rates...but they are pre-pay sites so don't book them until you are all set with your trip...

i agree with kathie and i do not like CM....but if you have never been there are a few things to do there that could take up 2-3 days...air fares are cheap going there using the discount airlines: air asia, nok air....

angkor wat can wait for another trip...

deciding which beach to go to can be hard but sometimes is easier because the weather is not nice in all places at all times...

places i really like are hua hin (no flight required), koh chang, koh samui---all on the east coast side

phuket, krabi and khao lak are on the west side with different weather patterns...

do some reading and come back with more questions

My wife and I did our honeymoon in Thailand. The best part about it is that everything is so close but so different.

First, I would get an "air pass" on Thai Air. It was 5 years ago, but it allowed us to travel 2 or 3 flights inside Thailand for a fixed price. If they still offer it, well worth it.

Second, we did Bangkok, Chaing Mai and Phuket. Bangkok has the sight seeing, amazing cooking classes and other big city things. Chaing Mai has Thai Boxing (better than in the city), Elephant riding, hiking, bamboo river rafting. Phuket has the Banyon Tree - one of the best hotel spas in the world. Also, about 2 hours outside of Bangkok is a place called Chiva Som, one of the worlds leading destination spas.

Cooking classes better in Bangkok, boxing better in Chaing Mai.

Another vote for Siem Reap - it will be a bigger contrast to Bangkok than Chiang Mai will, and it's getting more and more touristy. The sooner you can go the better. It can be quite cheap if you don't insist on upmarket hotels - see talesofasia.com or a Lonely Planet guide for perfectly acceptable lower-cost accommodation, like www.yaklom.com.

If what you want is some time to unwind, consider a resort in the chiang mai area or golden triangle area. That way you could unwind and still seem something of the culture you are traveling so far to see.

The Chiva Som, referred to by lxry is in Hua Hin. It is truly an incredible experience. We stayed at the Hyatt and spent a day and a half at the Chiva Som spa. It's a five minute walk on the beach from the Hyatt.

I have to agree with the votes for Cambodia. I liked Chiang Mai, but some of our best memories are from Cambodia...

It's easy to spend all 13 days in Thailand. If you are like the majority of us on this board, you will be returning to S E Asia and can do Cambodia on the next trip...

I'd do Bangkok, Samui, and Chiang Mai.

Carol