Hello! Dh and I are planning a 12 day trip(anniversary) to Thailand in May. We are interested in visiting Bangkok and Phuket or Phi Phi. I've read about the weather in May.However, we figured if it rains, we get a massage, right?

We are in our late 20's love good food, not really into huge resorts, prefer smaller boutique unique hotels, not to crowded areas. A bar is nice, but not really into a lot of partying. We really just want to relax and have a great time, enjoy Thailand and it's people.

So here are the ?'s would you recommend Phi Phi or Phuket? If phuket, what area/hotel has nice beaches and is not too crowded/tourisy, but yet near restaurants? What area/hotel in Phi Phi do you recommend?

What other cities would you recommend in Thailand? I would love to visit the elephant conservation center. Is this possible? However, since we only have 12 days, how many places should we visit? I was thinking Bangkok 5, Beach-5, where else?

We are traveling from Houston. The fare I found was $1017(with EVA), is this average, book or wait? Thanks in advance for all your help! And thanks for reading this!

that is an average fare....may is high for airfares....book now...

you might want to look at samui as an alternative to phuket...better weather, i think, in may....bophut beach is very nice...i stayed at peace resort in a beach front bungalow which was very nice....5 minute walk to town and bars and limited shopping...nice pool and beach is ok....15 minute ride to the action....

in bangkok take a look at the marriott resort and spa on the river....perfect for what you like---maybe slightly larger but with low rise buildings it seems less crowded...

hotel site: www.huahin.20m.com

i would do bkk and an island only.... 5 and 5 would be perfect....

I would also opt for Samui rather than Phuket. Better weather and "younger" atmosphere. Lots of new small boutique type places on Chaweng and Lamai beaches, and in May you should get a decent deal. For the other part of your trip, base yourself in BKK and maybe take a day trip to Kanchanaburi area (floating market and a large elephant place). Could even stay there overnight (the Resotel is nice). Also maybe a day cruise to Ayuthaya for some history and old temples.. For a Boutique type hotel in BKK, try the Baan Davies on Sukhumvit soi 24...different..

you will find that hotel as the davis hotel on most lists

Thank you very much for the fast replies! I will definitely take a look at Samui, Kanchanaburi, and Ayuthaya.

I was definitiely looking at the marriott! I will look at the rest of the hotels.

How would I get to Samui? I can't seem to find an airline that flies there from BKK. Thanks!

Bangkok Air fly to Samui - www.bangkokair.com - they own the airport there so are the only airline that fly there.

Take a look at the following places on Ko Samui - Baan Bophut, Sala Samui and Rocky Resort. There are lots of boutique style hotels in Ko Samui - the website Bob recommended has the cheapest deals.

you can also fly thai air to surat thani and then take the ferry to samui to save money....not worth it in my opinion...

arriving on bkk air is a pleasure and the airport is a very nice open air place---no a/c

the single runway is lined with flowering shrubs....most attractive and welcoming

You said you have 12 days. If that is 12 days in Thailand, you can visit Northern Thailand as well as BKK and a beach. If it is only 10 days in Thailand, 5 and 5 makes sense. There are many people who like Chiang Mai better than BKK. A crucial determination is your budget. You can stay at a very good hotel for moderate price (under $100) or a great hotel for a decent price ($175-250).

About the Davis Hotel, how close is it from the sky train station?

Is this an area close to other places or easy to get around?

I'll be in BKK by myself and want to stay in a safe place.

The Davis is not walking distance to sky train.its on the far end of 24, right near Rama 4 but fairly easy to go in and out, but with a taxi / tuk tuk..Any decent hotel in the center of Bangkok will be safe I guess but if you need to "get around" a lot, I think the Davis will not be ideal for you

i think the davis offers a tuk tuk ride to sukhumvit, but i may be mistaken....i think its location is a draw back and one of the reasons i have not stayed there yet....

Thanks again! I'm so excited about this trip!

Gpanda-we have 12 days there. We were thinking 5 in BKK and 5 at beach, but not sure about 2 other days. We have a moderate budget.

Hi Belle0516,

Baically it all depend on your budget...

if you have 12 days net i would reccomand the following trip:
day 1 - arrive and take domestic flight to Chiand Mai (3 cheap companies are Orient Thai, Air Asia and Nok Air...around 80-100 US$ for round trip BKK-C.Mai)...
you'll probably arrive late afternoon to C.mai so you can tour around the lovly night market and have a nice dinner at the "river side restaurant"...
Day 2+3 - 2 days tour around Chiang mai (Doi intanon, elepent ride, snake farm etc...), maybe a nice drive to Pai (amazing small city - you sould check out the hot springs over there...)
Day 4 - back to C.Mai and fly to Koh Samui (via Bangkok...the only company that fly to Samui is Bangkok Air)
if you looking for nice quiet resort you should check out "Papilon" on Chaweng beach. a 5 minutes motorbike ride and you'r in the heart of Chaweng...
Day 5-9 - kick back and relax on the beach...take a motorbike or a jeep and tour around the island (big budha, mama&papa, waterfalls, Monkey show...the list is long...)
Day 10-12 - Bangkok...shoping shoping shoping and some more shoping...any hotel around Siam area and Ploenchit/early sukumvit will be fine (again, depend on budget...)

Have a nice trip...if you need any help feel free to ask...

B516-5, 5 and 2 is a bad split. There's no way of knowing which portion of Thailand you will like best. If you are a city person, I would go with 5-BKK, 3-CM and 4-beach. If you're an outdoors type, I would go 4,4 and 4. Flying around T-land is easy. In BKK and CM, it will be easy to keep the hotel price down. Beach hotels tend to be a little more pricey, but there are still some very good moderate ones. To further reduce the price, you could go to Hua Hin, about 2 1/2 hours by car from BKK.

I personally enjoyed Krabi, Ao Nang Beach area for sights. Spectacular vista's of the rock formations in the water, good snorkeling etc. We stayed at the Beach Terrace hotel, not big I think there is 8 rooms on each floor and there is 5 floors. It is beach property and also has a nice pool. If you go, go see the wild Monkeys on the South end of the beach, very cool. You can rent a long tail for the day for 1800 baht and they will take you sight seeing and snorkeling. Quite easy to get to, we came from Phuket by ferry about 2 hour ride. Taxi from harbour to hotel, cheap. Good food in area and night market.