Help with our Thailand Trip for December, 2008
 

Hi Everyone! Thanks for your help, so far. Now we have decided to do this trip on our own, no escorted tours. I have December 28 to December 31 in Bangkok, December 31 to January 9 in Chiang Mai, January 9 to January 13 in Phuket, January 14 in Bangkok and leave for home on January 15. I need help with the Chaing Mai portion.How do I go about booking the internal flights from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai to Phuket. I feel that our family would enjoy 2 days and 3 nights at the elephant camp, but I need recommendations for reasonably priced hotels or B&B's in Chiang Mai. We will be needing 2 rooms. What should I expect to pay and where do you all recommend? Thanks

We loved Baan Orapin - reasonably priced, lovely gardens and a small pool now, owners on site and a lovely family and near some great restaurants. www.baanorapin.com

The TECC has its own accommodations at the camp. They are a bit on the primitive side. KimJapan did a well-detailed report about the time she and her daughter spent there.

In Chaing Mai, a popular place is Baan Orapin, a B&B-type place. It's fairly inexpensive, and I believe they have a family room available. Do a search here for contact info, as they aren't listed on the discount hotel sites. Besides the TECC, do you have thoughts about what else you'd like to do in CM? I ask because you might also like to spend some time outside the city with 9 days there.

You can book flights online. Thai, of course, flies to all of those places, but you might consider Air Asia, a budget airline. Do read the oft-posted caveats about luggage limits and surcharges. Thai has an air pass that might work for you. Info is on their website.

You will be in Thailand at the busiest time of the year. Hotels will have the highest prices of the year. You are well advised to book as soon as you have made your decisions.

Just got back to Bangkok from Chiang Mai yesterday. Baan Orapin is a good option.

I stayed this trip at Manathai Village, which is a bit more centrally located. It was very nice, has a pool, free internet, DVD players in the room, and there were several families with children there. Price was around $70 (low season) a night.

Two really cheap options are the Suriwong and Pornping hotels. These are more tourist class places with a bit less charm than what has been recommended here, but they're quite nice for the price.

if you do air asia and i hope you will make sure you pay the couple of dollars extra and choose "express boarding"...it makes all the difference in the world...

the hotels mentioned above are good choices...

there is a bangkok air flight twice a week directly from chaing mai to phuket i believe.....but also air asia can help you with this too but you have to change planes in bkk....

there are several new marriott courtyard hotel in phuket...one right on the main street in patong...looks like a good hotel..

we stayed at the meridien last month and loved it...

be aware that you are there at the most expensive time of the year and you need to get your hotel res 'yesterday'....

why so long in chiang mai?? even with 3 days at the elephants i can't think you should spend more than 6 days there... add it on to bkk....

I believe that there's a daily Chiang Mai-Phuket flight om Thai Air at about 11:00 a.m.. If you got a three leg pass from Thai Air this would save money.

I noticed yesterday at the CNX airport (domestic terminal undergoing massive makeover) that both Thai and Bangkok Air had direct flights to Phuket - and I think they're both daily at least.

BTW, the plane TO Chiang Mai from BKK on Thursday was a 747 - full. Tourism dropoff? What tourism dropoff?

Does anyone know of the De Naga Hotel in Chiang Mai. I somehow found it, online, and it looked nice.