Planning our first trip to Thailand and am somewhat confused as to how to best plan the trip. We are interested in snorkeling and birding, and are thinking limited time in Bangkok because of the air pollution. Rodale's BB, guidebooks and websites recommend the Similan islands for best snorkeling and Doi Inthanon for birding. Lot of posts on other bulletin boards that the beaches, water and coral have really gone down hill in Thailand. The movie The Beach was rather appalling--would rather use guides and accomodations that are respectful of the people and the environment. Please let us know what you think of the following itineary including places to stay:<BR><BR>12/25 midnight arrival (Rama airport hotel?)<BR>12/26 fly to Phuket and transfer to Khao Lak (where to stay?)<BR>12/27 depart on 3 day/2 night live a board snorkeling trip to Similan islands with Poseidon bungalows)<BR>12/29 return to Khao Lak(where to stay on a nice, clean, quiet beach?)<BR>12/30 rest day <BR>12/31 Khao Sok birding trip (which company? Paddle Asia doesn't have one until January 5)<BR>1/1 Khao Sok?<BR>1/2 Khao Sok? (Is this too many days in Khao Sok?)<BR>1/3 fly to Bangkok and travel to Chiang Mai (overnight train? 1st class or 2nd class?where to stay in Chiang Mai that is clean, quiet and good location?)<BR>1/4-1/8 Cooking class? Massage? Lisu Lodge? Trip to see Doi Inthanon (suggestions for birding trip?)<BR>1/9 return to Bangkok (splurge for hotel?)<BR>1/10 Bangkok (Rama airport hotel or stay in splurge hotel?)<BR>1/11 flight about 7 a.m. from Bangkok<BR><BR>

Olivia, have you read our brief trip report (available from our post "Family travel in Thailand")? We visited some of the areas you are interested in. I can`t help much as our trip was arranged by our friend who lives in Chiang Mai. Perhaps you could contact him for some help? His contact links are in our report. Best, Dan

DOH! I notice you did indeed ask for our report. If you visit Harley`s travel site again you will find he has added a link to his main page, which contains hundreds of photos. You might enjoy some of them. Also, you can get an idea of the volunteer work he does. Again, sorry to confuse with the previous post. Dan

Can only help with the Bangkok/Chiang Mai bit.<BR>We took the overnight train to Chiang Mai, 2nd class was fine. Clean bed and quiet except for the train wheels right under my bunk.<BR>On arrival in Chiang mai we were deluged with touts for hotels offering fantastic discounts at a wide range of cheapies and much posher places. But we stuck to our original plan and went to the River View Lodge. No discount (we paid 1800b a night)but is has to be one the the nicest, quietest, cleanest and most beautiful guesthouses in the city. It's very Thai, no marble lobby and package tourists, just a very refined and friendly family who will look after you extremely well. It's right by the river but only a few minutes walk to the night market. There's a lovely swimming pool set in beautiful gardens. Great for relaxing after a long day. Check it out in the Lonely Planet Guide.<BR>By the way, we had 3 nights in Bangkok and enjoyed every minute but when we got to Chiang Mai we realised that we had done the right thing not staying longer in Bangkok.

If I remember correctly, we paid 450 baht per night at our guesthouse. I heard of prices as low as 200 by other travelers. One thing to consider is at the lower end pricewise we were able to maintain our rooms (leaving all of our luggage, souveiners etc..) while we were out on overnight excursions. That allowed us to come home to freshly done laundry and a familiar setting.

Thanks for the suggestions. When we first thought of this trip, we did not realize how booked everything would be at this time. We usually do not travel in peak season so this is a bit of a shock for us. Have learned of Kon-Tiki 2 day/1 night snorkeling trip to the Similan islands. Has anyone heard or used either Kon-Tiki or Poseidon Bungalows' snorkeling trip to the Similan Islands? What about PaddleAsia or seacanoe.net to see Khao Sok? Thanks again!

We booked our family trip last January with Lost Horizons. They run Our Jungle House at Khao Sok as well Golden Buddha Beach Resort on Ko Phra Thong 2 hrs north of Phuket. We went on a one day snorkeling trip from this island to the Surin Islands. Maybe they could arrange for you to stay on the Surin Islands a couple of days at the National Park bungalows. Snorkeling is great there. This company also offers trips at Krabi and Khao Lak. Search them on the web. Have fun!