Given the wealth of useful information on these forums I wondered if anyone might be able to help me - which of the following itineraries for my forthcoming honeymoon (december 2004) are more appealing...and why?

Option 1
3 nights Rayavadee, Krabi
8 nights Pimalai, Koh Lanta
2 nights Peninsula, Bangkok

Option 2
4 nights Pangkor Laut
7 nights Datai, Langkawi
2 nights Ritz, KL

I'm aware that these are all fantastic hotels which makes the choosing all the more difficult! Cost wise the 2 options are similar, so I guess it comes down to weather, costs while we are there and beaches, food & service. Thanks!

Hiya
I have just booked to go for our honeymoon to the datai in October with nights after in KL - fancied the pangkor laut but it seemed that you had to stay a night before and after in KL to be able to ge the ferry to pankor laut. Have you looked at the mandarin oriental in KL - we have booked it as everyone kept tellingus it was the nicest for a honeymoon

have not stayed at the rayavadee but my friend went there for a few nights for her honeymon (mid nov) and said it was lovely, weather great etc

amandac

Hi Beccaj,
We have been to most of the places you are considering,and either options would be great.
The Rayavadee does not have a private beach though,and when we went in march 2 years ago,the beach was quite busy with alot of backpackers.
It is a very beautiful beach with stunning scenery.
The Datai and it's surrounds are completely differant,we drove up to the Datai to have a look around,very posh,and we had the beach all to ourselves. The beach is also very beautiful,much more peaceful .
Depends what you like,the Datai is quite isolated,you would really need to hire a car,driving is very easy,not much traffic about.
Bangkok and KL are also very differant,Kl is alot cleaner,and has some fantastic shopping malls,very cheap shoes!!!.
Bangkok is hectic dirty and smelly,and alot more oriental .We love both places, i'm sure which ever you choose you will have a fab time
sue

I love the Ritz in Kuala Lumpur-Club level...floors 17-19 for the rooms and floor 20 for the club-level lounge and eating facility. I really would spend 5 nights in Bangkok...not 2. And the Peninsula is on the opposite side of the river, so you'll have to cross the river to get to the main part of Bangkok. If you want to stay on the river, and not have to cross it, then the Royal Orchid Sheraton might be better. If staying on the river is not important, then I'd go staight to the Four Seasons on Rajadamri Rd. You can't get much better of a location than that...right across from the Sky Train station and in the heart of shopping plus only a few sky train stops from other shopping areas. You can do a lot on foot in that location. Happy Travels!

I would go with the Thailand itinerary for these completely subjective reasons:

1. Bangkok is much, much, much more interesting than Kuala Lumpur. You cannot even compare the two. Its like comparing New York to Cleveland (my apologies to Cleveland, you do have an excellent orchestra). Temples, floating markets, monks in orange robes, the Grand Palace, water buses, sitting by the river watching life float by . . .. Don't even get me started on the great shopping in Bangkok. No question in my mind to take Bangkok over KL. The Malay people are wonderful and so is the food, but hey Buckeye's are nice too but would you honeymoon there?! The only thing I can say is that 2 days in not enough. I would take 2 days from the Pimlai. Your first day may be a bit of a wash depending on what time you arrive and your jet lag and your exhaustion from the wedding.

2. Pankor Laut gets some very uneven reviews. I have not been there in many years, my impression when I was there in 1998 was that it needed a redo, not sure that this has in fact occurred. It also is a bit of a pain to get to, and as noted above, hard to time it with international flights.

3. I am not a fan of Langkwai. Too purpose built for me, plus the water clarity is not good for snorkeling or diving. I think you will find Krabi more deserted, plus you can take day trips out to deserted islands for great snorkeling. I don't know the Pimlai but have looked at their website and it looks very nice indeed.

4. I am a huge fan of the Penn in Bangkok. A bit of a red herring above about being on the "wrong" side of the river, the hotel has a boat that goes across like every 30 minutes. The river is about 300 yards wide at that point, so the trip takes about 3 minutes. Not at all a hardship to stay at the Penn. Try to get a corner suite on a high floor, really excellent.

If you aren't already certified, you might seriously considered getting certified for scuba diving. There is some excellent diving in the Krabi/Phuket area. Although snorkeling is good, you really can see so much more at about 40-60 feet. Plus it?s a lot of fun.