Honeymoon!!! Help Please

Old Oct 20th, 2005, 08:47 AM
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Honeymoon!!! Help Please

Trying to book a Honeymoon in the beginning of June 2006.
Going for eight days, planning to go to Bangkok for 4 days and Koh Sumai or Pukhet for 4 days. I know June is not the ideal season to go to Thailand but we’re set on it.

Couple of questions:

1. Koh Sumai or Pukhet for honeymooners?
2. Bangkok a good idea?
3. Suggestions for honeymooners is Thailand


We have no budget so elite is more then welcome.
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Old Oct 20th, 2005, 10:01 AM
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Unfortunately some time ago someone somewhere must have made 'some' statement about weather in Thailand that has lent itself to a lot of confusion.
Climate in Thailand varies greatly from region to region, although not a very large country overall it is still a fair size and stretches from the Mountains of the north right down to Malaysia, the Gulf of Thailand ( e.g Samui ) is effected by weather in the China Sea and what is going on in North East Asia and Western Pacific, and even just a few hundred km south of bangkok the weather can change a great deal, however, the South West of Thailand ( e.g Phuket ) is affected by what happends in the Bay of Bengal and the India ocean, sorry if it sounds like a geography lesson, not meant to, but it's good to know about this as so many people get confused and sadly a lot of wrong information gets around.

The good news is that Samui rainfall for June is about 4.4 ins compared with 7.5 in Bangkok and 8.4 in Phuket.

So although chance of rain it not not like mega continual of heavy rain month.

Like weather anywhere it changes and you could be lucky or not.

Bangkok for a couple of days fine, and for island beach Samui a good choice at that time of year, though May is not 'so' good, but if you want beach at that time Samui makes sense. Lots of romantic restaurants, opporunities for snorkeling, quite a lot of entertainment, Bangkok of course for shopping and great restaurants.

On budget really it's a very wide range, USD 40 a night would get you clean a/c in both places, for a really nice place for Honeymoon ( plus again for marriott resort on the River ) about USD 100 , double with River view 130, as an example, but of course plenty of higher end places.

On Koh Samui a very wide range, from $40 to $1,000, now if you want around the 270-360 region for a nice pool villa the Sala Samui is a great choice for honeymooners, duplex pool villa 440, suite 540, presidential suite 640. This place is really popular! As honeymooners I think you get some free extras too. A 1 bedroom pool villa though is more than enough for most.

Another Fodors regular tried to get a booking there and couldn't so I suggested a local Thailand site which many of us use and they got the rooms ok no problem at all. Anyway take a look at the photos and you may find it appealing, but if that seems to expensive don't worry, around the $100 range you can still find nice place.

http://www.r24.org/huahin.20m.com/sa...amui/pictures/

Another place to browse around for honeymoon places ( ignore the Phuket in the name as they do all places ) is

http://www.phuket-luxury-hotels.com/...ry_hotels.html

Bangkok:
http://www.phuket-luxury-hotels.com/...ry_hotels.html


But of course if you are after the best there is a good debate here between the Oriental and the Peninsular and ideas on others, so if you can give more idea on budget is better.

Flights bangkok to Koh samui about USD 180 return, we don't know where you are from but Bangkok Airways in US can issue those tickets.

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Old Oct 20th, 2005, 10:39 AM
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Thank you so much for your prompt reply.

Now to answer your questions:

I don’t really have a budget and want to book The Best accommodations possible and do The Most elite things.

I don’t want a very passive honeymoon, so I want to do some site seeing in Bangkok and some exploring on the Samui.
Good restaurants, good lounges and clubs.

Me and my wife are in mid twenties flying out of NYC.
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Old Oct 20th, 2005, 10:49 AM
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MME-In BKK, you should stay at either the Oriental or the Peninsula. See the numerous posts on the dispute, if you really care. Either will suit your needs. In terms of activities, you can hire a guide, but I wouldn't have one for all the time in BKK. Wandering around is part of the charm. If you're looking for someone to plan and arrange everything for you ahead of time, Gregg at Innovasian.com is super. He lives in Hartsdale, NY and was very helpful for our first trip to Thailand. He can arrange transfers, hotels, in-country air, private tours and drivers at a relatively cheap cost. You can arrange everything on your own. If you use Gregg, be sure to tell him you want top of the line. HAve a great Honetmoon.
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Old Oct 20th, 2005, 11:20 AM
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We did Thailand in mid-May last year, and the weather was perfect.
I wouldn't spend more than 1-2 days in Bangkok (I'd go with the Peninsula) It's plenty of time to see what you want, and then get started on the relaxing part of the Honeymoon.
I highly recommend heading north to Chaing Mai for a few days. The Four Seasons there is gorgeous, and you can have a great balance of activity and relaxing-- we did a terrific trek complete with white water rafting, and an elephant ride through the jungle. The hotel has mountain bikes, and we rode them to a local waterfall to hike one morning. We also spent a couple of days just sitting by the pool. There is also a new Mandarin in Chiang Mai that is supposed to be amazing, but it wasn't open when we were there.
We did Phuket instead of Koh Samui and it was gorgeous. People told us it was overdeveloped and honky tonk, but if you avoid Patong, and stay in a beautiful hotel, you'll won't see any of that. Also a good balance of great beach, and activities (though we were pre-tsunami). Did a fabulous kayak trip with John Gray's Sea Canoes, and snorkeled in the Phi Phi Islands.
I'd do 2 (or even 1)- Bangkok, 3- Chiang Mai and 3- Phuket or Ko Samui. We found Thai Airways very efficient and so didn't feel overwhelmed hopping around to so many places.
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Old Oct 20th, 2005, 11:30 AM
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I think the Sala Samui would suit you well. You can enjoy great spa and massage on Samui, go snorkeling around the islands, Chaweng beach is tops for nightlife, famous places like green mango, jazz and rock clubs, cabaret, lots of lively bars with live music, plenty of great romantic restaurants, as I said earlier in June the weather should be fine on Samui.
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Old Oct 20th, 2005, 11:32 AM
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With just 8 days, I think you have the right idea. I love Bangkok, have been there many times and always enjoy going back. Choose on of the fabulous hotels and enjoy the incredible range of sights and activities in Bangkok. JamesA always has good recommendations, and I think his beach recommendation is excellent, there have been some posts about the Sala Samui here and it looks incredible on the website.

If you can break loose a few more days, I think you'll enjoy it even more. You'll be very jet-lagged when you get to Thailand.
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Old Oct 21st, 2005, 04:11 AM
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Anyone knows if there is a direct flight from NYC to Bangkok?
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Old Oct 21st, 2005, 04:15 AM
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Thai has non-stops between JFK and BKK four times per week.
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Old Oct 21st, 2005, 04:26 AM
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Thai Airways?

i'm on the website, can't find a direct flight.
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Old Oct 21st, 2005, 04:38 AM
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Are you on the United States site? If not, there's a drop down box in the upper right. After going to the US site, put in your dates. the non-stop doesn't fly every day, only four times per week so it's possible you're putting in days when it doesn't fly. Try changing your days.
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Old Oct 21st, 2005, 05:32 AM
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Thai flies nonstop from NY 4 days I week. I think the days are Tues, Wed, Thurs and Sat.
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Old Oct 21st, 2005, 06:32 AM
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Also, have you thougt about extending your honeymoon a little longer? It seems like an awful lot to fly to the other side of the world and spend a total of 2-3 days traveling for an 8 day honeymoon.

We were only going to take 2 weeks for ours until we decided to go to Thailand. Now we are taking 3 weeks because it is so far away.

Just a thought. It is your honeymoon after all. Take the time!
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Old Oct 21st, 2005, 02:42 PM
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I would definitely agree with the last posting and suggest you stay longer than 8 days - it will take you 1-2 days alone to adjust to the time difference. 1-2 days is sufficient for Bangkok - it's noisy, crowded and not somewhere you need to be for more than that time, unless you are planning on having a wardrobe made at a local tailor - then I'd recommend staying the third day and perhaps leaving late that day for your next stop.
We opted for Koh Samui intead of Phukhet (mostly becuase we went about 3 months after the tsunami earlier this year). It's still very western, but has wonderful pockets of culture left - as well as lovely boutique hotels. Phukhet as a starbucks on the beach - and is MUCH more commercialized. Hotel recs are the Amari, Iyara, the Baan Haad Ngam (smaller boutique hotel), or Le Meridien.
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Old Oct 24th, 2005, 06:22 AM
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SJLBK

I can’t take that much time away from work……….

Plus we travel pretty frequently so I expect to make at least two more trips after next June till the end of the year.
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Old Oct 24th, 2005, 06:50 AM
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the penn hotel in bkk is perfect...all rooms are wonderful...the reg room is large and nice, one category up (grand deluxe is just on a higher floor), balconies are too hot to use....the suites are unbelievable...

hope you found the thai site...17 hrs from nyc...the best available...food is not great on flight we have been told, so be prepared...maybe you can go business class??

ana has good flights with one stop...i use northwest with 2 stops...japan air gets very good marks with one stop...united with one or two stops...eva air from newark with one stop...emerites with one or two stops...

in Samui you might look at the pansea hotel....very beautiful...somewhat remote....the meredien also but very remote...

you will be exhausted on arrival in bkk so plan day one to be a down day (pool)....i would split my bkk time at beginning and end of your trip...i would also add one day to bkk and subtract one day from samui...plan on 1/2 day to make the transfer between bkk and samui or chiang mai...
bangkok air is the only carrier to samui...flights are cheap to all the places...

if you are interested in custom made clothing bkk is a great place to do it...you would need to purchase on day one or two and then have fittings and also at the end of the trip...you can ask us more about that....bkk is a shopping paradise...
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Old Oct 24th, 2005, 06:56 AM
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For BKK most people recommend the Oriental or the Pen. Both are fantastic!But why not try something special for a Honeymoon: The Chakrabongse Villas (http://www.i-escape.com/hotel.phpsec...otel_key=TH003) I would go to Samui: The Sala is great, but I recommend to have a look at the Buri Rasa Village as well!
For fancy restaurants check out: www.samuirestaurantguide.com. If you want to eat real Thai food, the Samui Food Center(open from 5.pm - 5am) is the place to go! I recommend "Peesoon" or the "Tom yam Gung"
Enjoy your Honeymoon!
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Old Oct 24th, 2005, 09:01 AM
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Hi, I spent some time in Thailand earlier this year. In Phuket, we stayed at Amanpuri which is devastatingly expensive but absolutely wonderful! Perfect for a honeymoon if you're happy to pony up the dough.

Check the Thailand section of my web site for more info about our experiences in Phuket and some good eating recommendations in Bangkok.

http://www.mcdougalladventures.com/category/thailand/
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Old Oct 25th, 2005, 02:18 AM
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If u looking for a nice beach not far from Bangkok. I recommend Koh Samet.. There has only one beach in another site call Ao Prao..spa and repsrt over there.. must be romantic for ur honey moon. If u have a chance to visit Vogn Duean beach (it is the beach in the middle of island) plz visit coolest bar on Vong Duean Beach call Bay Watch Bar .. plz check thier website out www.baywatchbar.tk.. any help i can do plz feel free to email me cheers!
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Old Oct 25th, 2005, 06:30 AM
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..With 8 days, please just Bankok and 1 other place and Samui I think would be great in June. Please don't underestimate jet lag and I am sure you will also be tired from the wedding and the weeks leading up to it. The Oriental and the Penn but I would add the Marriot on the river (there are 2 Marriots so beware). It isn't quite at the level of the Penn or Oriental but has a lovely pool and it is great for a rest. I found Bangkok facinating but overwhelming and enjoyed my time there. The "overwhelming" was made doable by our wonderful driver Ratt (info can be found on the board). Have a wonderful and memorable honeymoon.
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