Hello all
I'm trying to start planning a trip for August. Thanks for all the trip reports I have learned so much! I know I'm only in the early planning stages but I thought I'd ask anyway!

I wanted to do the usual intro to Thailand most of you recommend: 2-3 days in bkk then on to Chiang Mai for 3ish days then on to a beach for another 3-4 then back to bkk for a couple. Based on the time of the year I was thinking of Samui as a better island choice. BUT I'm having trouble making any of this work in an affordable way travel wise! Is there some trick to it? I'm sure someone has done this route and found a way to make it work. The Bangkok air pass excludes the chiang mai and bangkok to samui routes, would they just charge me a surcharge?

Also, I know you'll all tell me it's a gamble to go the phuket or phi phi but would it make sense if the travel was so much cheaper? Both the transportation and low season accommodations?

Sorry this is actually just the beginning of the questions but it's really the island-beach portion that's giving me the most trouble.
Thanks for the help and I hope this made some sense

P.S. what would be a good price for RT from NYC that time of the year?

Thanks again!!!

Here's a question for you: Does it HAVE to be an island? Hua Hin gets slightly less rain, on average, in August than Samui. You can get there by private car and driver for about the same price as a budget carrier flight to Phuket.

Now, Hua Hin lacks the party atmosphere of Samui, so if that's what you're looking for, it isn't an option. But it does have nice resorts, good restaurants and fantastic scenery (300 peaks park).

HH is an excellent suggestion....flying to samui is very expensive....other beach locations are cheaper to get to...

maybe koh chang might work for you?

flights: $1000-1500 from nyc

look at china, cheapest usually but least desirable; ANA, japan, air canada, air france, united, northwest, eva, malay, korean, and many others...

Just a Micheal has said, Koh Samui has the vacation island 'atmosphere' but if you just want resort at the beach and nature sightseeing etc Hua hin is an option.

What is your budget like ? You can fly from CM to BKK and taxe a taxi to Hua Hin area, but if on a low budget there is a direct overnighe express bus, I guess in the $20 range that does CM-HH direct without going through Bangkok.

From NYC also look at Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates ( I think Emirates have the new A-380 on JFK ) those give you one stop connection via their Gulf hubs. All daily ( Emirates twice daily ) have PTV is Coach and good food/drink/service.

Bob - are you still in Florida ?

There are several beaches on the mainland of Thailand that will make the trip much cheaper. Hua Hin is one. Pattaya/Jomtien is another. Arranging transport will be much cheaper than flying to Ko Samui.

The basic outline of your trip looks good. This will provide a very pleasnt exposure to three different areas in Thailand.

From NYC, anything $1200 or under would be decent.

First, thank you all very much for your help.
I think I am going to rule out Hua Hin just because I think we are looking for that tropical atmosphere.
I have been looking into Koh Chang but it looks like the weather will be an issue?
If it will be should I just gamble and go to the Krabi or on that side?
Also, how is the Lamprayah from Bangkok to Koh Tao?
The budget isn't that tight (we were looking around $100/night) but I would rather avoid the Hiltons etc and stay in a smaller resort. It's not actually a honeymoon but my fiance will have lived in Europe for 6 months at that point so I would like it more romantic but also able to walk along the beach and find some place to eat. I hope I'm narrowing this down a bit.
As for the flight from NYC right now the cheapest I see is on teh Ukrainian airline for $1260 so I'm going to wait (stupid?) and also keep my fingers crossed that Delta opens up a skymiles ticket!
Thanks!

I would wait on the airfare. I just checked cheapair.com and Kayak,com and they had $1430 as the cheapest, but you will probably do better. The key is to check every day and pull the triggere when you get one that you like.

Hmm... What has given you the idea that Hua Hin isn't just as tropical as Samui? All of Thailand is in the tropics (well, except for a tiny slice up near Burma).

Koh Chang would most likely be the wettest option in August.

Getting back to Samui, have you looked at all your options for flights? Bangkok Airways does NOT have a one-price policy. There are different prices for different flight times on the same route. I've seen BKK - USM costs as low as 1,000 Baht ($35)++ for early morning and late evening, weekday flights. If you're flexible and willing to fly at odd hours, you can get there cheaply.

Lompraya is a bus/boat combination. You take a bus from Bangkok, through Hua Hin and down to Chumpon, then transfer to a boat that goes to Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Samui. In August the issue will be rough seas, which can make the boat part of the journey a little uncomfortable, depending on how good a sailor you are. I had a really bad trip from Koh Tao to Samui last August - but Lompraya's cats may be a smoother ride than Seatran's mono-hulls.

Honestly the impression about Hua Hin from this forum!
In any case I think if I do it like a budget carrier from bkk to chiang mai and then bite the bullet and fly direct to samui and then a budget carrier from surat thani to bkk it's not so bad price wise and convenience. I will look into whether just getting the thai air pass is better even with a long layover in bangkok on the way to samui.
Of course this is all the fiance and while he has no concept really of the planning he briefly mentioned his inclination for just risking it and saving the money on the west coast.
BUT anyway, anyone have a suggestion for a place on samui? I thought we'd stay there for the ability to walk and find a non resort place to eat. I'm looking for something more um "typical" so that I know I'm in thailand and not let's say the Caribbean. Under $100/night in August?
Sorry but this part of the trip is appearing to be the hardest to plan and part of me feels like skipping it all together but he loves the beach.
Thanks so much for all the help and even just for posting your wonderful experiences!

The cheapest way to travel by air in Thailand is usually with discount carrier Air Asia.

The Bangkok/Chiang Mai flights are 1289 baht each way ($38) fore August flying if booked now.

To Samui you can fly to Surat Thani with air Asia for around the same (1289) and then take the bus from the airport (via ferry) for about $10. Another option is the overnight train (2nd class a/c lower berths - 1st class is same as flying) from Bangkok to Surat Thani and then bus/ferry.

If you wanted to spend the money, Bangkok Air has a direct flight to Samui from CM for 6390 baht.