Is 2 weeks too long in Phuket for honeymoon?
 

Hi everyone
First time poster here! We are honeymooning in Thailand in Jan and have booked the Banyan Tree Phuket for the last 7 nights.
Once in a lifetime treat! We were thinking maybe of spending the first 7 nights in Phuket and doing most of our trips then so we could fully Enjoy the BT in the last week..

We were due to go to Samui for teh first week but a family member has announced they are holidaying there at the same time so its kinds thrown our plans out!!!!!

Tks so much

Let me be the first to say that you should spend the first 7 days in other parts of Thailand. Bangkok is wonderful, you could spend all 7 days there and not be bored. If you want to split it up, you could go to Chiang Mai for 3 days. Thai Air has a CMN-Phuket direct flight, so you could do BKK-CM-P easily. Seeing only Phuket is missing the essential flavor of Thailand.

Gpanda is right - you'll really want to spend the other 7 days elsewhere in Thailand. (You wouldn't have wanted to be in Samui then anyway - bad weather) Do spend at least a few days in Bangkok, you could spend the whole 7 days in Bangkok with a day trip or two thrown in.

You would be bored out of your minds with two weeks in Phuket, and you wouldn't have any idea of what Thailand is like or any flavor of the culture.

I wouldn't advise you on spending the 7 days in Bangkok. I personaly don't like Bangkok and I know many people whoalso don't like it a bit.

My advise is to go also to Chiang Mai. Imagine if you also happen not to like Bangkok, you'll be stuck there for a whole week!!!

Tere, you didn't like Bangkok? It's one of my favorite cities! Well, everyone is different.

You'll want some time in Bangkok, and you could certainly go to Chaing Mai. In part, it depends on whether you enjoy cities. Bangkok is very urban, lots to see and do, fabulous hotels and fabulous restaurants. A number of bangkok sites are must-sees: The Grand Palace-Temple of the Emereald Buddha complex, Wat Po, and the Jim Thompson House at a minimum. If you opt to go to Chaing Mai, you'll want to see Doi Suthep (a lovely wat outside of town).

Read some trip reports to give you ideas of what people do and see in Thailnd.

I can't imagine spending two weeks in phuket. First, if you want to just go to a beach you can go to far better ones probably closer to home. It will definitely NOT be a once in a lifetime treat. Thailand is fabulous. Phuket doesn't have much to do with it. It's like coming to the United States and only going to Disneyworld and saying you've now experienced the United States.
vatf has ,It

Katie, I didn't like Bangkok, yes! I know a lot of people here love it but the only thing I liked there was to stay at the Peninsula: )
I found it a very noisy, poluted and hot city!Also the fact of being a very spread city didn't help for me to like it. Could hardly breath!

Why dont you spend maybe 2-3 nights in Khao Sok National Park then catch a train or plane from Surat Thani to BKK for 3-4 nights?

Hi Guys thanks for the comments. We are spending 3 days in Bangkok on the way back so that will cover B'kok
I know waht you mean about travelling around but my husband to be isn't keen on flying Ireland/B'kok/ChangMai/Phuket/ etc . he thinks its too much travelling on a honyemoon!

Any Islands maybe you can recommend that we could go to from Phuket? - Phi Phi seems aimed at backpacker ( those days are over for us!)

We love spending time at a beach resort, but two weeks in Phuket is WAY too much time. Other than the beach and Phang Nga bay there is not much of anything interesting to see and do, and the beach at Banyan Tree is not all that special. If your husband to be does not want to fly/travel to different locations to enjoy the sights & culture I suggest you re-think Thailand & consider someplace else where you can stay in more or less one place & still see/do things involving the culture of the place you are visiting. If you are just interested in lovely tropical islands with beautiful beaches you may want to consider Hawaii instead, or someplace in the South Pacific.

Indecisive - everybody seems to be suggesting that you should be traveling around Thailand sightseeing and taking tours; but this is your honeymoon and I agree with your husband. In my opinion 2 weeks in Phuket will be very nice. Stay at comfy resorts, chill, soak up the sun, enjoy your honeymoon on a lovely tropical island. You can take a couple of tours from Phuket, such as PP Islands, Coral Island, PhangNga Bay, but 2 weeks is not a real long time to spend in Phuket. Also 3 days in BKK is sufficient to see a few of the major attractions. I recommend a boat trip on the Chaophrya river to visit the major temples.

Thanks Texas Slim
I was beginning to have a panic attack there for a while!!!! The reason I was going to spend 2 weeks there is - as the Banyan Tree is sooo expensive I want to relax and enjoy every minute of the service/spa etc and not be dashing away on trips.
I figured on doing that the first week and then sightsee and shop in B'kok on the way home...

I'm not saying not to go to a place where you can hang out at a luxury resort for two weeks - just that I wouldn't particularly select Phuket or the Banyan Tree as the place to do that. For that kind of money & the cost of getting there I think there are better choices.

how about splitting your time on phuket between two really nice places like banyon and the jw marriott??

When we were in Phuket earlier this year (for a week) we met plenty of people who were there for 2 weeks (or longer).

Only you know what you like. Some people are happy to lie around on a beach for weeks on end (the weather should be no problem in Jan), others like Cities.

Phuket is not a desert island or anything like the Maldives - it's a big island.

I would echo some of the comments made about a week in Bangkok being maybe too long - Some people hate bangkok, you may not like it, I think it draws very polarised views. I like it, Mrs Walltotti less so - she's happy to chill out around the hotel pool sipping cocktails.

As I mentioned earlier a boat ride on the Chaophyra river to visit the major temples is a MUST in my opinion. My wife and I did it last week, took the BTS to Saphan Taksin stop, then walked to the river and took the regular river bus ferry (13Bt) to Tha Tien stop, then crossed the river in a smaller ferry (3Bt) visited Wat Arun, then crossed the river again and went to Wat Po.
No need to book an expensive river tour, ours cost 19Bt each and we saw two of BKKs most impressive temples and many other wonderful sights on the river.

I totally understand your desire to lounge around and be pampered on a beautiful island for your honeymoon. My dh and I are spending 2 weeks on Phuket this coming Jan( at the Marriott Beach Club and Resort) we love lounging by the beautiful pools, getting massaged by the "ladies" on the beach, being served lovely Ice water poolside and getting iced towels. We also plan on renting a car for a few days so that if we feel like touring the island, or shopping for groceries etc off the compound we can do that. We will be in spacious 2 BR 2 BA timeshare with a full kitchen so I shall probably be cooking some meals.
We think Phuket is lovely, we also love Bangkok and will be spending about 10 days there and a few days elsewhere, perhaps Hua Hin. Last Jan we were in Thailand for 3 weeks and agreed we did way too much moving around, a week on Phuket, 4 days in BKK, 4 days in Chaing Mai, 4 days in Hanoi Vietnam then back to BKK. We really wasted several days just getting to and from all these places and really wished be had cut the travel down. This coming January/Feb will be much better with two whole lazy weeks in Phuket at the beginning, followed by a week in BKK, 4 nights in Hua Hin, then back to BKK for our last 5 nights. Only one r/t internal flight this time. Far more relaxing.
Sue

I agree with 90% of the earlier comments-14 days is far too many. Based on 3 trips to Thailand in 6 years, I would suggest 5 full days/6nights in Phuket with 5 full days in Bangkok (use Ratt or Tong as a guide for 3 or 4 of the 5 days at about $80/day for Ratt and $95-100/day for Tong with tip for 10-11 hour days) and 3 full days in CM or if you want another Beach destination Koh Samui and take a 1 day trip on the SPEED BOAT NOT the Big Boat to Koh Tao for fabulous snorkeling.You can shop till you drop for 2 days at least in Bangkok. If you can get to Bangkok for the weekend market itis an experience and in CM the Sunday market, starts about 4PM-midnight is worth doing. Prices a bit lowe in CM but selection in markets not as vast. But, both are fun.

I could easily spend two weeks in Phuket. I find it very relaxing there, and am returning for my third year in a row, for my honeymoon. Alternatively, though, if I had that amount of time, I may also look at splitting my time between Krabi, which is just a boat ride away. Either way, there is day trips, cooking schools, and lots of other things to do around the island. I think you'll have a great time!

well I was there for years and didn't get bored!
There are plenty of excursions and activities, if you want to break up the time spend a few days around krabi area or perhaps Phi Phi or Koh Yao, you could also have some pleasant national park days at the Kuaburi Greenview resort in the Khao Sok National Park.

You could also swop locations perhaps for Kata beach area, I am not a fan of the Laguna area although I know people like it, but you will find your bucks will go a lot further down Kata way.