Late April and early May:

Day 1 - Fly into BKK from LAX (via Kuala Lumpur), overnight Bangkok
Day 2 - Bangkok
Day 3 - Bangkok
Day 4 - Fly BKK->Phnom Penh, bus to Siem Reap
Day 5 - Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)
Day 6 - Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)
Day 7 - Bus to Phnom Penh overnight in Phnom Penh
Day 8 - early flight back to BKK, overnight BKK (splurge & stay at Marriott and do night dinner cruise)
Day 9 - early morning flight BKK -> Hat Yai, minibus to Pak Bara, ferry to Koh Lipe (Note: the other option is to skip the Marriott and take the night train from BKK to Trang and mini bus to Pak Bara from there in the morning)
Day 10 - Koh Lipe
Day 11 - Koh Lipe
Day 11 - Koh Lipe
Day 13 - Koh Lipe to Koh Lanta
Day 14 - Koh Lanta
Day 15 - Koh Lanta
Day 16 - Koh Lanta to Phi Phi
Day 17 - Phi Phi
Day 18 - Phi Phi
Day 19 - Krabi/Railay (or Phuket)
Day 20 - Fly Krabi (or Phuket) -> BKK -> Kuala Lumpur, overnight in KL (no choice using ff miles)
Day 21 - Kuala Lumpur -> LAX

Okay, have at it, please tell me what I'm doing right or wrong. If you're wondering why Phnom Penh, we'll pay $150 RT for both versus $550 direct into Siem Reap. The Discovery Pass doesn't help much either, especially if we fly back from Krabi.

Ok I'll be the first (of what I assume will be numerous commenters) to comment that you are probably cramming in too many places in that time frame. Also since this is really the Bangkok Board- you are not doing justice by only spending 2 full days in BKK. Remember that the first day or two you will certainly be jet lagged so more than likely you won't get a whole lot done in those 2 days. Cut out maybe one destination and add that time to BKK.

Agree with Bill,
what is the need for three (even four) beach destinations over nine days?
Cut down on the beach and take more time in BKK and Angkor.
Also would skip the dinner cruise in BKK and go to a nice restaurant instead!

Insane, no. Taxing, yes. The heat and humidity of SEA are significant. Without knowing your energy levels, I would suggest that if you're young enough go ahead. I'll be interested to hear how the bus ride from PP to Sr goes.

We have travelled around Asia on similar itineraries so I think it looks do-able - but as Andy says quite taxing. It will be pretty hot at that time of year - but I guess if you are in LA? you are more used to heat and humidity than we would be coming from "sunny" London

However, having island/beach hopped around those beaches you are going to, I think this does work well. I like moving around beaches every few days - you are not sight seeing so it provides a change of scenery and atmosphere. The beaches/islands are all quite closely located so the transfers wont take too long, and tend to be lovely boat trips anyway. the only downside of this is that you are less likely to get the good deals from hotels/bungalows for longer stays.

LA does not have the humidity of SE Asia.

If you must go through Phnom Penh, why not spend a day or 2 there? There are some important (albeit depressing) things to see.

As for the bus from PP-SR, have you investigated taking a private car? We did the opposite route a few years ago and for $60 total had door-to-door service. The "bus" is one of those cramped, slow moving, backpacker minivans and for 2 people, I don't think the car option is much more. You might even be able to find someone to share the trip and reduce the cost further.
I'm really surprised you can't find anything less than $550 total for the BKK-SR route.
Could you fly BKK-SR, go overland to PP, and then fly back from there? This would save you a day of travel time and be a bit less expensive.

If cost is an issue, fly out of Phuket; it seems to be about 1/2 the price of Krabi. I think only Thai flys Krabi-BKK and it's about $153 per person. If you do Phuket, can you then use the discovery pass for the BKK-SR portion?

Finally, I would cut it down from 3 islands to two, add a day to BKK and one to Phnom Penh if you must go through there. Or, maybe even add a day to KL, it's an interesting city worth a look.

Have fun!

LA, I'm assuming you want some beach time to relax. If so, choose ONE beach location. Otherwise, you're spending the time you'd relax going from place to plcae. You lose most of a day each time you change location.

I also think you are being "penny wise and pound foolish" to waste all that time in an efffort to save some $$ on flights from BKK to SR. The suggestion above to fly BKK to SR and transit through PP to visit is fine if you want to spend some time in PP. Otherwise, I'd say fly BKK Air another leg (between Phuket and BKK for instance, and get the discovery pass, which will save you some money. I'd also recommend that you spend some time in BKK at the end of your trip. Cut the one night in BKK in the middle and spend that day in transit as it will actually cut the number of days you spend traveling.

i haven't been to thailand yet, so can't say too much, but I know how I am planning vacations, and I tend to "overplan". I've come to realize however that it's a VACATION so you don't want to feel too constrained by an hour by hour itenirary. If you move too much you won't absorb anything, you'll just take tons of pictures which you'll spend hours looking at at home, when you should be living each day on vacation and absorbing the culture. just my 2 cents! Now I have to get back to overplanning my trip

Another option would be to fly to Krabi and then do Koh Lanta first and then Lipe, or take the flight from
Bangkok to Trang ( 1 hr 30 ), easier than via Hat Yai but only the one flight per day.

I am sure you have seen lots of maps but just in case:-

http://www.andaman-island-hopping.co...iewcentral.htm

http://www.andaman-island-hopping.com/islands/adang.htm

http://www.andaman-island-hopping.com/overviewsouth.htm

Note there are 2 flights per day from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur ( Malaysia and Air Asia ).

Another option would be to totaly reverse the beach time, head to krabi, down to Koh lanta and Lipe, then take the boat back to Pak Bara and then take local transort to Satun and take the boat ( 4 times a day ) takes 1.5 hrs from Satun to Langkawi (Malaysia ) and then head down to KL from there ( 55 mins flight ) instead of going all the way back up to BKK and then heading down to KL from there. If you do this I think you will get more value from the time, i.e BKK-Krabi-Koh Lanta-Lipe- then via Satun and Langkawi down to KL,

just an idea.

doesn't look like a vacation to me...??

why does the discover pass not help?? will cut you cambodia flight cost from about $275 to $180 each....?? a bus?? how long does that take....isn't your time worth money...

i assume you have no interest in bkk?? you will be dead on day one so count it out....so you only have one day....won't get much done that day...really....

i don't think you have enough time in SR either...you need at least one more day...you have wasted two days using the bus it looks like to me....yes you will see something of the countryside, but it really does not look like you are interested in that...

i think i would start in K/L and work my way up the coast, stopping at koh lipe and other places rather than back track.....use air asia or malay air....much more time effieient and i would end up in bkk...with a side trip to SR...

i also ask, why so much beach time and what is special about koh lipe???

Yes, that schedule is insane. Happy Travels!

Are you flying with Malaysia Airlines? Their regional pass deal/ticket combination might change your routing entirely.

Malaysia and also Air asia fly non stop between KL and Siem Reap !

Unless you had a reason to go to Phnom Penh what you could do is check Malaysia Airlines for KL-Siem Reap (REP) return ( 2 hrs flight ) and then KL-Langkawi return ( 55 mins flight ), or check Air Asia ( budget airline, get in quick for very cheap fares ).
Then, either go into Thailand via Langkawi OR Phuket, something like:

LAX-KL
KL-Siem Reap and back to KL
KL-Phuket
Road Phuket-Krabi-Koh Lanta pier
Ferry to Koh Lanta and then to Lipe, via Satun to Langkawi and back to KL, or the other way around.

Now, if you wanted to add BKK to that as you are well ahead of time you could easily do a Phuket or krabi to BKK return just to see Bangkok ( from krabi is only Thai but from Phuket you have a choice of Thai, Bangkok Airways plus the budget/cheap airlines i.e Nok Air, Thai Air Asia and One-2-Go )

Brilliant, James. I had forgotten that there are now flights from KL to SR.

With that knowledge, you can play with your itinerary a bit. I would say don't start in Siem Reap. Visitng the temples is pretty strenuous, and you'll still be acclimating to both the time zone and the heat.

Here are some fares to put into the scenario, without looking for cheapest, just randon dates around end April beginning of May ( including all taxes/surcharges etc etc: On Air Asia

KL- Siem reap return RM 682 (USD 181 )

KL- Phuket one way RM 204 (USD 54 )

Phuket-BKK return THB 3,208 (USD 80 )

Langkawi - KL one way RM 90 (USD 24 )

Thanks for everyone's suggestions! I'd actually already thought of the various routings that JamesA is suggesting, including Langkawi. The problem is that I'm using flyer miles and all the Langkawi, Phuket, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap seats are gone. It was all I could do just to get LAX>BKK and back on any airline. Also, Malaysia Air only offers those flights to Cambodia at certain days and times that don't really coincide with the overseas flights. Even if I were to buy the legs between KL and Cambodia, I might have to spend extra nights in KL.

The other trouble I'm having is that I really must see Phi Phi (I know it's corny, but I've really wanted to go there since I saw The Beach six years ago).

I've also fallen in love with pictures of Koh Lipe and want to visit before it gets too over-developed and turns into a tourist trap. I threw Lanta in there, just for a relaxing stop over between Lipe and Phi Phi.

As far as the trip between Phnom Penh and SR, the taxi doesn't sound like a bad idea either. I'm still toying with the idea of flying directly in or out of SR to save some time, but those flight prices are just nuts. What a rip off!

Anyway, given my dilemas, can anyone offer a better way of doing this?

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the heat/humidity is not a big deal to us, especially spending so much time at beaches.

We have traveled extensively throught Mexico and Central America in July/August and know how to deal with it. Not to mention living in Atlanta for 20 years.

any time someone posts, Is this itinerary insane, you know it is, before you even read about it!

Ok, it sounds like your must-sees are Phi Phi, Koh Lipe, Angkor, and Bangkok. Stick to your must-sees, as your trip is too broken up already.
I'd suggest you have a couple of days in Bangkok at the beginning and the end so you actually get to see a bit of the city. Personally, I'd recommend that you fly in and out of SR, add another leg on Bangkok Air (such as between BKK and Phuket), and you have enough for a Discovery pass.

If you plan for a minimum of two full days in Bangkok, fly to Siem Reap, three full days in SR, fly through BKK to Hat Yai and on to Koh Lipe for three or four full days, on to PhiPhi for two or three days, then back to BKK for two or three days, then back to KL, you'll be there. You have to add in days for travel, so I think that comes out about right. It gives you a couple of days to play with.

Your itinerary is complex because you are going to several places that don't allow for quick transfers. Think about the complications - maybe they are worth it to you, maybe not. (I'm thinking of Koh Lipe and Phi Phi, neither of which are easy transfers).

Kathie,
As you've said, the transfers are the problem. Going form Siem Reap (or Phnom Penh) to Koh Lipe is going to involve an overnight in either BKK, Hat Yai, or Pak Bara, unless I just fly to BKK and take the overnight train to Trang. The ferry leaves too early in the day to catch it after coming all the way from Siem Reap.

The same problem comes into play with going from Koh Lipe to Phi Phi. I don't think we can make it to Lanta or Krabi in time to catch the ferry to Phi Phi, so we'll need to overnight in Lipe or Lanta. I was thinking that I might as well stay there for a few days, rather than moving two days in a row.

I added the last night in either Phuket or Railay, so that we would not have to risk missing our flight out due to high seas if ther weather were bad. I could actually just go Phi Phi>Phuket>BKK>KL in one day if you guys think it would be okay.

Lastly, I'm thinking it would make more sense to do all my BKK time either at the beginning or end, rather than splitting it up and having to deal with the airport transfers an extra time. Is that not a good idea?

I know I'm being difficult. It's just that using FF miles and my choice of destinations is making things complicated. If anyone has any more ideas to simplify things, I'd really appreciate them. Thanks!