have just gotten quotes on flights from bkk for may/june and wonder what you think about them....i can't seem to make any contact through the new low cost carriers so here goes on what i am finding from thai agents:

bkk-samui-bkk bkk air 6930B r.t

bkk-bali-bkk thai air 14,690 B r.t.

bkk-chiang rai-bkk thai air 5290 r.t.

what do you think???....seems standard prices to me..

so far the best is your suggestion of sea tours..

bob

will you take us up on a drink offer while in bkk at the end of may???

Glad Sea Tours responded to you, I've been using them for like 12 years now, I don't bother going anywhere else.
B 14.9k for Bali on TG sounds about right, you might save $20 going via KL but the Thai flight is daily A-330 so easy.
Chiang Rai no other carriers yet except Thai, 5290 is the normal fare. Koh Samui is still a BKK Air monopoly ( would you believe they are even surveying to build a 2nd airport there because no one can handle the landing fees of the current Samui Airport..wonder why!). You have to add the B 400 Samui dep tax to that price, they are all standard. The airline commission is only 7% so even a KS Road agent doing a deal might drop $2.50.

yes, that drink has to be on for sure!

Hi JamesA - Hope as usual you can provide your very useful comments. We are going to Thailand for the first time in December - arrive Bangkok - 2 day cruise trip on the Mekhala (have you had any report on this), next night in Shangri-La (should we do the Peninsula? - we are only using the river base to see Palace, etc) then to Phuket - this is the problem area as we are only staying one night We were thinking of booking at either the Le Meridien Yacht Club or Mon Tri's Boathouse or similar but are open to suggestions. Having just recently returned from a trip where we experienced quite a few very very tired expensive hotels in New Zealand we are now concerned after reading lynnre's report that the LMYC looks very tired and it may be the wrong choice. We would like to experience some of the Thai feel and architecture (also my husband is not that tolerant of children becoming his main holiday entertainment so we are not too keen on the larger complexes). We had planned to have a meal at Baan Rim Pa? and the next morning do a half day boat tour to James Bond Island (do you know who could provide such a tour)before leaving for Chiang Mai late afternoon Chiang Mai we are staying at the Tamarind Village. We are doing a tour to Mae Hong Son and a cooking class while we are in Chiang Mai then off to Siem Reap for 2 days staying at Raffles then back to Bangkok and thinking of booking at either the Intercontinental or Amari Watergate - just to do some shopping before home (although we are not great shoppers). Hope you can help as I seem to be now in information overload. Many thanks.

Only 1 night on Phuket ? So are you flying from Bangkok to Phuket and then back up to Chiang Mai ? IF you are only shooting thru Phuket for 1 night it's going to be an enourmous rush.
In Phuket you can pay $200 for a nice room or you can pay $60 for a nice room. The Boathouse is a good choice but if you are only staying 1 night my 'personal' suggestion would be that you are not going to be spending much time at your hotel so maybe just go for a simple nice 3-star. Can you confirm that it really is just for 1 night?

Hi JamesA - yes we are only staying one night - we live in a beach resort.