I am planning a 20 day June/July vacations in Thailand. I can't go anytime but that one. I need advise and places to visit. My plans are 5 days in Bangkok, 3 days in Chiang Mai, 3 days in Phuket and.....
Please need help and weather advise

It would help if you can tell us what you like like shopping, culture, historical sites, rural villages etc? Also your age group(hate to recommend mountain trekking if you are senior), budget preference, are you travelling alone and how active you are?

Go to www.tripadvisor.com there is tons of questions by people and answers by the expats that live there and others that travel here a lot your questions will be answered.

Hanuman's questions are good ones.

First thing though, June/July is a pretty bad time to go to Phuket. Very wet. Things are better on the other side of the peninsula, eg Samui or Hua Hin.

directions,

I see that you're coming to Thailand as well but with an OAT tour group. Did the people at TA advise you to do that? Many posters here are regular visitors to Thailand, some with over 20 trips in the past 20 years or more. Many here, like MichaelBKK above are expats who have lived in Thailand for more than 15 years. And... there are some local, like myself, who post here as well. Pretty good selection of posters and the advice are usually very good.

thank you !
I am age 50, and like historical sites and culture; i live in the seaside, i am not interested in beaches/pools.
regarding budget preference, not expensive, not cheap...but i am a teacher , on a teacher's salary.

josebtesh,

OK that information helps. 5 nights in Bangkok would be good then perhaps a train or A/C tour bus ride North to Sukhothai where you can visit the old capital and spend the night. Another train/bus ride to Chiang Mai and spend 3 nights there. I would follow this up with travel to Pai and Mae Hong Son spending one more night at each destination. From Mae Hong Son I would fly back via Chiang Mai to Bangkok or Phuket if you want to chance the rain.

Another alternative is Hua Hin which is a seaside resort but with many non sea related activities nearby. Since you live by the sea already I'm not sure if you will enjoy a visit to Koh Chang, Phuket, Koh Samui or Koh Nang Yuan which are more beach/pool kind of destination.

If you want to travel to the N.E. of Thailand or perhaps even crossing the border into Laos then that's another option as well.

Let me know if any of the above interest you.

Hanuman:
You are wonderful human being, thank you !
NeE border and Laos would be interesting.
How hot is weather in June in Bangkok and Chiang Mai?
And in the NE ?

For the past few days it has been very hot in Bangkok and pretty much the rest of Thailand. It was over 39c yesterday but not that humid yet. To me this mean that this year there will be a lot haze in the North but by June that should subside from the start of the wet season in May.

I'm in a bit of a rush as I have to take my daughter to the Weekend market in Bangkok, something that you should plan on doing as well. Here are some quick information.

Weather - look at the stat from weatherbase.com . Normally quite accurate but I think the global weather pattern has change somewhat. Expect hot and humid days and warm nights. It will be slightly cooler in the higher elevation around the North. Always a chance of rain and the normal pattern is late afternoon rainfall for about an hour or two. How ever, there could be depression storms or other type of a front which will result in prolong rain, sometime for days.

Quick information for Hua Hin: For HH exploring Sam Roi Yod national park on bikes would be fun. http://www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve/asp...sp?npid=8&lg=2

Go to the Phraya Nakhon Cave while in the park, take about 1/2 a day by a combination of boat and trekking(biking) and do the Khao Daeng Canal cruise. All very inexpensive and beautiful. Another place that I like to visit for lunch and relaxation is a local vineyard own by the owners of Red Bull drinks. http://www.huahinhillsvineyard.com/

For Laos and the North East in my personal opinion the area around Ubon Ratchathani will be a good base for this. Many old wats, which sort of remind me of Luang Prabang in Laos, good inexpensive accomodation and near the border to Southern Laos where you can visit Pakse and the waterfalls around there.

Got to go and I hope the other regulars will chime in on hotels and other recommendations.

Almost forgot but here are some pictures of historical sites from Sukhothai: http://khun-pook.smugmug.com/History.../6915625_wsTws
Buri Ram, halfway from Bangkok to Ubon: http://khun-pook.smugmug.com/Holiday.../5129602_uxH2R

thank you again; will see how it goes
once i am ready i buzz you again, please fell free to continue posting info if you remember, thanks Hanuman !

if you live near the water, i would skip phuket.... its main purpose is as a seaside holiday resort

i have been many times in thailand up until june 15 or 20 and the weather was hot---85-95F with high humidity....often in the late PM there is some rain but the heat comes right back...you need a/c everyplace...

take a look at asiarooms.com for hotel prices.... bag the tour!!

OK I'm back and whew it was hot!

Bangkok: Apart from the main sites and other attractions, please read about them from the trip reports by the various posters - use the "Advanced Search" function, I like to recommend a visit to Ko Kret and/or Amphawa Weekend market.

Ko Kret good description here: http://wikitravel.org/en/Ko_Kret

Amphawa Weekend market is both a floating market and a unique old style Thai village(recognized and have won awards from UNESCO). It is only functional From Friday to Sunday so if you're interested try to time your stay in Bangkok over a weekend. You can also find a nice bed and breakfast type accomodation there if you don't want to do a day trip.

Chiang Mai: Again read the trip reports and I just want to add that you might like visiting the smaller towns around there(those within a hour drive) apart from what the city has to offer.

Ubon Rachathani: This is a sleepy town, one of the most significant or major town in the North East of Thailand. Lots of historical Wats as well as having one of the finest Thai silk factory in the Kingdom. From here you can arrange with a local tour company to cross the border into Laos if you wish.

A good web site to explore the towns around Thailand is Tourism Thailand web site: http://www.tourismthailand.org/

Great !
When you say small towns an hour drive, by bus or can hire a driver? How much can it cost to hire a driver?

You can go with either. Bus will be the cheapest, a car and driver can run from 1,500 - 2,500 Baht a day(8 hours) depending on your negotiation skill. Another alternative is to rent a car. I don't advise people to drive in big cities but if you're up to it a drive in the North could be very pleasant. Please make sure you have the proper international driver's license as well as insurance. Towns that I think will be worth visiting around Chiang Mai are Lampoon and Lampang - check the spelling as I'm not sure if that's the correct English spelling.

You could also hire a guide and a car for a day. They can probably offer some unique experiences throughout the country. In Bangkok Tong is very well thought off. Search her names and you will see many positive reports about her. For other parts of the country Tong can probably recommend someone for you. One day with a guide in Bangkok and another day with a guide in Chiang Mai could be the way to go.

i just remembered that if you're coming in June then check this out: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-june-2010.cfm

Could save you some money for the June portion at least.

What a treat !
thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!