Logistics - Northern Thailand & Luang Prabang
 

Trying to work out a schedule for trip to N. Thailand & LP that includes CM, Mae Hong Son, Anantara Golden Triangle & LP. Here's what we've tentatively planned, given constraints on flights, travel time etc. What do you all think?

Several days BKK (second visit)
2 days CM (second visit & friends there)
direct flight CM - LP (3 days LP)
fly LP - MHS (change planes CM): 2 days
Fly MHS -CM, drive to Anantara:2-3days
CM - Phuket: 3 days Andaman White Sands to relax on isolated gorgeous beach (yes, we love our beach time at the end of the trip! Don't tell us to drop it!)

In my experience, the smaller and more rural a place is, the more you have to slow down to experience it. Any chance you can add a few more days to your itinerary? I would give more time to LP and the Golden Triangle if possible. The other option is to drop one location in Northern Thailand so you'll have more time in the others. For me, this itinerary would be way too rushed (but then, I spent a week at LP, a week at the Anantara, a week at the Temples at Angkor, etc. I think you get the idea of how I travel.)

I agree completely with Kathie.

CFW, one other way to think about this... I know you are flying from the US, so you'll be spending lots of time on airplanes on this trip. Think about how much more time you want to spend in transit while you are in Thailand... You have 6 locations and therefore that many changes in location, each of which takes from half a day to a full day once you consider all of your transit time.

My rule of thumb is that if I have 13 to 15 days on the ground, I chose not more than three locations, if I have 18 to 20 days on the ground, I choose not more than 4 locations. As I read your number of days, I'm guessing that you have two weeks on the ground. I'd choose three or four locations, it looks like BKK, CM (to visit friends) and Phuket are your unmoveable ones, so add in one more place, and you'll have a busy but do-able schedule.

Thanks. I thought the transit was going to be a bit much, but it was so hard to decide what to give up. After a lot of consideration, we decided to cut out Mae Hong Son and add more time at the Anantara.

good plan...i might split the time anantara and beach....3-4 days is sufficient at anantara

Bob, That's exactly what we did. Thanks to everyone. I'm much happier with the new plan:
BKK 4 nights
2 nights CM
3 nights LP
3 nights Anantara
back to CM 1 night
4 nights Phuket

We'll want to get a car at Anantara to see the Queen Mother's gardens. Any other side trips you recommend while there? My husband is leary about driving on the left side of the road & I'm a disaster driver even on the right side! So, we may need to get a car & driver. Should we arrange throught the Anantara?

CFW-- what are you interested in? If you want predominately a resort experience you've made the right choice. If you want to do more sightseeing of hilltribes, nature etc -- be more active-- I would suggest Mae Hong Son rather than Ananatara.

I arranged for a car and driver through the hotel and it worked out fine. Decide what you want to do. The Anantara is so lovely, it's good to spent time there - cooking class, spending time with the elephants, etc. You're only there three days, don't spend more than one day away. There is also the world-class opium museum across the road from the entrance of teh Anantara - it's worth a couple of hours.

carolE (note the e)....don't miss the opium museum...

i did not use the anantara cars although i think kathie did and others have, but they are comparatively expensive....i have seen one other listing for drivers out of CR, but do not have thier name---i thouhg tit quite expensive....but if you are only going out to the doi tung estate it is worth the money...i understand not driving, but honestly it is very easy and there is hardly any traffic at all..probably like your suburban street in CT....we rarely saw more than 5 cars in 15 minutes....except on the edge of CR, although the airport is on the northern part of the city....
anantara will charge you about $50 each way to the airport---are you flying in?? probably not...maybe you will have poon or another driver from CM to chiang saen...

quite honestly if you only leave the hotel once---the trip to doi tung, you will be fine....our morning cooking class with the trip to the market included a short tour of chiang saen which is all it deserve quite honestly...so if you never leave the hotel you will be fine...

with the museum across the street, the on site elephant camp, the pool, the spa and the cooking classes you will have plenty to do on site....

Gloria, Nature and the Fern Resort were what attracted us to MHS, but we don't have time to do both, and after lots of back & forth, my husband (who has a bad back & likes comfort) and I decided on Anantara. It's had such rave reviews and the scenery from there also looks great. And there are the elephants .. always great. We will definately visit the opium museum across the street and Doi Tung, and also the cooking class, so I think we will have plenty to do. Not to mention that I'm addicted to Thai massage. Bob, we will be driving to Anantara from CM. Did you rent the car at the airport in CR? We may consider that.

yes i did rent it at the chiang rai airport....so easy to go north from there....i think there were only about 3 turns you had to make in the 1 hour drive to the hotel...

you probably could rent it at CM airport as well and just get good directions for going north from there...suspect there is only one main road....

Thanks. What about mosquitoes in the area? Should we take malarone? Kathie, what do you think? I suspect that most people who go there don't take it, though the health service travel clinic looks at the map & tells you it's a malaria zone.

Bob or Craig, Can't seem to book flights on Thai air to LP on line. Booked all domestic flights on line with credit card with no problem, but when I select payment for the LP ticket the message says it must be paid for and picked up at the BKK city offices -- but the ticket must be purchased within a few days. Will I have to do it with Thai Air by phone (LA booking office) or should I go through the AMEX travel agent you use in BKK - Eddie I think his name is. Craig, How did you book your ticket?

i thought it was only bangkok air that flies to LP?? i did see someone else say they were using thai air and i thought it odd, but then they said all those flights have been cancelled...i'd call them and ask...

if you use the bkk air discovery pass you can save quite a bit of $$....$80 each way from bkk...but you have to do 3 legs so you would have to book one other flight with them for domestic??

Discovery pass can't be used for Luang Prabang. Only inside thailand. We're using discovery for interior flights. I'll call Thai and see about the LP portion. Their web site has the flights & I was able to do the booking. The only problem was the payment, which seemed to require that it be made in Thailand.

CFW-

Are you referring to the Bangkok Air Discovery Pass? Everyone on here, as well as the Bangkok Air website, are clear that the Discovery Pass can be used to LP, Siem Reap, etc....from their website it appears there is a direct flight from CM to LP with their partner Lao Air.
http://www.bangkokair.com/spoffer/?id=4

The Golden Triangle is a malarial risk area. There are plenty of mosquitoes at dusk (which is when the type of mosquito that carries malaria is active). This is also an area where there is larium-resistant malaria. Thus. the choices of an effective anti-malarial are restructed to malarone or doxycycline.

I did take malaraone for my stay at the Anantara.

i used the discover pass in june for LP...

I was talking about the Thai Air discovery pass, which we are using because of the convenience of their flight schedules, including non-stop from CM to Phuket. So, we'll pay a little more for the CM-LP-CM portion of the trip.