Roccco

Okay, after dragging my wife to Southern Africa for four straight years, I would like to take her on the most luxurious itinerary possible in Asia. I am not prepared to cough up $1,000 per night at some top Bali resort (if they are still able to command such pricing after the Tsunami), but I am thinking somewhere in the $300 - $500 per night neighborhood at the best hotels/resorts possible in that price range.

While I am leaning towards India, I am concerned about the overall experience that I will have there. As a result, I am also considering Thailand and I am open to other suggestions.

I have already been to China (Beijing, Shanghai & Hong Kong, at least), so that is not a consideration.

I would like someplace that will have nice weather in February/March, as this is when I would like to schedule the holiday.

Any assistance will be most appreciated as I am going crazy without a confirmed upcoming holiday! I am open to a combination of city / beach / wildlife providing it is all at 5* accomodations.

Thanks.

Craig

Roccco - it seems you've been trying to plan this trip for years

If you are considering India for next February and Oberoi-type accomodations, plan on spending the full $500/night and get moving as many places are selling out for the 2005 - 2006 tourist season.

On the other hand, you will get lots of advice on Thailand on this forum and February is a good time to go, weatherwise. $300/night will easily put you in the best hotels - Penninsula or Oriental in Bangkok, Four Seasons in Chiang Mai, Anantara in northern Thailand or a fabulous beach resort hotel on Phuket. From Bangkok you can also fly to Angkor Wat and pick from the Sofitel and several other luxury hotels. Luang Prabang, Laos is another possibility from Bangkok, although you might have difficulty finding lodging there at this late date.

Craig

Roccco - forgot to mention: don't rule out Bali - you don't have to stay at Aman or Begawan Giri to get luxury. You can do a Four Seasons package for about $500/day but also check out Hotel Tugu which is closer to $300 - $400/day.

SJLBK

We are doing an all-Thailand luxury honeymoon next year with a combo of beach/wildlife/city. Thailand has some of the best hotels in the world, and your price range will get you some fantastic rooms.

For Bangkok, obviously check out either the Peninsula or the Oriental. Two top hotels with top service. Which one is better is all about personal choice (and heated debate on this board). Bangkok is one of those cities that everyone falls in love with. I personally love it for what I call its "charming chaos."

Chiang Mai has one of the supposedly best hotels in the world - the Four Seasons Chiang Mai. However, the new Mandarain Oriental in Chiang Mai might be giving the FS a run for its money. Chiang Mai is a good place to have exposure to a smaller city than thriving Bangkok with good shopping, but also a great jumping-off point for elephant treks, hilltribe village visits, and other nature activities.

There are a ton of luxury beach resorts in Thailand also. Both Phuket and Koh Samui have nice beaches and luxury. We have decided to stay at the Sala Samui in Koh Samui for our beach end, partly because the weather will be better for us in Koh Samui (in June), and also because I am absolutely in love with this hotel (everyone gets their own private pool).

With 15 days, and wanting pure luxury, I highly recommend spending it all in Thailand, with maybe 3 or 4 days in the middle as a side trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. However, there is definitely enough to do in Thailand alone, and getting around is very easy, whereas in India, the travel within the country can be taxing.

Guenmai

Rocco...can't believe you're not going off to Africa again. I'm the person who answers the Ghana questions over in the Africa forum.I remember we're from the same city. I'm a regular in this forum, however. As far as luxury goes, Thailand's prices are nowhere near the prices of those safari camps in South Africa. I vacation in Thailand...mostly Bangkok... regularly and in Aug 2004 got the Peninsula...standard room... for $145. a night and just got back last month and got the Oriental...standard room... for under $200 a night....and the Four Seasons can be had if they're having the bed and breakfast special...sometimes for $138...Fri/Sat/Sun or $158.M-Th...although the price of my room last month was slightly higher than the usual which I was shocked. I usually pay the $138/$158 price in Bangkok. Most of the comments on Southeast Asia on this board are on Thailand so just read through alot of threads and then if you have specific questions repost. If you do Southeast Asia, you should do maybe 2-3 countries, on one trip, depending on how much time you have. When I did my first Southeast Asia trip, solo, back in the 90s, I was there for three weeks and did...Singapore,Bali,Chiangmai, Northern Thailand, and Bangkok. I booked all the flights out of L.A. on United and then within Southeast Asia flew on their airlines. I didn't stick to my original schedule at all and changed every single flight within Southeast Asia and never was cahrged for making changes. So,if you go, it's good to get a ticket that's flexible.As for Bali, you don't have to pay anywhere near $1,000 if you're flexible a bit. I've been there and my best friend has been going there regularly since the mid 90s and probably pays in the $250. range for a luxury-type place. Happy Travels!

JamesA

What ! No Zambia next year ?

As Craig has already mentioned you can get fine class accommodation in Thailand and the region without spedning a fortune. February/March actually is an ideal time because not 'too' hot and after the main peak season and before the busy local New year (April) time, so a good choice timewise.

Perhaps Bangkok for some shopping, restaurants and entertainment, Angkor Wat ( 55 min flight ), perhaps Chiang Mai and then an island beach to relax.

Thai has the non stop from JFK and also directs from LAX. You can get the pass ticket from Bangkok Airways to fly to Siem Reap ( for Angkor ) and up to Chiang Mai and down.

You might be particularly interested in the Elephant Conservation place up North and perhaps venture up to the Golden triangle region. For islands you can choose busy like Phuket or more relaxed and scenice areas around Krabi, or Koh lanta for a nice resort like the Pimalai, lazy days, dip in crystal clear water, snorkel etc.
Travel is very easy and relatively cheap. In addition to major sheduled domestic carriers also 3 budget carriers, fares domestic for say a 1 hour flight range from about USD 25 including all the taxes up to about USD 75 tops for Thai.

Getting around if you wish by land is also easy as cars+drivers available everywhere, as a ball-park guide to local road transport, average a/con sedan with driver USD 40 for 150 km, USD 50 for 180 km.

Top hotels are top prices, but if you don't want to stay at the real top places $100 will get you nice accommodation anywhere, although my personal domestic budget is around $40 and for that I expect ( and get ) air-con, tv, all facilities, place with restaurant and bar, almost always a nice pool etc.

For Thailand www.sawadee.com is a good place to start to see maps and see what is available from beaches/islands/scenary/natural areas and off the beaten track places too.

rhkkmk

have you thought about the maldives?? also mauritius??

how about a villa with staff in either one of the thai islands or in bali??

BillT

Don't overlook the Philippines- most on this board do-but there are some nice places there. Yes I would do Thailand- its a great country to vacation- but maybe work in Bali or the Philippines as well. I would do some big cities, and beach locations mixed in . Palawan in the Philippines is a great island resort within your price range for 5 star properties.

glorialf

I would do Bangkok at the Oriental or Pen depending on what type of hotel you prefer; Chiang Mai at the Mandarin and either Anatara in Chiang Rai area or a beach hotel.

Roccco

Thanks for all the great suggestions so far. Please keep them coming!

Meanwhile, I will research some of the suggestions and will hopefully be able to ask some half-intelligent questions in the next couple days.

Kathie

There are many wonderful places to go, things to see and do and luxurious hotels and resorts to pamper you in Asia. First, you need to decide where you want to go. It sounds like you are leaning away from India, and more toward SE Asia.

Thailand has the best infrastructure and has fabulous hotels for modereate luxury prices. A side trip to Angkor is a great suggestion, but you could easily spend all of your time in Thailand and not get bored. The suggestions of combining Bangkok, a northern Thailand locale and perhaps a beach location is a good one.

If you want to go to Bali, (which didn't, of course, see so much as a ripple from the Tsunami) plan to spend some time at the beach and some time inland in the Ubud area. If you opt for Bali, you might enjoy a few days on Lombok (deserted beaches) or central Java (Borobudor and Prambanan). If you opt for Bali, using Singapore as a gateway makes more sense than using Bangkok. Singapore has fabulous hotels and fabulous food.

Bonita

Hi there Rocco! Well, i will address India obviously~~My favorite and Passion!! And yes, you can certainly do a superb trip in this country in your price-range and certainly even less! And in terms of overall experince in the Country, it can certainly be extraordinary, exotic, eye-opening, cultural and very luxurious too! I do not know how long you have, but yes, both Feb/march would be excellent months to travel in most parts of the Country. Seeing you areas of interest, city, beach, wildlife-too, you may consider doing a trip that combines a bit of it all, the best of North India and best of South India. Generally speaking, i might suggest to combine a North exploration such as Delhi, Agra, Rathambore, Jaipur, Udaipur, and from here u can fly to Bombay, and start you South India segment. Wonderful places to stay in North India from the heritage Palace Hotels and the ultra luxurious Oberoi properties. U can perhaps visit Bombay for big-city action(love that city!) and then fly to Goa to laze and absorb, and/or u can make it down to Kerala and do another week or so of exploration in KERALA, such as Cochi(Old-port city), a backwater trip on a houseboat(Allepy-Quilon), kumakaron(bird sanctuary)Periyar(wildlife), Kovalum beach or Varkala beach to relax, etc. so many options, endless. There are also many luxurious resorts which abound in the beautiful State of kerala, to name one i love, the Coconut LAGOON in Kumakaron! Feel free to drop me a line with any India-related questions, concerns or seeking other reccos, etc. happy travels. namaste, Bonita

Guenmai

Oh, by the way, a few years ago while at the weekend market in BK, I met a couple whom I started to chat with. They've been traveling independently to S.E.Asia regularly for over a deacade. They also happened to be from the same city we're from so we hit it off immediately. They were telling me about a great cruise they'd just taken on the Pandaw. They've done a LOT in S.E. Asia...kind of in the been-there-done-that syndrome... and said that the Pandaw cruise was the best they'd ever taken. I think they said there were only about 3 couples on their whole boat when they went. The website, I believe was pandaw.com. I have the information at home. If it's a different website, I'll post later. I had lunch with them just in August before I left for S.E.Asia and we were talking about our S.E. Asia experiences again. Happy Travels!

24Lisa

I also highly recommend a side trip to Angkor. Probably the highlight of our Thailand/Cambodia trip. We stayed at Sofitel which was very nice but we wanted to stay at Grand Hotel d'Angkor but it was full at the time. We did see the hotel and went on their grounds briefly(until the hotel staff asked if we were staying there). It was beautiful. I would recommend it, the location is really good. Just down the road from the entrance to Angkor. There were a few other hotels under construction when we were there in 2004 so maybe there are more luxurious hotels now.

Roccco

Any good agent/website recommendations for Thailand / Angkor???

Also, for SJLBK, I would be very interested in hearing about your honeymoon itinerary, as I would like something along the lines of a great honeymoon trip for my own itinerary.

Thanks!

Craig

asiarooms.com and sawadee.com for Thailand. You can can get your best rates at Angkor by going through someone local, such as your guide. We are using Ponheary ([email protected]). She got us great rates at the Victoria, yet another luxury hotel near Angkor.

Craig

asiahotels.com and precisionreservations.com are also reliable.

You need 3 full days at Angkor.
2 is fine for Chiang Mai although if you are just chilling at a resort you may want to spend more.

Bangkok is up to you - we did 3 full days on our first trip and that was not enough. We are doing 6 days in February.

Do a search - recent posts will give you lots of information.

There's really not much in the way of wildlife other than the touristy but fun elephant rides in Thailand.

StanKase

Having visited Bali twice I can highly recommend the Four Seasons-Sayan. The top price Deluxe room (double) will not exceed $500 with tax. It is lovely and worth 4-5 days. Add a Guide/driver, not through the hotel, at $50-$60/day tops including petrol for long distance sights for 2 of the days and 3 days R&R and that would be worth one of your destinations. Three full days in Bangkok at the Peninsula-try to work it so you are there Thurs.-Sunday for the markets and you have 8-9 nights. Then consider, Koh Samui if you enjoy snorkeling with a day trip to Koh Toh and on Koh Samui stay at Evison for elegance or Sala Samui for 60% the price but still quite upscale. I would suggest 4 full days there and you have a 2 week trip without too much pain on your pocket book.

SJLBK

Since you asked - Honeymoon itinerary:

8 days Koh Samui - Sala Samui in a 1 br suite. We are starting off at the beach destination and spending the greatest chunk of our trip here because it is our honeymoon, and we are planning on needing the relaxation right off the bat.

During these 8 days, we plan on eating a ton of fantastic thai seafood, laying on the beach, getting daily massages, and doing some light exploring of the island. Samui is one of the few places in Thailand where we feel comfortable driving ourselves around (at least during the day), so one or two days, we will probably rent a jeep and explore the island. It is not that big, so we should get to see almost everything.

5 days Chiang Mai - Four Seasons mountainview room. My FH loves elephants and has always wanted to spend time in Chiang Mai, so we are stopping off there. We will spend a day doing an elephant training class where we get to spend 8 hours with the elephants, riding them, watching them bathe, and learning how to teach them tricks, etc. We will probably take a cooking class, but I am not sure if we will do this here on on Samui. We will probably hire a private driver (Poon) for a day to take us to see some of the sights (Doi Suthip) and to some of the cottage industry craft shops. Other than that, because the Four Seasons is so luxurious, we will probably spend some time around the resort. Oh yeah, we will also still get massages every day and most definitely visit the night market.

4 days Bangkok - Peninsula. I was leaning toward a balcony room so we could sit and watch the river traffic, but this board has encouraged me to do otherwise because June on a balcony in BKK will not be enjoyable. So, we will probably book a grand delux suite, let them know it is our honeymoon, and hope for an upgrade.

We have already spent 5 days in BKK before, so we will not be doing the normal first-time stuff like seeing the grand palace and various wats. We will do a klong tour and maybe catch some thai boxing and the night market. We didn't get to the Jim Thompson House last time, so we will probably do that too. We love the river area and will probably spend time just poking around and enjoying my ever-growing list of good restaurants that we need to try. I love BKK so much. We will be happy just observing and people watching.

I know our honeymoon itinerary will get some criticism because it is not very cultural in nature, and we will not get much of the real thai flavor, but it is our honeymoon. Plus, we already know that we will be returning to the region many, many more times in the future, so there is pleanty of time to do the more cultural stuff!

We were thinking about cutting a day or two from Samui and a day from Chaing Mai and adding an extra trim - either Angkor Wat or the Golden Triangle, but we have decided against it for this trip. The big driving factor in that was the need to take anti-malarials, at least in the Golden Triangle. For Angkor, it was just going to be too much of a hassle with all the transferring. If there would have been a direct flight from Angkor to Chiang Mai, we might have reconsidered.

We are happy with the itinerary. We are going from ultra-relaxing, to a little excitement, to the pounding, charming chaos of BKK. We like that order because we get to relax until we are bored and then highten our senses and activities as we go.

As far as price and such goes, our airfare was bought with miles, and the hotels will run us around $6000 total. We have decided to live in the lap of luxury and have the hotels pick us up at the airport, even though this is more expensive than hiring a private company. We are all about convenience and luxury on this trip. Because the cost of living is low, we will probably be hard pressed to spend the $10,000 budget for our honeymoon, even with all the elaborate meals and shopping we plan on doing.

Hope this helps! If you have any specific questions, please ask. I have researched every destination, hotel, day trip, etc. ad nauseum. What can I say, I am a planner!

BillT

Don't apoligize about not having enough culture items in your trip. have you thought about doing the Calypso cabaret at the Asia Hotel. Its a great show, we did it when we were there and Bangkok Bob did it also- he liked it.