Need help planning trip to Thailand
 

You guys are great with your input. I am hopping someone can help me with the planning of my trip to Asia.
Let me give you the profile.

Sorry poster prematurely.
We are 6 adults all family members, 4 coming from Phoenix and 2 coming from China. We are an adventurous group, river rafting hiking, parasailing whatever comes our way, ladies like to shop and we all enjoy restaurants. We are not excited about a lot of tourist traps, pretty down to earth people, will do and eat anything to experience the culture.
My first plan was to all meet in Bangkok stay 2 days fly to Bali, rent a villa for a week, back to Bangkok for 3 more days. One of my sons will fly home and my wife and I will take some side trips to Cambodia and Hanoi and Guiyang with my other som and his wife.
I am having a very difficult time with air flights, We only have two weeks as a group and we don't want to spend it in airports.
Can anyone help?
Thanks

Your plan is a reasonable one. It is a bit complicated getting everyone to and from since you are coming from different places.

There are non-stop flights between Bangkok and Denpasar on Thai Air. What is the problem you are having with flights?

We are finding that if we go to Bali the travel alone will take 2 days out of our schedule. So I'm rethinking staying in and around Thailand.
How long is the flight to Bali?
I believe it's about 1800 miles.
Do you believe it is worth the trip to Bali or can we get the same feel of the area around Thailand?

Thanks
Al

Bali is very different from Thailand. You will definitely not get the same feel if you go to a southern beach area. If you want a more "cultural" experience I would suggest northern thailand and/or Luang Prabang which is closer to Bangkok.

If I remember correctly, the flight from Bangkok to Bali is 3.5 - 4 hours. You could certainly find plenty to do in Thailand, or you could visit Luang Prabang (as Gloria mentions) or Angkor Wat either of which would be shorter flights.

Have any of you been to Thailand or Bali (or Laos or Cambodia) before?

Bali is entirely different from Thailand, It is Hindu, which Thaiand, Cambodia and Laos are all Buddhist.

If you really want to go to Bali, you may need to cut out Thailand and have all of you fly to Bali. You'll have to connect somewhere, perhaps Singapore, depending on your airlines. Because of the connections, it is a long flight to Bali. For instance, if I fly from Seattle to Bangkok, I have one stop (Narita). If I fly Seattle to Bali, I have two stops, Narita and Singapore. I have to over night at Changi (and I've done it) but it takes longer than going to Thailand.

Thank you for your reply and Merry Christmas.
That was my point, the time factor in flying to Bali.
I was looking for things to do in Thailand like balloon rides. I can't find very much info on them. The one that I did find quoted a price of $333 per person, seems pricey to me.
Getting a little nervious time to leave is getting close.
Help
Al

Well, there are certainly plenty of things to do in Thailand. With two weeks you could visit 2 or three locations in Thailand. Sorry, I don't know about the balloon rides you mention - where is this?

When do you leave?

The usual "first-timers" route in Thaland is Bangkok, a stop somewhere in Northern Thailand and a beach stop.

One thing to think about is to visit the Golden Triangle area, consider the Anantara at the Golden Triangle as one of your stops. It's a gorgeous setting.

If you want a beach location, ther are plenty to choose from in Thailand. Which one depends on exactly when you are going, and what you are interested in.

Happy holidays to you as well.

why not stay in Thailand wit a side trip to Seam Reap? t isreall a most amazing site

What is interesting to see in Siem Reap?

Siem Riep is the city/town near Angkor Wat and many other temples built during the Khmer Empire approx. 900-1200 A.D.. They are unbelievable ancient sites. Unique. If you're not interested in ancient temples, skip it. If you do like things like the Pyramids, Mayan ruins, Roman sites, you should definitely take a detour to Cambodia.

There are no balloon ride in Thailand and the nearest place of interest with a balloon ride is Bagan, Myanmar.

Within a hour flight from Bangkok you can visit Myanmar, Luang Prabang(Loas) and Siem Reap(Kampuchea). A little bit furhter, an hour and a half, and you can visit Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city, Kuala Lumpur etc.

I would just stay in Thailand as many here have recommended but if you want to visit another country you can always fly with a low cost airline for the 1 hour flight. Check out Nok Air and Air Asia or the boutique airline Bangkok Air for Siem Reap and Luang Prabang.

I have some photo from Hanoi, Myanmar(balloon ride over Bagan - ancient Burmese city with thousands of old temple and pagodas) and Bali(just a few of a hotel in Ubud). Just click the below link if you would like to see.

http://khun-pook.smugmug.com/

Happy Holidays!

If you Google up "Balloon Rides - Thailand" you get several links. One of the places is Pattaya, just outside Bankok (Oct. to March.) That's what the info says.

Bali is pretty far from Bangkok, you could also substitute Singapore or Kuala Lumpur instead.

The way your schedule is you will spend a lot of time in airports or going and coming from one.

My recommendation is to spend the 2 weeks together in Thailand. Thailand is probably the cheapest way to go if you want to conserve $$ too!

Marvontherim:

I used a great travel agent in Bangkok--expat american that was very patient and helpful when planning my recent trip--email off line and I can give you his info--not sure if I should commericlize this string...

SirHal,

Those are the ballooning festivals around Thailand and they only last a week or two at a time during the winter months. They would take paying passengers for flights to help reduce their expenses but they are not really set up like "Balloon over Bagan".