Thanks to everyone who has helped us plan our last minute trip to Thailand last November. We have a bit more advance notice this trip and here is what we are hoping to do. I have some questions, would love answers and any other comments:

Oct 9: Arr BKK on non-stop flight from NY at 4:10pm. Trf to Bangkok Air for 6:30pm flight to Siem Reap
IS THIS DOABLE?

In SR: Current thinking is to stay at Victoria. HAS ANYONE STAYED THERE? The Raffles Hotel just seems too expensive.
I know there is a new Sancturary Hotel opening later this month but I was concerned about staying at a hotel without getting feedback. Comments?

Oct 13: to BKK on the 9:10am Nabgkok Air flight, transfer to the flight to LP at 11:30am
IS THIS DOABLE?

In LP, stay either at Pansea or Maison Souvannaphoum. It appears that only suites are available at Pansea, making it fairly expensive.

Oct 16: Back to BKK, stay at Oriental (which we really loved). Return home on midnight flight on the 19th.

First -- double check your thai flight from NY. I think it is arriving at 5PM these days which would make the connection tight. Is there a later flight? Or does Thai Airways fly there? If it does you might want to go that route because then you can check your bags through in NY and connection would be easier.

Your connection on the 13th should be ok.

Glad you enjoyed your stay at the Oriental -- as you know I'm one of the hotel's biggest fan.

Another hotel option in Siem reap which is getting good reviews is the FCC. Check it out. Maison was rated by Conde Nast as one of the best new hotels to open in 2004. I would be interested to hear firsthand feedback. Agree with you...loved the Oriental on my first stay in May...

Re your transfers. Tight but doable. I would ask whether you can thru check in your bags tho - may be doable even Thai to Bkk Air.

We are planning the same trip for next February and have the same flight from JFK as you do. For some reason, the departure and arrival times are different. We don't arrive until 5 PM which makes for a tighter connection that we don't want to risk. Thai has changed the departure and arrival times at least twice since we booked. We are currently planning to stay overnight in Bangkok and take the first flight out to REP. If you can check your luggage all the way through to REP (call Thai airways to see if this is possible) you should make it. There is a transfer desk at BKK airport so you can bypass immigration, customs, and paying the airport tax. We are staying at the Victoria - the reviews I have read on this sight and on Tripadvisor have been generally good. We also chose not to make the tight Bangkok Air connection. If you miss it, you will lose the 24 hours until the next flight to LPQ, assuming it is not full. We are trying to get into the Pansea (#1 on the waitlist) but I have heard that the suites there aren't that great.

The Thai Air website still says 4:10pm arrival for the flight from JFK, so I will call to find out. Craig, how are you going from SR to LP - -are you staying the night in BKK in between? Has anyone else done this transfer with or without problems?

I think you'll be ok with those BKK transfers. When you arrive from NY you will have to claim your bags, then go through customs, then check back in for your next flight. So long as there is not a major tie-up in getting the bags and customs, you should be ok. I don't think they'll allow you to check your bags all the way for either BKK connection, since you are going international. We did a couple BKK transfers on our trip in January, typically with around 2 hours, and they each worked out with no problem.

We are doing 4 nights in Bangkok after Siem Reap then 3 nights in LP then 3 more nights in Bangkok. If you cannot check your bags all the way through to REP, remember you will have go to the ATM after customs in BKK to get Baht for the airport tax. We transferred this past February at BKK for a flight to Delhi so we know the drill quite well.

As for Singapore....the Rendevous Hotel is a 4-star hotel, with decent rates, and in a great central location. Happy Travels!

I was looking at the same Bangkok Air schedule just this morning.
Just to clarify, you are referring to the flight departing SR at 9:10am, arriving BKK at 10:10 am-----connecting to the LP flight at 11:30 am. So, the connection time is only 1 hour and 20 minutes. Is this enough time Fodorites?

Craig: Did you say that the Pansea in LP is already booked for your dates in Feb? Wow, LP is really getting popular!
I am looking to do a similiar trip in March or May, so have been following your itinerary posts.

Craig,
Thanks for the reminder. I guess I will probably have to leave the ThaiAir terminal and go to the Bangkok Air terminal, get baht at that time and check in with BKK Air. Are the terminals close together and what is the best way to get from one terminal to the other? I recall from my trip last year that the airport is quite large.

The airport is not really that large (that's why they are building a new one). The are two international terminals. They are connected and practically next to each other. The domestic terminal is about 1/4 mile away. There is at least one ATM in each international terminal plus one between the two terminals as I recall. I believe Bangkok Air is in terminal 2. According to the Thai website you should also be arriving in terminal 2 but this could change.

the first connection looks ok to me, depending on on-time arrival...thee second is too close for my comfort..

i viewed the suites at the pansea and i did not find them all that great, especially for the extra money...but if that is the only alternative i would do it and hope that a regular room opens up---ask to be put on a waiting list....the pansea is far superior to the other hotels, imo....i also like its location....

raffles is way overpriced...i would far prefer the sofitel or any of the newer hotels...victoria is getting good marks...

in LP we are told the maison rooms are very small...good location...

Thanks for the insight on the Pansea, Bob. They wrote back and said they only had the first two nights available so I will ask to be put on the waitlist.

i'd grab two nites....more leverage for staying on the rest of the nites or move in town to 3 nagas or maison for the other nites..i love to move around

would you come up to boston for a gtg if we had one in october??

watch for announcement tonight or tomorrow...its fun and would make a nice weekend getaway

Bob, that would be fun for us except that we will be either preparing for our trip, on our trip or recovering from our trip for most of October!If it is during Labor Day weekend, then maybe everyone can come to the Cape -- we just bought our tix yesterday.