Quiet scenic beach in Thailand
 

My mother (early 60s) and I (late 20s) are heading to Thailand at the beginning of December and would like to spend a few days at the beach. I've been reading about the various choices, and it is rather overwhelming, so i'm hoping that someone can offer a few suggestions. My ideal wishlist is:

-Beautiful scenery (obviously)

-Peace and quiet (e.g. no full moon parties or crazy party scene)

-Accessible from Chiang Mai, Bangkok and/or Siem Reap as we will only be able to spend three nights (I realize we will have to fly from any of these cities, but I'm hoping for something with an easy direct flight and not a lot of subsequent transfers)

-Decent SCUBA diving and snorkeling (not a must, but would like this)

-A good 4 or 5 star beachfront hotel or resort that is not exorbitantly priced (e.g. 250USD or less)

-A few good restaurants to venture to in the evening

Thanks in advance for your help!

You want to be on the Andaman Sea as it will have wonderful weather in December. This area includes Phuket, Khoa Lak, Koh Lanta, Krabi, PhiPhi, etc. Being on Phuket will make for easiest travel. Consider the JW Marriott Phuket - quiet area, beautiful resort, or for a smaller place, Mom Tri's Boathouse. Again, an area that is relatively quiet, but has restaurants nearby. You'll need to hire a boat to take you snorkeling or diving.

Khoa Lak would be a good place for you and there is a beautiful JW Marriott there, but you'd have to rent a car and drive an hour or so.

If you fly from Bangkok you could fly to Krabi - there is the lovely Amari Vogue there.

krabi Sheraton...krabi amari vogue

khao lak jw Marriott or le meridian

jw Marriott Phuket

le meridian phuket

We stayed at the Tubkaak Resort in Krabi and loved it. The beach was very quiet and the area was beautiful. We booked our room through agoda.com, which provided a significant discount and included breakfast.

Here is a link to our trip report if you are interested in seeing pictures: http://travelswithcurley.com/2013/03...i-trip-review/

Khao Lak sounds like the kind of place you are looking for, bery nice hotels and beach resorts, lovely nearby islands, close to scenic national park , nice restaurants, well worth thinking about

JW Marriott Khao lak sounds right for you. There are some places to eat out on the beach( we have not been to them, so can't speak about .them, but have talked to people who say they are good). We usually have a car drive 5 min into town with a lot of choices of places to eat. The hotel has a shuttle...for a fee... That could take you there and then get a taxi back. There is one place on site with Thai and Italian that is not too outrageously priced. You fly to Phuket and then have them get you if you don't want to drive the hour and 15 min.