In two weeks my husband & I are traveling to Thailand. We have a some idea of things to see North of Bangkok but are looking for in put on what to see / where to stay south. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, what is the best way to travel - can we take an overnight train? Thank you

In the southern part, i think the main attractions would be beaches along the coastline, about the time you will be here, the eastern side should have less amount of rainfall. So, begin with Cha-am and Hau hin region (3 hours train from bkk) Chumporn (5 hr, and very quiet beach because most people consider it as a bypass city) Samui Island, you have to get off the train at Surat Thani province and get a ferry, Hat yai (major shopping spot in the south), and Yala province (top ten best cities to live in by UN, quiet, and with islamic influence, and you can cross border to Malaysia). From samui southwards, you can get by overnight train. But if you would not like to spend 15 hours for Hat yai, get a 90 minute flight instead. <BR> <BR>Welcome to asia.

For this time of year I agree that the east coast of the 'peninsular' is best for lowest rainfall. After Bangkok, or indeed the north you could head to Kanchanaburi (River Kwai) and then it's about 3 hours by road to Hua Hin for National park, remote beaches or even golf and luxury. The coastal train route has probably around 8-10 1st+2nd class trains a day. Chumpon is about 5-6 hours by train or 3.5 hrs by road south of Hua Hin, very quiet, try the Chumpon Cabana. From here you can take a boat to Kao Tao or continue by road/train to Surat Thani and get the bus/boat connection to Koh Samui. The train route continues to Malaysia. A couple of 'unheard of' islands are Koh Lamla and Koh Talu which are between Hua Hin and Chumpon, www.absolutwreck.com/resort.html. I have not been to them myself (yet) but they look an absolute 'dream'. <BR>If you are heading 'down' from the north you can fly from Chiang Mai to Sukhotai which is wonderous for temples/culture, from Sukhotai it is a short journey, few hours to Kanchanaburi and River Kwai. Where there are no flights or trains there are frequent buses but if you can afford it you can 'always' find a car+driver from your hotel or taxi to drive you, and maybe stop along the way. As a 'very rough guide' a car from say Hua Hin to Bangkok ( 3 hrs ) air-con would cost you about US$36. A car from Hua Hin to Chumpon about the same. We actually had a 'huge' 4x4 Toyota Cruiser(sheer luxury) that took us around the National park south of Hua Hin and then on to Chumpon, so we had the vehcile and driver for almost whole day and the 'total' cost was about US$75.

Thanks for all the inforamation! Do you have any reccomendations on Hotels.

Hi Darbi, personally ( and I know many other posters on this site ) am a huge fan of Asiatravel. <BR> <BR>http://www.asiatravel.com <BR> <BR>They have hotels from the US$25 range and up and have hotels even in small locations, ideal for Thailand. Rates are good and there are hotel location maps plus ideas of what to do/see in many places. You can do all your hotels in 1 place.