Thailand - August 2022 - 3 weeks 3 kids
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Thailand - August 2022 - 3 weeks 3 kids
Hi to all. Used to post as brusselschap but as the 3 kids came along, one after the other, travelled less and had little time to post. And cant get back into brusselchap account. Now after many vacations near home, we are up and ready for a longhaul and have just booked flights to BKK from 2 to 25 August for the longest vacation in over a decade and the first time back to Thailand in 14 years, after two kid-less trips in 2005 and 2008.
DW and i will be travelling with our 3 kids, aged 10-12 and hope to spend 5 nights in Bangkok... 4 nights in Chiang Mai and then 10-12 days down south in one or more beach locations. Have been twice and have fond memories of places, locations, and a clear picture of distances, weather etc. However after such a long gap i would really welcome any suggestions on
possible Hotels to stay with in BKK for 5 nights with 3 tweens.... so with a large pool and where the occasional afternoon or morning could be spent lounging. Ideally near skytrain.
whether the night train to CM would be fun or a waste of time and any tips on hotel in Chiang MAi. In 2008 we had stayed at Yaang Come and i still remember the owner's own green curry recipe .
Going south ... is Phuket really too rainy in August? BEen twice but never to Koh Samui or anywhere on Andaman Sea. Guessing two locations would be dooable with 5 or 6 nights in each but perhaps best go to two on Samui or two on Phuket? Or stretch to Krabi or elsewhere? Tips on great not-overthetop-expensive resorts to stay at with kids with pools and access to nearby restaurants also welcome.
Only just booked the plane tickets an hour ago so excited to start planning, and cant believe we will have a 3 week holiday!!
thanks to all
DW and i will be travelling with our 3 kids, aged 10-12 and hope to spend 5 nights in Bangkok... 4 nights in Chiang Mai and then 10-12 days down south in one or more beach locations. Have been twice and have fond memories of places, locations, and a clear picture of distances, weather etc. However after such a long gap i would really welcome any suggestions on
possible Hotels to stay with in BKK for 5 nights with 3 tweens.... so with a large pool and where the occasional afternoon or morning could be spent lounging. Ideally near skytrain.
whether the night train to CM would be fun or a waste of time and any tips on hotel in Chiang MAi. In 2008 we had stayed at Yaang Come and i still remember the owner's own green curry recipe .
Going south ... is Phuket really too rainy in August? BEen twice but never to Koh Samui or anywhere on Andaman Sea. Guessing two locations would be dooable with 5 or 6 nights in each but perhaps best go to two on Samui or two on Phuket? Or stretch to Krabi or elsewhere? Tips on great not-overthetop-expensive resorts to stay at with kids with pools and access to nearby restaurants also welcome.
Only just booked the plane tickets an hour ago so excited to start planning, and cant believe we will have a 3 week holiday!!
thanks to all
Last edited by brusselschap2; Mar 15th, 2022 at 02:14 PM.
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I would look at hotels on the River. Most will have ferries to and from the Saphin Taksin BTS station every 15 mins or so. The riverboat station is also there so great for getting to places like the Grand Palace etc.
we have stayed at most of them over many years, Shangri Lula, Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental but the one I would suggest for a family is the Anantara Riverside. A resort type hotel within the city. A couple of large pools as I recall.
August is the wettest month of the year for Thailand and many areas, especially in the north, will get intense rain and possibly flooding. I have been in Chiang Mai at that time and it wasn’t a whole lot of fun! I would suggest a rethink on that destination. That aside, the train is a fun way to get to CM. You could get two adjoining first class compartments or just go for adjoins bunks in second class which is probably better - https://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm
In terms of beaches and resorts, the Andaman coast wins hands down IMO. In August, it wasn’t so much the rain that bothered us but the constant grey skies. The gulf coast has the better weather but that really means Hua Hin or Cha Am, neither of which are really appealing or Koh Samui, better beaches but expensive to get to. We did some diving a few years ago on Koh Toh and Koh Phang Nan , much smaller islands which I understand are now more geared to tourists other than divers - may be worth a look.
if I were looking for beach time at that time of year, I would maybe consider Borneo or Bali which have much better weather and a lot of options other than just beaches.
i don’t know what flights are like these days but many times we have found ourselves in Bangkok and have been able to get some cheap flights, usually, with Air Asia to places like Bali and Borneo and even once on a whim, to Taiwan.
we have stayed at most of them over many years, Shangri Lula, Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental but the one I would suggest for a family is the Anantara Riverside. A resort type hotel within the city. A couple of large pools as I recall.
August is the wettest month of the year for Thailand and many areas, especially in the north, will get intense rain and possibly flooding. I have been in Chiang Mai at that time and it wasn’t a whole lot of fun! I would suggest a rethink on that destination. That aside, the train is a fun way to get to CM. You could get two adjoining first class compartments or just go for adjoins bunks in second class which is probably better - https://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm
In terms of beaches and resorts, the Andaman coast wins hands down IMO. In August, it wasn’t so much the rain that bothered us but the constant grey skies. The gulf coast has the better weather but that really means Hua Hin or Cha Am, neither of which are really appealing or Koh Samui, better beaches but expensive to get to. We did some diving a few years ago on Koh Toh and Koh Phang Nan , much smaller islands which I understand are now more geared to tourists other than divers - may be worth a look.
if I were looking for beach time at that time of year, I would maybe consider Borneo or Bali which have much better weather and a lot of options other than just beaches.
i don’t know what flights are like these days but many times we have found ourselves in Bangkok and have been able to get some cheap flights, usually, with Air Asia to places like Bali and Borneo and even once on a whim, to Taiwan.
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Thank you Crellston
love the look of the Anantara Riverside but wonder whether the boat back and forth to the Skytrain wouldnt be too cumbersome and whether a hotel with direct access into a BTS station wouldn't be easier
thanks also for advice on Phuket. Looking now at Samui, Toh and Phang Nan. Perhaps might consider 5 nights in Phuket and 5 in Samui as i see that a direct flight between the two is currently $60
thanks
love the look of the Anantara Riverside but wonder whether the boat back and forth to the Skytrain wouldnt be too cumbersome and whether a hotel with direct access into a BTS station wouldn't be easier
thanks also for advice on Phuket. Looking now at Samui, Toh and Phang Nan. Perhaps might consider 5 nights in Phuket and 5 in Samui as i see that a direct flight between the two is currently $60
thanks
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September is statistically the wettest month in Phuket.
August and October follow up closely. This will be true for the Andaman side at this time of year - it is dominated by the SouthWest monsoon rains.
On the other side of the peninsula, Samui is less wet - but it is still technically their wet season. You will see some sun, and maybe some flash flooding.
the wet season in Thailand is really July to October throughout the country - how wet it gets depends on 2 things - 1 - Location, 2 - Luck.
Samui is the second largest island in Thailand but you can circumnavigate by road in well under a day so I wouldn't think 2 destinations are needed.
Are you hiring a vehicle to travel?
If not, probably the 2 best train journeys in Thailand are Bkkto Chiang Pai and Bkk to Suratthani (for Samui) - take a sweater the air-con is freezing.
If you decide to travel by car, there are many hotels en route that are not well-frequented by foreigners and rely on Thai tourists. Te beauty of these places is they have rooms for groups of people and families so looking for 5 beds etc would not be too difficult.
August and October follow up closely. This will be true for the Andaman side at this time of year - it is dominated by the SouthWest monsoon rains.
On the other side of the peninsula, Samui is less wet - but it is still technically their wet season. You will see some sun, and maybe some flash flooding.
the wet season in Thailand is really July to October throughout the country - how wet it gets depends on 2 things - 1 - Location, 2 - Luck.
Samui is the second largest island in Thailand but you can circumnavigate by road in well under a day so I wouldn't think 2 destinations are needed.
Are you hiring a vehicle to travel?
If not, probably the 2 best train journeys in Thailand are Bkkto Chiang Pai and Bkk to Suratthani (for Samui) - take a sweater the air-con is freezing.
If you decide to travel by car, there are many hotels en route that are not well-frequented by foreigners and rely on Thai tourists. Te beauty of these places is they have rooms for groups of people and families so looking for 5 beds etc would not be too difficult.
Last edited by khunwilko; Mar 22nd, 2022 at 08:25 AM.
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Thank you Crellston
love the look of the Anantara Riverside but wonder whether the boat back and forth to the Skytrain wouldnt be too cumbersome and whether a hotel with direct access into a BTS station wouldn't be easier
thanks also for advice on Phuket. Looking now at Samui, Toh and Phang Nan. Perhaps might consider 5 nights in Phuket and 5 in Samui as i see that a direct flight between the two is currently $60
thanks
love the look of the Anantara Riverside but wonder whether the boat back and forth to the Skytrain wouldnt be too cumbersome and whether a hotel with direct access into a BTS station wouldn't be easier
thanks also for advice on Phuket. Looking now at Samui, Toh and Phang Nan. Perhaps might consider 5 nights in Phuket and 5 in Samui as i see that a direct flight between the two is currently $60
thanks
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Thank you Crellston
love the look of the Anantara Riverside but wonder whether the boat back and forth to the Skytrain wouldnt be too cumbersome and whether a hotel with direct access into a BTS station wouldn't be easier
thanks also for advice on Phuket. Looking now at Samui, Toh and Phang Nan. Perhaps might consider 5 nights in Phuket and 5 in Samui as i see that a direct flight between the two is currently $60
thanks
love the look of the Anantara Riverside but wonder whether the boat back and forth to the Skytrain wouldnt be too cumbersome and whether a hotel with direct access into a BTS station wouldn't be easier
thanks also for advice on Phuket. Looking now at Samui, Toh and Phang Nan. Perhaps might consider 5 nights in Phuket and 5 in Samui as i see that a direct flight between the two is currently $60
thanks
didn’t realise there were flights between KS and Phuket. Given the likelihood of poor weather, I still wouldn’t be tempted though!
if the weather is a big consideration for beach time I would check out the cost of flights to Bali or Borneo both of which have loads to see and do other than beaches JMO!
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Happy Travels!
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