Thailand Honeymoon - How to spend 16 Days
 

Greetings fodor-ites!

Me and my fiancee are taking our honeymoon in thailand Aug 5-22. We figure its a day lost in travel time to and from, so we have approximately 16 days to get a glimpse of this beautiful country. We definitely want to stay at a few places that are upscale, but also wanted to experience some quaint local places (especially near the beach) Our budget, not including airfare to and from San Francisco, is about $3000 for the 16 days. Below is our tentative itinerary, as well as a few key things we want to do while in each city. We would appreciate any advice any of you out there might have on places to eat/stay/see/enjoy while we are in a particular place. Also if there is any place that is a must see before we leave thailand (that is not on our list) please chime in.


Aug 6 - 9 BANGKOK
* muay thai match
* visit floating market, temples, shopping areas
* day trip to Ayutthaya

Aug 9 - 13 CHIANG MAI
* cooking class
* explore country side
* possibly visit Chiang Rai

Aug 13 - 16 Krabi
* relax at the beach

Aug 16 - 19 Phi Phi
*meet up with friends of more beach time

Aug 19 - 22 Back to Bangkok

* ????

This seems like a good outline for a visit to Thailand. I assume that you are aware of the weather patterns in August. Check out weatherbase.com. In Krabi and Phi Phi, it will be the rainy season. Many have gone during this time and really enjoyed it, but you should know.

I assume that on your last three days in BKK that you will do the traditional tourist stuff, e.g., Grand palace et al.. You might check with Tong at TourwithTong.com. She is a great guide that many here have used. In Chiang Mai many of us used Sergeant Kai at ChiangMaiTours.com.

You'll have a great time.

most of us, but not all, are very tired after a flight from the usa....so your first days might need to slow down...personally i would add some of the out of town stuff to the end of the trip....hang around the hotel pool a bit more...

hotels will be where you can economize....you might consider something like the centre point silom as an alternative, but well placed and under $100

look at these hotel sites:

www.huahin.20m.com
www.asiahotels.com

these are prepay sites so do not book until all is set with your trip...

the marriott resort and spa is very nice and many honeymooners have stayed there from this board...more money however...

there are several budget airlines in thailand for your internal flights to save money....all bookable on the internet: air asia, one two go, nok air

I would strongly recommend that you stay at Baan Orapin in Chiang Mai.

August is in the middle of the low season so you should be able to get very low rates for 5 star hotels every where in Thailand. Most hotels will start offering good deals around February or March so if you must make a reservation now I would make sure that you will be able to cancel and get full refunds.

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I will definitely take note regarding your comments about weather and booking hotels. We are thinking about doing a full day tour with tong and checking out the floating market and the fishing village. Does anyone know if this requires an overnight stay and generally how much this tour costs. We want to travel in semi-comfort, so we might opt for the full day in a sedan. Any thoughts on this?

Also is there any of you out there that has done a cooking school in Chiang Mai? I myself and a decent home chef, but my new wife to be would definitely like to check out a reputable cooking school that also provides instruction on food decorating.

Im also getting mixed signals from friends regarding the portion of the trip going to Phi Phi. Is is plausible to stay in Krabi and do day trips to surrounding islands/areas?

any of your thoughts would be much appreciated!

The Floating market and the secret place can be done in a day. the cost is 3000 Baht, plus a gas charge unless you run overtime for a longer day. You can ask Tong about the exact charges and likely total cost.