My husband and I are thinking of visiting Thailand in November and would love some advice. We probably have 7-10 days to visit the area. We are mostly interested in visiting areas with a lot of natural beautry (national parks??) and would prefer not to spend too much time in the cities. I have no idea where to even begin? Any ideas....

There are lots of opportunities to see the natural beauty of Thailand by taking hikes in Northern Thailand to see the Hill tribes. There are many indigenous tribes there. The best way to do this is to take a trek lasting several days. You can sleep and eat in the villages. There are many hill tribes that have become too touristy because of the constant visits. By hiking in, you can see some people that are not constantly inundated with tourists. My son arranged such a hike with Sergeant Kai, who can be reached at ChiangMaitours.com. There was much back and forth on the specificsa of the trek, but my son and his wife loved it.

I would be remiss if I did not put in a good word for Bangkok. It is a wonderful city that has drawn us back six times. It's our favorite.

Everyone's ideas of natural beauty are different. My first thought was that you might want to do a northern Thailand loop through Pai and Mae Hong Son (search for these on this board and you'll find some info). Like Andy, I can't imagine going to Thailand without experiencing a bit of Bangkok!

Where are you coming from? Are you visiting any where else in SE Asia on this trip? Any activities youo are looking for in the outdoors, or just enjoying the scenery? Answers to these can help us give you more specific ideas.

Try this site for info on the Thai National Parks.....

http://www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve/nature.asp?lg=2

Many have lodges , camping and other forms of accommodation. They are also mostly relatively free of foreign tourists.....

I second Kathies suggestion of driving teh Mai Hong Sorn loop from Chiang Mai. Superb scenery, mountains, forests, minority villages, it has it all. The other thought would be Khao Sok national Park in the south http://www.khaosok.com/, a back to nature experience and not far from the beaches and islands.