Thailand Itinerary - advice needed!
 

We are just about finished settling our itinerary for our five week trip next summery (with our wedding mid-trip in Samui) - see below.

Desperately trying to work it out as we are trying to get our wedding website up and running by the end of the month and want to put this on there. Wedding website address is going to be - wait for it! - www.thaitheknot.co.uk - terrible pun I know, couldn't believe that this domain name was available!!

What we are trying to decide on at the moment is whether to stay the full first 8 days in Bangkok or whether to take a little trip for 3 nights or so in the middle to somewhere else - either Anantara in Hua Hin or Ko Chang or somewhere else, all suggestions welcomed. We are thinking if we did stay in Bangkok whether the Marriott might be a good place to stay for at least some of the time as it is more of a resort.

We have been to Thailand 6 times before and love Bangkok (and have spent quite a lot of time there) but this time our wings are clipped a little by the presence of a 2 year old. So whilst normally we would sightsee, shop and eat to our heart's desire, we are not sure how much fun it will be for her (and us)! We are wondering whether it might be nicer to take her to a beach for a few days. I need to be in Bangkok on the 23rd of July and and then again a week later on the 30th of July for wedding dress fittings. All opinions and suggestions welcomed!!

22 to 31 July - Bangkok (staying at Shangri La, Marriott, Oriental or Peninsula) - my parents and brother are arriving on 27th July. We are not yet sure where to stay in Bangkok - the endless debate!! We have always previously stayed at the Shangri La and enjoyed the comfort and convenience of its location next to the boat stop and sky train stop. However, this board has opened my eyes to other possibilities...

31 July to 5 August - Chiang Mai (staying at Tamarind Village, Baan Orapin and/or Jirung spa resort) - my fiance and my brother will be trekking for three days during this time

5/6 August - Bangkok (picking up wedding dress) (might be able to miss this out and head straight down to Samui if wedding dress is going to be ready on 30 or 31 July)

6 to 14 August - staying at Rocky Resort, Samui - getting married on 9th August

14 to 25 August - staying on Samui and Ko Tao (but not yet settled on where)

25/27 August - Bangkok (fly home on evening of 27th)


Thanks in advance!

Spend the 8 days in Bangkok. You're doing more than enough traveling and will be under stress because of the wedding.Have a fabulous time in any of the wonderful hotels you mentioned. If you want to be busy we'll tell you how to do that as well -- but do it all in Bangkok.

i push the marriott all the time....it is my overall favorite and it would work very well with a child...all of these hotels have baby-sitters as you probably know...you might even be able to get your maid who you will already know, if the hotel allows it...it is much lower key and the mcdonalds is right there and eating at the pool and the conveniences of the mini mall for all your extra stuff...the skytrain is only a 12 minute boat ride which is fun....

for my last two nites i would stay at the peninsula for a real treat...much different than the sh-la and nice for you and the child as well...more formal but not much...almost exactly like sh-la but smaller....nicer rooms...

as an alternative you could go to hua hin...i think koh chang might not be great with a kid---more difficult getting there and nothing to amuse her/him... anantara or marriott or better still the hyatt would be nice at hua hin...hire a car to drive you there or have ratt take you...having rat around town might also be nice or one of the drivers from marriott...i have a really good one there if you are interested: [email protected] and i will send it to you...

I would go for the Marriott which is much more kid friendly than the other 5 star properties. You realize that with a two year old you will need to factor in nap time, and you will want to bring an umbrella stroller so that you can puch the little tike along rather than carrying. The heat/humidity only makes the possibility of crankiness all the more likely so I would say make short duration trips. Maybe out for a few hours in the early morning- head back to the hotel for naptime and then out in the afternoon.
Probably a good idea to enlist the services of Ratt for a few days to take all of the logisitics issues out of the equation (hey with kid in tow you don't need any added stress of taxis/boats etc.)

As for hotels, if money is no object I would definitely stay at the Oriental -- it has the history, the warmth and the romance. It is my personal favorite. If you want more of a resort feel for much less money go for the Marriott. If you want very modern high tech luxury try the Penn. You can read a lot of detailed reviews of these hotels on www.tripadvisor.com

Thanks for all the tips - I think we will probably stay in Bangkok for the 8/9 days and split the time between different hotels - but will definitely include the Marriott so we have more of a resort stay.

Bob (hope you don't mind me calling you that!) has indicated the Peninsula would be okay with a 2 year old, but what about the Oriental? Has anyone seen a toddler there?:)

I'm quite sure you can do either the Penn or the Oriental with kids. Just make sure you know the difference between the two hotels to choose the right one to fit your preferences. If you do a search on this forum you should get plenty- ad nauseum- of posts comparing the pros and cons of the two.

i saw one child there....it was prince so and so from SA....he was sitting on gloria's lap in the lobby and ordering the servants around....just kidding...

both the penn and oriental are more "formal" than many other hotels in bkk---maybe formal isn't the correct word description, but i think you get the jist, but children are certainly welcome in both;.....

I stay at the Oriental all the time and have seen many toddlers there. I even saw a 85 year old employee (she is now a part time pr person) dance with a 3-year old at the returning guest party last year.

come on gloria...he was a prince wasn't he....they give out gold watches as tips....

Bill - I've read some of the postings re. the peninsula vs the oriental, they are rather extensive aren't they !? I'd love to visit both! We have another few days at the end so maybe we will be able to squeeze in two at the beginning and one at the end. Good to hear that toddlers aren't banished - the Rachamanka in Chiang Mai doesn't accept bookings for children under 12 so thought I had better check!

Bob-- actually I have stayed with Princes but it was in 1985 in Phuket. The Crown prince was there with his "second" wife and his assorted children. Each kid had their own nanny/maid/butler. Watching them and watching the hotel staff try to serve them was definitely the high point of my stay.

Bluebell-- I would strongly urge you to decide on either the Penn or the Oriental and stay at it for at least three or four days. I firmly believe that the hotel experience is infinitely better the longer you stay. If you're going to be in Bangkok 8 days only stay in two hotels max. Not three. If you really want to stay at both the Oriental and the Penn -- skip the Marriott.