Hi folks.
Would like to ask your comments please.
Family of 2 adults + 2 kids (4,8)

day 1 - arrive BKK and cont. to Chiang Mai. sleep at Central duangtawan.
day 2,3,4 - private guided tour with TONY . the tour is towards Chiang Rai and back. on return stay at YCV
day 5 - relax at chiang mai (dui Suthep) stay at YCV
day 6/7/8/10/11 - fly to phuket (direct) stay 5 nights at Merlin Beach Resort
during our stay, i've booked elephant rehabilitation center with PhuketRichard (tripadvisor) and a day tour of the island with Mr. Mor (also from trip advisor). would also go to Fantasea show

day 12 - fly to singapure.
day 13 - singapore
day 14 singapore
day 15 - early morning flight to krabi, stay at Central Krabi Resort
day 16 - Central Krabi resort
day 17 - fly to BKK. stay at Centre point silom
day 18/19/20 - bkk - shopping and touring the city (all the regular stuff), a day with tong's team (as she is booked)
day 21 - last shopping, and late flight back home

i know it's kind of intense.
i could have left singapore out of the plan, and have more beach time...
but i really feel i want to just taste singapore. do you think i am right in going to singapore ?

any suggestions to a nice hotel near orchard rd. with a reasonable price ? up to 100$ per night ?

many thanks

Going from Phuket to Singapore and back to Krabi makes no sense at all. Phuket and Krabi are virtually "next door" to each other. Save Singapore for another trip, and distribute those days to Thailand. This will make your trip less frenetic and will significantly cut down on travel costs.

I didn't understand your private guided tour with Tony in CM - is it all three days (2, 3, 4)? Unless you are doing something really unusual, you don't need that many days with a guide in CM.

And I'm not sure what your tour of Phuket island means... I wouldn't want to spend a day driving around Phuket (with two restless kids).

I'd say not to schedule your time quite so full with tours. You'll find plenty to do!

PS - You would be better off going to an Elephant conservation Cneter in the Chaing Mai area than in Phuket.

Agree with Kathie, as usual. If you must venture outside Thailand, I'd recommend Siem Reap over Singapore unless you love cities. Siem Reap and the temples there are fabulous.

how about starting out in singapore if you "have to" go there....then move northward??

Bob's right, if you really want to "taste" Singapore, then do it at the beginning or the end. You may even be able to get an open-jaw ticket to Asia. I've done that a number of times. But it will be less expensive and more restful if you confine your travels just to Thailand.

Thank you for your lovely replies.

Kathie -
days 2,3,4 are a guided "trek" tour that goes out of chiang mai to many places, via chiang rai, the golden triangle and back to chiang mai.
It's with a guied called Tony, that many of friends of mine travled with him. manybe it's time to also introduce him to fellow fodories.
His site is at: http://www.onesun1000stars.com/

The tour guide in phuket, is actually driving around the island, with stops at special places like nice beaches , restaurants, and shopping at local places that are less tourist style.
This guy is most recomended on tripadvisor by many many people. he is also doing my hotel transfers for a reasonable rate.

About singapore: yes, i love cities. and really want to see singapore.

rhkkmk - i would have done singapore as you stated.... i really would... the problem is that i planned this trip for so many months, and i only got the option to extend my trip with 4 days more in the last week (i travel on bonus tickets and the flighs were full) - so i had to add singapore in between.. (this also costs 500X4 bhat more in departure tax to sin.)
so why not in the end ? i wanted to... but wanted to return to phuket on 20 or 21 of october, and to my suprise, there is a holiday in singapore, and the cheap flights out of there are either EXPENSIVE or booked solid.

kathie - using my extension days, i wanted to see another place other than phuket, so i cut one day out of phuket, add the singapore trip (3), and return to Krabi for 2 more nights. i return to Krabi and not phuket, just because there is a flight from sin. to krabi by tiger.


About the elephants - i am doing it also in CM, and just wanted to add it also in phuket , just because of the rave reviews of this adventure as it not the tourist place that everyone goes, but rather a special experiance with a guy called PhuketRichard.

Btw, i just looked at tigerairways.com .. if you book for example a roundtrip flight from phuket to sin in November (meaning - well in advance) its 30! THB per flight per person !!! (+taxes which are about 1100+departure tax 500) but what an unreal price !

Thanks for clarifying what the several day tour is.... will the children be up for that long a trek?

The Tiger Air flight price is excellent, but there are VERY limited numbers of seats at that price. So book far in advance and cross your fingers.

I think it's a pretty packed itineraary, but I expect you know what you like.

Kathie,
you are right in the way of thinking.
can the kids handle 5 flights in such a short time (not to mention the flight to Thailand). maybe it's a bit to much for such a short time ...

i just cannot make up my mind if i should go to singapore, or instead of the 3 nights there, add 1 phuket 1 krabi, 1 bkk ....

slow down and relax - I think you'll all be happier!

Kathie,

we took yours, and other's suggestions, and droped the Singapore idea.
I've added one night to phuket, one night to Krabi and one night to Bangkok.

I would have added a day or two to Chiang Mai, but that would have involved changed all my plans for the rest of the trip (modify hotel dates, drivers, guides, attractions etc).

all in all , i think i have a rather good plan, and although 5 nights in bkk are quite a bit, i hope it will work out .

My only last hesitation is the hotel in BKK. as atsiam.com and sawadee.com replied to me that Center point silom is taken, i called up a big client of mine in BKK who arranged a corporate price for the Shangri-la , and now my tavel agent in BKK told me that she got confirmation for the center point silom....
i am trying to figure out which one to choose... of course the centre point is much larger, but the luxury of the Shangri-la ....... ;-o

I think your new plan will work well. If you are like many of us on this board, you'll find 5 nights in Bangkok are just enough to make you want more.

I think you'll be satisfied with either the Centerpointe or the Shangri-La. As you noted the Shang is much more luxurious and the views of the river are better. Bob, of course, would recommend the Marriott Resort and Spa, as it has such a nice pool area for the kids. Several others on this board have said that a suite there works well with children, and it's likely less expensive than the Shang.

with the kids center point makes tons of sense...added room and only one price where most hotels you would need two rooms....i love the marriott and think it would be perfect for your family, but so would CP with the mcdonalds next door and the skytrain right there and also the dept. store....and good restaurants like tongue thai and harmonique....

there are other centre points too: sukhumvit, wireless, laung suan....and others

Dont forget to Shop ALOT..bangkok is full of cheap things!..u'll regret it if u donT !!