I'm trying to plan a trip to Thailand. It will be my husband's and my first time there so I know basically nothing about how things work over there.

I'm wondering whether it's better to plan everything from here (D.C.) (e.g., make all reservations for accommodations and travel within Thailand) or if we can "wing it" once we get there and how difficult that will be. We're trying to keep costs down. And also, I speak only English and a very limited amount of French and other romance languages.

Thanks for your help!

If you care where you stay and what kind of driver or guide you have I would definitely book in advance. The best hotels, guides and drivers are booked well in advance.

Give us some basic info and we can help. When is your trip? How long? Where do you want to go in Thailand? What is your budget?

I assume you've read some of the threads about planning trips, but if you haven't, do read some of the trip reports, it will give you ideas.

Book hotels and air from here. You can arrange car or train in Thailand. This will reduce the time spent handling logistics in Thailand and increase your ability to participate. It will also reduce anxiety.

We're planning to go for the first half of February (probably Feb 1 to 15). We'd like to do the main places, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and Phuket. I contacted a travel agent who indicated that he could arrange everything for us (very western hotels, english speaking guides, several meals and evening entertainment included) for around $2500-4000 per person. I was hoping to spend around $3000-4000 total. Is that doable?
What do people think of the tripadvisor.com website for finding accommodations? Do we need guides? Will people at the hotels speak english to help us get from A to B?
I just wanted to extend a great big THANKS! to everyone on this site. I'm always so amazed at how responsive and helpful people are.

Ok in order to tell you what it might cost you - we all need a few more details. How many days is this trip. Counting from the day you leave until the day you are back?
What type of hotel are you looking for or in what price range is your budget?

In my experiences, I can always do it for much less than travel agent quotes. Also, note that you will rarely want/need a guide in Thailand. You are more likely to hire a driver from time to time.

By the way, you will find that virtually everyone you have contact with in Thailand will have at least rudimentary English.

There are dozens of reputable hotel booking websites. I usually use www.asiahotels.com, though there are many others as well. You are going duing high season, so the sooner you book, the better.

you can easily do it for your price and stay in nice places....ditch the TA....we can be your travel agents, just let us assist and put up with us, which sometimes is difficult....you have already heard from some of the main players on this board but there are others and we have at least one on-site resident expert: jamesA....

you need to tell us more of what you like and we can make better suggestions from there....kathie and i do not like chiang mai so others can help you better there...

but bkk, now we have expertise or at least strong feelings...only you will know what you like best...

i have been to thailand 9 times in 10 years and do mid to upscale trips but within your budget as well...

i book all travel and hotels from home...a wonderful hotel site is:

www.huahin.20m.com

you will find all the locations you need by dropping down the top box and choose a city/location...hotels are arranged by location within the city (street usually)...the wonderful thing about this site is that the tax/service is included (17.7%) and so is breakfast usually....it is a pre-pay site however so don't make res. until you are sure that is what you want....you are going at a good time for availability...their new years may however interfere...not sure of next years date??

my favoirite bangkok hotel is the marriott resort and spa....it is an oasis in the middle of chaos---that is bkk....it is upscale with a mid range price...

i would suggest that you lay out your hotel stays first after you have settled on air....thai air is a good option with a direct flight from JFK several times per week---17 hours non-stop..

united might be a good option for you from DC...

eva air from newark as well as connecting flights on continental from newark....

northwest through detroit or minneapolis is how i go from boston with a stop in narita japan as well...

you can save money sometimes by using the group travel arm of airlines which would give you airfare plus some hotels for a reduced fare ( i choose the min # of hotel nites and then do the rest on my own)...i have used northwest's world vacations for this...it gives your airfare plus a minimum of 3 nites hotel plus transfers for less than the regular fare (for instance, last may i paid $1212 for bos-bkk-bos plus 3 nites hotel and transfers---the reg fare at that time was $1450...)... you can then book all the other hotels on your own and save money...

for your stay i would do something like this: before i say, you should note that for day one after arrival and part of day 2 you will be zoombies so pick a hotel with a nice pool so you can just laze around and do little else...

if it were me i would choose between a beach holiday or chiang mai but not both...you have time for both but it will be rushed...i would choose beach..

day 1 DC to bkk
day 2 arr bkk late at nite
day 3 bkk---lazy day
day 4 bkk
day 5 bkk
day 6 cm
day 7 cm
day 8 cm-phu--direct flt or thru bkk
day 9 phu
day 10 phu
day 11 bkk
day 12 bkk
day 13 bkk
day 14 bkk-DC--all in one day

my preference would be to drop cm and have more phu days and more bkk days...i would also consider koh samui instead of phuket as prices are usually cheaper...and it is a smaller island..

local tours, etc can all be arranged at your hotels after arrival...

bkk hotels to consider:

marriott resort
holiday inn silom
holiday inn plenochit
chateau de bangkok
davis hotel
centre point silom
centre point wireless
the president group of hotels
any deals found on the huahin site...run hotels by us before booking...pictures can be deceiving..

don't know if you have used priceline but there are a couple of good things in bkk on priceline for just under and way under $100 per nite...

hope this helps

bob

Kathie-I agree with you. I found I could do more for the money without a guide. Once in thailand, there are places you may want to visit with a guide(but hiring them from Thailand is so much cheaper). I also found that the beach areas are more expensive. I am going back next year, and plan on skipping them altogether. I enjoyed Bangkok, and the Chiang Mai area so my next visit is going to be in the North toward Mae Hong Son. Also if you could learn a few simple phrases like thank you and hello then you'll do just fine without knowing more.

Bob
You might want to add the new Majestic Grande hotel to your list. It really looks very nice, and I'm sure it is a reasonable price too.
Carol

I vacation in Bangkok regularly and agree with the above comments...no guides set up from stateside and no travel agents. If you want a guide just hire them when you get there or prebook them using the guide suggestions from this forum. I first went to S.E.Asia back in the 90s and was gone 3 weeks, female,alone and went through Singapore/Bali/Chiangmai/Bangkok with no travel agent or outside help except for travel books.I had a great adventure. The day before I left Bangkok to come back to L.A., I booked a day tour through my hotel for $40. and did the floating market/River Kwai area/a huge temple somewhere that I've forgotten the name of/ and the war cemetary. It was a 12-hour day trip on a bus with a few people. It served the purpose I needed it to serve. But, the rest I did on my own with good organization and planning before I left.In Chiangmai I did part of it on my own and part with someone I knew who lived there. But, I could have done it all on my own,too as Chiangmai isn't that difficult to do.In Chiangmai,it's nice to have access to a car,though. And my first S.E.Asia trip was before I knew this forum even existed. So, with the use of this forum, you should be able to customize your own trip and for less money than all of that travel agent expense.Plus, you'll have flexibility and be on your own vacation and not someone else's! Happy Travels!

Oh, if you click on some of our names...the regulars here in the Thailand forum...like Glorialf...Kathie...Gpanda...Rhkkmk.....BillT...Si mpson510...James A and myself, then you will see the threads that we've responded to. We respond regularly to questions on Thailand. You can get a lot of information that way. Then if you have more specific questions, just post back to us.Happy Travels!