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Thailand newbie - itinerary
Thanks to all of you for your great advice. I've read your messages and have come up with the following itinerary (our first time in Thailand!). Please tell me if I have it in the correct order and the best way to get to each. Any other comments are appreciated. If I am missing something that is a must see or if we are staying in one area too long please advise!
1st day - bangkok (we will arrive previous night at midnight) 2nd day - bangkok 3rd day - bangkok 4th day - Fly to Chiang Mai 5th day - Chiang Mai 6th day - Chiang Mai 7th day - Chiang Rai (from chiang mai by boat?) 8th day - Chiang Rai (golden triangle) 9th day - Phuket (by plane?) 10th day - Phuket 11th day - Phuket 12th day - Phuket 13th day - Phuket 14th day - Phuket (fly back to bangkok) 15th day - Bangkok (new years eve) 16th day - leave early am back home Also, we need a good "budget" hotel in Thailand. THANKS! Remember this is our first time traveling to Thailand and we want to see and experience as much as we can :) |
It depends on what you like, though that looks a fairly good itinery. Consider buying a Lonely Planet guide to Thailand which can help you to decide what to see and what to miss.
Bangkok has some things to see and there are a number of trips available but is mainly a shopper's paradise though a bit hot and sticky. Thailand is full of cheap hotels. What do you call "budget"? A fair bit of cheap accommodation in Bangkok is around Khao San Road, a tourist area full of shops, a market, travel agents and eateries. http://www.khaosanhotels.com/?gclid=...FRkRZwod1wHj0A http://www.khaosanroad.com/ And lots more around Bangkok: http://www.travellerspoint.com/budge...en-ci-103.html Phuket: http://www.travellerspoint.com/budge...en-ci-965.html Chiang Mai: http://www.travellerspoint.com/budge...en-ci-271.html Chiang Rai: http://www.travellerspoint.com/budge...en-ci-272.html |
lonelyplanet.com forum can be assessed for finding budget hotels. What exact price range are you talking about? Budget to one person might be expensive to another. Be more specific. Happy Travels!
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R-your itinerary looks good with one minor change. I would fly from BKK to Chiang Rai, road to Chiang Mai and then fly CM-Phuket. there is a non-stop CM-Phuket flight on Thai Air at 11:00 a.m.. Doing it your way, you will have to go through BKK.
If you give us a per night approximation for hotels, we will be able to recommend some. |
For hotels, try the www.sawasdee.com website. They hotels from inexpensive to very expensive listed here. I don't know what your budget $$ is, but you will probably be able to find something here.
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Thank you so much for all your advice. We are very excited about our trip! When I say "budget" I mean under $50 (for 2 adults) - are the hotels decent at this price? The best way from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai is by road? Bus or boat?
THANKS! |
You can't take a boat from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, but you can get to Thaton, about 175 km north of Chiang Mai city but in Chiang Mai province, then take a boat to Chiaing Rai. Then the boat takes 4 hours or more. It is certainly a full day undertaking to do the boat route.
As you only have 2 days in Chiang Mai and 1 day in Chiang Rai (don't count travel days) you might consider choosing one or the other. There is much to see. Or, cut some time from Phuket and add it to the north. For hotels, it is absolutely peak season and prices for hotels are the highest of the year. You will also need to book ASAP, as it is very busy at this time of year. |
If you look around, you should be able to get good rooms for under $50. Most sites will have all the relevant information so you can check them out.
As KimJapan pointed out, book ASAP to get the rooms you want. |
Is there any other flight besides thai airways that goes direct from chiang mai to phuket? It seems that there is only one flight a day? (and of course they seem to be full) Because of our short time, we really don't want to take a long train ride.
Thanks! |
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