impacked

This is also posted under Vietnam heading.

Thanks for all your time and great suggestions. I have until Wed. to make a decision. If I choose Cambodia & in order to get more a feel and perhaps have some of those one-on-one moments that we all love about travel I will hire our our guide. I hope to just tour around the villages and have long lesisure time at the temples.
I looked high an low for good air fare to Thailand (I think my first choice) with no luck. But, I did find this for $1500 w/air http://www.aberdeentours.com/dTour/pack.asp?qpid=19616
As you have suggested I could ditch the tours. Please, what do you think?

Thanks Again!

KimJapan

You don't need to post more than once. There is only one board, and there are no headings. The keywords you can select when you type your message are only used for search. They don't have any other function.

I wouldn't do a package tour to Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam. It's easy get a great guide at Angkor Wat...book in advance if you want one of the recommended ones, but you can get one there too. Your hotel will have a number of contacts for you to choose from.

The tour you are asking about I don't see as a good value unless you are a single traveler. The hotels they list are inexpensive, especially during the low season summer months.

Visit or call a consolidator for the airline tickets unless earning miles is important to you. Only published fares are shown on websites, but consolidators have access to discounted fares that are not available on websites.

Kathie

Sorry, I can't remember which city you are flying from. I also don't see this package as being a great deal. I really think you can do it for less on your own and you'll stay at better places.

Take a look in your local Sunday paper travel section for local agencies who advertise great prices on tickets to Bangkok. If you are in the LA area, Guenmai has posted about an agency she has used there.

impacked

Thanks for the info on posting.

Gosh, What am I doing wrong? Leaving from LAX the lowest air fare I can find is $1000. That's why I thought the packages from $1200 to $1500 sounded good. I will search the LA Times tomorrow for agencies.

I did try Escapes Unlimited but they only offer packages and none worked for me.

Back to the drawing board.

KimJapan

Airfare for $1000 is good I think. Compared to the $1500 tour very good. The sightseeing tours you get are minimal at best, and would be charged at around $20.00 - $30.00 per person if you signed up for the sightseeiing tour only. The hotels they list, with the exception of Westin, are well under $100.00/night with tax/breakfast for 2. You get 7 nights with the package...they get about $900.00 from the two of you for the hotels. For $900.00 for 7 days you can do much better than the places they list for the two of you. That's why I think it's poor value.

Cost of hotels for 2 if you book yourself from sawadee.com
Bangkok Palace BHT1550 incl. tax/breakfast
Century Park BHT2300 incl. tax/breakfast
Sofitel Silom BHT4600 incl. tax/breakfast
Westin Grande $206 on asiarooms.com

Chiang Mai Plaza $47.68 incl tax/breakfast
Novotel $39.00 incl. tax/breakfast
Sheraton (now a Holiday Inn) $92.00 incl. tax/breakfast
Royal Princess $61.53 incl. tax/breakfast

Of the 8 hotels, only the Sofitel and Westin in Bangkok are good. The Chiang Mai choices are all soulless concrete box type hotels. There are many MUCH better choices for your money.

There is such a difference in hotel class too in Bangkok, that I can't help but believe that the price only includes the lowest grade hotels. The terms and conditions are not exactly forthcoming about which hotels you actually get, but they do say the price can change at any time. If you think you want to book this package, do check carefully about the hotels to be sure you are getting the best of the 4 they list, as that is the only one that makes financial sense at all.

You will have no trouble at all finding good hotels with character and style for 7 nights with $900.00. You can also easily do the sightseeing tours that are included with the package by yourself, with a driver or with a guide, all 3 options being affordable.

If you get tickets for $1000, you have at least another $1000.00 to work with for hotel and sightseeing if you don't buy the package, which is more than enough.

In Bangkok, you can look at
Majestic Grande
Davis Hotel
Pathumwan Princess
Narai
Bossotel
Siam @ Siam
Suk 11
New Siam II
New Siam Riverside

These choices are all under $100/night for two incl. tax/breakfast. Some of them are WAY under $100.

In Chiang Mai, Baan Orapin, Joy's House, Yaang Come Village has a promotion on sawadee.com and would be a nice splurge if you stayed cheaper in Bangkok to balance it out, Athitan Village, Fondcome Village, Fern Paradise, Karinthip...there are endless options under $100.

You can fly cheaply between BKK and Chiang Mai on Nok Air, 12 GO, Air Asia. Or take the overnight train for a bit of adventure...2nd class AC is fine, 1st class is a bit nicer. www.seat61.com has all the information you could ever need about the train.

rhkkmk

you might try a travel agent in "thai town" LA...guenmai gets great rates there for flights...

$1000 would be a normal cost however depending on dates....summer is most expensive for some reason....september is not a good time to go, btw...

jonbarb709

Thailand is the place. Right now and we are in the process of also deciding which one to go to Vietnam had some recent finds of Agent Orange in high contents. We now are throwing Mexico in the mix and Vietnam is out - for now anyway.

impacked

Kim,
I reallllly appreciate your time and efforts. Your comment: The Chiang Mai choices are all soulless concrete box type hotels
was enough for me! I have been to Chiang Mai many years ago & don't remember the name of the hotel we stayed at but it was heaven and I keep thinking I want to dupllicate that with my niece. If was alsmost like You must know how much I hate highrise boxes - (except maybe in big cities) Thank you so much for mapping everything out for me as it will make it so much easier once I get the airfare squared away. Right now I'm getting ready to prepare for the Father's Day lunch I'm having but I'm going to devote all Monday for making this happen. Truly, You have made me very happy and much more clear thinking now!
RKK, Great idea - will check it out and Jon, Mexico is one of my favorites.

Wheeeee - Thailand- here we come

Kathie

Jon, if you've read the reports about Agent Orange, the hot spot found was on the military base in DaNang. Locals, other than those who fished or took lotus from the nearby pond do not show elevated levels of dioxin. The chances that you as a traveler would be exposed to high levels of dioxin in VN are virtually nil.

Bisbee

$206 for the Westin Grande is way too high. You can book directy through Starwood for $155++ online.