Thailand Tour 7/21-8/1-06
 

My husband and I were booked on a Tai Chi retreat tour to Thailand this summer 7/21-8/1, to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, the retreat tour has been cancelled. We would still like to go and have our frequent flier flight arrangements made. The thing is, we've never been there before and have not traveled internationally that much. We have traveled in the States, and usually I do the organizing. But I feel I'm over my head with this trip, and frankly, need help picking up the pieces, figuring out what to do, where to go, where to stay, guidance while we're there. We arrive late 7/21 and leave early 8/1, so we have 11 nights and 10 days. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, laschi!
Considering that you have never been to Thailand and that you have, say... 10 days?, perhaps you might combine Bangkok with another place. The most frequent destinations are, on one hand, the North, especially Chiang Mai and on the other hand, beaches on the south.
Which plan is your thing? Nature and temples or beach?
It would not be very difficult for you to prepare this kind of trip: you only have to book internal flights and then book hotels.
Cheers.

Linda,
Thailand is extremely easy to do on your own. I did three weeks with my 24-year-old daughter in February to Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Had never been to Asia and had no idea where to start. I ended up starting right here on Fodor's and with the help I received here, was able to plan the entire trip on my own. We had a fabulous time. Agree with Filloa - for 11 nights, you'll probably want to limit yourself to two locations, Bangkok and either somewhere north or somewhere south, depending on what you like. I hesitate to say this, but if you're adventuresome and like to move fast, you COULD do three spots - maybe five nights in BKK and three in two other spots (CM and a beach spot). Alternatively, you might consider 4-5 nights in BKK and then 3 in Siem Reap (the temples of Angkor are AMAZING) and 3-4 either in northern Thailand or at the beach. Would recommend that you read some of the trip reports posted here to get some ideas. Here are some of my postings - including my "pre-trip report of how I planned things" followed by my actual trip report and then my photos. Good luck - we're here to answer more!

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34713850

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34762799

http://kbutler8.photosite.com/

You will find it remarkably easy to do on your own. Like others, I'd suggest a combination of Bangkok and one other location. Consider whether you want a beach, a northern Thai location, or perhaps as Karen suggests, a trip to Cambodia to visit the temples at Angkor. As Karen says, while you could do three locations, you effectively lose a day each time you change locations. It will be a more relaxing trip and you'll expreience more with two locations. Since you'll fly in and out of Bangkok, I'd suggest spending a few days on each eand in Bangkok.

A picture is worth a thousand words. You are welcome to take a look at photos from some of our SE Asia trips at www.marlandc.com

like the others have said you can do it easily having been there before or not...there are several things i think you need to know and let us help you here with them...

what airline are you taking??...we can give some tips perhaps on that for you??

picking your hotel is the most important thing you will do for the whole trip...

more on that in a minute...

first...you need to know that you will be quite tired after your arrival in bangkok...its a very long and hard, in some ways, trip from usa...but the rewards on the other end are very worthwhile...so the point in saying this is to warn you not to plan to do very much on day one and even day two after arrival...pick a hotel with a nice pool and garden and relax there to climatize yourselves....bkk will be very hot and humid, 24 hours per day...much worse than anything you have experienced in usa...

many of us prefer to stay along the river for this reason and because it provides a very nice introduction to bkk...

we all have our favorite hotels, but mine is the marriott resort and spa...they have the best garden/pool area in bkk, imo...

others like the shangri-la, peninsula, sheraton orchid, and the new hilton...

i find that it is important to choose a sort of oasis hotel to fall back on after the craziness of bkk...these chain hotels provide that...i have no idea of your budget, but at that time of year you should expect to pay $100-175 per nite for these 4 star hotels...the marriott being perhaps the cheapest on the list...

i like this hotel site:

www.huahin.20m.com
rates are pre-pay so don't make any until you nail down your entire trip..rates include tax/service of 17.7% (standard) and often include breakfast...a good deal..

i would suggest that you only consider one other place to visit on this trip...either a beach area like phuket, krabi, or samui or go north to chiang mai....all involve a simple 1 hour flight at about $150 or less per round trip...thai air is best or bangkok air....

we can advise you on all the detials as you progress...just ask specific questions...

let us know what you like and we will be glad to help...

you could even spend the entire time in bkk...

i would plan 5 days in bkk, 3 nites elsewhere or 4, and then the remainder in bkk...

a driver/guide in bangkok might help you as well....there are several fodors friendly ones: gal/cherry...ratt..tong....we can help you select one...they provide transportation, guide services and bkk knowledge which enhance your trip significantly...they average about $100 per day or less and their services are considered invaluable and they are all engaging persons...you can also do the whole thing without them...

right now get yourself a good general guide book, like fodors or frommers and read it and then come back here for more specific questions...we are glad to help!!!!! your library might have one by the way...

don't give up the ship..

bob

We will be there almost the exact same days and we will do as Kathie suggested a few days in Bangkok and some more in Chiang Mai and then Bangkok again before flying home. I have been to Thailand many times and as others have said you will be able to manage quite well on your own. If you are at a loss as to where to go, have a look at a good guide book plus lots of info already on Fodors and maybe even do what the original tour was covering. Good luck you will enjoy it!

Out of curiosity, what was did you original itinerary (w/ the Tai Chi group) look like? Maybe you would still want to visit some of those places on your own.

Geez, what did I just type?!

I meant to say "what did your original itinerary look like?"... sorry about that!

It's very easy to do it yourself and a lot better than being on some constrictive tour.There's tons of info on this board on Thailand. We answer questions constantly on Thailand. Be specific as to your price range and interests and we'll get back to you. Happy Travels!

Plus, where are you flying from? Are you flying from the States and what time do you arrive into Bangkok? Happy Travels!

Finally got back to this. Thank you everyone for your input. To answer some of your questions, and to ask more.....
We fly from San Jose, California on American, into Narita to change planes, then Japan Air Lines into Bangkok. We'll
arrive in Bangkok at 11:25 PM on 7/21. I've made arrangements to stay at the Bangkok Marriott's Resort & Spa (Thanks, Bob!). Part of the deal is round trip transfer from/to the airport. We will probably be very jet lagged when we arrive, and I'm hoping the transfer services to the hotel will be easy and effortless for us. Does anyone know anything about this? Will someone from the hotel be waiting for us when we get in or do we have to call and wait? I've emailed the hotel, but haven't heard back yet.

Another question~The Center for Disease Control recommends taking malaria medicine and getting a Hepatitis A shot.
Did you all do this?

Our original itinerary was~
1.) Bangkok - 2 days & 2 nights
>2.) Ayutthaya - 2 days & 2 nights - Note: This is the ancient capital of Thailand.
>3.) Ko-Samui - 4 - days (fly into airport and then travel by boat to the island of Ko Tao or Ko Phangan for the last leg of the retreat, both of which are more quiet and pristine than Ko Samui.

Besides martial arts, we're interested in the Thai culture and history, temples, and some relaxation. We were thinking we would spend our first 4 days (7/22-7/26)in Bangkok. Is it practical to do a day trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya? I'm curious about the tour guides mentioned. Is it best to make arrrangements with them and plan our schedule before we go? Our hotel also lists travel agencies on their web site. Any experiences with that?

We've decided we would go south to the islands on 7/26 for the second part of our trip.
Still considering exactly where.... But should we make our flight arrangements before we leave the States? Does anyone know about the islands on our original itinerary?

We thought we would fly back to Bangkok 7/31 for our flight back to the States early on 8/1. We were considering a hotel close to the airport as our flight out leaves at 8:10 AM, and we will need to be there early for check-in. Someone told me to get there as early as 5-5:30 as Japan Air sometimes leaves earlier than scheduled. Any suggestions for a comfortable, clean hotel convenient to the airport, with shuttle service?
Thanks!

Take another look at the cdc website. None of the areas you are visiting are malarial risk areas. The one possible exception is that there have been recent reports of several cases on Ko Phangan. (If you opt to go to Koh Chang, that is a risk area.)

Routine travelers vaccines such as tetanus (which you should have to stay home), Hep A and Typhoid are recommended.

You can certainly do a day trip to Ayutthaya. That's the way 99% of visitors experience it (I can't imagine spending two days and two nights there).

If you want to use a driver/guide in Bangkok that is recommended on this site, do make arrangements before you go. While it is very easy to arrange for a driver or a guide once you are in Thailand, the often-recommend guides on this site like Rat or Tong are often booked far in advance.

If you do decide to use the service of a tour comapny, wait until you are in Bangkok to arrange it.

The hotel near the airport that I always recommend is Rama Gardens. There are several others in the vicinity. If you do a search, there was a recnt post about this.

You can definitely do Ayuthya as a day trip but with your short time I'm not sure I'd recommend it unless you are really into ancient temples.

Also since you say you ae interested in culture I would urge you to go to northern thailand rather than the beaches. You can eaisly relax in northern thailand but you can also experience much more of thai culture than you will in the south which is lovely but largely like other international beach resort areas.

Linda,

Last year, we made our first trip to Thailand (although admittedly not our first trip to Asia).

Based on advice we got here, we divided up our 2+ weeks into 1 week in Bangkok, 4 nights in Chiang Saen (near Chiang Rai) in the north, 4 night in Koh Samui, and travel days on either end.

Koh Samui, although relaxing, was rather like going to a sort of Cape Cod with Thai characteristics. It was pleasant and fun but we didn't learn anything about Thai culture.

Chiang Saen was an entirely different matter. Feeding and riding elephants, taking a long-tail-boat ride on the Mekong, visiting the opium museum, making merit in the early morning, trailing around ruins of wats in the sleepy town, and more were wonderful. We still had the chance to do vacation-type things like laze around the pool and have a massage.

It may suit your purposes more for this trip to visit Bangkok then head to a remote beach location but, given your interest in Thai culture, I just wanted to share how fascinating our trip up to the north of Thailand near the Laos and Myanmar borders was.

Good luck thinking through your plans. And don't worry about your lack of experience -- the Thai people are exceptionally gracious and you will have little real difficulty as a foreigner.

a driver from the hotel will meet you in the arrivals hall, just watch for a sign with your name on it along with 1000 other signs....most usually they wait to the left as you leave customs, but some wait to the right....i would look to the left first....no need to call...this will be a very pleasant ride...plan to be in your room about 1:15AM....we usually arrive about the same time...there will be very little traffic at nite but the lites are quite attractive as you wizz into the city...

Hi Linda

We are at the Marriott at the same time as you! We arrive on the 22nd - look for two exhausted parents trailing behind a small 2 year old blonde chatterbox and you will have found us!

Re. the guide/driver - you can tour Bangkok without, from the Marriott you can get to the sights & shops v easily by skytrain and express boat. This time around we have hired Tong, who is a licensed guide, for a few days as we have never had anybody tell us about the sites & culture before and we wanted to understand a bit more. She has been a great help with ideas and also with helping plan our wedding - we are getting married in Samui on the 9th August.

I think before you would have been on a guided tour so perhaps this approach for some of your trip would suit you. She can be contacted at [email protected]. She does get v booked up in advance personally - as does Ratt - but she has other guides who can take you out if she is busy.

If you do decide to head to Samui or one if the islands nearby, then do book your flight in advance. You can do this at www.bangkokair.com - there are many flights but they can get booked up. We are spending some of our time at Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao - they are much less developed than Samui and v v beautiful. But just be aware that the flipside of that is that there is less infrastructure. Even in Pha Ngan where there are now a couple of more upmarket resorts, you shouldn't expect the same deluxe finish as you might find in hotels in Bangkok and Samui. If you want some hotel recommendations for any of these islands, let me know.

Chiang Mai though is beautiful if you decided to opt for the north rather than the beaches - we are spending six days there after the Marriott. There is lots to do!
BB

Thanks again to all for your responses. I appreciate the information and support.

Another question.... My Mom's health is precarious, so we want to be reachable. I clipped an offer for cell phones from TravelCell out of the Travel section of the paper. The cost is $29.99 per week/ $.89/minute incoming; $2.09/minute local outgoing; $2.19/minute outgoing to US.
Any other ideas or suggestions?

lots of people have had problems with usa phones in asia....even though they are supposed to be compatible and/or have been converted

the best suggestion i have seen is to buy a second hand phone at MBK in bkk and then juice it up with cheap minutes from a phone card....way less expensive...you can telephone from your hotel for less than those charges...

check on AT&T direct to see what deals they have just now...

We've decided to spend 5 days in Bangkok, the to Ko Samui and neighboring islands for
the island experience. Any suggestions for where to stay in Ko Samui?

Take a look at these places in Samui - am not sure of your price range but these are always well reviewed. You can read plenty of reviews on sawadee.com and also tripadvisor.com (where you can see candid photo shots taken by people who stayed there too). For the most part, we have found good rates on sawadee.com. However, the Amari have a good rate for August on deluxe rooms if you book on their website and use a visa card that my sister in law could not find matched by sawadee.com or any of the other consolidator hotel agency sites.

Maenam:
Napasai

Bophut:
Anantara
Bophut Resort & Spa
Peace Resort

Tongsai Bay Cottages & Grand Villas

Choeng Mon:
Sala Samui

Chaweng:
Amari
Buri Rasa
Muang Samui

Lamai:
Renaissance (part of Marriott chain)
Rocky Resort

Hope this provides food for thought!
BB

I've made arrangements to stay at the Amari
in Ko Samui. Thank you Bella Bluebell for the tip about their web site special!

The next thing is to arrange a driver/guide in Bangkok. I've tried to get in touch with
Ratt, and my emails keep getting bounced back to me as undeliverable~even through her web site. The address I have for her is [email protected]. Is that correct? Anybody else having trouble with it?

The address you have is not right. There are two listed on her website, [email protected] or [email protected]

There is also a contact form on her website ratservice.com

I see the problem...the first part of the e-mail address isn't included in the live link. You need to put "rat_" before the bkk@ part.

Thank you! I did reach Ratt. She is in Hong Kong until 7/11 and will get back to me when she returns. In the meantime, I was wondering what you all would suggest for a Bangkok schedule. We are interested in Tai Chi,
(We practise Tai Chi ourselves.) learning more about the elephants,
a klong tour on a longtail boat, Tai dance, the floating market,
Ayutthaya, Thai boxing, temples, massage, museums, some shopping.
We will be in Bangkok 5 days; 7/22 -7/26; Saturday-Wednesday.

i would plan to do the out of town things with ratt or another guide---like a trip to the floating market...

i would do most of the other in bkk things on my own: grand palace, klong tour (can get boats early afternoon {the best time to go} from taskim pier or from in back of the river city shopping center kisok desk there...if you are staying at a river hotel they can get one for you....about 400B per hour for the boat....maybe 500....they will try to get more however...

i would use the skytrain and taxis to get around to places....you have to go quite slow because it is so hot...

a good hotel site is : www.huahin.20m.com

not sure of your budget but river hotels are preferred by many of us...i happen to prefer the marriott resort and spa which is about $105 per nite just now including tax/service and breakfast....that is a good deal...

there are many more expensive hotels and many less expensive one...look at the site above...

get one good guide book and stick with it....you will find bkk very easy overall and language is not a problem, except of course when you have a problem and then no one can help you...go into any hotel or shop and usually someone speaks english

i did not read what had been written, sorry...you will love the marriott

try these two addresses if marriott has not confirmed the car for you:

[email protected]

[email protected]

the 2nd one is the mgr of the car fleet at marriott last time i was there...