Hi all!

This is my first post, but certainly won't be my last!

The H and I are planning a one year anniversary trip to Thailand for about three weeks.

We haven't bought plane tickets yet, but we have a really rough plan, with a few concrete details.

(I've been lurking for a while, so I've stolen a few Fodorite favorites!)

Leave sometime around May 30th. ATL to HK. I've never been to Asia before, so we'll be spending a few days in Hong Kong to get me slightly acclimated to the Asian culture. (Although I know HK is far different than anything else in Asia). Three to four days in HK, then on to BKK.

I *think* three/four days in BKK, planning on staying (last time I checked) at The Chakrabongse Villas.

On to the north - we'll be doing a five day stay at Anantara and doing the three day Mahout package (I might be slightly elephant obsessed!) Our original plan was to go to Chang Mai and do a three day, two night trek to various hill villages, but upon seeing the Anantara the H decided the splurge would be worth it! However, we're still interested maybe doing a trek if anyone has a company recommendation based in Chang Rai.

The on to Phuket for another four/five days relaxing on the beach. This is the most uncertain part of our trip, since we're still not certain Phuket is the best beach for us given the time of year we'll be going. I'm dive certified, but the H is not, so we might be interested in getting him certified and doing some dives if anyone has a good dive shop to recommend as well.

Then back to BKK and back home!

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? Particularly for the beach section We are young(ish) 28/29 and definitely don't require 5 star hotels. (Or heck, we've even gone without AC.) Alright - enough from me!

first you will need a/c at that time of year for sure...

weather should be ok at that time of year...in bkk plan on clouds in the PM and even some rain as evening approaches...

not sure on which beach is better at that time of year....others will tell you...

if phuket is not good you might look at koh samui on the other side of the peninsula... there is a dive shop in bophut beach area...

you will love anantara and the elephants there....
rent a car at the chiang rai airport for up north....the hotel is issolated and transportion options are limited and very expensive....that way you can go around on your own....driving is very easy with no traffic at all...

It sounds like a good plan. Koh Samui will have better weather than Phuket at that time of the year - see www.weatherbase.com use Surat Thani for Koh Samui.

I think you'll love the Anantara! Are you looking for an overnight trek or just some hiking?

rhk - Do you happen to know the name of the dive shop you talked about?

I've read of the cost getting to and from the Ananatara, so we'll definitely be looking into renting a car in Chang Ria. Perhaps a silly question, do we need any special licenses to drive whilst in Thailand?

Kathie - we're looking for an overnight trek, but will do a day hike or two if overnights aren't a logical choice.



Thanks for the help!

Legally, you need an international drivers license to rent a car in Thailand. Many have reported that they were not asked for it.

Bob, dive shop? I don't think so.
KITH-several divers have raved about Khao Lak, north of Phuket. Apparently easy access to good dive spots.

But Koh Lak has the same weather patterns as Phuket. Koh Chang is in the gulf, so it has better weather and is a dive spot.

The Similans, near Khao Lak, are where the diving is, but they are more or less closed from May to September.

You actually might want to have a look at Koh Tao, in the same general area as Samui. This island is more or less dedicated to diving. Just about every hotel has a dive shop. The Jamahkiri (http://www.r24.org/asiaforvisitors.c...hkiri/details/) looks interesting. Most of the accommodation on Tao is a lot cheaper than that though.

Thanks for the help!

We've now actually decided to skip Hong Kong all together, and fly directly into Bangkok from NYC, and we'll spend our HK money on diving instead. Perhaps a post on best diving/beaches in June is in order next!

MichaelBKK - that hotel/location is stunning! We've definitely put Koh Tao on our investigate list!

We stayed at the Anantara in late January. It is a beautiful hotel and setting. But it is in the middle of nowhere. That is, all meals must be eaten at the hotel. In Phuket we stayed at the JW Marriot. Very quiet and large, empty beach. Went to Patong Beach for an hour -- couldn't wait to get out of there! Crowded and dirty.

Thailand is a wonderful country. Have a great time.

We went to Bangkok, River Kwai, Koh Samui & Phuket in June 2005. The weather is definately better on the Koh Samui Side. At Phuket it was too ruff to swim in the sea (the red flags were up) a trip we looked at doing to Phi Phi was cancelled due to ruff sea conditions. When then went onto Koh Samui fantastic weather, sea very calm. Consider Koh Toa and also an Island called Koh Nang Yuan for diving. Nang Yuan is just by Koh Toa, there is only one resort, which we stayed at. It is a very small island, great for diving,the beach is beautiful for lazing around on. They have a dive school. You can get there from Koh Samui, they do day trips from Koh Samui, but once most day trippers were there they wished they were staying a night or two. Really nice for relaxing, however there is only the resort restaurant - no shops etc. The island is the resort and thats all there is there.

I wanted to add my comments about the Anantara since we just returned from there. It is incredible. The resort and elephant camp are wonderful and we have not experienced anything quite like it anywhere. We also did a cooking class there and while it is pricier than most, absolutely loved it.
As for the location, we did not find it isolated at all. For dinner we went into the little neighboring town of Sop Ruak where there were loads of great funky little restaurants overlooking the river and much more fun than staying at the hotel for meals.
We rented a car at the Chiang Rai airport, drove to the Anantara and then drove to Chiang Mai after our stay. Roads are easy to navigate and a great way of seeing this part of the country.
You are in store for a wonderful experience.

Gabi - thanks for the comments! We're really excited about Anantara!

Did you have an international license to rent your car in CR?

i did not have an international license, but jamesA says that we should have one so next time i will get one...

interesting about the restaurants....we did not see any and we were looking....we did go down the road to thai kitchen and that was an "interesting spot"---lots of benz and bmw's outside, so guess the drug trade is still in full swing...

Yup, the 'law' says you have to have one, the rental agents including 'those top guys' never ask for it, but the law says you need one and for the sake of 10-15 bucks it it crazy not to.