looking for any guidance, have been to asia as part of a tour group (japan) and as a DIY trip (china) s after a recent tour group trip to japan we want to DIY to thailand (tour groups have pros and cons....pros are that good companies pick great hotels and guides and you learn a ton and find hidden places ....cons include constant walking with an exhausting schedule and 50% of what they show you your don't really care about at all plus no rest days and being with the same 20 or so for 10/11/12 days can be rough if someone is a bit obnoxious.

we are thinking bangkok, chai mai and a beach area but are open to suggestions...probably will only do 2 of those locations so we only fly once internally....probably 8 to 10 days maybe a couple more if we travel over in 2 days from east coast USA...long flights are fast but a drag so we may fly into canada or west coast USA first then wait a day and fly to Thailand next day,
we will never use american based airlines - asia airlines all vastly superior - plus we will spring for premium plus if available.

thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

Instead of CM or beach, I recommend Siem Reap, Cambodia, to visit Angkor Wat.

You can save enough money to buy business class tickets by getting a sim and DIY instead of an ATT day pass and tour!

If you make a stop in N. America on the way then you will probably have to make a connection to get to BKK. AC does have a nonstop from Vancouver to BKK (16 hr 25 min). I would only consider flying to the west coast to get Zipair lie-flat seats to Tokyo and then on to BKK.

In any case, the trip is going to involve a long-haul of 11 hours or more. Tokyo to BKK is 7 hours. The travelling is tiring and can be made less so, but there is still the jet lag, the 12-hour time change. I've flown to Thailand twice both times in international first class. First trip was from Dulles airport on ANA/Thai and didn't like arriving at night (was traveling when the tsunami hit). I slept the first night but had a hard time keeping my eyes open after 7PM/9PM the next couple of days. Definitely glad I had 6 nights in Bangkok (a long stay for me). The second trip from LAX on United/Thai included an overnight at Narita that I enjoyed, and which set me up for a morning flight to BKK and connection to Phuket, whole trip in daylight.

I was impressed with United business class to/from Tokyo three years ago. The return flight was as good as JAL business class from Osaka to LAX last month (both were 787, iirc). The JAL business class suite on the A351 to Tokyo in October was positively fabulous. You can get that from JFK. ANA has business class called The Room.

A few thoughts and observations:

• 8 days seems way to short a time to travel all that way. I would want at least 10 days on the ground
• If the weather is important to you, bear in mind that Thailand has distinct monsoon seasons so you need to factor in the time of year when choosing where to go. This tour operators website has an easy guide
• Chiang Mai and the north of Thailand is subject to some serious pollution due to farmers burning the fields - I would avoid from late feb to early may.
• Thailand has a well developed air travel infrastructure. Flights to and from Bangkok - Chiang Mai and the islands generally take an hour or so (less time than it can take getting from downtown Bangkok to the airports!)
• Agree with mrwunfl about the time needed in Bangkok. I would want at least 5 nights there. The luxury hotels there are amazing and and inexpensive when compared with most of the rest of the world so it is definite the place to splash out if that is what you seek. The food scene is amazing and most importantly there is a lot to see in and around the city, more than enough to keep you busy
• Chiang Mai is much , much smaller than Bangkok and has an entirely different vibe. A great base for getting out into the countryside for a bit of a contrast to the city. I you are happy driving, consider renting a car to drive the Mae Hong Sorn loop - takes three or four days to drive the entire loop
• Years since I have been to any of the Thai beaches and I am not a fan anyway but https://www.travelfish.org/alldestinations/thailand has some good info

Happy planning

thanks very much for the tips, we are struggling with air options that seem daunting from the eastern US (we fly out of PHL or EWR)
we want to avoid super long travel days and are willing to fly 10 hours - take a break for a day - then fly the rest - one option i heard was fly from PHL to Rome then chill a day then fly to BKK the next day but am open to suggestions. also we could fly to LAX and wait a day then fly LAX to BKK then once there fly BKK to Chang Mai although it may make sense to stay in Bangkok first for 4 or 5 nights. We may just plan on Bangkok and Chang Mai areas and forget about the southern beaches because it may be too much for only 10 days....with our shoulder trips before and after 10 days in Thailand translates to 14 or 15 days all together....i am not dealing with 30 hour travel days anymore....last time we had a united air 6 hour flight delay on top of a 4 hour layover in HND and it was horrific and we both caught colds due to the long days.

thanks, definitely will save a few thousand by going DIY vs a tour company.
thanks very much for the tips, we are struggling with air options that seem daunting from the eastern US (we fly out of PHL or EWR)
we want to avoid super long travel days and are willing to fly 10 hours - take a break for a day - then fly the rest - one option i heard was fly from PHL to Rome then chill a day then fly to BKK the next day but am open to suggestions. also we could fly to LAX and wait a day then fly LAX to BKK then once there fly BKK to Chang Mai although it may make sense to stay in Bangkok first for 4 or 5 nights. We may just plan on Bangkok and Chang Mai areas and forget about the southern beaches because it may be too much for only 10 days....with our shoulder trips before and after 10 days in Thailand translates to 14 or 15 days all together....i am not dealing with 30 hour travel days anymore....last time we had a united air 6 hour flight delay on top of a 4 hour layover in HND and it was horrific and we both caught colds due to the long days.

I have a Thai friend who travels back and forth frequently from the East Coast to Thailand. His favorite is two flight of equal duration going through Istanbul. About 10 hours per flight.

I can't offer any help with flights form the USA to Asia as I live in London and usually travel from there. I do however recall once being in New York on business, flying back to London for one day and then off on holiday to Malaysia. it was years ago but I can still recall the jet lag being horrendous. it took be a week to fully get over it!

The route suggested by shelemm above sounds like a good solution. We adopt teh same approach when visiting family in Australia . a couple of days break midway does seem to help a lot - plus Istanbul is a great city to spend a day or two and premium economy on Turkish airlines is pretty good.

>> LAX and wait a day then fly LAX to BKK then once there fly BKK to Chang Mai

Not a good idea. That would be 6 hrs to LAX + 11.5 hrs to Tokyo + 7 hrs to BKK.
Or 6 hr+ to SFO, 13+ to Taipei, and 4hr to Chiang Mai

Rome would work but IDK about ITA Airlines.
Turkish Airlines via IST should be good and also Star Alliance
Qatar or Emirates

If you want PE then be aware that you might find mixed cabins where the leg going to BKK is in regular economy.

Thailand is a “soft” destination and many people prefer to make their own itinerary and schedule.

Not 100% clear on how long you intend to stay. AS it is such a long haul from US, would recommend 3 weeks over 2.

Also you don’t say WHEN you’re travelling – the season is important as you may want to avoid rain. It will also affect availability – although Thailand even in high season is seldom booked to capacity

The normal “formula” is Bangkok, Chiang Mai and a beach.

Possible variations could be Pattaya, Kanchanaburi and a beach

A lot depends on your preferences.

I don’t know if they fly from North America, but EVA air are my favourites from Europe to Bangkok. They have premium class seats.

Firstly getting into a pre-booked hotel in Bangkok is useful as a taxi from Suvarnabhumi to any hotel should be less than 500 baht.

That gives you time to rest and acclimatise a bit (Pattay is 90 minutes by taxi and about 1000 to 1200 baht.

Once chilled you can decide where to go next.

Train or fly from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

You can fly South to Koh Samui or Phuket. As well as several other destinations.

There is also an airport at U’tapao near Pattaya to fly South.

Trains overnight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai or Suratthani near Koh Samui is an option too.

There are some direct flights to either Phuket or Samui from Chiang Mai too.

As you time appears to be limited I would avoid road travel.

Hotels in Thailand. Are still very good value and although you may like to book in advance you probably could do some of that on arrival when you decide here you want to go,

Plenty of hotels and agents offering tours. – strenuous or otherwise.

Use a booking site and a map and you can’t go wrong.

Availability will vary depending on when you travel

thanks for all good ideas
leaning toward Turkish airlines out of EWR - if you fly business class you get 2 free nights in Istanbul as a stopover or 1 night with economy
we will splurge for business on long flights most likely, at our age (late 60s) we cannot survive long hauls in economy anymore.
we are also leaning toward 3 weeks as everyone mentions.

Sounds like good plan. We came to the same concluding re long haul flights a few years ago! The additional comfort and lounge access makes a huge difference to the travelling experience. I don't know if it is the same in the US but here in the UK, the airline sales start over the xmas and new years period and many years you can get some serious bargains . Depending upon when you plan on going , it may be worth waiting until them. Many offer "IT" (inclusive tour) fares where booking a few nights accommodation alongside teh airfare can yield some great deals.

Also worth noting that some airlines like Emirates offer chauffeur driven transfers to airports a both ends which can be worth a lot.

Re Siem Reap and Cambodia - be aware of the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia - tourists are advised to stay away from the border. At present flights between Thailand and Cambodia don't seem to be affected, but how long will that last???

looking to travel Dec 26/Jan 27 and looking for suggestions for business class from EWR to BKK
time of travel - any suggestions on best time of year to travel - we were told jan-feb is ideal but wanted other opinions

regarding flights
we were tracking Turkish Air which gives you 2 nights in a 5 star hotel in Istanbul on the way to BKK if you fly business.
Turkish Air bus class is about $6k US per person for non-flexible bus class - flexible bus class is $8.5k pp
- should Turkish air for this route be closer to $4k for business at some point?
- any other airlines or routes that would be better? i guess we could go direct to Rome and wait a day or 2 and then go from rome to bkk.
- should i expect to pay no less than $5K pp for business class for this route (we can fly to other US cities if needed)

length of stay - probably 2 to 3 weeks on the ground in Thailand split between Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket/Khao Lak area - any suggestions on best way to sequence these 3 areas? i was thinking 2 or 3 nights in bangkok - then fly to chiang mai and stay there or nearby for 4 or 5 nights - then fly to Phuket/Khao Lak stay for 4 or 5 nights then not sure - back to bangkok for a night or 2 then flights home? we don't want too many internal flights but not sure if overnight train is something i want to experience.

I have only flown Turkish business class once a few years ago. I think the hard product depends on the plane. My flight had seating where not all seats had unrestricted access to the aisle. Food was very good. Alcoholic beverages selection ok. Similar to United in quality. Business class lounge in Istanbul is large and really excellent. The Istanbul airport is new and huge. I don't think I have ever walked such long distances in an airport and I have probably flown into 150 + airports in my life. Have no idea about ticket costs. Might be more expensive to fly during the Christmas holiday time. $6K seems pretty reasonable. I doubt you will find $4K flights that you will want.

I’ve flown Turkish Airlines a few times in business class to Africa from JFK, and will be doing so again in May. The food and service onboard are excellent. Ground crew and customer service, not so much, but it always works out in the end. And they have very reasonable prices for business class. I wouldn’t worry about every seat not having aisle access. If you are on a plane with the 2-3-2 configuration in biz, get the two seats together on the side. Since you are traveling with your partner, it’s not a big deal to be next to them, and whoever has the window seat won’t be stepping over a stranger. The Turkish Airlines lounge at IST is truly fabulous so a layover there is well spent. The offer of one or two nights at a hotel in Istanbul has a lot of conditions that are not easily met so I wouldn’t count on that.

As for your itinerary, I would not recommend a beach destination in Thailand. The beaches are nothing special and your time would be better spent going to Chiang Mai, Chang Rai, or Cambodia as has been suggested. And since you are based on the east coast, you can easily get to beautiful beaches in the Caribbean if you really want a beach vacation. I would save the beach for that.

The plan is sounding amazing and I would love to join this Thailand Trip in late 40 with my bae. Please suggest a well suggested itinerary to make best memories in Thailand.

It is too early to buy tickets for Dec 26/Jan 27. You can use Google Flights to track prices.
New York to Bangkok | Google Flights

That shows that prices are currently low for a trip in November - from JFK. I used NYC to get fares from EWR, JFK, LGA. I think you want to use EWR but you could save a ton by flying from JFK.

I think I mentioned that business class can be so much better that a 10- or 12-hour flight can be enjoyable, not just tolerable. It "can be" but that depends on the airline and which aircraft type they use.

Today the search results above shows a JAL itinerary that includes their A350-1000 both ways between JFK and Tokyo. Those are awesome (IME) suites in business class. Their 787 is very nice compared to other airlines but that A350 spoiled me.

No need to focus on Turkish Airlines. But I took a look at a 1-way on Dec 26. They have a 777 with 2x2x2 seating and a an A350-900 with 1x2x1 seating. I would very much prefer the latter. The good news is that flight is from EWR. The 777 is from JFK. Same price.

another alternative is to fly Singapore airlines EWR/JFK to SIN? I know its 19 hours nonstop but if you stay in Singapore 3 or 4 days its only 1 hr to Kuala Lumpur or 2.5 hours to bkk or 3 hours to Vietnam.
any feedback on this flight or premium economy class on Singapore Airlines?

I thought about suggesting Singapore Airlines (SQ) but thought you would not want to have a flight that long. SQ has been ranked in the top 3 airlines in the world for as long as I can remember. Their business class looks fabulous.

I flew SQ premium economy roundtrip nonstop LAX to Tokyo a few years ago. I think it was their 777. Very comfortable, great service. The seats are comparable to typical US domestic first (would say that about typical PE seats). Much, much better than regular economy.

The EWR flights are on the SQ A350-900 Ultra Long Range which have only business and premium economy seating. I think I might prefer the Japan Airlines A350-1000 where the PE seats are in a hard shell, so the seat in front does not recline back into your space (nbd, really, but that was what I was hoping to see on SQ), but that flight is from JFK.

The SQ flight has a couple of extra legroom bulkhead seats in the front that would probably be worth paying up for. Seating is 2x4x2 but in the back there are a few rows of 1x4x1 and those single seats look great.

The SIN-BKK flights are in economy on SQ or their low-cost regional Scoot. I would try to avoid Scoot. But, Scoot does have some extra-recline seats, so maybe you would get that with your PE fare.

You can probably build in stopovers in one or both ways. Or an open jaw. If I had some Star Alliance miles (United) then I would look into getting a business class award seat on SQ or Thai between SIN and BKK one or both ways.

thanks for all comments - we are looking to travel to Thailand 2 weeks or so in November/Dec this year - we wanted to get back a couple days before thanksgiving in the US so would have to leave approx. nov 10 or travel after that holiday and leave in early December. have gone back and forth about using a group tour vs independent and we have landed on independent (better hotels, less info overload, less early mornings, no herding like children, etc) we have done independent trips to Beijing, Hong Kong, many European countries so shouldn't be a big deal.

some questions/comments
- is Nov too close to rainy season - would 2 weeks early December be better or is it a wash?
- still researching flights - potentially TK but looking at all airlines either premium economy or bus but most likely PE. - coming from east coast US so will break up the travel and stay a night or 2 potentially in Istanbul or possibly Rome (depends on the airline ) interesting that TK connects to IST out of HKT
- proposed itinerary (we will take local tours with small groups or private guides for a least 1 day or 1/2 day at each stop)
- 4/5 nights in Bangkok - looking at highly rated hotels based on various ratings (maybe Okura prestige or similar)
- fly to Chiang mai - 4/5 nights looking to rent a car although we drive on the other side of the road it shouldn't be that difficult to switch to the left and stay at a place like the Legend in Change Rai for 4/5 nights
- fly to Phuket 4/5 nights - stay in a high rated beachfront hotel maybe Patong or Karon or kata areas
mulling over Angkor Wat but thinking to save Cambodia for another time.

totaling 12 to 15 days if we do 4/4/4 or similar plus travel days with stayover in IST if we use TK or stayover in Rome if not.
all comments or tips are welcome.....
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