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adjiidoll Jan 27th, 2015 07:51 PM

Tokyo and Thailand in July
 
My husband and I will be in in Tokyo from July 19-22 and Thailand from July 22- Aug 3rd. It is our first time and we are super excited. We understand this isn't the popular season to go but have read that we can still catch some good beach weather. This time works best for us to take off of work. We would LOVE tips on what we can accomplish with a week and four days in thailand at that specific time of year? We are thinking 2 days in bangkok. Island hopping. We are in our mid 30's. Love to drink and eat good food. Really want a slice of paradise but want to get a great experience of thai culture. This is our first stop for help. Thanks!

ps If you happen to be well versed in Tokyo, would love some tips on that as well. We added 3 days in Tokyo bc we had a stopover there anyway and have never been.

Kathie Jan 28th, 2015 09:10 AM

With you limited time in Thailand, I'd suggest Bangkok (that's where you will get the introduction to Thai culture) and one beach location. For some reason, people have the idea that "Island hopping" is a great thing to do, but it will just mean that you have less time to enjoy the beach as you re packing and unpacking and moving from place to place. I recommend you choose one beach place.

The Andaman Sea side (Phuket, Krabi, Khoa Lak, Ko Lanta, etc) will have lots of rain over 10 inches in July and August, so you will want to be on the Gulf of Thailand side, Koh Samui or Hua Hin. The beaches on the Andaman Sea side of Thailand will be red-flagged much of the time because it will be stormy.

I highly recommend that you spend more time in Bangkok - so much to see and do. If you are interested in good food, Bangkok is the place for you.

wildtussah Jan 28th, 2015 02:14 PM

My boyfriend and I went to Thailand for the same length of time and really enjoyed this itinerary: 3 days in Bangkok- 1st day we toured the city, went shopping, checked out the large wholesale building where you can find good quality leather, ate street food.. 2nd day we went on a day tour to Ayutthaya by renting a driver and car where we saw lots of temples. 3rd day we spent the day checking out this market on a railroad track 2 hours away. Was hard to find, but one of our most memorable experiences. The 4th day we took a train and ferry to Ko Tao and stayed there for 3 days. It was a bit of a trek, but Ko Tao is more preserved and less touristy then other locations along the coastline. We rented a bungalow that had its own private reef. It was amazing! Crystal clear water, tons of coral and beautiful fish. Ko Tao is the perfect place for scuba diving, snorkeling, going on treks, hanging out on the beach…Then we made our way back up to Bangkok and flew to Laos. I hope you have a fantastic time! Let me know if you need more details.

adjiidoll Jan 30th, 2015 08:28 AM

Wow guys thank you for this great info. What's the name of the bungalow you stayed in in Koh Tao wild tussah? Is Koh Tao the gulf side? Do you remember the railroad market 's location? And what company did you use to rent the driver? Sounds like stuff we would love to do!!! And thank you Kathie, We will stick to the gulf side. But I definitely feel like I'd want to see more than 1 beach because we are traveling all the way from New York. We enjoy hopping around and will not be traveling heavy. So much to decide on.

Kathie Jan 30th, 2015 08:38 AM

Yes, Kao Tao is on the Gulf side.

The railroad market is well on the tourist track, any driver you hire will know where it is.

wildtussah Feb 3rd, 2015 05:23 AM

The bungalow we stayed in was called Baan Talay. Here is the link: http://www.baantalaykohtao.com/koh-tao-bungalows/ The owner is super nice and the open restaurant area has an AMAZING view. I do remember the mosquito nets being a bit bothersome at night, but I believe they have air-condition options. We didn't hire a driver to take us to the railway market so we did it all on our own by asking people along the way. We took a train, then a fairy, then walked through a town and hopped on another train to take us to the railway market. Here are a couple links to it: http://bit.ly/1LHZD58 http://bit.ly/1uTTyrw You have to make sure you go at the right time or you can miss seeing the train come and go through the market. You also could be left behind. For getting to Ayutthaya we just hired a driver at the Bangkok train station, but I think you could negotiate with any taxi driver to get a better price. Most like being hired out for the whole day. Enjoy!

adjiidoll Feb 27th, 2015 08:24 AM

I've been asking around and have gotten these two responses as far as beaches go for July in Thailand. One school of thought says : Fly to Koh Samui from BKK ferry to /Pha nGN(full moon party sounds up our alley)/and Koh Tao(preserved) and the other is fly to Koh Chang from BKK/ and head to Koh Kut. We have 11 days and I'd really like to do more than one island. Since we are starting off in Toyko, we only plan on doing 2 nights in Bangkok. Thoughts???? Thx!

adjiidoll Feb 27th, 2015 08:43 AM

Nevermind. I just looked up rainfall. And it seems that Koh Chang is the wettest!!! Argh.

hawaiiantraveler Feb 27th, 2015 11:28 AM

Our first trip to Thailand and Japan was similar to yours as we stopped in Japan for 3 nights after a 10 day stay in Thailand. We have been back to Thailand four time since. We have been back to Japan 13 times since.....go figure

Aloha!

lindygirl Mar 2nd, 2015 11:23 AM

Sounds amazing! I highly recommend spending more time in Bangkok - lots to see and great street food. Chiang Mai is also a good place to visit - smaller, more laid back, slower moving city. Can't speak for other islands as I've only been to Phuket but you can go on excursions to Phi Phi Island, James Bond Island, dine by the beach every night.

Tokyo and Kyoto deserve a fair bit of time to explore. Every neighborhood in Tokyo is so different and Kyoto is beautiful with temples, old winding streets.

I've posted trip reports with pictures, itinerary, recommendations, and observations.
Thailand - Bangkok, Chiang Mai (as well as Luang Prabang, Laos):
http://fanofblank.blogspot.com/2015/...hiang-mai.html

Japan - Tokyo and Kyoto:
http://fanofblank.blogspot.com/2014/...and-kyoto.html

Enjoy!


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