Thailand - holiday recommendations please!

[bloonoo]

Hiya

My boyfriend and I are looking at going to Thailand for 2 weeks in June. Anyone got any hints or tips on where to go, what to visit, what to do etc?

We don't even know where to start - google takes us to package holidays or expensive tours, we would like to do a a tour where we spend perhaps 4 days in Bangkok, a few days in the countryside and then a few days at the beach. Don't want to spend too much money. A friend has just been travelling and said don't bother booking anything in advance, you can just turn up and pay pennies for a decent hotel, but I am worried as we'll be travelling in June this won't be the case.

Thanks :)

[zeban]

Don't book a package and maybe book the first night or two in Bangkok beforehand so you don't have to find accomodation after such a long flight. But otherwise you will be fine. There's so many places to stay, Thailand is the easiest country to travel around and is very cheap.

[Huguenot]

I'm not sure how confident a traveller you are, but the advice was good: there's plenty of availability.

I live in Singapore, and plenty of us just pop up for a weekend in Thailand without anything booked in advance. Usually we'll have a spin through TripAdvisor or AsiaRooms on a Friday afternoon to see what's around.

June is beginning of South West monsoon, so it's rainer on Phuket side (Krabi as well) than it is on the Samui side of the peninsular. If you just want the beach, that's okay, as rain tends to be in short bursts and have a cooling effect in the evening. However, if you want to dive, the seas are murky during monsoon.

You should also consider the north - Chiang Mai has got some good sights.

If you really want an experience try getting a two day riverboat down the Mekong from near Chiang Rai (further north still) as far as Luang Prabang in Laos. Really spectacular.

If you want to get quite a lot in, try and fly between the destinations.

Get yourself the latest Lonely Planet and have a blast!!!

[bloonoo]

Thanks for the tips Zeban and Huguenot - didn't realise about the monsoon season. Just had a look on the net and thought about staying in Bangkok for a few days, going from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by train, staying there a few days, then heading to Krabi or Phuket (just for the beaches/beauty/relaxing etc) - with the rainy season will this still be worth it or would you recommend Samui - are the sights just as nice? I personally don't mind not diving but my boyfriend would like to.

What about tourist season - will things be shut down because it isn't high season? Only ask as been to Greece and Lanzarote at the end of the tourist season before and they were literally shutting the island down in front of our eyes which wasn't

that nice, nothing to do and we didn't feel that welcome lol!

[zeban]

Thailand is a year round holiday season, nothing shuts down. I went in the monsoon season and it was fine. Nice in fact! Wouldn't recommend Phuket, there are many more beautiful beaches in Thailand. I loved Ko Tao and Phi Phi though this was 11 years ago so maybe get some more recent recommendations.

[Huguenot]

There's no reason to worry about end of season - this doesn't happen in Thailand as it's not a 'school holiday' destination. It just depends on whether you mind the rain. Thailand is hot and wet all year around, but wettest June to October.

The diving/snorkelling will be pretty poor June - October on the Phuket side, so if this is on the wish list you need to get to Koh Samui. Phuket has literally three times as much rain in June as Koh Samui. The waters are choppier and more stirred up in Phuket making boat/swimming trips more uncomfortable and less rewarding.

Samui is a more relaxed and laid-back island, but it depends what you like. I don't like Phuket, and so would choose Samui anyway. Phuket is a good place to get mindlessly thrashed on beer and local heavy metal cover bands, Samui is for an altogether more soulful experience (but you can still get pissed if you want ;-))

Neither of them will be anything like your Greece or Lanzarote experience, it's much less commercialised.

[Huguenot]

Phi Phi's on the Phuket side, Ko Tao's on the Samui side - so you'll still need to choose! ;-)

[bloonoo]

Thanks guys, sounds like I am more of a Samui side person!!! Off to get the lonely planet guide from the library now :)

[jester]

Bloonoo,two tips and please remember.Do not wear anything gold,as you will surely be relieved of it.Do not hire a jet-ski as you are bound to get ripped off big-time. If you go into this site Teakdoor .com maybe there will be some useful information or thaivista.com for the same.Thailand is a smashing destination if you are careful.There are lots of interesting sites to see,it really is an eye-opener.Hope you have a lovely holiday but heed what i said earlier.

[zeban]

Do people still wear gold (in general) ;-)

My advice is be sensible whichever country you go to! It is a very touristy destination now so be mindful of other travellers! but Thai people are really lovely