Any experienced of Thailand?

[MotherOfDragons90]

My DH has a big birthday at the end of Jan 2020 and I would really like us to be away somewhere special. He mainly likes nice beaches where he can relax and read his book, and good food but we also like a bit of sightseeing. And I love wildlife.

Top of my list was Sri Lanka but with the bombings And government advisories in place I’ve abandoned that idea and I’m trying to think of somewhere else that’s warm and sunny but with a bit of culture some wildlife spotting opportunities (in the wild not zoos/enclosures).

My friend has recommended Thailand but in my head it isn’t very nice! My vision is somewhere dirty with lots of drunken British backpackers/sex shows/dirty crowded beaches and drugs (including drugged wildlife).

Has anyone been recently that wouldn’t mind sharing their experience, where they went and what the vibe was like etc? It would be just the two of us, no kids. Thanks

Depends where you go. I did a tour with exodus. As part of it we went to koh samui. We stayed in the north and it was a peaceful finishing village few huts etc. Beautiful. We went to chaweng ( ?) beach one day and it was hideous. Loads of tacky crap stalls and felt like it could be anywhere.

I loved it! Khao Lak, near Phuket, is lovely.

Love Thailand. Favourite place on earth. Never stayed in any touristy areas. Even Koh Samui and Koh PhangNgan you can stay on the opposite quiet side of the island to the resort areas and they're gorgeous. A quiet all over island is Koh Lanta. If you can afford it, the Pimilai is amazing.

South Africa, loads of wildlife and some great beaches?

In Ko Samui the area arond the fishing village Bo Phut is nice. We stayed at Scent Hotel there which was amazing. In Ko Phagnan the area around Santhiya resort was peaceful.

I didn't really like Thailand. We went to Phuket and it was as you describe and worse. Although our hotel, being a but further out, was lovely.
I suggest Malaysia. We have been to Penang and Langkawi, both of which would fit the bill.

@Soontobe60

Oops sorry.
@Soontobe60 We're going there in 8 weeks! Starting at the Apsara. Any tips/must sees?

We went to Thailand for our honeymoon. 2 nights in Bangkok, 5 in Chiang Mai, and 7 in Krabi at Ryavadee.

It totally depends what you want. While I’m glad we went to Chiang Mai, if I had my time again I think I’d just do Krabi, for the simple reason that it would be a more relaxing holiday, which in hindsight was what we needed more so than a ‘travelling’ holiday.

Bangkok...avoid. Admittedly we were jet lagged when we got there, and it was probably the best place to waste a day in bed recovering, but other than seeing some temples at night I don’t think it was worth it at all. It was exceptionally busy, crowded, and very very hot. We travelled early December.

Chiang Mai was pretty, and we went to an elephant sanctuary from there, but, I think we could have done that in Krabi too. That said, I think there would be spectacular scenery around Chiang Mai if you were up to doing some day trips from there.

Krabi was beautiful, and lots of wild life. Monkeys came in around our resort, giant lizards, went snorkeling and saw some spectacular fish. Lovely beaches, we had a choice of two at our resort, one of which was private. While there was a back packer area close to the resort, you could totally avoid it if you chose to.

Thailand is one of my favourite places and I've travelled there as a backpacker and also with my DC. This year we travelled around with my PIL and Kanchanaburi was a big hit with them.9Bangkok is a vibrant city and a stay in a riverside hotel is a must.Beach area depends on what time of year you travel, generally the west coast in our winter months and Koh Samui during our summer although I've been to Samui twice in January and the weather was good.
www.anantara.com has an elephant camp in Chiang Rai in the North of Thailand.I'd love to stay here and tend to the elephants.

Chinese New Year is early in 2020 - 25th January I think and more and more Chinese are travelling during this holiday. Thailand is popular with the Chinese so prices tend to be quite high.
Phuket - recommend the north of the island - the slate hotel (used to be the indigo pearl) is nice and the area is quieter with restaurants on the beach, but no clubs, no drunken tourists.
Chiang Mai is great to see temples and easy to combine with Phuket. I like Bangkok (but as I live in China am used to big cities) and as pp mentioned Kanchanaburi is a great day trip from Bangkok. Not that far distance wise, but traffic is bad. If you do go to Bangkok I recommend booking at hotel near the skytrain as it's much easier and quicker to get about, especially if it rains.
Ayutthaya is also a lovely day trip from Bangkok.