Thailand July- not Samui?

[Rosehipbubbles]

Bangkok Airways have a monopoly on flights to Koh Samui - £1k+ for a family of 4. I can't bring myself to pay this for a short flight but everything I read says it is the best place for a beach holiday in the summer. Cheaper flight and ferry combo means a day lost each way.

All I have atm are flights in and out of Bangkok 2 weeks apart (cheap via avios bought on a whim) and I'm going round in circles trying to get a good itinerary with some nice beach for my pre teen boys (who don't hugely want to go to Thailand).

Help appreciated!!

One option I was looking at was cheap flight to Chumphon maybe stay a few days then short ferry to Koh tao but-

Looks like there isn't much in Chumphon and the death island reputation of Koh Tao with the terrible murders has put me right off. Koh Samet also been mentioned but hearing mixed things - beach covered in rubbish...

Look at Phuket. You are, however, going in the low season. A friend went to Thailand last July and it rained every day and lots of places were closed. (Koh Samui)

Phuket more likely to be wet as it's on the west side of Thailand. We went to both islands last July/August; it was usually cloudy but only one torrential downpour across 10 days. Samui MUCH nicer imo; Phuket busier but felt a bit seedy - like a tropical Costa del Sol. Probably more to do there in the way of water sports etc - Samui more of a chilled out, relaxing holiday island. Didn't get the vibe of the pp that things were closed - everywhere v definitely open and busy.

Just a thought - not sure I'd be booking a holiday to South east Asia just at the moment. I'd want to see what happens with corona virus before I made that call.

Also, it's a helluva flight/distance for a beach holiday. Why not Spain or Greece if that's all you want? If you're going all that way, do some proper travelling - Bangkok/ Chiang Mai/ etc.

Yes re corina- we are re-evaluating whether to take the hit and cancel the flights - will only be about £250.

I guess a lot of it is getting max value from avios - we normally go to the west coast US - might go back there again as DC love it.

We don't just want beach btw - but with teens we need a bit beach.

Definitely do Thailand. We went last September and only booked after we'd crossed a load of other places off the list. It wasn't a first choice but it's amazing and would go back in a minute. Didn't go Koh Samui though so can't comment on that. Don't think you'd regret it! It's amazing.

What was your iternary MrsJust? We want a mix of culture and relaxing. Really not sure now though because of the virus - youngest dd even less keen now.

Itinerary!

Vietnam?
We are going in July.

We spent a week in Khao lak. Spent a few days by the beach/pool then others out and about. We went to visit temples, waterfalls, elephant sanctuary, bamboo rafting and took a cooking class. Cooking was amazing, not to missed. We then moved to kata beach, Phuket and spent a week there . It's quite touristy there but we used that resort as a base to do island boat trips (phiphi, James Bond etc). We also went to big bhudda, Thai boxing and hired a private long tail boat to take us to a desserted island for the day. It was the rainy season when we were there but it didn't rain too much and when it did, it was just an hour or so maybe in the afternoon. Just used the time to lunch under cover then got going again. Couldn't recommend it more.

We also got flights to Bangkok in the summer and 13 and 14 year old.

If you do go ahead and book I would do only fully refundable atm and get travel insurance (though this generally only covers you in FCO advice goes to at least avoid all but essential travel and stays that way just before your holiday). I'm hoping the coronavirus situation will be solved before then and currently official numbers are low outside China but its evolving. We are just watching and waiting - I've got £2.5k of non-refundable atm and our travel insurance (InsureandGo Annual from now) only pays out if FCO advice is don't travel 48 hours before the holiday then I have to try and get money back and if not they will pay out for destinations says don't travel to. So I presume if Thailand goes to don't travel they pay out for Thailand and not for Malaysian part though not 100% on that. If its widespread and you just don't want to go they don't pay out generally but check terms and conditions. In future I will only book fully refundable hotels. AirAsia has also announced temperature checks on everyone which is worrying me as don't want to end up stranded somewhere but probably be long gone by August.

We were shocked with the price of flights to Koh Samui and put everywhere into Skyscanner and discover could get to Borneo (Sandakan) for less so went with that option to get the wildlife and rainforest for the kids and us. In Thailand we are doing River Kwai area - no beaches there but our hotel has a zipline, pool, hot springs, canoes and paddle boats so things for kids to do. My son isn't at all bothered about coronavirus but my DD is very worried and wants us to cancel, currently numbers aren't high outside China though.

Thanks for all that detail Koala - makes me feel better that it's not just me that was really surprised by the Samui flights! That sounds like a great holiday with no compromises - at the moment we are still undecided.
We've only got Bangkok flights but as they are avios we can change for a fee so we have flexibility and choice atm as nothing else yet booked. This is what is making it hard - if we were booked up we would just be planning to go.

Wondering if the US again is a safer ( if a bit less exciting) bet. Lots to think about

It's hard to know at the moment, as we would lose £2.5k by cancelling now and it's a while off I'm just watching and waiting, currently numbers are low outside China but it grew very quickly in China. My travel insurers have now published questions and answers on it and it appears if FCO advice goes to don't travel the whole trip including all destinations would be claimable. What's concerning though is if its bad and FCO haven't advised against travel you could get refused on flights with a temperature, tourists sites closed, quarantines etc but on the other hand could all die down.

Costa Rica is really good for that age if you do change - lots of rainforest, wildlife, beaches (though on the wild side and more for watersports than sunbathing), ziplines, whitewater rafting etc. This holiday I've got beaches in the Perhentians and turtles / baby sharks (told by my teenager these are cute), wildlife in Borneo and River Kwai in Thailand. Am hoping we can at least do Malaysia / Borneo part but if Thailand goes to don't travel flights to Malaysia are £1k more than what I paid to Bangkok. The flights I booked have more than doubled in price though. I think if it all falls through I'll just go to Torquay , our insurance doesn't let you cancel until 48 hours before departure.

That all sounds stressful! Costa Rica is great - I've been in spring time pre dc. We looked at it before we booked Thailand but the summer weather put us off a bit. Cheap flights all gone now anyway.

Khao Lak is lovely. I've been to Hua Hin in August and just had the odd rain shower in the afternoon. No flight needed from Bangkok.

A bit late to the party, but...

Have you already bought the international flights. Bangkok Airways have partnerships with many airlines that can reduce the cost of the BKK-USM flights vastly when booked in conjunction with the international flights. Emirates, BA, Malaysia Airlines, Finnair, Qatar all spring to mind.

I'd be hesitant to travel to the West Cost in July. So have a look at Nokair - they offer Fly and Ferry options to Koh Samui for about £40 per person one way. They fly from Don Muang (smaller, old airport in Bangkok) to either Surat Thani (quicker) or Nakhon Si Thammarat, the bus to the pier, and then onwards ferry ticket.

Can take under 5 hours, and it's all seamless - many Thai's use it, and it's quite a pleasant way to travel. Do it both ways and that's £700 saving for an extra 3 1/2 hours travel each way.

Couple of additions - just seen you used Avios, so you couldn't have booked the add ons - but for future reference, if you're flying BA theyu have dirt cheap add-ons on Bangkok Airways (sometimes connectnig via Singapore is a lot cheaper as well).

Also to add, i've reasons for keeping a very careful eye on Coronavirus in Thailand. It's been largely contained, mainly infected Chinese tourists from Wuhan who have been isolated and treated. It's not spreading in Thailand, there's been hardly any cases in recent weeks.

There is an incredible irony in considering switching to the US - you are FAR safer in Thailand when you take into account street crime, gun deaths, common flu, car accidents. Having lived in the US and Asia, I adore the States, but appreciate the additional hazards,

This is a good link for Coronavirus and putting it in context: gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6