Thailand

[JorisBonson]

DH and I hoping to go on a very belated honeymoon to Thailand in January for around 2 1/2 weeks (🤞🤞).

He's been but only to Phuket for a martial arts camp. I've never been and am overwhelmed by the choice!

What shall we do? We're both love to do cultural things - our most recent trip was to Japan and we just walked for hours and hours every day seeing temples and things you could only see in Japan. We're also massive foodies and will want to eat everything!

A few beach days would be great as well as somewhere for a bit of a night out (not clubbing!).

Would like to go to an elephant sanctuary but I'm very wary of finding a real ethical one. Don't want to touch them or ride on them or anything.

I'm not overly excited about Bangkok but understand we'll need to have a night there either side. If anyone could share their itinerary would be appreciated!

@Kolo that sounds amazing - I wish I was doing that right now rather than going to work 🤣

[quote JorisBonson]@Kolo that sounds amazing - I wish I was doing that right now rather than going to work 🤣[/quote]
Hahah wouldn't we all. My trip was a honeymoon too. We swore when we had kids we'd take them, when they were old enough. Now covid!

I've been there 8+ and love it. Admittedly, the last time was 5yrs, so info and things might well have changed.

Phuket has an international airport, so you might be able to fly there, and not go via Bangkok at all. Air asia used to do a flight to Kuala Lumpur from the UK. You could then get a smaller flight direct to Phuket.

I like Bangkok for a few days, but need somewhere quieter for the actual holiday. Great shopping, whole multi level department stores dedicated to various things. My DH is into computers and electronics and could spent all day at Pantip plaza. Nearby by was an even bigger shop selling everything from clothes, shoes, toys, accessories etc.

Phuket island is large. Alot of tourists go to Patong beach which IMO is now awful. Seedy and overcrowded. Farther down the coast is still touristy, but quieter and less seedy. Karon and Kata beachs for example.

Don't forget about vaccines. When we went to Koh Chang (far East coast) it was recommended we took malaria meds if we were going hiking or into the forests. I think the vast majority of Thailand is malaria free though.

If you are on honeymoon, will you be TTC soon after? Read up about their current zika status, along with speaking to your GP/travel nurse. We haven't been to Thailand in years due to the risk of zika and TTC. Its gone very quiet in the media, especially since covid, but zika is still a real risk if TTC or already pregnant.

Been several times to different parts of Thailand

Was there March 2020 when everything closed for covid restrictions, very quickly

Loads of flights were cancelled immediately

We managed to get a flight home earlier than planned

Took 7 months to get refunds back, from multiple cancelled flights

Thanks @Elouera, I will look at those beaches! We're happily childfree so no Zika worries

@M00n0nastick628 we won't even be booking until the trip is pretty much guaranteed to happen so fingers crossed we won't be in that boat - sounds frustrating!

March 2020, it was absolute chaos at the airport in Bangkok, when loads of flights were cancelled for everyone at the airport

Luckily we had emergency funds to travel home after booking multiple flights & finally got on one that was not cancelled !

Phuket is hoping to open to vaccinated tourists on 1st July.Phuket has prioritised vaccinating their population as they are reliant on tourism.
Qatar airways fly to Phuket and in the winter months also have a flight to krabi.
I hope you get to travel next Jan.I too hope to visit again and my plan is a week in the north, Bangkok and Khao Lak.

I spent a month in Thailand in 2019. Chiang Mai is an absolute must, my favourite place! As for islands - Koh Lanta is amazing. Avoid Krabi and Phuket. We also loved Phi Phi despite it being extremely touristy, the island itself is stunning. Some people prefer doing Koh Samui, Koh Tao that side of the islands - I haven't personally done those but planning on going back and doing them

Ps if you do Koh Lanta do the 4 Island Tour - amazing.

Have a look at the Anantara Golden Triangle near Chiang Rai.

I’ve been to Thailand a few times. My least favourite was koh Samui. Too touristy and the scenery wasn’t as good. I think either Krabi or the islands off Phuket are the most beautiful. And great snorkelling. Phuket is also stunning scenery wise (Laem Singh beach is just amazing) but Patong is awful with a thriving sex trade so avoid that!

We're thinking of going to Bangkok/Phuket next year but have decided to fly to Bangkok and then fly back to the U.K. from Phuket.

It's slightly more expensive but when you factor in the internal flights, possible hotel cost and the faff we decided it's worth the extra £

[quote SJaneS49]@JorisBonson, you’re 100% right to be wary of some of the elephant sanctuaries. But on the flip side, it’s been an absolutely horrendous 14-15 months for sanctuaries in Thailand (and elsewhere) with difficulties in feeding the animals and paying vets bills - so do visit a genuinely ethical one, they need the money! My DH works in International animal welfare which has included both investigative work and visiting numerous sanctuaries in Thailand and they’ve needed a lot of propping up from Charities Here’s a list of ethical elephant sanctuaries in Thailand (and a few other countries) that World Animal Protection have put together: www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/elephant-friendly-tourist-guide[/quote]
Thank you for that link Jane. I am so wary, I generally don’t visit anywhere with captive animals abroad. It’s helpful to know who to support.

@JorisBonson On the elephant question, have a look at Save Elephant Foundation. They run Elephant Nature Park and Phuket Elephant Sanctuary (on @SJaneS49’s list) and I can really recommend them. We had an amazing day observing and learning about their rescued elephants.

We went to Phuket to get to the Similan islands - if you’re a diver I’d really recommend going there. Even if not it’s worth doing a trial dive/snorkelling as there’s a lot to see in Thailand’s seas.

We stayed at the outrigger on phi phi which is lovely and quiet and the phi phi island village is just behind.

I would 100% recommend the sala hotels in Chang mai and koh samui. Stayed at kata and didn't like it.

I went to Thailand in November 2019 and absolutely loved it. I only visited Bangkok however I thoroughly enjoyed it. So many things to do! I stayed at Four Seasons and the rooms were spectacular!

Thanks everyone!

We're hoping it will be good news for double jabbed people soon and we can book something. Looking at the second week of March for 2 weeks - would have liked to have gone earlier but turns out work has got in the way.

We visited Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket) in February 2020 and took a short trip to Cambodia in between these two stops. Loved loved loved Cambodia and would go back there again in a heartbeat. Was a very cheap short flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap and we explored from there.

I live in Chiang Mai and thoroughly recommend visiting - beautiful temples, great for culture and cooking lessons and under normal circumstances fantastic for getting some special clothes made, although right now many of the tailors are closed. It has lovely hiking trails if you are into that. It is also easy to get to Pai, Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle from here - also all recommended. I also love going out to Huay Tueng Tao lake for a weekend lunch, and Doi Inthanon when we have a bit more time.

Sukhothai is a few hours drive south of here, it is worth stopping off for a day or two. Sukhothai kingdom was the first capital of Siam. Alternatively if you are pushed for time, Ayuttaya can be reached from Bangkok - many taxi drivers will offer to do a day trip.

We just got back from the Anantara Golden Triangle, I have held off doing elephant activities despite having been here 3 years because I didn't want to support an unethical one accidentally. The elephants had a lot of freedom and seemed very happy. No riding allowed. It is expensive though

For islands, I love Koh Samui. There are some fantastic places to eat and it is a fun island to explore. The Fisherman's Village is the best area to stay. You can easily get across to Koh Phangan too. Angthong National Marine park is great for snorkelling day trips, my friends even saw whales there a few months ago. For scuba diving Koh Tao is wonderful and if you want to get your padi certification you can do a course there.

Also as others have said, don't write off Bangkok straight away, it is a fun place to visit for a few days

Thailand is hopefully starting to open to tourists next month, although you can actually get in on tourist visas at the moment but you still have to to hotel quarantine.

If you are a confident and capable driver Thailand is actually quite easy to drive around. I wouldn't recommend it in Bangkok, but we regularly drive cars and mopeds around all the other places I have mentioned. It means you can explore places off the beaten track.

Regarding weather, January is a lovely time to be here, sunny but not too hot. But I see your plans have now changed to March. The weather will be good then but In the North it will be well into smoky season, when farmers and hill tribes burn crops and woodland causing extremely bad air pollution. The AQI gets extremely high to dangerous levels and locals stay inside where possible with air purifiers on full 24/7. If you are keen to visit/explore the north it may be better to wait a couple of months. It usually begins to improve after the Songkran festival (about the 14th April) but it depends when the rain starts.

@ShootingStar94 so helpful, thank you!

Don't mind paying more for a decent sanctuary, especially after the past year they've had. And good to know about the smoke!

Don't right off Bangkok, it's an incredible city if you plan it well or use a private guide. We had a guide who came each day with a driver to collect us from our hotel. She went straight up to the front of the queue at the temples and tourist destinations and bought our tickets for us so we didnt have to queue in the heat. She also showed us lots of really fascinating 'everyday life' sort of stuff we would never have found on our own. It wasn't that expensive to use her and it totally made the trip - it certainly beat standing in the street waiting for tuktuk drivers to rip us off. We were five days in BK but you could probably do it in three or four days.

From there you could fly to Phuket and drive north to Kao Lak and go to Elephant Hills which is amazing and very ethical - they do not allow you to ride the elephants. They also do a lake safari inland at Kao Sok national park with tents on stills over the lake in the middle of a jungle. It's incredible - we loved it. There are other similar camps that are more affordable if Elephant Hills is over budget for you. We did three days at the base camp and 3 days at the lake. Everything about it was fantastic.

Some of the distances covered may seem daunting but the journeys are so scenic and beautiful and a mixure of car, open sided jeep and boat trips and it's so fascinating watching everyday Thai rural life go by as you are being driven from A to B that the journeys become part of the fun.

Or fly to Krabi. Krabi is utterly beautiful and it's also easy to get to Koh Lanta by boat from there too. Koh Lanta is small, quiet and laid back - perfect for honeymoons.

You could do BK for a few days then the Krabi coast and a few days in Koh Lanta in 2 and half weeks easily. Just don't go to Ao Nang town - it's noisy, tacky, charmless over-commercialised shit hole. Find a nice hotel further up the coast.

Places we've stayed and loved:

www.elephanthills.com/

www.tubkaakresort.com/ this place is amazing - can't recommend it highly enough. You can do longboat day trips out to the small islands from here, as a group or privately. Just stunning.

pimalai.com/

This place is beautiful and very upmarket. The hotel itself and the views are amazing. They send a private speed boat to pick you up from the quay on the mainland and it was about an hour and a half to the hotel from memory. However it's expensive to eat in the hotel and a little bit soulless. You don't need fancy restaurants and flashy spas in Thailand when you can walk for five minutes along the beach and eat identical food really cheaply in amazing beach bars and restaurants with cheap cocktails and incredible food and massages for a tenner. That's what we did - stayed at the Pimalai, used their pool in the daytime, had great service, beautiful room, air conditioning, lovely bed linen etc, but walked along the beach each day and each evening to hang out and eat in the cheaper more laid back places with great atmosphere. You can reach a bunch of really good beach bars and restaurants on foot and of course we got our daily massages for about 8 quid each.

And that's made me want to be back in Thailand RIGHT NOW.

write off, not right off!

Thank you!

As someone else upthread said, I would also consider Vietnam. In particular Hoi An. It's just amazing. Lots of culture and heritage, very very pretty place, amazing restaurants, great shops, cheap tailors, cookery schools. The lot.

No-one seems to enjoy Hanoi though. Filthy, full of rats.

Also an island off the coast of Vietnam, closer to Cambodia called Phu Quoc. There is an eco resort in the jungle there called Freedomland which is amazing. It's not so much a hotel as an upmarket eco-hostel with a huge communal dining table and THE MOST AMAZING five course dinners cooked by the owner every evening. You can't book to eat there - you have to stay there and if you stay there, you eat there.
You can walk through the jungle to a beautiful and completely secluded beach where a man waits in a little beach shack with a cool box of drinks and he'll take your order for lunch then goes back to the hotel to fetch it on his bicycle.

Siem Reap in Cambodia is fabulous too. Not on the coast but you could do 5-7 days there and have an amazing time in a hotel with a pool. The town is lovely, great atmosphere, great restaurants, lovely people. Get a private driver to take you to the temples. Twin it with either Thailand or Vietnam.

Sigh. I miss Asia.