How easy is it to DIY travel to Thailand and not go via eg Trailfinders?

[tricerotopsrule]

Exactly that...!

I've had a quote from Trailfinders for Feb 2025 for 5 of us (two parents and 3 teens) to go on a multi centre trip (Bangkok, Chaing Mai and Khao Lak) for two weeks to Thailand.

With flights, 4 or 5* hotels, breakfast, transfers and several excursions they are quoting £13k!

Is that about right or a rip off?

Can we arrange it all ourselves re booking flights and hotels? How hard is it and has anyone done that?

Thanks

We went to Thailand in January 2023 - spent less than 6k for 4 of us for 15 nights including 3 in a 5-star hotel in Bangkok and 12 in Phukett in executive rooms on a wing of the holiday inn, could have easily halved what we spent. internal flights are very cheap if booked locally. my daughter did a two-week tour from Bangkok to Chang Mai and loads of other places for £800 + flights she then went onto Laos and Vietnam before going to uni in Malaysia.

We flew from Manchester to Bangkok via Jeddah - we used the executive lounge in Jeddah both ways. We didn't scrimp or save on food or tours.

It is lovely. Free food and drink in the towe lounge from 6am until 6pm too so saves some money on food and drink.

It was our honeymoon so was definitely worth it for us. We just had 1 room for two nights and cost us a lot less.

Don't buy champagne in the rooftop bar.... It's SO expensive!!🤣

They filmed the Hangover 2 there so it's quite cool for pic's

Internally just use Grab - though the airport taxi was a fixed price I think

For internal flights we used ThaiViaJet booked directly - but Skyscanner / google flights are good for research.

We used a Chase card for cash withdrawals and a Halifax Clarity to pay for hotels etc as both fee-free.

kids loved the street food options but even eating in the hotels wasn't expensive at all. only the rooftop bar we did in Bangkok and the Hard Rock Cafe in Phuket which my DD wanted to do for her birthday were more expensive

@tricerotopsrule not sure about tower lebua.... we usually stay at https://www.shangri-la.com/bangkok/shangrila/

tbh we like shangri la in most places we go, aside from a few exceptions

their service in bkk is exceptional

Thailand is exceptionally easy to navigate independently. I first wrnt for two months at age 19 (20 years ago!) and have been twice since, always alone and always found it very easy. There's a reason it's often the first choice destination for young backpackers!

You can book multi city flights through eg Skyscanners before you go. Otherwise any hotel will have either their own travel agent inhouse or will be able to recommend you one, for travel/excursions/flights/accom. In any tourist destination there will be dozens of options too. Prices are pretty standardised for excursions etc so while you will pay a little extra commission for the travel agent's services it will be the same wherever you go pretty much. Booking.com is pretty good for hotels too, and Tripadvisor for excursions, if you prefer to preplan rather than sort it as you go along.

There is absolutely no way I'd pay for an organised trip to Thailand! It's really just not necessary. And I'm not someone who is dead set against organised stuff or a die hard independent traveller - I've paid over the odds for certain trips (like trekking in Nepal or a safari) just for the ease of mind but Thailand is so easy - it's totally set up for independent travel. Hope you have an amazing time!

We had a corner suite last year at Le Meridian which was gorgeous. This year we’re staying in an exec level suite at the Hilton Milennial, as it’s the perfect location for something we’ve promised DS. Both great value for the standard of room

It's a very easy country to travel in. Did it alone and there's literally travel agents everywhere. You can book tours, accommodation, transport etc etc.

Definitely doable. Just look on Google Flights and you can book internal flights in Thaliand and flights to Cambodia to save time. Local flights in Thailand are pretty cheap. Hotels can be found on Booking.com (then contact the hotel direct to see if they'll do it cheaper) and most will arrange taxi transfers for you. I planned a 3 centre tour for 5 myself a few years back (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket).

One good thing to do is to book a local in Bangkok to give you a tour - you then get to push to the front of the queues as attractions (as you're with a guide), and they have excellent local knowledge. We found ours on TripAdvisor. This isn't the one we used, but it's the sort of thing to look for: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g293916-d12598888-Reviews-Nikki_Tour_Guide-Bangkok.html

13k? Fuck me but that’s expensive for Thailand!
Book your flights direct with the airline- don’t get sucked into cheaper prices elsewhere because they will inevitably end up the same cost as the airline eventually. Internal flights we usually use Bangkok Airways.
Bangkok - stay riverside if you’ve never been before as the air quality is better. February can be very poor air quality, especially up around Chiang Mai as crop burning over the borders causes a lot of smog pollution. I would actively avoid CM at that time of year due to smog potential. Shangri La is lovely in BKK - we generally end up there although have also stayed in the Sheraton further up the river too in the past as it’s usually a lot cheaper.
Khao Lak is lovely with beautiful beaches and decent priced hotels - you get a lot more bang for your buck than on Phuket and there’s a lot less drunken Russians too. You could go to Khao Sok to do some nature tourism type things? It’s not far from Khao Lak and very beautiful.

Ahhh ... Thailand. Easiest place I've ever been to for getting around.

Usual warning though, if you are going independently make sure your insurance is top notch. Only reason to have a package would be because a good company looks after you if necessary, organised yourself .. you're on your own!

We've booked 2 weeks in Thailand with Trailfinders for this summer. However we were really disappointed at how inflexible they have become. We wanted to visit Kanchanaburi and Ayutthaya but they couldn't offer anything in Ayutthaya and only a tour to Kanchanaburi picking up and leaving from Bankok. So we have booked some bits ourselves which has been very easy. We have been before and getting around or organising lifts is not difficult.

Have a look here: https://diytravelagent.blog/category/thailand/

She’s written pretty much exactly what you’re after!

I am overwhelmed looking at hotels but I have a question...

I love the look of 'pool access' rooms at the beach hotels. Where the pool is literally outside your room. Are these good or do you find all the guests float past your room and look in??

Would a higher up room be better for privacy and I also have a slight concern way at the back of my mind that it would be better to be up high if there's another tsunami 🙈

being higher up won't save you in a tsunami unfortunately.

but I prefer higher up rooms for the view

I mean you could get a pool villa? there are hotels with two bedroom pool villas?

I know looking at hotels could be overwhelming... but I stick to international chains to make it easier

six senses, hyatt, four seasons, shangri la, intercontinental, banyan tree, jumeirah, bellmond etc.

or boutique hotels which have a very strong established reputation.

and when it comes to SEA (this will sound snobby but its not), I sort search results with price high to low and go for the most expensive hotel with the highest rating.... so minimum 4.5/5 or one booking.com minimum 8.5

also look at their worst reviews see if there is anything significant eg. security or hygiene issues.

Pool access rooms are shite in my opinion. Other people and their kids lurking outside your room makes you feel like a zoo exhibit. Are you still looking at Khao Lak? There are lots of beautiful hotels to choose from I agree.

@TheMousePipes yes still looking at Khao Lak although not 100% set on it, do you have any recommendations??

Great point re pool access and that's what I'd worry about, zero privacy!

We really like Khao Lak - it’s a great little tourist town set up on a beautiful stretch of beach. There are lots of really great little restaurants and unlike a previous poster I would strongly recommend staying in a more locally owned hotel. There are some very good deals to be had in Khao Lak if you don’t stay in one of the big international hotels. Have a look at The Leaf group - I think there are two or three little hotels of theirs either on the beach or really close to it. We really liked Moracea as well - go for the rooms in the front, not the ones around the new pool at the back as it gets very hot up there!

You could look at Ko Lanta as well - similar beaches but far more Thai as you can get over to the Old Town for a trip out as well as trundle up and down to the different beach towns. The further south on the island you go the quieter it gets.
We really like Long Beach Chalets (we stay in the old bit at the back with the garden pool, not the expensive beach front bit but depends on your budget) the family who own it are lovely and the beach restaurant is fabulous. You could visit two or three totally different places on Lanta and never have to get a transfer of more than 20 minutes between them. It’s probably my favourite place for a relaxing beach break in Thailand. February is the perfect time too - the sea is at it’s best in Feb - warm and flat for swimming.

@tricerotopsrule sorry, forgot to tag you in the above!

Like pps, when we went last year we first got a quote for everything all in but was frustrated by the lack of flexibility. So I did it all myself - I loved being able to choose exactly what hotels I wanted to stay in etc.

Agree with most of the posts above, internal flights are so easy, book airport transfers in advance and they are cheap.

One thing I wish I’d done differently is to have 3 nights in Bangkok. Mostly because dd loved the malls! Look at hotels with lounge access if you can afford it. Not something I’ve come across before but worked well for us.

And pool access rooms. We had one in Koh Samui - never had one before and was surprised to find out that it meant we could access the pool whenever we wanted. This was amazing on the nights after we came home from dinner and could have a quick dip. But not so nice on one of the nights when a group next door partied in the pool til the early hours. Most people did stick to the parts of the pool outside their room but that made it even more annoying when a few people didn’t

We've done Thailand twice - once on Khao Lak and once BKK/Samui. We also stayed at the Moracea on Khao Lak and found it a really good option, although the breakfast got repetitive after day 3 (don't they all though). I liked the beach and the pool area and we ran into a giant lizard one morning lounging on the stairs to get from our room down to the beach! But overall a good option for families I think. I may have booked an all day trip on a high speed boat out to some islands in a national park to snorkel and that was fabulous fun - highly recommend.

We split our time between there and the JW Marriott (its Asia, always indulge a few days in a 5*!) which was absolutely fabulous with the beach, incredible breakfast, free kayaks and other beach stuff, and this enormous pool that wound through the property. However, we did have a major issue with an Indian wedding party that just blasted music through the night from the beach, and I mean THROUGH THE NIGHT. Management put flyers under doors the day before about potential noise but they never shut them down. And we were pretty far from the beach area in our room. So just be aware that some of these big time resorts can be wedding or conference party central.

However, we didn't really like that part of Thailand as much as we liked Samui. We stayed at two properties there - the Melati (amazing pools, good beach access, lovely rooms, especially the ones with private pools, but kinda far from food and other amenities) and then SALA Samui which was... interesting. The room pool was fabulous, but the beach area left something to be desired (I didn't like the water) and the rooms bathroom was actually outside the room outdoors. Like all of it, but it wasn't a bit deal and kinda cool. Walkable to food options and easier to get into central Samui. The airport there is the most adorable thing ever and you get transported from the plane to terminal on carts like you are at Disneyland. BangkokAir were excellent for the short flight.

Be aware, though, that they are filming the third season of White Lotus on Samui at the Ritz Carleton and that could impact numbers by the time you go.

End of the day we prefer Malaysia to Thailand but we've had some good experiences in Thailand too. BKK is crazy though, Im not sure I ever need to go back there!

@HerbalRefreshmentt oh is that the JW Marriot suites you're taking about?? That's on my shortlist, with a 2km pool that winds all around the hotel?? It looks amazing but is ££££. Is it near enough to walk to restaurants etc as we like to go out at night to explore

Thaaaatttss the one! Yeah that pool is crazy but its also very clean, I swam quite a few segments of it and hardly ever saw anyone else. Other than the Indian wedding we really liked it, the restaurant was wonderful for dinner one night and I took a kayak out one morning while hubs watched from a lounger on the beach - it was just the two of us and it was bliss. However, it is a ways from central Khao Lak so if you want to go out to explore at night (and we did) you will need to get transport from the hotel. Getting transport isnt a big deal, though you may end up in the back of an open truck like we did (that was from the Morcea though). There are some night markets (obv no prices and its all bargaining) and food stalls, etc and there is a small area in Khao Lak for shopping (I had some dresses made) and food as well. A pharmacy there was also very helpful with my stomach troubles and sorted me out no problem :) We even saw elephants being herded back from wherever they were giving tourist rides.

Id say for two or three nights as a nice treat, if you want to just do beach and family time and maybe regroup a bit from the differentness of Asia, the JW is a good bet. This is why we like to split stays across two different class of hotels in different areas, if one sucks you aren't there long enough for it to matter! :)

@HerbalRefreshmentt the rooms I was looking at had pool access, from your memory do you recall if you could see straight into peoples rooms as you swam past? That's my only reservation! It does look amazing and unusual. Is it one massive winding pool then rather than a separate pool? Can you go in it any time day or night? Thanks

We went about five years ago now, but as I recall the rooms were not as up front on the pool as some others you see around, but somewhat set back from the actual pool. May have had a little bit of garden space/patio area between the room and the pool as a buffer as well. I couldn't see inside anyone's room that I remember as the pool is a bit lower elevation wise - you have to go down some steps I believe, you dont just jump in and out. And its so so big that the odds of people parking right in front of YOUR room is incredibly small. I think you can go in any time of day or night, I dont remember why we didn't walk around the property at night, we were in a building towards the front by reception as I didn't want a pool room (or we didnt want to pay extra for it). And yes its one winding pool, not a bunch of separate pools! You can swim the entire length if you wish, and frankly I dont remember seeing more than a handful of other people swimming when I was - most were folks in front or near their room. We went in May when it was low season though.

The beach was the nicest of all we encountered in Thailand, though, and the private access made it that much better. It was clean, good sand, the water was clean, no weird bits floating in it, etc.

Im looking at the website right now and there are definitely different 'zones' to the pool - I swam into the pool (area) where they do yoga on those raft things and that wasn't near any rooms, in fact, it was like an actual pool pool, I got food/bev service sitting around a lounger there, but it was connected to the main winding pool too. I never saw the little boat with coconuts lol or the aqua play zone, so that may be new. If you don't have small kids, request a room away from those areas perhaps.