enyaw

^^

Yeah I agree, Kata Noi has a perfect setting far a honeymoon, Kata Yai would be a good choice aswell

as it has more restaurants and what not close by if you feel like venturing out.

You or your family needs to find an Asian-focused travel agent in Los Angeles who has access to consoldiator fares. These travel agents are usually found in Asian communities.

Someone in a travel forum recommended http://www.thaifly.com/

What is the legnth of stay in Thailand?

Where do you want to purchase the tickets? What currency do you prefer to pay with?

Are travel dates flexible?

How many indivudals are traveling? Can they split up?

Are the travelers originating in the LA area or will they connect through LA?

My guess is that the cheaper fare buckets ($800 - $1,100) available to the general public via retial outlets, like the Internet or the airlines website, have already been sold but Consolidators typically still have some of those fares in their inventory.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

To answer some of these questions:

The dates are from June 12 to June 23. The dates are pretty firm since they are coming for my wedding but can be moved by a day either way.

I can purchase them in the US or Thailand. I only have money in dollars to purchase the tickets.

The travelers will be connecting at LA. Sister's family from Houston and Brother's family and Father from Indianapolis. Total of 5 adults and 1 kid.

I would really prefer them to not be split so I can pick them all up at the airport at once.

I heard there is a big Thai community in Houston. Do any of you think that my sister could find one of these Asian consolidators there for flights out of LAX?

Thanks again all!

Korean Air are offering a lower fare, bookable online here airline consolidator which is actually a published fare.. swing'n'round abouts.

Yeah, both times are tax included. Okay, the summer timing could be it.

Since with China Airlines you can change the flights anytime with no charge, does anybody know if it is possible to buy the BKK-LAX-BKK flights and just change the dates to use the LAX-BKK first and then use the BKK-LAX?

Let me get this straight you want to purchase a bkk - lax return ticket say like thus:

1 BKK - LAX 12JUN

2 LAX - BKK 26JUN

but then change sector 1 dates to say this:

2 LAX - BKK 26JUN

1 BKK - LAX 10JUL

Ingenious it may be, but it's not possible as it would no longer be a bkk - lax return ticket would it.

It may be cheaper for you to book your tickets from a tour-op within the US, but as you say because June is

a particualy busy time the cheaper fares which are released usually around 11 months prior to departure date

may now be fully booked... worth a try though.

I could be wrong here but my guess is that because your are checking fare price and availability from within Thailand, maybe the bkk-lax-bkk is a consolidated fare and lax-bkk-lax is a published fare?

Is this a joke? What's being lesbian got to do with what beach you visit? I dunno?

eman em senim

No probs, did the journey myself within a 2 week time frame. My highlights was Hanoi, Ha Long bay, hiring a scooter and exploring the interior of Cat Ba island, Hoi an, Ku Chi tunnels and the boat trip up the Mekong. You might want to drop Hue and Nha Trang or Dalat because of the time factor, I enjoyed Nha Trang which has a bit of a night scene and there was some natural hot spring mud bath type place near by which I didn't have the time to visit but heard was a good spot.

The only way, I use OAG, pick the flights by myself and ask for quotations.

That's the best way, use the internet to find out the airline to use for the most convenient routings and then buy the seats with a consolidater for that airline.

I find using a good "walk in" agency is the way to go in Thailand and N.S. Tours on Khao San Rd is a good'un .

A good 2 week itininary on a budget would be to fly into Hanoi spend a night or 2 in the old quarter of the city (decent room from about $10 per night) In Hanoi book a 2 night Ha Long bay boat trip package - return transfers (3 hrs) 2 days boating around the islands with 1 night aboard the boat and 1 night in the hotel on Cat Ba island with all meals included for just $45. Then you can book an "open ticket" bus journey to HCMC and for $27 you can stop off at Hue, Hoi an, Nha trang and Dalat. Spend a few nights exploring HCMC and trip to Ku Chi tunnels etc and then book a 2 night tour up the the Mekong delta which finishes up at Phnom phen in Cambodge, where like you say can fly back to Bangkok with Airasia.

Hanoi's cool but you'll need to organise a visa.

Open 2 accounts with a bank who will allow you to transfer money between the 2 totaly free of charge. The first of the accounts is the one where you will deposit your hard earned cash into, and then online you can transfer amounts over to your gf's account in an instant without cost. It's best to give the gf a CASH card and not a debit card and make sure you dont allow an overdraft either.

Good video, reminded me of the time I stayed in Intalad, Sri Bung Reung, a great experience!

It would probably cause the least confusion if you just went with:-

First name: John

Last name: Sheng

Athough I am no travel agent.. well actually I am and typically I would advise you to check with the consulate before booking:)

It would probably cause the least confusion if you just went with:-

First name: John

Last name: Sheng

Athough I am no travel agent.. well actually I am and I would just tell you to check with the consulate before booking.

I'll go there alone with my little bag and trusty stick

Koh Phangan. Most favourable.

~In May weather-wise there just wont be any major (predictable) differences between the above mentioned Islands,

its the start of the Indian ocean monsoon and in general the weather will be hot, humid, sometimes overcast with frequent showers and I'd personally avoid Koh Chang as the sea can get rough here during monsoon which makes swimming not recommended.

Phuket is a great base to enjoy the delights of what southern Thailand has to offer and I would recommend Kata yai beach mid way down on the west coast of Phuket, it has a wide variety of accommodations on offer from staying in a top end hotel over looking the beach to staying in a comfortable guest house a short stroll from the sea front.

Beachwise it is broad white and sandy with clear crystal water, night-life is fairly low key offering mainly locally run restaurants and a few bars which stay open late but if you feel like a more lively night out then Patong which is similar to Pattaya but more compact is just a 10 - 20 min ride away.

The actual Island of Phuket is very scenic and car is recommended to check out the scenery and the various viewpoints on offer and as I said at the beginning it is a great base to explore the surrounding region: The beautiful limestone scenery of Phang Nga Bay; The magnificent Koh Phi Phi; Similian Islands which is great for snorkeling/diving, 30 meters clarity with excellent coral and tropical fish; Racha Island, Elephant Trekking in the islands interior.. etc.

Quite simply in a nutshell IMO phuket as much more to offer than Pattaya. Although I'm not knockin Pattaya as I also enjoy that part of Thailand aswell.

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Feeling Homesick? Tomorrow, wake-up an hour earlier than usual and pretend to scrape ice off your car windscreen with an old credit card while cursing your boss who'll not give you any time off work over christmas this year!

For those of us who dont mind "flying charter" thomson are now doing direct flights to phuket from manchester and london for as little as £150 ow including all taxes.

Thanks for the warning! Bloody beggers the lot of'em.

Au Tubtim is a nice spot. it's the next beach down from Au Phai and has 2 bungalow operations both within your budget Pudsa Bungalows start at B600, they're small simple clean have a nice veranda and if you can bag one of the bungalows on the sea front your laughin' Tubtim Bungalows start at B500 and are great if you like a more natural experience, the spacious wooden bungalows are all built close to the sea but some have great views of the beach others are obscured by trees.

Hanoi is exellent, you should be able to get return flights from bangkok with airasia for about

3000 baht and a good room in the old quarter which is the main tourist area will set you back about

300 a night and the best bit is that a glass of " bia hoi " cost just 4 baht.. yep 4 baht, $10 in your pocket will buy you 100 hundred glasses of this tasty little brew. Apparently its a czech recipe which contains no additives or preservaties so its got to be consumed on the day it leaves the brewery, its rocket fuel aswell so 1 or 2 dollars should see you're ok.