firebladejr

Hi,

I was thinking about going to Samui for our honeymoon in November 2007, but the nice people over in the samui forum advised that the weather is not at it's best in November. Krabi looks like it is usually good weather in November so we're now considering visiting Ao Nang for 2 weeks.

We've been to Bangkok & Phuket twice before (last visit was in March 2006). We stayed at the Peninsula and the Pathumwan in Bangkok, and the Novotel Coralia at Patong in Phuket.

For our honeymoon we thought that we want to try some place different, but we're hoping that wherever we try has everything that Phuket has to offer. Is Ao Nang in Krabi comparible to Patong in Phuket?

We like to be close to shops and restaurants, as we do get bored staying in the hotel all day. We'd also like it to be near a nice beach, etc. Can anyone recommend any 4-5 star resorts in excellent locations in Ao Nang?

Also, for those of you that have been to Phuket, what are the restaurants and shopping areas like in Ao Nang? Are they similar to the Bangla Rd area in Patong? My Fiance` likes to buy all the copy handbags, etc. and I don't mind going for a walk around the shops… I'm just wondering if there is enough to do there without getting bored in a 2 week stay.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate any advice you can offer.

Cheers,

Peter - Australia.

Thanks SamuiRep, but would you still recommend travelling to Samui in November?

this ough to be good .............................

haha, I realise his best interest is in getting tourists into Samui, so I will evaluate his response accordingly..

I remember everyone told us not to go to Phuket in July, but we did anyway and had a great time.. sure it rained sometimes in the afternoon but who cares!! by then we were exhausted and relaxing in our room anyway.. then when the rain stopped we'd get ready and hit the twon for some dinner.

Hi Firebladejr,

i would prefer you definetly to go to Samui on your Honeymoon but book a hotel outside of the touristic area like Ban Talingnam or Laem Set & there are really nice Hotels for Honeymooners as well. I am a travel operator, i would not send my honeymoon Couples to Chaweng, or maybe to "the Briza" in Chaweng. Not to forget, the architecture and the nature on Samui are very different to phuket or pattaya. On Samui you have the tropic atmosphare and not the feeling, you where in a big City...

good luck

SamuiRep

Thanks SamuiRep, but would you still recommend travelling to Samui in November?

that's disappointing about the November weather. I know this is probably not the right forum to ask this in, but can you recommend anywhere else that would meet the criteria I described above? eg. Pattaya (never been there), or Krabi, etc...?

Both destinations have their good and bad points. I am a Samui fan, but considering the time of your visit (November), I would probably opt for Phuket, purely due to weather reasons. (Samui is usually rainy season, however, last year November was fine).

As for hotels, I would go for Burirasa, Muang Samui, and may be Amari. The others are not really honeymoon hotels or their beach is not as good as the Banana section. Art Palace is a nice place, but not what I would choose for my honeymoon. Banana Fan Sea is a typical tourist hotel full of Germans.

Thanks for your reply.

I'm really looking for an alternative to Phuket for our Honeymoon, as we have already been there twice and the last visit to Phuket we had a crash on two jet-skis ( I crashed into my father) and we had to pay to fix both of them... it cost us a fortune. Kind of a bad memory for Phuket really. I know what you mean about the German tourists though.. they can be quite arrogant. I'm an Aussie, and we try to be as respectful to the locals as we can be, but I have seen some Aussies giving the rest of us a bad name.

Is November really bad weather in Koh Samui? Does it rain mainly in the afternoons, or does it rain all day? The first visit we had to Phuket was in the monsoon season and although we couldn't really use the beach, it was still nice.

Hi,

We're looking at coming to Thailand for our honeymoon in November 2007. We've been to Bangkok & Phuket twice before (last visit was in March 2006). We generally stay at the Peninsula or the Pathumwan in Bangkok, or the Novotel Coralia at Patong in Phuket.

For our honeymoon we thought that we would try some place different, but we're hoping it has everything that Phuket has to offer. Is Koh Samui (Chaweng beach) comparible to Patong in Phuket?

We like to be close to shops and restaurants, as we do get bored staying in the hotel all day. We'd also like it to be near a nice beach, etc. I've heard that the Banana Fan hotel is in a nice section of Chaweng beach, about 5 mins from the shops and close to restaurants, etc. We're looking at a Beachfront Bungalow with a Jacuzzi on the deck... is the Ban Fan any good?

Also, for those of you that have been to Phuket, what are the restaurants and shopping areas like in Chaweng? Are they similar to the Bangla Rd area in Patong? My Fiance` likes to buy all the copy handbags, etc. and I don't mind going for a walk around the shops… I'm just wondering if there is enough to do there without getting bored in a 2 week stay.

As most of you guys live there, or have been to Chaweng before, can you recommend any of these hotels for beautiful accommodation and a good location to the beach and shops?

• Banana Fan Sea Resort
  
• Buri Rasa Village
  
• Kandaburi Resort and Spa
  
• Muang Samui Spa Resort
  
• Art Palace
  
• Amari Palm Reef Resort
  
• Baan Haad Ngam Boutique Resort
  
• Muang Kulaypan Hotel
  

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. It's quite a lot of money for us to spend on a honeymoon so we just want to make sure that we pick the best place we can.

I hope you all had a great new years.

Peter.