mizztraveller

Is the 800,000 baht in bank / 65,000 baht per month pension, per person or per couple?

While Thailands premier tourist island cant even tackle a few taxi drivers or thug jetski rentors they want to rebrand (in words not deeds) for quality tourists.

Real quality will come when offered real quality.. Not corrupt official burying garbage on the beaches, selling portions of public land for private use, and due to backhanders and payments allowing sections of the society to beat up and otherwise threaten those sections not yet paying. Simply raising prices doesnt attract the 5 star crowd. When Thailand has 2 star governance they will appeal to 2 star arrivals.. Asking for 5 star prices while having 2 star administration doesnt cut it.

Got it in one! Well said.

Tourist Visa Exemption countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Vietnam.

Excuse my ignorance, but does this mean that residents of the above countries don't need a visa so there will be no charge?

Yes, we stayed there in December 06. Couldn't fault it and certainly excellent value for money. The only downside was the location - though not actually far from anywhere, the pavements were absolutely lethal. Very lucky not to have broken any bones!

We came back from Koh Tao last week and in our experience you'll find it difficult to get what you're looking for at that price. Anything with aircon seems to be 2000 baht plus and that definitely wouldn't include a tv. We paid 2000 baht for a room at Sairee Huts and though the location was ideal, the room was very basic and although it had an aircon unit it wasn't big enough for the size of the room and we were boiling! Moved on to Koh Tao resort where we paid 2500 baht and that provided everything you're looking for (though the reception on the tv was terrible!) Good luck, and if you find what you're looking for, please post again as we'll be going again next year.

We've just returned from Samui and from 7th - 13th June we saw only a couple of hours of sunshine and a hel_l of a lot of rain. Two days in Lamai and 4 in Bophut.

I notice that many of the hotels in Koh Tao have outdoor showers. Does this mean that guests are eaten alive by mosquitos while showering?! And are the toilets in these hotels 'outside' too? If so, can anyone recommend hotels where the facilities are indoors?

Silversand is a resort on the beach in Sairee. Don't know where you saw a picture of the hotel, but they're still building it and will take another 2 months before it's finished.

At the beach is Fizz, a beach bar and restaurant, open until 1am so the beach side bungalows are not totally quiet until then.

I'd say it's a good resort, but they don't have a system for online bookings.

Thank you Prasert.

In case you're interested, this is where I found out about Silver Sands: http://www.thailandtravelsearch.com/Silver...s_Resort_L4250/. There is a link to what appears to be the hotel's own website. Unfortunately, as well as not having a system in place yet for online bookings, they don't answer emails either! Maybe it's because we want to come in June and it won't be finished.

I like the look of this hotel but I can't find any reviews for it anywhere on the internet. Maybe it's new? Can anyone tell me anything about this place? Is it in a noisy part of Sairee? Are there restaurants nearby?

I've also been reading that there are some websites offering hotel bookings which aren't exactly legit but they're not actually named. Which ones should I steer well clear of?

Thanks!

Thanks for all your comments, they really are much appreciated. Anyone know anything about Au Chao Phao in Koh Phangan? I particularly like the look of Sunset Cove hotel.

You could add horrific drivers and roads full of potholes, lack of law and order etc. etc. etc.

Sounds very much like the Greek Islands!

Thanks for all your comments, and keep them coming! Would still like a recommendation for a beach resort in Koh Tao.

We've booked a flight to Bangkok in June with the intention of spending a week in Koh Samui and a week in Koh Tao. We chose Koh Tao as we want somewhere we can snorkel from the beach (getting a bit too old for clambering on and off boats! ) but didn't want a full two weeks there as we also like a bit of nightlife. However, when researching which resort to stay in on Koh Tao I read many reports that the roads to many of the resorts were horrific and I've long since passed the day when I need an adrenalin rush to get me through the day. So, I turned my attention to Koh Phangan and found a hotel I really like the look of in Haad Chao Phao but have also read that the beach there is rubbish. The type of resort we're trying to find in Koh Tao/Koh Phangan will obviously have a good beach from which to snorkel, not be remote, have at least a small selection of restaurants (preferably Thai food), a bar and an ATM would be a bonus. Sairee beach seems to provide all we need but I've also read that "every night is like New Years Eve on Sairee beach". Now, I've no problem with anyone partying on the beach providing it's nowhere near my room! Mae Haad also looked interesting but I understand that the constant coming and going of boats churns up the sea which obviously makes snorkelling difficult.

Any suggestions?

And Samui - is it really that bad? We've been to Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Bangkok and Hua Hin and have loved all but the latter (and that I think, was more to do with the dreadful hotel we chose), so we do know what to expect of Thailand. What concerns me most about the Samui postings are broken bottles on the beach, being 'robbed' by greedy taxi drivers and the unfriendliness of the Thai residents. We had narrowed our search in Samui to Lamai as Chaweng seems a bit too western/global and the other resorts in the north a bit too quiet. A good choice or not?

Still haven't booked the internal flights from Bangkok so we could still go somewhere different entirely but I think in June, the weather is best in the Samui area.