Seeking ideal itinerary from Bangkok to southern Thailand (1month)

[WorldTraveller2017]

Me and my girlfriend will be arriving in Bangkok on October 26th, 2017and staying for 1 month. We want to get the most out of our trip on a resonable budget. I have been to Hong Kong and Bangkok on a previous trip including the northern areas of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai as well as the Golden Triangle, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

 

However, we have never been to the southern Thailand and this wil be my girfriends first trip outside of Europe. Therefore, I would like this to be the trip of a lifetime especially for her.  So naturally, we want to concentrate on southern Thailand and its beautiful ad famous beaches without limiting ourselves.

 

Not knowing that part of the world, I am looking for a perfect and smart itinerary that allows us to make the most of our trip. We would love to experience the most magical places in southern Thailand and possibly the surrounding areas. We love beautiful beaches with crystal clear water, places with a great vibe and atmosphere, exotic getaways, great Thai food, vibrant as well as untouched beaches, interesting markets and people, fish markets, anything exotic connected to adventure...

 

1) Do you have a great itinerary in mind starting in Bangkok with specific places taking into account the above criteria and that would allow us to increase the likelyhood of great sunny weather taking into account the dates of travel (I mean we know the weather in this region can change anytime,but it is all about increasing the likelyhood)

 

2) What we are looking for is a compact,smart itinerary that enables us to experience the biggest gems/treasures of southern Thailand while eliminating unecessary travel if it does not significantly add to the overall experience (meaning we are more than willing to travel, but it has to be WORTH it and if so, in the right order so that we do not end up going back and forth unecessarily)

 

3) If in this itinerary, you can include roughly the number of days that you would spend in each area and hidden gems/treasures for beautiful and reasonably priced (steals) places to stay in each partciular area, that would be greatly appreciated.

 

4) My girlffriend would also like to see Vietnam. I am not so sure about that. Taking into account that we have one month, would you recommend to focus on southern Thailand or would you recommend we should go to Vietnam (or if not Vietnam, would you recommend another beautiful region(s) in southeast Asia that we should definitely include?

 

5) Please include the best websites we should use for getting the most amazing deals/steals when it comes to accomodation rates in southern Thailand.

 

Thank you so much for your help. Any advice is GREATLY appreciated.

[South]

Personally speaking, I'd say 'Don't ask for advice, don't use guide books, don't do any research and don't be nannied around.'

 

The reason being that traveling is meant to be an adventure. By doing research of any kind, you already have an idea of what to expect at your destination thus taking away the 'adventure' from your travels.

 

Some of the 'nicest' parts in the south are way way off the tourist trail and can only be found by getting off that aforementioned trail. Find yourself a map of the south, close your eyes, point to an area and go there. The people, sights and experiences etc you will encounter on the way will far outweigh any info you will find here or elsewhere. Just my opinion ..... or, you can follow the masses and the very well trodden tourist trail. Up to you as they say.

[taiwanatoa]

There are no " magical " places. And I'm sure there is plenty of sewage and chemical waste in the water.


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[Joosesis]

There are plenty of magical places. The South is beautiful and you've made a good choice.

I have been to a lot of great places, but -- obviously -- not all. I will share what I have enjoyed. You can do your own research on time and route. Everything can be reached by mini bus if you plan well.

Hua Hin -- On the water, maybe not the prettiest, but the vibe is very relaxed and nice.

Phi Phi Island -- the town itself is a Farang mess, but there a few places to stay up in the hills that are so quiet and peaceful. The boat ride from Krabi is unbelievable.

Emerald Cave, Trang -- Most tours of Trang Islands will stop here. Try to find a trip that will leave early in the morning. Swim through a cave and discover a hidden beach inside an island.

Lake Thale Noi, Phattalung -- this isn't a beach, but it is magical. Take a boat ride across a giant lake filled with lotus flowers. Most tours are about 2 hours, best to come in the very early morning.

Satun -- beautiful beaches on the mainland, I can't remember the names. Satun is pretty quiet and you may need to be good at charades (or Thai language). Satun is also well known for Koh Lipe, an island off the coast. I haven't been there yet, but I have a trip reserved in January.



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[elektrified]

Some nice beach resorts in Pattani.

[lemonjelly]

Plan your own holiday itinerary, do your own research.... or you want us to book your hotel rooms too ?


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[Thaitoknow]

October in Southern Thailand...washout.

I had people telling me this year they left the south in early December because of bad weather.

[Stocky]

The weather is always going to be wet October to December, it's the NE Monsoon - nothing unusual in that, always amazes me that people somehow think the weather is uniform across Thailand.

 

Just compare the average climate graphs below.

 

Edited December 29, 2017 by Stocky

[phuketsub]

Good post; highly informative. I miss having one place in Phuket and one in Songkhla so I always had a place to run away from the monsoon.