Where to go, special occassion

[stament]

My wife and I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary next year and I want to make it special.

 

I am in kind of a dilemma as I would like to take her to a very beautiful unspoilt beach which isnt overrun with tourists. Whilst these beaches do exist they normally are a bit more remote and we like to have a choice of different places to eat, drink, etc.

 

Criteria required:

Romantic nice hotel, don't mind resort but would prefer boutique to a huge hotel

romantic

places to eat, drink etc nearby (dont mind driving a motorbike not too far)

hotel must be nice and prefer it to be a bit quiet and on the beach or at least not too far away.  

 

Inwas thinking first of all to narrow it down to the resort, Koh Lanta and Samui are possibilities as are Krabi but we have been to the latter. Trang also a possibility but more difficult to get to from Chiang Mai.  Had a look at Koh Lipe which looks good but maybe a bit too quiet and a longer journey than we would like as we are only planning to be away for about 4 days.  

 

Any recommendations?

 

 

[craigt3365]

What is your budget per night?  What time of year? 

 

If you've got a specific place of interest, I might be able to scope it out for you as I'll be in Koh Lanta for 5 nights in a few weeks.  Then down to Lipe for 4 nights.  Then Langawai for 4 nights.

[phuketrichard]

fly-  CM -Krabi  and the whole South is open to you.

 

Look on Agoda,

 

Quote

 

I am in kind of a dilemma as I would like to take her to a very beautiful unspoilt beach which isnt overrun with tourists. Whilst these beaches do exist they normally are a bit more remote and we like to have a choice of different places to eat, drink, etc.

 

Cant have it both ways   LOL:   islands off of Trang fit the first, but not the second requirement.  Lanta has some really nice resorts on the beach and the town is nice for meals, but its Moslem so night life limited to resorts

[stament]

Yes I kind of thought I was asking for something not possible lol.....

 

CraigT I look forward to your trip report. Budget per night, no limit as such but probably thinking around 5 to 8 k per night but fine if less.

[KhunBENQ]

3 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

What time of year?

Really important to know.

Even the most beautiful tropical island looses it's charm in torrential rains (like some places in the south currently).

[alex8912]

A little far but Nantucket. 

[GLewis]

Koh Chang in the dry season has a number of hotels directly on the beach and they tend to be cheaper than in the south. Be a nice trip, renting a motorbike to "carefully' drive around and have a look.  I like it more each time we go, just spent 4 nights for my 65 birthday with the wife and kids who were home from America.

[swissbie]

Khao Lak Paradise Resort is a wunderful place to celebrate a wedding anniversary, easy reachable from Phuket. Advance booking necessary.

[Daniel Sencier]

Samui and the hotel called Poppies. Google it, just what you’re looking for and so so friendly it’s a dream!

[allexx]

Pattaya?

[Brunolem]

What about this one...on Koh Lanta...has its own beach...

 

https://www.pimalai.com

 

 

[howerde]

koh lipe   koh lanta   koh chang  are all good places went to  all of them last year,  quiet enough  but still some excellent restuarants,  best time is Nov- about march, dont go in rainy season a lot of businesses close at this  time also the sea gets whipped up and a lot of excusions don,t happen (sea to rough) nothing worse than being trapped in a hotel while it rains for days.

[mogandave]

Koh Chang is nice if you have a car.


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[Tofer]

Koh Lanta has a good cross section of your requirements for hotels, beautiful beaches, quiet East coastline, plenty of restaurants to choose from, and not only in hotels as one post suggested.

 

You need to indicate a budget and time of year for more specific advice.

As suggested, Pimalai on Kantiang Beach is beautiful, but you'll need very deep pockets, peak season around 25,000 THB/night. 

 

The best sandy beaches are Klong Nin and South of there on the West coast, the quietest area with choice of restaurants is Old Town on the East coast, no sandy beaches but great views and not busy. We may have our apartments finished by then, exclusive location, very quiet, direct access to a red pebble beach, amazing views, boat trips available to nearby islands if not we could recommend a couple of neighbours.

[stament]

Thanks all, very helpful

[AD3Andy]

Another one you might want to consider is Koh Kood (Ko Kut). The fourth largest Thai island, It was billed by the Sunday Times in 2016 as the last unspoiled island in Thailand. Two islands further South than Koh Chang, it is an hour ferry trip from the mainland at Trat. I first went 8 years ago on an old fishing boat, loved it & bought a holiday home there. As you could imagine, the beaches are pristine . I wouldn't want to comment on where to stay as everyone is different but accommodation ranges from back packing bungalows to the prestigious Six Senses luxury resort. Development has been slow so there are virtually no cars (& no 7/11's) but I'm happy to report we finally got an ATM last year along with a row of street lamps.

[ThaiWai]

9 hours ago, alex8912 said:

A little far but Nantucket. 

It's not the 50 hours of travel on a 4 day trip that's the hurdle.  It's the US visa that she will never get.

[ThaiWai]

4 days 4 nights of floating passion and adventure

http://www.island-cruises.org/myanmar-burma-mergui-island-safari/

 

 

[stament]

22 minutes ago, ThaiWai said:

It's not the 50 hours of travel on a 4 day trip that's the hurdle.  It's the US visa that she will never get.

Why doesn't the USA/Trump grant British citizens visas anymore? 

[ThaiWai]

36 minutes ago, stament said:

Why doesn't the USA/Trump grant British citizens visas anymore? 

UK and US citizens enjoy reciprocal visa waiver programs.  I was unaware that actual visa issuance had been reduced for Britons specifically.  I'll look into it and tweet the POTUS or you could go direct to him if you prefer..  We gotta get back on topic though.

[1FinickyOne]

We had 3 nights in Krabi at a Centara resort that was off to itself... a speed boat taxi brings you to the resort and they have a few different restaurants and lovely pool and private beach... some rooms have hot tubs. It borders a nature preserve, and the monkeys come visit. You need to lock your door as they can manipulate the door and know where the mini bar is... there are day tours you can book, but just staying in the hotel is ok too... nice views, great b-fast buffet. 

[Chongalulu]

13 hours ago, Tofer said:

Koh Lanta has a good cross section of your requirements for hotels, beautiful beaches, quiet East coastline, plenty of restaurants to choose from, and not only in hotels as one post suggested.

 

You need to indicate a budget and time of year for more specific advice.

As suggested, Pimalai on Kantiang Beach is beautiful, but you'll need very deep pockets, peak season around 25,000 THB/night. 

 

The best sandy beaches are Klong Nin and South of there on the West coast, the quietest area with choice of restaurants is Old Town on the East coast, no sandy beaches but great views and not busy. We may have our apartments finished by then, exclusive location, very quiet, direct access to a red pebble beach, amazing views, boat trips available to nearby islands if not we could recommend a couple of neighbours.

I wholeheartedly endorse this comment on Ko Lanta having gone last February. We had own transport so able to explore really nice beaches and island trips (I’m a keen snorkeller) and it has a much nicer atmosphere than Phuket if you’re not after thumping nightlife. If it had a bit more infrastructure (like even a decent size supermarket or Makro ) I’d seriously consider moving there.

I'm going to drive down there again with the wife end of Jan so if your Appartments are on West coast let me have details. I stayed at Ananda Lanta hotel last time which wasn’t bad .

Koh Chang was ok but beaches not a patch on Lanta and Samui is horrible!

[mogandave]

I wholeheartedly endorse this comment on Ko Lanta having gone last February. We had own transport so able to explore really nice beaches and island trips (I’m a keen snorkeller) and it has a much nicer atmosphere than Phuket if you’re not after thumping nightlife. If it had a bit more infrastructure (like even a decent size supermarket or Makro ) I’d seriously consider moving there.
I'm going to drive down there again with the wife end of Jan so if your Appartments are on West coast let me have details. I stayed at Ananda Lanta hotel last time which wasn’t bad .
Koh Chang was ok but beaches not a patch on Lanta and Samui is horrible!

They have a car ferry?

[howerde]

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=koh+lanta+car+ferry&tbm=isch&source=iu&pf=m&ictx=1&fir=e-N_Q4uVd1n5bM%3A%2C4OQn0UMKFZuQpM%2C_&usg=__URtyUleRLG2ZWzzQU5FDbRgKiYI%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFroiqmrnXAhWFyqQKHR5vBDIQ9QEIVjAF#imgrc=Emy_UmW8beakZM:

[stament]

23 hours ago, ThaiWai said:

UK and US citizens enjoy reciprocal visa waiver programs.  I was unaware that actual visa issuance had been reduced for Britons specifically.  I'll look into it and tweet the POTUS or you could go direct to him if you prefer..  We gotta get back on topic though.

No visa issue then ?

[stament]

16 hours ago, kenk24 said:

We had 3 nights in Krabi at a Centara resort that was off to itself... a speed boat taxi brings you to the resort and they have a few different restaurants and lovely pool and private beach... some rooms have hot tubs. It borders a nature preserve, and the monkeys come visit. You need to lock your door as they can manipulate the door and know where the mini bar is... there are day tours you can book, but just staying in the hotel is ok too... nice views, great b-fast buffet. 

cheers but monkeys put me off.

[thesetat2013]

thung wa laen beach.. picture perfect and untainted by tourism. 

[craigt3365]

1 minute ago, thesetat2013 said:

thung wa laen beach.. picture perfect and untainted by tourism. 

Yes, lovely beach.  But gets invaded by sand flies part of the year.  A real problem.

[Tofer]

On 12 November 2017 at 7:46 AM, nchuckle said:

I wholeheartedly endorse this comment on Ko Lanta having gone last February. We had own transport so able to explore really nice beaches and island trips (I’m a keen snorkeller) and it has a much nicer atmosphere than Phuket if you’re not after thumping nightlife. If it had a bit more infrastructure (like even a decent size supermarket or Makro ) I’d seriously consider moving there.

I'm going to drive down there again with the wife end of Jan so if your Appartments are on West coast let me have details. I stayed at Ananda Lanta hotel last time which wasn’t bad .

Koh Chang was ok but beaches not a patch on Lanta and Samui is horrible!

Sorry, we're on the East coast, more tranquil and better views, but no sandy beaches. 

 

Obviously, as we live here, we're somewhat biased, but I believe you can do far worse than Lanta. One of the attractions is the lack of rampant commercialism, but if you need the shopping fix Krabi is only 1.5 - 2hrs drive away including ferry, Phuket about 4hrs, Trang 2.5hrs, so plenty of choice for a day or 2 trip off the island.

 

PM me if you would like to call in on your upcoming visit, we can show you the good life!