Where To Go?

[pallypete]

as many may have read in my other thread with regards to ko samet,ive now been talked out of going there as christmas will be a bad time for what im wanting,so i will copy n paste pretty much what i wrote in that thread but would like some suggestions pleae on what other islands may fit what im looking for

i will be travelling to thailand at christmas for a short break (24th dec - 2nd jan) and was hoping to spend a few days chilling out either side of a few days of madness spent in bangkok.

will probably want just 3-4 days there between (28th dec - 31st dec) now i know this is going to be peak season but i was hoping somebody could recommend me a nice quiet island/beach/resort/hotel to stay?...ive read up quite a bit (including tezza's blog) with regards to thailand.

all i would like is somewhere as quiet as possible with nice beach to relax on and nice clear water ideal for swimming,preferably beach hut/bungalow type accommodation with aircon,any where between 1000bt - 2000bt price range is ok.

ive been to thailand 4 times,and in those times ive managed to visit (other than bangkok obviously),ko samui,ko phangan,ko toa,ko phi phi,ko lanta and phuket so ideally i would like to try somewhere new..i hear a lot of good things about nice quiet places with beautiful beaches on the andaman side? and im guessing the weather would be better over that side as opposed to the gulf side at this time of year.

any help/advice/info would be greatly appreciated.

also depending on where i end up,im undecided on best place to go for nye....was thinking phuket if im on andaman side or maybe even back to bangkok.

any good nights/clubs/discos/events that come reccommended?

thanks.

[Nio]

Nice and quite during Christmas? Good luck!

[mauiguy90]

This is peak season and the most expensive part of peak season is New Year's and Christmas. Most of the nice hotels close to the beach have very expensive rates and many include mandatory "gala dinners" which can range from around 700 baht per person to several thousand baht each. Problem is that everyone wants to party during the holidays so places like Phuket will either be booked or hugely expensive. If you still want to go to Phuket, staying in Phuket town might be cheaper/easier to find a place to stay.

Hua Hin or Ko Chang are other options but still a challenge to find an available place for a reasonable price... depends on how long you wait before booking and your desired level of accommodation.

[silverdales]

I know you ruled it out but I went here last month and going again in Jan, its lovely whilst not cheap its really special and a world away from the rest of the loud bar action the island has in places, really nice quiet place to chill. http://www.leblancsamed.com/

[pallypete]

I know you ruled it out but I went here last month and going again in Jan, its lovely whilst not cheap its really special and a world away from the rest of the loud bar action the island has in places, really nice quiet place to chill.

looks nice but ive been warned wherever i am on the island during the week around christmas it will be over run with tourists and thais..am still tempted though..

somebody recommended koh phayam...anyone know what its like there?

[yes2goThailand]

It hardly find an accom in xmas and nye period. I would recommend koh Lipe. It becomes popular but you bet it's full. It will be crowd everywhere.. If you are looking for a cheap accom, try this site.. www.yes2gothailand.com

It's cool..

[pallypete]

It hardly find an accom in xmas and nye period. I would recommend koh Lipe. It becomes popular but you bet it's full. It will be crowd everywhere.. If you are looking for a cheap accom, try this site.. www.yes2gothailand.com

It's cool..

thanks.

koh lipe,ko jum and koh phoda all look nice and easily acceible from krabi/phuket as that is where i would preferably fly to as to save time.

yet i havea thai friend who highly reccommends koh phayam off the coast near ranong.

does anybody else have any experience of this place? will it suit my needs? it does look and sound ideal its just a bit of a nightmare getting there as there are no direct flights from bkk - ranong and getting a bus is 10 hours,an overnight train 7 hours and then taxi to coast and boat,or even a flight from bkk -0 surat thani/krabi or phuket but then i would need a 5+ hour bus jhourney from there.

now all that travelling would not be an issue (infact i would usually see it as an added part of the adventure) yet due to my very limited timescale it will be a problem so really want to make my final destination the right one.

any help appreciated.thanks