Help Decide My Honeymoon Itinerary

[TheShinySuitMan]

Hi All,

I have booked flights for my to-be wife and I to go to Thailand for our honeymoon in April 2010. We land in Phuket on April 18 and our return flight is May 02 (i.e. we are in Thailand for 2 weeks).

We currently have no accommodation booked (I purposely left it a while as I hear prices are more competitive as the dates get closer) and we are now having a look around at where to stay.

I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on the itinerary we have picked so far, and perhaps suggest improvements or modifications to the places we intend to stay (both hotels and locations).

We would like a relaxing holiday with nice places to stay (e.g. beaches, islands etc). We would love to take the opportunity to get out and about and explore the Thai culture, hence we are looking at moving around a little rather than staying in one place for 2 weeks.

In summary, so far we had the following itinerary in mind but am open to suggestions:

4 nights in Karon

2 nights Phi Phi Island

4 nights in Krabi

3 nights somewhere else (suggestions please)

What are your thoughts on the above, keeping in mind it is for a honeymoon?

Where would you suggest we spend the 3 days I currently have unallocated?

Is there anything you would change (e.g. maybe not STAYING on Phi Phi, but more nights in Karon or Krabi and a day trip to Phi Phi?)

Looking forward to your thoughts and ideas.

[tonititan]

I have one suggestion...there are a lot of really nice resorts with private pool villas (think cute villa, tall walls, no need for clothes in the pool...). They are very romantic , and amazingly affordable in Thailand. I know there are some in Krabi and Phuket (not sure about Karon, but probably at least in the general area).

[steve999]

Hi ShinnySuitMan,

Congratiulations..

There could be someone from this e-mail could suggest you very nice itinerary. Please contact email removed per forum rules, please PM with things that you want to do and they could suggest you very nice itinerary.

Good Luck

Steve

[bkkjames]

Ko Lanta is very nice.

[keestha]

Consider Khao Lak, it is at the Andaman coast 60 KM north of the bridge which connects Phuket to the mainland. Lots of nice upmarket hotels (and cheaper digs as well), stunning beaches, snorkeling at the Similan and Surin islands, hilly forested inland area with lots of waterfalls.

[giztate]

Dear TheShinySuitMan,

I can offer you a good rate at 5 star hotel in Koh Lanta.

Please PM if you are intrested.

PS

Congratulations

Edited February 16, 2010 by giztate

[RAZZELL]

End of April/May, what about the weather?

RAZZ

[mca]

It'll mean moving away from the south but for a honeymoon I'd thoroughly recommend the Sofitel Centara Grand in Hua Hin. Colonial style. I stay there a couple of times a year. Lovely although the beach isn't much to shout about.

http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-0891-sofit...las/index.shtml

Edited February 16, 2010 by mca

[TheShinySuitMan]

End of April/May, what about the weather?

RAZZ

Yeah I know, there's not much we can do about the weather though

Where would you suggest to avoid most of the rain?

[jackr]

Actually that time of year is not that wet anywhere; it'll just be hot which is not a problem when on the beach. The place to avoid in April/May is Chiang Mai and the north, but you'll be nowhere near there. I'd personally shave off time at Phuket to two or three nights and spend more in the Krabi area. There's also Phang nga Bay which is just north of Phuket.

I'd forego Karon and head to the next beach south to Kata Beach, which is much more picturesque. There are some fantastic hotels on the beach there, such as the Boat (at the southern end), while the next beach down again, Kata Noi, is on a dead end and is gorgeous. There's basically only one hotel down there, Kata Thani, which also has a wing right on the beach (Thani wing). It's tough to book direct, however.

Around Krabi, could stay on Rai Leh Beach and do trips to Phi Phi from the area. There's also some nice national parks around Krabi. If you go to Phi Phi, be sure to do a trip to Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh, where The Beach was filmed. There's also the Trang area beyond Koh Lanta which has some fine beaches but best not do too much on your honeymoon, eh

On hotels, actually best to book beforehand for the better ones and do so online with the likes of Directrooms.

Kata Beach

Boathouse Hotel, Kata

Kata Noi Beach

Kata Thani Hotel, Kata Noi

Phang nga Bay

Maya Bay

Wikitravel on Southern Thailand for further insight.

Have a good one

[enyaw]

Spot on advice ^ Kata is much more idyllic a perfect place for an honeymoon and use Hat Railay has a base to explore Krabi/Phang Nga.

[tonititan]

I second (ok, third) the motion for Kata Beach! What a beautiful beach! The full name of the hotel mentioned by the other poster is Mom Tri's Boathouse. I have stayed there, and it is amazing. The rooms are very nice, although not huge or spectacular. But, the hotel is the closest to the beach of any hotels on Kata Beach, and it has it's own private strip of sand right in front of the hotel. When you are ready to hit the beach, there is a beach attendant who sets up your chairs (no getting up early to get the good public chairs), serves you water and fruit all day, and watches your stuff while you swim. Mom Tri's isn't exactly cheap, but I just looked it up through Agoda and the prices in April are less than half of the high season prices. It's affordable in low season, especially for a special occasion like a honeymoon. If money isn't a problem, they also have a couple special villas with private pools that looked really nice.

Another option is Mom Tri's Villa Royale, which is obviously a sister hotel. It's down on the next beach (Kata Noi?), and the reviews I read said it was more romantic and a good honeymoon spot. I ate at the restaurant there, and the view was spectacular.

[TheShinySuitMan]

Thanks for the suggestions about Kata over Karon, I will investigate.

I had a quick look at Mom Tri's Boathouse and it seems very nice, but a little out of our budget. We were looking at places around the 3500 - 5000THB mark, but I'll investigate the places available in Kata and should find something that fits our budget.

In Karon, I was looking at Karon Sea Sands Resort & Spa which looked quite nice so hopefully I can find something similar in a similar price range in Kata.

I will also consider 1 day less in Kata and more time in Krabi.

I'm getting the feeling Phi Phi is the kind of place to spend a day trip or two, but not great to actually stay on - is that correct? Is the best option to stay in Krabi and do a few day trips from there rather than spend a few nights on Phi Phi?

If Phi Phi isn't the best to say on, would something like the below be a better option:

4 nights Kata

5 night Krabi

4 nights somewhere else (Trang or Phang nga Bay)

Edited February 17, 2010 by TheShinySuitMan

[tonititan]

Thanks for the suggestions about Kata over Karon, I will investigate.

I had a quick look at Mom Tri's Boathouse and it seems very nice, but a little out of our budget. We were looking at places around the 3500 - 5000THB mark, but I'll investigate the places available in Kata and should find something that fits our budget.

In Karon, I was looking at Karon Sea Sands Resort & Spa which looked quite nice so hopefully I can find something similar in a similar price range in Kata.

I will also consider 1 day less in Kata and more time in Krabi.

I'm getting the feeling Phi Phi is the kind of place to spend a day trip or two, but not great to actually stay on - is that correct? Is the best option to stay in Krabi and do a few day trips from there rather than spend a few nights on Phi Phi?

If Phi Phi isn't the best to say on, would something like the below be a better option:

4 nights Kata

5 night Krabi

4 nights somewhere else (Trang or Phang nga Bay)

Yeah, it's not exactly cheap. When I just looked for April, Mom Tri's is running 4300 baht/night (plus tax). The prices on their website are way higher than you'll pay using 3rd party websites.

As for Phi Phi, I think that's a personal preference. I've been there several times, staying both on and off the island. I prefer to stay in Krabi or Phuket and take a day trip to Phi Phi, but lots of other people like to spend a few nights on Phi Phi Don.

[torrenova]

I was staying in Ao Nang and took a day trip to Phi Phi. We wanted to see more than the couple of hours the ferry trip gives you so later in the week we hired a speed boat and took that (at quite high cost actually). We stayed a couple of nights and that was the right thing to do. Lazing around Loh Dalum bay with the ever so low water level was great. However, the scum penniless backpacker which the island attracted made it feel less "nice". That was all before the tsunami.

I guess that since 2004, the island has gone more upmarket, though the low end will always seek it out. For certain, the prices quoted on the net are stupidly high. It might be worth picking somewhere else.

Koh Lanta is an island with red dust everywhere, including the roads. It gets everywhere, everything gets covered with it and it stains clothes if damp. I would not bother to go back due to the inconvenience. On my last visit, food prices were laughably high at the hotels and restaurants near the beaches.

I would also advise not to try to do too much. I did that once and moving every couple of days is no fun. Keep your last 4 or 5 days in one place to relax before the trip back.

[notime]

The walk-in prices are usually higher than what you can get through 3rd party websites well before the visit. The other problem is that many private villas and other attractive places, that I'm sure are your target for a honeymoon, are booked out months ahead. The only advantages of not booking in advance would be that not all places are on the Internet and that you can check a place and its location in real life rather than relaying on website descriptions and pictures. All-in all maybe having a mixture of pre-booked highlights and walk-in choices can work best.

As to the destinations, I also believe the best part of Phuket is Kata. Koh Phi-Phi is great and much more idillic for a honeymoon than most of Phuket. Krabi itself is nothing and the places where the tourists stay are at Ao Nang some 20km away. The best place to stay on is an isolated by the cliffs Phra Nang beach that has a cave with many wooden penises that newly weds like to visit. The beach is absolutely 5 star but there are not many accommodation choices on it and it tend to be priecy. So most of people stay on some other near-by beaches like Raelai and take boats to visit Phra Nang.

[khaowong1]

a cheap hotel on Koh Samui, a case of Corona Light, a bottle of good Tequila and some butt kicking old rock tapes. That's it.

[Chaimai]

Is your wife to be Thai or non-Thai and do you want to spend most of your days on the beaches ?

These are two key factors along with the weather.

If you are with the person you want to be with, I am sure the specifics of the itinerary will come together just fine. I would echo the earlier advice - don't try and pack too much in.

[TheShinySuitMan]

Is your wife to be Thai or non-Thai and do you want to spend most of your days on the beaches ?

These are two key factors along with the weather.

If you are with the person you want to be with, I am sure the specifics of the itinerary will come together just fine. I would echo the earlier advice - don't try and pack too much in.

My wife to be is non Thai (as am I). We are both Australian.

We are very much happy to laze around on a beach for most of the time or doing other water associated things (snorkelling, canoeing etc), however we would also like to try and take in some of the Thai culture so I will need to investigate what we can do from that side of things.

Thanks for all the advice everyone, it's really given me a bit more of an insight into things. I'm still looking around and will probably book places in the next few days, so if anyone has any further advice it certainly is appreciated.

[TheShinySuitMan]

Can someone suggest a hotel on Phi Phi Island? I have been looking around at various review sites and most hotels seem fairly average. I was looking at the Phi Phi Island Cabana Hotel - does anyone know much about this place? Or can you suggest a better place on the island?

[Gonsalviz]

Sounds like way too much traveling to me.

[PoorSucker]

Have you considered the east coast?

Average rain Phuket:

Average rain Koh Samui:

[TheShinySuitMan]

Sounds like way too much traveling to me.

Agreed. We have cut it down to 3 places over the 2 weeks.

6 nights in Kata

5 nights in Krabi

2 nights in Phi Phi

So does anyone have any suggestions for hotels in Phi Phi and Krabi?

[Gonsalviz]

Sounds like way too much traveling to me.

Agreed. We have cut it down to 3 places over the 2 weeks.

6 nights in Kata

5 nights in Krabi

2 nights in Phi Phi

So does anyone have any suggestions for hotels in Phi Phi and Krabi?

Much better, but might I suggest Kata, Phi Phi. and then Krabi or the opposite.

[TheShinySuitMan]

Sounds like way too much traveling to me.

Agreed. We have cut it down to 3 places over the 2 weeks.

6 nights in Kata

5 nights in Krabi

2 nights in Phi Phi

So does anyone have any suggestions for hotels in Phi Phi and Krabi?

Much better, but might I suggest Kata, Phi Phi. and then Krabi or the opposite.

Yeah, we thought that too but we thought since our flight lands at 3pm we would miss the ferry to Krabi so our thinking was if we stayed in Kata and spent a few day trips in Patong at the start of the honeymoon we'd we the hectic stuff done first, then in Krabi we could do a little of both busy and relaxing stuff, then finish with 2 days on Phi Phi with 2 days of pure relaxation.

On Krabi would you suggest staying in Ao Nang or along Railay beach?

Edited February 28, 2010 by TheShinySuitMan