First Time To Thailand - Advice Please!

[squiggly]

Gday folks

Right now I have a ticket to Phuket, and 12 days later a return ticket from Koh Samui back home. And very little in between.

My current plans include staying in Phuket for some number of days and exploring the area, then making my way overground (and sea) to Koh Samui, where I will spend the remainder of my time.

I would love some advice from the experienced, on the following questions:

- Should I book hotel/resort ahead of time, or try and wing a deal after I arrive? Pros/cons of either approach.

- Hotel vs resort vs cabin etc. Right now I can see myself spending a lot of time sleeping on a sunny beach, and I am not really after all the resort facilities, so something simple, comfortable and safe would do well. Again, pros/cons would be good.

- Where to stay within Phuket/Koh Samui. I am looking for sunny beaches, water-sports (jet ski etc), jungle trails to explore etc. Not particularly after nightlife/clubs/bars etc. Should I be looking elsewhere entirely for the kind of experience I am after? Suggestions welcome, so long as they are within reasonable travel times (no flights) to my arrival/departure points of Phuket/Koh Samui.

- When I travel from Phuket to Koh Samui I don't just want to hop on a bus for 6 hours and get there. I want to make it an adventure in itself, and explore any places along the way. I would love any suggestions on how to make this an interesting journey. I am happy if it takes 2-3 days to get from Phuket to Koh Samui, if the experience along the way makes it worthwhile.

- Any other towns/places that are *must sees* in the general area.

I will be travelling from around June 16 to June 28 - and would love to hook up with any other aussies in the area at the time, so msg me if you want.

Cheers and TIA

[gotlost]

You need to read Private Dancer. Immigration will test you.

[Birdman]

Between Phuket and Samui there is one of the most stunning national parks in Thailand:

http://www.khaosok.com/

[BWPattaya]

You need to read Private Dancer. Immigration will test you.

Well, I don't understand where you are coming from so I doubt that the original poster will know what you are talking about.

Perhaps you could explain what your comments are referring to?

[jdinasia]

Phuket for a couple of days (dive with our friends at PhuketDiveClub in kata!) The over to PhiPhi for 2 days (by boat) then on to Koh Lanta or Had raileh (Krabi) by boat .... get to Samui in your last few days.

Do check out Wat Tham Suea (Tiger Cave Temple) in Krabi even if you don't get to any other temples in Thailand ... Hike over the mountain trails there.

If you are doing Samui and want something more interesting -- smaller island named Koh Tao (by boat) I think I stayed at Ao Muang resort last time. Can snorkel from right in front of the resort but I don't really remember a decent beach there.

Koh Phangnga offers the full moon party but has some great beached out of the way. I know a guy that has a place at Had Kuad.

[Tropicalevo]

For Koh Samui, the best (quietish) beach is Choengmon (NE of the island) Lots of good restaurants and quite a few beach bungalows to choose from. Great beach and sheltered from the weather this time of year. Watersports catered for (and a few other things to keep you occupied for 3/4 days.)

Next good area/beach would be Maenam or Lamai. Lamai is cheaper but has some bars/clubs etc. A bit more sleezy too. Maenam is good but is a bit more dependant on the weather this time of year. Also less to do at Maenam.

Most of the other beaches are either reef or a bit isolated. Try and stay on the east for the best weather at this time.

Sorry, cannot help you on Phuket, but most people like Koh PhiPhi

[ALFREDO]

No Hotel, Guesthouse reservations needed, look around and bargain.

And buy-or borrow a Lonely Planet for the area you are travelling and read!

[thrilled]

Check out the date for Koh Phangan full moon party.It is worth checking out.Message me i'll let ya know reasonable places to stay at on the island.

[squiggly]

Between Phuket and Samui there is one of the most stunning national parks in Thailand:

Thanks, that looks awesome. I will certainly be stopping off there I think =)

[squiggly]

Phuket for a couple of days (dive with our friends at PhuketDiveClub in kata!) The over to PhiPhi for 2 days (by boat) then on to Koh Lanta or Had raileh (Krabi) by boat .... get to Samui in your last few days.

Thanks, that sounds like a great travel route. How easy/hard is it to just turn up at those different places and find somewhere to stay? I like the idea of just going from place to place and playing it by ear - of course with some knowledge and tips beforehand so I know what to avoid etc.

=)

[Thailad]

Just go with the flow its a very well beaten track.

Everything is 50% less than what they ask.

Treat all Ladies with respect.

Enjoy Yourself.

[thepanicandthevomit]

Phuket for a couple of days (dive with our friends at PhuketDiveClub in kata!) The over to PhiPhi for 2 days (by boat) then on to Koh Lanta or Had raileh (Krabi) by boat .... get to Samui in your last few days.

Thanks, that sounds like a great travel route. How easy/hard is it to just turn up at those different places and find somewhere to stay?

Phuket - very, very easy and very, very cheap if needs be. Agree Kata is where you should stay if you don't want much nightlife.

PhiPhi - less easy, but given low season and less tourists this year, should be no problem at all. More expensive than Phuket, however.

Railey - easy if you stay in the larger resort of AO Nang and boat to Railey and the surrounding beaches, which most people do. Railey is absolutely stunning BTW.

Lanta - hard/impossible to do it on foot - something I learned the hard way. Book a room before you go from a travel agent in PhiPhi or Krabi (Ao Nang or Railey etc). Lanta is VERY quiet and hard to get around without transport. You'll need to get a minibus from Krabi.

Personally, if the weather's good I wouldn't rush to get to Samui (or go at all). You can get a government bus from Krabi Town to Surat Thani, then get a ferry to any of the 3 Koh's from there. Or you can get a minibus direct from your hotel that'll do the same journey, albeit in one long, cramped, hop. The government bus will give you the opportunity to hop on, hop off where you fancy, but I have no experience. Again, there are loads of travel agents around and they will all be able to provide info and tickets etc.

If you enjoy making it up on the spot, you'll be fine.

[thepanicandthevomit]

Everything is 50% less than what they ask.

Not hotels, however.

[squiggly]

Phuket for a couple of days (dive with our friends at PhuketDiveClub in kata!) The over to PhiPhi for 2 days (by boat) then on to Koh Lanta or Had raileh (Krabi) by boat .... get to Samui in your last few days.

Thanks, that sounds like a great travel route. How easy/hard is it to just turn up at those different places and find somewhere to stay?

Phuket - very, very easy and very, very cheap if needs be. Agree Kata is where you should stay if you don't want much nightlife.

PhiPhi - less easy, but given low season and less tourists this year, should be no problem at all. More expensive than Phuket, however.

Railey - easy if you stay in the larger resort of AO Nang and boat to Railey and the surrounding beaches, which most people do. Railey is absolutely stunning BTW.

Lanta - hard/impossible to do it on foot - something I learned the hard way. Book a room before you go from a travel agent in PhiPhi or Krabi (Ao Nang or Railey etc). Lanta is VERY quiet and hard to get around without transport. You'll need to get a minibus from Krabi.

Personally, if the weather's good I wouldn't rush to get to Samui (or go at all). You can get a government bus from Krabi Town to Surat Thani, then get a ferry to any of the 3 Koh's from there. Or you can get a minibus direct from your hotel that'll do the same journey, albeit in one long, cramped, hop. The government bus will give you the opportunity to hop on, hop off where you fancy, but I have no experience. Again, there are loads of travel agents around and they will all be able to provide info and tickets etc.

If you enjoy making it up on the spot, you'll be fine.

Thanks, that sounds like some great advice. I am now starting to think of not spending too much time in Phuket, maybe just a couple of days to arrive, find my feet, and do some cheap shopping before moving on to places like you mentioned.

[squiggly]

Everything is 50% less than what they ask.

So I should be prepared to haggle every once in a while?

And seriously, any tips on that? Should I just make a habit of offering half the price for everything I am offered (excluding hotels etc.)?

[farangkeenok]

Hope you are lucky with the "sunny beaches" you are talking about as it is rainy season and most beaches are not so sunny at the moment.....also not really cheap shopping in Phuket as far as I know...

Enjoy your stay!

[Birdman]

Koh Samui: no rainy season, very sunny and wonderful.

[phuketrichard]

I live in Phuket and it is dead here now so DO NOT prebook. First figure out where you want to be, Quiet, ( kamala, kata) or in the center of things (Patong)

Patong has places now from 400 baht to...... all depends on what you want CNN at the end of soi Bangla is a really nice place and its going for 800 baht/night

do NOT think that because its dead u will get 50% off all hotels. Some of the expensive places at Laguna will give ya 75% of but it will still cost ya over 3,000 baht/night. The cheap places are cheap all year CNN high season is 1,500

To travel to samui u will take the bus and ferry, Takes about 4-7 hours. book thru a travel agency

Ko Lanta is really laid back and since its facing the same direction as phuket expect rain and DEAD quiet.

Note that it has been raining for 2 days now here in Phuket

persoanlly i hate kata, no thai ness at all . Doubt u will find anyone diving now as the waters are not good for it with visabilty down to less than 2 meters

Note Samui is more expensive than Phuket

[islandguy]

Take just a light bag and then you can walk around to find a good deal on a hotel (for more expensive places try several sites specializing in last minute bookings). If you will get somewhere late and tired, book one night in advance. If rainy on the Andaman coast, look at windguru.com. If looking to be rainy a while, head to Gulf of Thailand. At Khao Sok, the floating (on rafts) places are very cool - on lake, not near park headquarters.

You will tend to be diverted into situations where you have few choices (monopolistic travel businesses with vertical integration - I call them the fish traps). Try to avoid by talking to other tourists. If trapped, just pay the little extra, grin, and don't pay for more things in advance than you have to. It is dead slow now.

Samui is taxi hel_l, take the song taws (truck buses), have your hotel pick you up, or stay in Nathon the first night and find another place the next day. Don't take the Raja ferry unless you are getting picked up - no good transpo options there. Take the Seatrans ferry into Nathon.

Have fun!

[Navalator]

For Koh Samui, the best (quietish) beach is Choengmon (NE of the island) Lots of good restaurants and quite a few beach bungalows to choose from. Great beach and sheltered from the weather this time of year. Watersports catered for (and a few other things to keep you occupied for 3/4 days.)

Next good area/beach would be Maenam or Lamai. Lamai is cheaper but has some bars/clubs etc. A bit more sleezy too. Maenam is good but is a bit more dependant on the weather this time of year. Also less to do at Maenam.

Most of the other beaches are either reef or a bit isolated. Try and stay on the east for the best weather at this time.

Sorry, cannot help you on Phuket, but most people like Koh PhiPhi

Well, Phuket is a shit hole unless you love being threatened with a gun being held by a psychotic jet skit operator, beaten by a tuk tuk thug and severely overcharged for everything.

[gotlost]

You need to read Private Dancer. Immigration will test you.

Well, I don't understand where you are coming from so I doubt that the original poster will know what you are talking about.

Perhaps you could explain what your comments are referring to?

This could be anywhere in Thailand.

http://www.dcothai.com/product_info.php?products_id=528

[Goldenglow]

In any hotels / resorts / bungalows, etc. there are free rooms for sure. It's high season, but only a few tourists seen here.. Regarding that, you don't need to book any rooms in advance, BUT if you want to have cheaper rooms, check from the internet, as they sell rooms always cheaper than if you book directly. Check latestays and agoda. If u r not sure about ur travel plans,, you can just book one day advance.

[Ch23]

i have never been to samui so cant help u there but i went to phuket in early 2008 and found that phuket town wasn't particularly a great place. but then again i didnt stay there long and there must be some nice areas/ luxury resorts. i would however definitely not book a room and a just get a guide book or quick internet search of all the hotels in your price range and check them out when u get there. Only buy one night at first and if u really hate it or find a better place ur not stuck with a potentially bad decision. i was there in jan/feb time and stayed at Naithon beach resort (on the map its just left and down a bit from the airport). It was everything i could have wanted from a beach holiday, nice beach sun, quiet. etc.... this time of year im not sure what it would be like as its coming on to rainy season (right?), but its only wet for an hour or two. I am sure there are plenty of nice places, as with anywhere though, its just finding them....

[PoorSucker]

For the party district on Samui.

Moby dick