Wanted Advice On Suitable Holidays For Visiting Teenagers

[monty1412]

Any help / suggestions appreciated. I live in BKK now but my three teenagers ( 16/14/13 girl/girl/boy) live in Australia. I am having them over for 2-3 weeks after Xmas and looking for ideas/ thoughts of good stuff to do.

I have on list thus far

i) Structured bike ride and overnight stay in hill villages

ii) Floating markets in bangkok

iii) Khao san Road

iv) Tiger tour.. the one where the monks are looking after the tigers

v) Trip to islands for general relaxation ( any guide to where best snorkelling is)

vi) Visit Nong Kahi and jump into Laos

vii) Hua Hin

Want to try and bounce around and pack in as much as i can and challenge them a bit in terms of staying and seeing some rural life. Will have them eating out on street as my gf is isaan/ thai and knows all the good street vendors ( reckon they will like smelly some tam ???)

Any ideas appreciated.. probably not a good idea to take the lad to Nana Plaza..

Rgds monty1412

[PattayaParent]

Bungee jumping

Parasailing

Go-karting

ATV

Elephant riding

Jet skiing

Windsurfing

All activities available in Pattaya as well as a relaxing day at Nong Nooch as a break.

Edit: see you mentioned Hua Hin, the above might be available there.

And don't forget to take them to the Grand Palace, Wat Arun etc.

[kamluan]

all kids like attraction parks....

[wileycoyote]

Chiang Mai<BR>Doi Suthep (long walk up,cable car down),Night Safari<BR>Zip wires,Elephant Rides,bicycle rides,Night markets,fishing,swimming

[roamer]

IMHO your trying to pack too much in. Presume your takeing a few flights to make it manageable. Bangkok. Chiang Mai? (hilltribes), Nong Khai, that's a fair drive with no option but to drive whichever way around you do it Laos,Kanchanaburi (Tiger temple) Hua Hin (Why ?) Then the islands. Its doable. Did a similar trip with some friends a while back, most common comment now is "loved it but wished we had spent more time in one place".

You asked for suggestions, I would say it becomes more manageable if you cut out Hua Hin and Kanchanaburi. Take the sleeper train to Nong Khai, Laos then drive to CM, fly to Surat Thani via Bangkok and catch the ferry over to the islands. You can get some good flights on Air Asia this far ahead if you register with them so you get news of the promotions. Of course bear in mind then your on a timetable, if this is Tuesday it must be CM etc.

I can understand you wanting to fit everything in but if your kids are used to Aussie beaches, I think they would get a lot more out of a decent trek, preferably out of somewhere further than Chiang Mai, try a search for Um phang on here, maybe a bit out of the way but at least try out of Chiang Rai or Mae Hong Son. Visit the elephant conservation centre at Lampang. Go for what can't be found in Oz.

I'll tell you one thing,the dynamics of the situation alter when your on the ground, especially with kids on their first trip (?) to Thailand, pull them around to a pre-set timetable and you'll end up with major grief. Go north, take it at a leisurely pace, watch how the eyes expand in wonder when they meet Akha or Lisu kids of their age in a hill tribe village its taken time to get to, (not a 30 minute walk from where the trek company stopped). Those are the memories they will treasure that will bring them back to Thailand. Won't be the beaches.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Ps. Don't forget to post back on your experiences, provides good information for others doing a similar trip.

[Mooner]

Kanchanaburi-Erawan falls. I wouldn't bother with tiger temple IMHO. If you want animals there is Safari Park.

For Islands. I would fly to Phuket. Maybe stay there for day or two. Then head to the Similan or Surin Islands. One of the top 10 dive sites in the world. Alternatively you could go there from Khao Lak. Krabi is one of my favourite places too.

Chiang Mai area is another must for me. I'm sure the kids would like the flight of the gibbons trip. So many options around there. (Probably best to let them choose).

I'm sure they might have a few plans too!

Good luck. Enjoy.

[czGLoRy]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218122/Rishi-Bavejas-bungee-jump-accident-Briton-hits-water-80mph-elastic-cord-flies-loose.html

might wanna reconsider bungee

[asanee]

Khao San: forget this-unless you also want them to buy fake student cards and get pissed drunk (we do not check for ID-they proudly pput on banners right in front of policve station

Hua Hin: uless you want them to show how senior citizens spend their holiday-suggest to forfeit this too.

What about reading Tripadvisor Thailand forums-as there all anxious OZzies put their eternal worries and quests: elefants that get mistreated, price of cotton woollen shirts, if Hilton or Marriott is better to stay, if it is OK to eat streetfood and all that. Might give you an insight in the real worries of the OZzie laddies.

[AyG]

In Ayutthaya http://www.elephantstay.com/

And if you can't manage that, take a trip to Kanchanaburi and book a side trip where they visit and elephant camp and ride an elephant into the river and bathe it. Memory of a lifetime.

[phuketrichard]

In Bangkok head to the Oriental hotel and have lunch and then take the local boat up river and back

MahBoon Krong ( MBK) great place for teenagers!!

A walk up and down Sukumvit at night.

Hua Hin would be boring for just about anyone but a golfer

Ask them if there interested in learning to dive??? if so, fly to phuket and sign them up for there intro dive course on a liveabroad>>(3 days) much cheaper than Oz and as stated the Similans are world class.

Rent a car in Phuket and head over to Krabi and take a rock climbing course.

take a 10 days. rent a car in Bangkok ( since ur 4 people) and drive up north, stop at Ayutthaya and head to Nong Khai.

Over to Laos for 2 nights than drive over to Chaing mai. Pai, Mae Hong Son, Down to Mae Sot before returning to Bangkok or side trip up to Kanchanaburi ( tiger temple) Chaing Mai to Mae sot is a relaxing 4 nights.

3 weeks would be enough time to do both the above..

Before u plan any of the above ASK THEMMMM teenagers ( i have one) can be a royal pain in the ass and they might only want stay at a hotel with fast internet

[AyG]

A walk up and down Sukumvit at night.

Sure, if you want them to be exposed to DVDs of the dodgiest types. I guess it could be seen as a learning experience, though.

[endure]

If you want tigers go to the Tiger Kingdom at Mae Rim just outside Chiang Mai. You can go into their enclosures and stroke them. They have photographers who'll do you 40 or 50 shots for 300bt.