Bkk To Phuket

[godinho]

I’m planning my first trip to Thailand, and don’t really know how to get from one place to another.

My first thought is to spend about 3 days in BKK and then head to Phuket or Krabi… the question is - how should I do that?! Do I hire a car, buy a bus ticket, train ticket, or are there affordable air fares in between these locations? And is it easy to book once in BKK, or should I book it from back home?

Plus, what I really want is a glance of BKK and about 8-9 days of beach and landscape, so if you advise any other areas to stay in…

Well, thanks in advance.

[karazyal]

I’m planning my first trip to Thailand, and don’t really know how to get from one place to another.

My first thought is to spend about 3 days in BKK and then head to Phuket or Krabi… the question is - how should I do that?! Do I hire a car, buy a bus ticket, train ticket, or are there affordable air fares in between these locations? And is it easy to book once in BKK, or should I book it from back home?

Plus, what I really want is a glance of BKK and about 8-9 days of beach and landscape, so if you advise any other areas to stay in…

Well, thanks in advance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think you had the right idea, spend 2 or 3 days in Bangkok. This will give you time to get used to the heat and time changes. There are lots of travel agencies in Thailand. They have a menu of available flights and other travel. Pick up a Lonely Planet TG and see what you like in BKK.

I would fly to Phuket just to make it quick and simple. There are several flights every day. A travel agent can help you there. Flying within Thailand is a lot cheaper than many other countries. You can compare any prices they give you with other travel agents if you want to see how honest they were. In over 9 years I have never been cheated by a travel agent.

In Bangkok younger travellers usually head over to the Khao San Road area (no Skytrain in this area.) If you want to have easy access to the Skytrain (overhead rapid transit) find a hotel in the Siam or Sukhumvit Road area. Lots of hotels in this area in the 650 baht range on up to 4000 baht a night. Even the cheap 650 baht places have A/C, TV's, HW, and private toilet/shower.

Any specific hotel recomendation would depend on how much you want to spend per night. Got your daily budget planned out?

Food is cheap in Thailand, even McDonalds is around half the price of back home. Transportation by bus and train is pretty good too. If you arrive at the airport befor midnight you can take advantage of the Airport Bus which has routes going to several popular areas of Bangkok including KSR and Sukhumvit. The price for the bus is 100 baht. Also at the airport, there is a taxi kiosk that can fix you up with a taxi into town if you show up after midnight and the bus is not running. Taxis in Bangkok are cheap, when in town only pay the meter price. They rarely refuse, if they do get out and get another cab - there's hundreds more.

Have fun.

AL

[Jaffy]

No direct train service to Phuket, much easier & quicker to fly & many carriers including low cost alternatives.

I once went to phuket overland. I started in Samui, took the ferry to Surat Thani & then hired a minibus to take me to Krabi from where I caught another ferry to Phuket. This was a long & tiring journey but the scenery on the drive from Surat Thani to Krabi was out of this world!!!!!!!!

[visarunner]

Would visit BKK for 2-3 days n than head south to Phuket n look around the area ,depends on yr time available , if you travel alone , with kids ,etc .

Use the plane as flight with various airlines are plentifull n relative cheap.

Do not use buses for long trips ,BKK-Phuket is a nightmare (at least 12 hours)

Check out websites of following airlines : www.thaiairways.com ,www.airasia.com ,www.nokair.com for fares n schedules .

If you need some more advise pls feel free to PM me.

[cdnvic]

I use nokair.com ($35US taxes inc) but if it's your first time I'd want to see the stuff in between so I suggest talking an aircon VIP bus, which is similar to business class flying for comfort and usually comes with snacks and drinks. You'll get a relaxing view of the countryside and you can choose if you want to stop and see the beaches at Hua-Hin if you like. I much prefer that area to Phuket so I do recommend a stopover.

If you look at the Hua Hin, Phuket, and Southern Thailand sections of the forum you'll find photos of all those areas.

Good luck

cv