Hi
I am travelling outside country first time. I am new to independent travelling and the idea of travelling alone fancies me. The destination i chose is thailand and the places i am looking to travel after a lot of research in Thailand are:
Kanchanaburi
Bangkok
Pattaya
Ko Samui
Phuket
Krabi
I want to travel very cheap and the budget i carry would be 1000 US dollars (excluding airfare). let me know will that be enough for all above places? I am planning a 20 day trip and i know i can rent out cheap hotels but how? Can some one let me know how to travel to all above locations and in which order. My start point and end point will be bangkok again as i will have round trip from india to bangkok. Let me know if i can fill in some more information. if someone can let me know what modes of transportation i need to choose from bangkok. I am even OK excluding few places in my trip plan. My theme of travel is mostly jungles and beaches. Any added insight is highly appreciated.
I am 26 m from india taking my flights from delhi/Mum
Reply to this Hi There
1000US dollars will be plenty for a 20 day trip as long as you don't go too crazy in any of the places. Cheap rooms can be had for around $20 or less (depending on how much you want to rough it) and food is around $2 a meal from street vendors. Bus and train journeys will vary depending on the class you choose but again are not very expensive.
If we were you we'd do this route based on your above:
Bangkok - bus/train to Kanchanaburi - bus/train back to Bangkok - Bus to Pattaya - Bus/boat to Ko Samui - Boat/bus to Krabi - Boat to Phuket - plane/train/bus to Bangkok.
You are visiting very touristy areas so if you don't want to use public transport then you will easily find many many travel agencies in these places which will offer bus/minibus transfers to your next destination. This is not the cheapest way to do it but as you only have 20 days it will be the quickest and simpliest way to do it. Make sure you ask around on the best agency to use though as some will sell you a ticket for a luxury bus which then turns out to be a cramped mininbus which is no fun for a long journey. Shop around too as prices for the same bus will be very different, on one bus we went on some people had paid 700B while others had paid just 250B.. for the same journey!
One point though is that the distances between some of these places is quite far, for instance it will take a day to travel from Pattaya to Ko Samui by land then another day to get to Phuket so you will be spending a lot of time getting from place to place.
You could just focus on the Andaman Sea area so Krabi, Phuket and even Koh Phi Phi? This is a very beautiful area and you could spend a few weeks just hopping from place to place rather than travelling from one side of Thailand to the other? What months are you going in as the monsoon season can make a difference on if the east or west side is the best place to visit at that time of year so bear this in mind too.
Air Asia do some very cheap flights so you could always fly between some of the destinations as this will be a lot quicker than spending hours on buses/boats/trains.
Hopefully this will help you out, you'll have a great time whichever you choose, Thailand is a beautiful country and there is a good 'tourist trail' so a good place for your first travelling experience.
Reply to this When will you be visiting Thailand? Is it before Christmas season or not? High season also means higher prices for hotels and more crowds, etc.
The two most expensive places on your list is Bangkok and Phuket. For Phuket you may have to fly or take a long ride. My advice for a bus to Phuket is to get your bus ticket a real bus station. The only time I ever read about tourists being scammed on bus rides have been buses booked in the Khao San Road area.
Pattaya may be the cheapest beach city you can visit. Price for the 2 hour ride from Bangkok is around 120 baht. Hotels in Pattaya will be cheaper than Bangkok or Phuket. These are rooms with air, hot water, TV and private toilet starting around 500 baht. Transportation in Pattaya is only 10 baht, maybe the cheapest in all of Thailand for tourists.
You will have enough money unless you blow it on expensive things. You can eat cheap in Thailand or you can spend a lot on fancy meals. There are Indian restaurants available too. When you use Google and enter "getting to and from (fill in the blanks)" you will get several suggestions. Look at a map of Thailand, Phuket is around 850 km away.
Basics. Start in Bangkok for a few days. If you arrive during the day hours you have 2 bus options and a meter taxi option. Avoid any touts in the arrivals hall selling taxi rides - they will charge more. Both the meter taxi and Airport Express bus sign up desks are on the first level. Taxis at the curb in 2 locations and Airport Express bus has one kiosk inside near door 8 and outside also near the curb. If you arrive after midnight there is no Airport Express bus. There is a 35 baht city bus that leaves from the bus station too. This bus, #552, during the day can bring you to On Nut. At On Nut you can pick up the Skytrain to take you to other areas in Bangkok. No Skytrain after midnight. If you arrive after September 1 the Airport Link may be in operation too.
Since you are not a kid any more, my suggestion is to get a hotel in the Sukhumvit Road area not far from the Nana Skytrain. You can use the Skytrain to take you around the city cheap and easy.
In this area you will find hotels and hostels starting around 600 baht. Also, cheap restaurants, malls, street vendors, travel agencies for tours and plane tickets and some nightlife. There are Indian restaurants and lots of Indian expats in this area.
If you are interested in jungle areas maybe skipping some of the hard to reach beaches would be better and add in Chiang Mai will do. Google check Chiang Mai for some ideas about that city. From Chiang Mai you can take tours to Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle area pretty cheap. Visit Long Neck Women villages and other areas.
In Thailand if you want a tour all you have to do is find the nearest travel agency. There are many travel agencies in the major cities that tourists head for. Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya have lots of travel agencies. From Bangkok a trip to he River Kwai-Hellfire Pass area is easy to get.
Verify that you can stay in Thailand for 20 days. I think that Indian passport holders get 15 days VOA.
There is a free visa waiver if you contact the Thai consulate or embassy that may apply to your country.
Good luck.
Reply to this Hi Sophie/Hal,
So the trip is finally decided and i have finally booked my tickets. I am travelling this 21 Dec, 2010 and have a return flight back on 3 Jan, 2011 (to and from Delhi to Bangkok). We are a bunch of 3 guys and we will be reaching BKK on 21 Dec late night around 10 PM or so.
I plan to do as follows:
21 Dec - R&R at Bangkok
22 Dec - Travel to Pattaya
23 Dec - In pattaya
24 Dec - Pattaya
25 Dec - Travel to Phuket
26 Dec - Phuket
27 Dec - Phuket
28 Dec - Phuket
29 Dec - Travel to Koh Phangan
30 Dec - Koh Phangan
31 Dec- Koh Phangan
1 Jan - Koh Phangan
2 Jan - Travelling back to BKK
3 Jan - Leave back to Delhi @ 8.30 flight
I have few questions:
1. Do we need to make prior bookings at various hotels or is it better to look for hotels after we reach these places
2. We plan to attend the new year party at Koh phangan. Now each hotel is looking forward for a minimum 5 day stay period and online booking is not available for many as they say it is full. Can i risk by not making a booking prior and reach Koh phangan on 29th and making booking there. Secondly, isnt there an option to stay for less than 5 days at phangan? Can you suggest me any location which will be good to go for New year at phangan and i dont have to pay too much (rem we are 3 ppl)?
Thirdly, we plan to visit phi phi on our visit to Phuket. Is it possible that we stay in phuket, but skip a day for a phi phi trip?
Also, let me know if i will face any problem in reaching BKK (due to non-avail of transport in peak season) if i leave from phangan on 2nd Jan afternoon. Google maps says it takes 12 hours to reach. I dont want to miss my flight at 8:30 PM on 3rd Jan
If you think i should add/remove some places i am quite OK with that. Please let me know ASAP. I am sooo confused right now.
Rohit
Reply to this Koh Phangan really will not be a problem. I've been there for the last three xmas/new year sessions. They always advertise a minimum 3 or 5 night booking in advance but in reality, there will be touters on the boat offering you a stay somewhere, even on xmas eve. Plus it is The Best Place for a holiday period - no matter where you end up.
:-)
Reply to this Thanks Mister. So you mean to say, a better policy would be i land up directly at phangan on 29 th december and look for a better priced accommodation rather than spend heavy amounts here on pre-bookings?
Reply to this You'll be overcome with choices but most of the expensive options will be booked. Not a problem for most of us though. :-)
Reply to this Follow this link for advice on what to see, highlights, getting around, where to stay and helpful ino for travelling in Thailand,
<snip>
Be sure to use the google maps feature on the where to stay page it should really help you.
Reply to this I think I should quantify my earlier post as, arriving on Dec 29th may be a little tighter than if you were to get there the week before. There is a difference between Christmas & New Year on KP as Haad Rin at the southern end is an incredibly popular NYE party point, hence most places in the south will be booked & will require a 3 night minimum in any case. This doesn't mean you'll end up sleeping on the beach but you'll probably have to spread your wings a bit.
I'll be staying over there from the 22nd 'till Jan 1st at a particulary sweet spot on the east coast. Where I'll be, ALWAYS has that bit of extra space - just in case. PM me if you need details.
:-)
Reply to this Hi MM,
Can you throw me some details on the space availability in Koh phangan
we are a bunch of 3 guys and looking forward to stay from Dec 29 th to Jan 2nd. Anything you give me would be really very helpful and will be highly appreciated. I dont want to stay too close to the party spot, neither too far. You know what i mean? we need a spot where we get R&R and after we get over with the party dont have hassles to get back to our place.
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