Planning a family trip to SE Asia in June 2006. Looking for advice on which beach resorts to go to.

Traveling with 7 people (4 adults, 3 teens).

I know it is rainy season (and high seas) in Phuket and better weather in Langkawi/Ko Samui, but I'm still tempted to visit Khao Lak, as I have heard it is very nice and less touristy. That said I don't want it to rain the whole time.

I'm also interested in visiting Malaysia, and am curious how people compare the Thai resorts with Langkawi.

I'd like to split the time between two of the following beach resorts with 3-4 nights in each.

Langkawi
Khao Lak
Phuket
Koh Samui
Krabi

My general question is which two would you choose in June?

Thanks!

Because of the weather -- I would select Samui.... and for Malaysia -- Langkawi should be hit by the same weather as Krabi / Phuket / Khao Lak.

May want to try the East coast of Malaysia instead of western.

Kinda on the boarder for bad weather all around the region anyway.

Langkawi should be hit by the same weather as Krabi / Phuket / Khao Lak.

Although Langkawi is not that far south from Phuket, Langkawi does not get as much rain as Phuket for reasons unknown to me.

Some good resources for you to research in the southern Thailand area:

For Khao Lak: Khao Lak Lovers (http://khaolaklovers.com)

For Phuket: Phuket Delight (http://phuketdelight.com/)

For the Kamala, Bang Tao, Surin Beach areas of Phuket: Phuket Gold Coast (http://www.phuketgoldcoast.com/)

Those should give you a good feel for the area.

You won't get rain all the time - and often it is at night or in the evening with still plenty of sun. I live here and I love the so called "rainy season" as the weather is cooler (but still warm!) - and prices are 1/2 to 1/3 of high season.

If I may bump - I've got a question!

What is one to expect during June, really. I'm considering this for my honeymoon and don't mind an occasional/daily rain, but would be dissapointed with days of non-stop rain. I know it will also be steamy - are most of the nicer resort places air conditioned? How well does the AC hold up with the high humidity?

Also, for first time visitors, how long would you think is realistic to spend in Tokyo, Bangkok, and possibly Singapore. We want to finish up the trip on the beach, so we'll leave 5 days or so of the 14 day trip to beach time.

Thinking about 3 days in Tokyo, 3 days in Thailand, 2 days in Singapore and 5 days on the beach. So - what would y'all recommend for our tour?!?

Thanks as always,

Digi

So - what would y'all recommend for our tour?!? Skip Singapore

Skip Singapore

Thank you for the reply, Rampo - but can you be a little more specific? That's not an all together informative reply.

The future Mrs. is a wee bit worried about the Visa situation for Japan. She's from Jo'burg and not a "friendly" country with the Japanese. So, if we were to fly through Tokyo on our way to some other exotic locale - anyone have great suggestions?

Cheers,

Thank you for the reply, Rampo - but can you be a little more specific? For a short, first-time trip to Asia, Singapore is one of the last places I would recommend visiting. It is for the most part very modern and does not give one the "Asian feeling" that one gets almost anywhere else in Asia. A couple days in Singapore would be fine if you were spending a month or more touring Asia or if you are a regular visitor Asia, but IMO for a less than 2-week trip Singapore is not a very worthwhile use of limited vacation time.

I suggest adding the Singapore time to Thailand as that country can offer you beaches and much, much more. Spend the time in Bangkok or Chiang Mai or Angkor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia) instead, although 3 days in Angkor Wat would be better. Chiang Mai and Siem Reap are both relatively inexpensive flights from BKK.

I suggest adding the Singapore time to Thailand as that country can offer you beaches and much, much more. Spend the time in Bangkok or Chiang Mai or Angkor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia) instead, although 3 days in Angkor Wat would be better. Chiang Mai and Siem Reap are both relatively inexpensive flights from BKK.

I agree with the above advice. Siem Reap is a great place to spend a few days. Another option is Laos - well, Luang Prabang, to be specific. It's a fantastic place with much to recommend.

- Michael

If I may bump - I've got a question!

What is one to expect during June, really. I'm considering this for my honeymoon and don't mind an occasional/daily rain, but would be dissapointed with days of non-stop rain. I know it will also be steamy - are most of the nicer resort places air conditioned? How well does the AC hold up with the high humidity?

You're in the same boat as us ^

We're staying one week, the last week in May in Bangkok (Marriott Resort and Spa) and the first week of June in Koh Samui (Renaissance Resort & Spa) next year for our honeymoon.

I'm still trying to plan our daily excursions, but we will certainly spend the second week in Koh Samui just plain relaxing :D But, we're also looking for some PADI dive sites as well...

From what I've heard the larger hotels have no issues with air conditioning. I'm just more concerned about wearing pants in the hot weather when visiting temples and what not. Thinks might get sweaty quickly! :o

try this http://www.sawadee.com/hotel/samui/baansi/ contact simon as he has two brand new villas next door as well with even better facilities, we are talking major cheap and major nice

From what I've heard the larger hotels have no issues with air conditioning. I'm just more concerned about wearing pants in the hot weather when visiting temples and what not. Thinks might get sweaty quickly! :oPretty much all hotels, large and small, have airconditioning. Some guesthouses and bungalows offer rooms with fan only, but hotels without aircon are rather rare, especially in the major tourist areas.

Shorts are fine for the beach areas, but in places like temples or Bangkok in general, long pants are the norm. Of course, in most temples they are mandatory. Bring along the lightest weight trousers you can find. Khakis work fine for me.

I will have to look at some of the other places outside of Phukett and Phi Phi - thanks for that suggestion.

Looks like Tokyo is only a "jumping" point now - the soon to be Mrs. passport needs a visa and she understandable does not want to part with it. So, if we were to skip the few nights in Tokyo (bummer!) what would y'all suggest.

Final note - anyone know of great deals in J or F class for DFW to BKK or just to NRT? I had planned on using miles to go F all the way, another FT'er tipped me off to a deal from LHR to JNB that allowed me to rack up many miles - I would pay for the ticket again if it was that good of a deal.

Thanks again!