Thailand - Thailand itinerary - May

Information in this forum is pretty overwhelming and some of the opinions mixed, and after a few hours of reading I've decided to go straight to the source. I need help with planning a trip to Thailand in May.

Here are the basics:

My wife and I arrive the morning of May 19 in BKK and depart the morning of May 28 (also from BKK), so 9 full days. We have absolutely nothing planned at this point, other than the flights. We are thinking ~3 days in BKK, and ~6 days at a beach location. We need some help identifying the best beach location for our preferences, season/weather, etc. We pretty much want to go off the grid in the beach location. Ideally, we'd like something quiet with a great pool/beach, more geared towards couples than families (we're in our early 30s with no kids). Nightlife isn't important, but we are foodies so proximity to good restaurants is a plus. Eight hours pool/beach sdie followed by a nice dinner & drinks is pretty much a perfect vacation day to us. We might want to do some sightseeing, but mostly that will be reserved for BKK.

I'm a Platinum at both SPG and Marriott, so I've primarily looked at those properties. However, I plan to pay with cash so I'm open to anything. The SPG/Marriott properties run about $125-$160 per night, and some of the properties seem impressive, so I'd consider $160/night to be at the top end of what we're willing to pay. Currently under consideration:

Le Meridien Koh Samui
Le Meridien Khao Lak
Sheraton Pattaya
Westin Siray Beach Phuket
Renaissance Koh Samui
JW Marriott Khao Lak

If any of these properties are head and shoulders above the others, or if you know of a much better boutique at a similar (or lower) cost, I'd very much appreciate the advice.

Thanks!

If you want a quiet beach vaction, avoid Pattaya. Afraid that's the only advice I have. I am not a beach person so I can't help you beyond that. :-)

Can't help you much since due to our traveling preference differences, but I can say that Phuket and Samui will be much closer to an airport than Khao Lak. Khao Lak is 50 miles from the Phuket airport.

I've actually never heard much about Khao Lak. WikiTravel says, "the off season starting in May, although the hotel prices are much cheaper, many of the shops and restaurants are shut down for the season" due to "predominately European tourism here."

I've actually never heard much about Khao Lak. WikiTravel says, "the off season starting in May, although the hotel prices are much cheaper, many of the shops and restaurants are shut down for the season" due to "predominately European tourism here."

Thanks, that helps quite a bit. I don't want to go to a place that's completely dead. I don't mind the drive from Phuket to Khao Lak, but the off-season could be a deal breaker for KL.

Thanks, that helps quite a bit. I don't want to go to a place that's completely dead. I don't mind the drive from Phuket to Khao Lak, but the off-season could be a deal breaker for KL.

I don't think it will be completely dead. There will still be people there, still places to eat and drink.

But off-season will be starting throughout the country so most places should be less crowded. In my opinion, that's great!

I can help you a little. The Westin SB is on the inner side of Phuket and the beaches aren't so hot. It's in a locals area close to Phuket Town. Not alot of tourist amenities nearby. The LM Khao Lak is great. I like everything about it. Not much nearby except some Thai Beach shacks with cheap and decent food. You'll need a car to explore a bit. Less than a hour N of HKT. I found a deal at the Marriott KL on some Thai Groupon clone and my BKK friends said it was even better than the LM. I've been to Khao Lak in June and everything is open. May should be hot as Hades. The Sheraton Pattaya is great, but Pattaya is a cesspool. The Sheraton Krabi is pretty good too and they run shuttles to Ao Nang and Krabi Town to expand your food and drink options. I haven't stayed at the Samui properties, but I do Like KS. Bangkok Air's ridiculous fares to the island keep me away a bit. wj

Kind of funny because we have a similar trip planned (except we want to check out the north) with similar dates (May 15-27). We also don't have anything planned yet either.
However, we're kind of stumped with the beach options too. Similar to the OP, weather's a concern, ideally looking for a place geared towards couples vs families, and good food. But we're looking for some activity and nightlife (tho not partying).

We haven't come to a solution yet. Some research notes:
We're a bit concerned about the weather in the south: Phuket/Krabi area and Koh Samui. And yes, the flight prices for Koh Samui is a turnoff.
Pattaya seems a bit too crazy for us.
We're currently looking at Koh Samet as an option but it might be a little to quiet for us.

.... Thai Groupon clone ....

Are you referring to ensogo?

Are you referring to ensogo?

Think so. Can't remember honestly. Can ask my friends if you need to know. One of those 48 hrs to buy the voucher deals. It was $89/nite with brekkie and wifi. wj

Kind of funny because we have a similar trip planned (except we want to check out the north) with similar dates (May 15-27). We also don't have anything planned yet either.
However, we're kind of stumped with the beach options too. Similar to the OP, weather's a concern, ideally looking for a place geared towards couples vs families, and good food. But we're looking for some activity and nightlife (tho not partying).

We haven't come to a solution yet. Some research notes:
We're a bit concerned about the weather in the south: Phuket/Krabi area and Koh Samui. And yes, the flight prices for Koh Samui is a turnoff.
Pattaya seems a bit too crazy for us.
We're currently looking at Koh Samet as an option but it might be a little to quiet for us.
I'd do Koh Chang IIWY. Bit of a drive though. wj

Think so. Can't remember honestly. Can ask my friends if you need to know. One of those 48 hrs to buy the voucher deals. It was $89/nite with brekkie and wifi. wj

I wasn't asking because I was interested in the deal, more due to my curiosity to see if there was another of these types of sites.

BTW: who in SF calls it brekkie? I leave for 4 years and everything changes? :p

Kind of funny because we have a similar trip planned (except we want to check out the north) with similar dates (May 15-27). We also don't have anything planned yet either.


We're currently looking at Koh Samet as an option but it might be a little to quiet for us.
Koh Samet was nice when I stayed there years ago. I like wj's suggestion of Koh Chang. It's only a couple hours further than Samet. For either island you'll need to do a bit of research on which beach you want to stay at. The accommodations and the vibe are dramatically different at each place.

I wasn't asking because I was interested in the deal, more due to my curiosity to see if there was another of these types of sites.

BTW: who in SF calls it brekkie? I leave for 4 years and everything changes? :p
Nobody ! Been hanging out with a lot of Brits lately. I think I called it 'the lift' the other day too. wj

I think I'm pretty well settled on going to the Gulf of Thailand in late May, primarily due to concerns about dicey weather on the Andaman coast around that time.

Can anyone share thoughts on Koh Samui vs Hua Hin? As mentoned earlier, we're mainly looking for a nice beach resort with a good pool... somewhere to get off the grid for a bit. Hua Hin is much cheaper to get to and seems to be slightly cheaper for hotels.

Also, recommendations on Hua Hin hotels would be much appreciated. I'm looking at the Intercontinental, Centara (formerly Sofitel), Six Senses and X2 right now.

Why not both ? HH is a great little town, but the beach is just OK. 2 nights would be plenty. You can take a ferry from Chumporn (1/2 hr S of HH) to Samui, Koh Tao, and or Koh Phangan. Fly back to BKK from USM. That way PG only gets to rip you off once. LINK:http://www.ferrysamui.com/

Why not both ? HH is a great little town, but the beach is just OK. 2 nights would be plenty. You can take a ferry from Chumporn (1/2 hr S of HH) to Samui, Koh Tao, and or Koh Phangan. Fly back to BKK from USM. That way PG only gets to rip you off once. LINK:http://www.ferrysamui.com/

That would be a very busy 6 days.

Mueang Chumporn looks to be about 270km from Hua Hin. I have no idea where the sea port is (that website shows the Mueang on the map), but are you sure it's only a half hour south of Hua Hin?

That would be a very busy 6 days.

Mueang Chumporn looks to be about 270km from Hua Hin. I have no idea where the sea port is (that website shows the Mueang on the map), but are you sure it's only a half hour south of Hua Hin?

Sorry, you're right. it'll be an all day affair. I don't know about the Chumphon thing. I added that after looking at the schedule. I could have sworn we took a fairly short bus ride S and then got on the boat. It wasn't one of those high speed deals either. Must have killed off those brain cells. It was 8 or 9 years ago. Sorry again for the bad info. wj

vthokies: Hope you don't mind me piggy backing off your thread.

It's looking like we're going to risk the weather and do our stay in the Phuket region. There's a great deal for LM Khao Lak so we're focusing around that area at the moment. The main thing that's preventing us from booking is concern with how lively Khao Lak will be during May offseason which was mentioned earlier in the thread. We're not looking to "party" at night but just hoping that there's enough of a selection of restaurants, beach shack eateries, etc offsite from LMKL open during May (ie. reference to that wikitravel notation but who knows how accurate that is).
Anyone have any further info around what it's like around Khao Lak in May?

vthokies: Hope you don't mind me piggy backing off your thread.

Not at all.

To close the loop on my decision, I found what looks to be a great deal at the Putahracsa in Hua Hin on Luxury Link. Planning to spend 6 nights there, 3 in Bangkok and 2 nights in Dubai on a stopover on the way home.

Koch Samui is a great getaway with clean beaches and a laid back atmosphere. I saw mostly Erupeans when I was there.

And back in BKK, every time I go I take a trip to the weekend market (Katachuk (sp). Love the people watching and atmosphere.

Have fun!