Originally Posted by
trach500
Thank you for the great suggestions. Our son will be 1.5 years old at the time of our trip, so we are therefore limited to hiking/biking. He is very well behaved. I have been doing a lot of research and I didn't realize there are so many places to see/go while in Thailand. We will be in Thailand for exactly 14 nights. I was thinking of doing beach for 7-8 nights in Phuket and then we can take day trips to Phi Phi, explore Phuket and what it has to offer. Can Krabi be done in a day or should I split Phuket into 4+4? I want to relax for the first portion as we catch up to the time difference and to also work on my tan. I am starwood gold and have a ton of SPG points, so I am currently looking at Westin Siray Bay(opening June 2010). How is the location of Siray Bay? I wanted to stay at a nicer hotel for this part of the stay, but many of the top places have no availabilities. (trisara, aman, sala). So, I figure 8 nights in a beach hotel. You also recommended Koh Chang. Can you fly there? Sounds interesting, I will do more research on it. We then fly up to Chiang Mai and stay at Mandarin Oriental or even stay at Le Meridien in Chang Rai. The reviews on the Le Meridien that I have read state is an excellent hotel and I can stay there on points if necessary. Which is recommended? Is there a big difference? For this part of the trip, we plan to do the classes that the hotels have to offer ( Thai Boxing, Thai cooking, explore some of the temples in this part of the area, the elephant experiences, etc). After 3 nights here, which I heard is a nice amount, we plan to fly to Bangkok (Penninsula, FS or hopefully St Regis if it's opened in time) to finish out our trip. What do you think of this itinerary? I don't think it is that intensive as we can explore the different parts of Thailand.
Siray Bay is on the east coast of Phuket making it convenient to take excursion boat to those two locations, as you will be facing Ko Phi Phi and Krabi. If this is your first time to Thailand and you have only 2 weeks, I would suggest that you do Bangkok and one (southern islands or the north). Bangkok is a great city with so many things to see and do. Don't waste your time spending days at airports or to & from airports, checking in-out of hotels dragging the little one. Phuket is excellent ... do a week there and take a trip to Phi Phi. IMHO, if you done one you done 'em all ... Phi Phi, Krabi, etc. they are all similar. Book a nice property in Phuket, relax and enjoy ... and when you are ready for action take a day trip to other islands/beaches. I did not see Phuket until my third trip to Thailand and CM on my fourth.
Originally Posted by
whackyjacky
Can't fly to KC. Bangkok Air flies to U-Tapao which is in the vicinity.
Bangkok Airways has daily flights connecting the thai capital to Trat. U-Tapao is a military air base just outside Bangkok (where the B-52s were stationed during Vietnam war and recently an escape route when Swampy was taken over).