Krabi or Samui
 

I am planning a trip with my family to Thailand next March.
Which do you recommend Krabi or Koh Samui?
And which hotel do you recommend?

Narita

I was at Samui last fall, but mostly to connect to Koh Tao and then Nang Yuan. Spent one night on Samuii.
I found Samui crowded, overly commercialized and overall unappealling.

Have not been to Krabi.

AA JetMan

Thank you for your comment.
I heard that Phuket also crowded and commercialized. I have visited Phuket 22 years ago. It was very quiet.
If we would be in Samui, we will stay at Imperial Boat House or Le Royal Meridien Baan Taling Ngam. I heard Bann Taling Ngam is very quiet.

Thanks. Narita

Depends on where you stay !!!
 

Krabi in Ao Nang area is too crowded and too commercialized but if you stay in Rayavadee or Tubkhaak area will be very nice. If possible, go out and stay on the Lunta Island. Pimalai on Lunta island is very beautiful.

There are so many beautiful and quite hotel in Samui. Bann Taling Ngam is very old and will renovate their room next year. Boat house is too crowded. Tong Sai Bay, Renaissance, Evason Hideaway are worth trial.

Good luck. ^

I strongly second Ko Lanta (presume that's what last poster meant by "Lunta"? Maybe American spelling varies). Plenty of options where to stay, but a quiet, relaxed atmosphere.

Pimalai is the swankest resort on Lanta. We stayed at Sri Lanta and loved it. You have many options from family-run cheap bungalows to nice joints like Pimalai.

Here's a tourism site for the island:

http://ko-lanta.com/home.htm

Britons avoid Surat Thani after killing
 

Britons avoid Surat Thani after killing

SURAT THANI: -- The brutal rape and murder of 21-year-old Welsh student Katherine Horton on Koh Samui has caused a 30 per cent drop in the number of British tourists visiting Surat Thani province this year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

The TAT’s southern office director Pramote Sapyen said even though the crime was solved quickly and two fishermen convicted and sentenced to death, it was obvious the incident had affected tourism.

The case was heavily reported in the United Kingdom, and that had frightened tourists, with more than 30 per cent cancelling their trips to Koh Samui and Koh Pha-ngan during the high season.

“This will affect overall tourism for the year as normally 150,000 British tourists visit Thailand a year. A tourist stays on average one week and spends Bt4,000-Bt5,000 a day,” Pramote said.

On that basis, the two islands had lost between Bt100 million and Bt150 million in income.

Initially, the tragic incident had also affected tourists from other countries such as the Netherlands, but the situation had since improved. Asian tourists were still travelling to the region as usual.

Ruangnam Jaikwang, president of Surat Thani’s Tourism Association, said it would take some time for the situation to return to normal. It was important for tourism companies to cooperate with police officers for the safety of tourists, he said.

Surat Thani provincial police chief Maj-General Voravate Vinitnatyanon said police have been planning stricter safety measure to prevent crime and are assigning officers who speak English to warn tourists about going to risky places.

Anan Chusak, president of the province’s fisherman’s association, said the brutal crime had given fishing boat crews a bad image and the association had urged boat owners to be more careful about who they hire.

--The Nation 2006-01-30

Lanta
 

Thank you for your recommendation. I have checked and got the good rate from Twin Lotus Resort and Spa.
It is 7,999 TB, 2 nights package include ABF, Transportation....etc.

How do you think?


Narita

Oh, no!
 

Rampo

Thank you for your warning.
That's scary, isn't it?

Narita

Wow, Twin Lotus looks very, very nice! ^ That rate puts it in the swanky category for Lanta, I would think. Map shows it at the north end of the island, close to the port village of Saladan? That will save you a bit of transit time if you are flying in and out of Krabi (closest airport; it's a drive and ferry ride, or drive and speedboat, to get to Lanta). I stayed toward the middle of the island, and at the time the road was under reconstruction and transit up and down the island was a major hassle (that was in late 2003, so probably completed by now!).

Not sure about the conditions of Phi Phi Island after the tsunami, but it's a 60-minute ferry ride from Saladan if you care to make a day trip. If you like to snorkel, a day trip to Ko Rok national park is very nice (90 minutes west of Lanta by speedboat; DON'T take a longtail that far!). Tour boats also offer trips on the east side of Lanta to some beautiful smaller islands and a beach you get to by swimming through a dark cave. Very fun!

You might check out this other forum for more detailed questions about Thailand travels. I found it helpful planning our honeymoon on Lanta.

http://www.travelforum.org/thailand/

Have a good time!

While I think that the average tourist to Samui is still likely to have a good time, there have been enough incidents and word-of-mouth reports to indicate that there are some negatives to consider.

I was on Samui about 6 years ago and stayed at the Boat House. It was a fun place to stay (we had the boat rooms), and the beach and coastline were very pretty.

There are some places on Samui where there are plenty of people, however there are also many places where you can go and be alone. As far as being commercial, it's not like there are neon CocaCola signs on the beach. When you are in a town, there are going to be all the normal "city" like features. The water is great, and there are some great day trips available from Samui.

Comparing to Krabi area -- I have been in this area twice in the past 4 years (last may is most recent). I have only stayed in the Railey beach area, which is striking. This area is pretty much void of commercialism (read neon), but has a bunch of hotel options, and can be overrun with longtail boats. I have also been on Lanta -- the island has much fewer places per sq mile (km) than other tourist locations, but also is missing some of the infrastructure that makes it easy to get around. Certainly less people here if that is what you are looking for, but also harder to find a variety of restaurants or facilities.

Hopefully the comments can provide some value without slant. Some people like the busy shopping streets such as Patong on Phuket, and others like being on an isolated place with no people. All choices are good, just depends what you are looking for.