Welcome aboard.

Phi-Phi island (or islands to be correct) lies midway between Phuket and Krabi province and are indeed beautiful islands though some of the development leaves a bit to be desired. Its on the Andaman coastline. Its usually reached by ferry or speedboat from either Phuket or the mainland Krabi province. Another option to throw in the mix is the island of Koh Lanta which has easy connections to Phi-Phi. Phi Phi has been a popular day trip distination for years - we first visited in 1991 and even then the beaches were crowded with day trippers. Even more so since The Beach came out. Can't really help with the posher hotels or yoga as we stayed in a pretty simple place. Maya Bay where the beach was filmed is on Phi-Phi Ley which uninhabited to all intents and purposes. Your hotel will be on the larger island Phi-Phi Don. There are companies that do camping trips to Maya Bay.

In March I would stay on the Andaman sea board, places like Phuket, Krabi, Koh Lanta perhaps Khao Lak. Staying in Koh Samui. which is in the Gulf of Thailand and seperated by the Thai mainland would probably make it more difficult to get to Phi-Phi unless you want extra flight, or boat and land transfers thrown into the mix. Also if Phi-Phi is the final destination in your trip you will need to factor in sea and land transfers for getting to airports in Phuket or Krabi to get to Bangkok for your flight home. Take care with your resort. Phuket for example has lively brash resorts like Patong through to quiet places with only one hotel on the beach, so decide what suits you - and ask away.

We've done elephant trekking from both Chaing-Mai and Chaing-Rai - indeed it can be done from most Thai tourist destinations. Another option to consider in the north might be the Golden Triangle area..on the border between Laos, Burma and Thailand. The Anantara hotel there does elephant mahout training courses so might be of interest and is in a beautiful location overlooking the Mekong river. As a general base though Chaing-Mai is fine, a large city surrounded by beautiful countryside, plenty of temples to see and hotels to suit every budget, hill tribes, soft adventure activities, shopping etc etc.

Many tour operators can tailor this for you..In the past we have used Premier Holidays, Kuoni, Hayes and Jarvis and others and they will give you a quote. We DIY it these days as its so much easier with internet.

Hi,

thanks for your reply sunbear.

We have decided we will stay in Chaing Mai now, seems to be more to see there.

The next dilemma is somebody has really put me off phuket and advised me to go to Krabi or Koh Samui. After looking through te brochures i was more in favour of Koh Samui, the brochure says that there is lots of yoga, meditation, steam rooms and its really relaxing. Only problem is, we want to go to Phi Phi islands and its going to be really difficult to get there from Koh Samui.

What is Krabi like? is there yoga, meditation, steam rooms a nice relaxing atmosphere? is there excursions,things to see as well? will we be able to get the ferry to phi phi easily?

can you tell me when high season is please?

thank you very much

The high season for Krabi is November through to the end of March, same as for Phuket. Krabi is famous for its landscape and one of the most beautiful areas of Thailand. Phang-Nga bay lies between Krabi and Phuket and is dotted with hundreds of small islands many with small beaches with good snorkelling - kind of small versions of Phi-Phi. Its an area made famous by the James Bond film Man with the Golden Gun, and numerous other films. A lot of the fun in Krabi revolves around going on trips to these outlying islands, we've done trips on speedboats, sea canoe and longtail boats. As some of the islands are hollow in the middle (something like a ring doughnut) sea canoes allow access via sea caves at low tide....quite spectacular. But theres also temples to visit - 1200 steps up to the shrine at Tiger Cave Temple with wonderful views over Krabi province and Phang-Nga bay. Jungle clad interior, hot springs etc.

Theres nothing to stop you going to Samui then taking a flight to Krabi or Phuket and catching a ferry to Phi Phi. Have a look at Koh Lanta (its within Krabi province), many people say its like Samui was fifteen years ago (actually I think its nicer) and has a ferry service to Phi-Phi which is easily seen from the island.

We like quiet resorts with a Thai feel and find that even on Phuket, with the plus of having Phuket standard beaches which we prefer to the ones on Samui.

Hi,

you quoted:

''Tiger Cave Temple with wonderful views over Krabi province and Phang-Nga bay. Jungle clad interior, hot springs etc''

Sorry but im not sure where you meant. Where are these places?

Is there plenty to see like this in Phuket? im thinking it will just be easier to got here especially with it being our first time, its complicated enough! we can always visit more places next time.

Thank you so much for all your advice, I really appreciate it.

Please can you recommend a good area for us to stay in the following places:
We want a good location within easy reach of all the sightseeing. Do you have to travel much whilst you're there? i mean far out, to see everything?

Phuket
Bangkok
Chaing Mai

Also, can we visit Chaing Rai from Chaing Mai?

thank you very much

Re tiger Cave Temple I'm talking about Krabi. Note though there's no tigers there.

There are temples in Phuket. Wat Chalong being one of the more well known.

As for Phuket, Samui and Krabi they are all pretty easy to get too, a short flight from Bangkok. Phuket and Samui have flights from Chaing Mai as well. Thailands pretty easy to get round with airports serving lots of internal destinations. The biggest problem with Thailand we find is the sheer amount of choice of places to go.

Chaing Rai can be visited from Chaing Mai although its quite a drive. We took a half hour flight back to Chaing Mai.

As for where to stay.
In Bangkok I'd say either by the river - hotels like the Penisula, Oriental, Shangri-La, Marriott, Hilton
or perhaps the Sukhumvit area with easy access to sky train system and a wide choice of hotels.

Phuket's a bit more difficult to advise without knowing the type of resort/hotel you want. Patong brash and lively. Karon and Kata, Surin quieter but still with lot of life. Panwa and Naithon quiet resorts. These are just a few of the resorts on Phuket

Best advice I can give is have a look around some of the websites for hotels in Thailand, as there is a wide choice of types of hotel and it will give you an idea of whats available in each area. asiatravel.com, sawasdee.com, asiarooms.com, phuket.com fro example though there are loads more,

Why not fly into Chiang Rai, then spend a couple of days in the Golden Triangle. From there you can head to Chiang Mai (about 4 hours - a pretty journey, or you can do partly by river) and finish there with a couple of nights enjoying CHiang Mai and the night market.

If you do it that way round you can utilise the direct flights from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui or Phuket (for Phi Phi).

Thank you very much for all your help.

So can you get to Phi Phi in March 2011 from Koh Samuia? I would rather stay in Koh Samuia than Phuket so that will be brilliant if i can.

I've heard Koh Samui is a lot nicer than Phuket. Is there plenty to see in Koh Samuia or just beach? is Koh Samuia better than Phuket? its difficult to make a decision on where to go when i've never been!

im scared of going Koh Samuia incase phuket is better!

thanks,
Michelle

Michelle,

It sounds like it's worth getting a guide book to help you.

Koh Samui is on the East Coast, Phi Phi on the West Coast, so you have Thailand in the way. You can get between them in one day by several methods involving lots of transportation. The easiest is to fly from Koh Samui to Krabi (about a 35 minute flight) and then get the ferry from Krabi.

If it's small islands you want, then you can get to Koh Phangan and Koh Tao from Koh Samui.

Everyone has personal preferences. I only use Phuket as a launching point for other places, it's too commercialised for me, as are parts of Koh Samui (i.e. Chaweng). But there are lots of chilled out relaxed places on Koh Samui which are in easy reach of the more popular places.

Its that darn film/book The Beach. The fictitious island in The Beach is said to be off Koh Samui. But in the film they use an amalgam of places in Thailand, most famously Phi-Phi to represent the Beach island even though its on the other side of Thailand from Samui. That's the magic of movies for you.

Which is better Samui or Phuket - debated a lot in many forums. Pesonally prefer Phuket, again you can find chilled areas here as well, and As I said earlier we prefer the beaches to those of Samui, plus you are well placed to get to a lot of attractions/area such as Phang-Nga Bay, Krabi, Khao Lak, Similan Islands - to us the area has much more of a wow factor than Samui. Many people when consider Phuket only think of the largest resort Patong which is lively brash, and a bit sleazy - a place we would avoid . However there are numerous other resorts as well with very different vibes.

I think Sams advice is best, get a few guide books - you'll get a more indepth feel for Thailand, and can make a more informed choice.

Hey, my wife and I have stayed at Phi Phi island village resort on 3 occasions and in all honesty you can not go wrong. It is always the highlight of our trip. We do however usually go in march so cant really comment on the time of year but for the total free standing bungalow experience this place is paradise and not heaps expensive. is only accessable to main town by boat however which can get costly depending on length ofn stay and how often you feel like going to town.

8.5/10

Hi,

I've finally decided Phuket it is!

Will i be able to visit temples, hot springs, island tours etc? i've never seen a natural hot sprig so this woud be a highlight as would the temples.

Im leaving Chiang Mai out on this occasion. We will be going to Bangkok for about 3 nights then Phuket for about 10 nights.

We are going in either November or December this year, which will be the best month, I dont want any rain, see enough of that here!!

Also, need some hotel and resort recommendations. I do not want to be any where near the seedy part in the same token, dont want to be iscolated. Would like a nice resort, amazing beach, good selection of restaurants so I dont have to eat at the hotel! Want a lovely hotel with gym/spa. I've heard in Thailand they have meditation, yoga and massage going on along the streets so i'd like to be some where i'll see this as i love yoga!

Any help will be brilliant.

Thank you very much,
Michelle