Hi Martin
Haven't been but would like to- what about Phuket? There are areas there that are quieter( as well as other areas that are "full on") I know you have been to KS but have you been outwith Chaweng? We love Bophut- it has some great restaurants and a growing amount of bars. It is also close enough to hop into Chaweng if you want to( we rarely did!)
Have you been to Bangkok before- I love the place. We will be there again in April.

Cheers Fiona, is Bophut the north of the island? What hotel would you recommend in Bangkok?

Ta

yes Bophut is in the north
http://www.peaceresort.com/
that was the hotel we went to twice. However, there are several new ones (just built) which are more upmarket and quite a few established ones as well. We loved the Peace resort and will probably go back sometime.
In Bangkok we have stayed at the Landmark hotel on Sukhumvit Road. Great position in the middle of countless good restaurants and right next to the Sky train which is a must!
We have also stayed at the Marriott Resort and Spa on the river. Quite an oasis. Lovely pool area. Hotel boat for transfer down the river to the skytrain. We are returning to the Landmark in April. Will look out the websites for those hotels as well.

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage.mi?marshaCode=BKKTH
http://www.landmarkbangkok.com/index.htm

Cheers Fiona, Bophut looks ideal, is the beach good and like something out of a film? I long to find somewhere that has a beach like the film The Beach, I know it was filmed in An Thong park,. Is it possible to hire a boat and do your own island hoping?

Cheers for all the info. Landmark Hotle in Bangkok is also looking good!

Martin_d,
a lot of The Beach was filmed on Phi-Phi island near Phuket. I know the book set the island in the An Thong marine park. Actually the real beach is better than it came across on the film - I remember watching the film and and thinking Oi the beaches are better than that.

Watch boat trips in Samui...some of them can be a bit hairy. Speed boats fine when the sea is calm but if you get caught in rough sea then the journey can be grim as we found.

martin
the beach is not something out of a movie. I loved it as it was quite quiet, and very long. It is not the best for swimming though. It can feel a little muddy underfoot. I think I have photos in the photo galleries. Just off to have a look!

Another beach you could consider on Koh Samui is Cheong Mon. Beach wise its about the same standard as Chaweng but its much quieter with a few hotels like the Imperial Boat House and the Sala Samui and a number of beach restaurants. About quarter of an hour from Chaweng if you want to pop over for an evening.

Cheers sunbear and Fiona. What about Krabi, how does that compare with Samui? (can you tell I havent made my mind up yet?)

Personally prefer Krabi region to Koh Samui...a lot of the best beaches are reached by boat on outlying islands. Phi-phi of course is the most famous of these. Renting a local boat and boatman costs about £20 pound for the day, Area is developing fast with a number of 4 and 5 star hotels coming on line. The photos you see on the front of travel brochures are often of beaches in the Krabi region.

we chose Koh Samui as we went in the summer and the weather is better there. However, when you are going, both would be good. Personally, if I ever get the chance to go over xmas/New Year I would go to Phuket or Krabi. I have uploaded some of my Bophut photos here

I would most definately choose Krabi over Ko Samui, we stayed in Ao Nang Krabi at New Year a couple of years ago it was absolutely fantastic, the scenery is stunning , in Ao Nang itself the beach is not great but you can catch longtail boats to the most stunning beaches from there, Ao Nang has some great restaurants and good shops - would go back there anyday , infact will definatley go back there next time I get a winter break , like Fiona I have been to Ko Samui several times as usually I do my main holiday in the summer months when the weather is not so great in Krabi , I much prefer Krabi though as the scenery is fab and it is not as commercialised,we did a split centre with Phuket and stayed in Kata - that is a great area with a fantastic beach.
It is only 2-3 hours by car transfer between the two.
We stayed in the Krabi Thai Village resort which is beautiful , the rooms are amazing and the staff are great, hope this helps.
Another idea is Ko Lanta - a stunning island near to Krabi - you can get the boat there from krabi, shirleyV

Finally all booked up!!! 4 nights in Bangkok staying at the Landmark in a lifestyle deluxe room, then 14 nights in Ko Lanta Yai (Krabi), a hotel called the Narima, then 2 nights in Dubai staying at the Rydges Plaza.

Boy am I glad it's finally all booked up! thanks to everyone who gave advice!

lifestyle deluxe- you went for the best then!
I'm sure you will have a great holiday. I'm looking forward to your report!

Going to start off my holiday in style and get a limo from the airport. Can anyone recommed a good reliable company?

Hi

We travelled to Bangkok 2 years on the trot and picked up a 'Limo' at the airport. When you have come through arrivals you will find quite a few 'booths' where you can get a car (taxi service really I suppose) to take you to your destination. I believe that one of these was called Airport Limos. We booked one to take us to Pattaya (roughly about 90 minutes from Bangkok) and also used them for our return. Cost about £30/£40. I don't think the car was a 'limo' but it was large, air conditioned and we had a comfortable journey. I'm sure you can book it in advance if you want to. Just use a search engine for Airport Limos Bangkok and it should give you the company, prices and vehicle used. We waited till we got there to book ours. The 2nd time we went we met our friends at the airport and got a mini bus to take us to Pattaya again it was a comfortable relaxed journey and this time the £20 fare was between 4 of us. Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for.