I'd look at flying with Thai Air themselves - although 2008 flights won't be available yet anyway (unless looking at early 2008 then you might just scrape in) they don't become available until 11 months beforehand

Thailand is beautiful- Bangkok is fab I would recommend the Landmark for stay there, also look at going north to Chiang Mai.
Beaches- you have a fab choice- phuket if you want busy, Cha Am/Hua Hin for more tradtitional, Krabi area for fantastic natural areas and so on

Have a chat to Travelbag, Travel Mood and colours of asia as they specialise in that area of the world and we've always gone with one of them when we've gone to the far east

Beach wise for your time of the year I would be looking at Phuket or Krabi, possibly Khao Lak but this is a quieter resort area. Phuket has a number of resorts...Patong is the livliest and can be a bit in your face. Kata and Karon are quieter (but still lively).

Bang Tao also has a long stretch of beach, the purpose built Laguna complex is here which has a number of hotels on it ranging from three to five star...its a very manicured resort...reminds me a bit of Villamoura in the Algarve, or Playa Dorada in Dom Rep...a bit lacking in Thai character. There are also numerous other quieter bays to choose from.

Shopping wise on Phuket you have Patong, or Phuket Town or you could leave it to Bangkok which has an incredible array of shopping opportunities.

Hotel wise in Bangkok either consider a hotel with easy links to the Skytrain or one by the river. The Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa is a very good four star (probably be a five star in the UK) that has a certain ambiance. Its by the river but has an excellent and fun boat service that links to the skytrain and the Bangkok river boat services.

Just a mention about Thai Airways. I've been trying to book our flights with Thai for October 07 and their prices (for Australia anyway) are not out yet...for whatever reason. I did ring Thai and they said I could still book seats, ah! yeah like I'm going to buy something without knowing the price first. The only reason I'm sticking with Thai is that we get an extra 10k each as we are Royal Orchid members and not forgetting their fabulous service and their 34 seat pitch.
You might like to consider the Kata area in Phuket. Kata Beach Resort is directly on the beach and have lovely sea view rooms. Nothing in your face and lots of affordable restaurants within walking distance.
Hope this helps.

Thank you very much for your replies. A few brochures i have got now to sieve through for ideas, taking on board all your views as well. I daresay i will have a lot more questions to ask as soon as flights become available.

Thank you
Michelle

Have just read on another forum that TAT wants to reduce Thai tourism next year, TAT firmly focused on quality tourism:

Edited due to copyright but link to info here
Wonder if this has any significance?

edited
Fiona ht mod

Thanks Fiona, sorry ...wasn't sure how i should reference
Lyn

no problem Lyn- its an interesting read.

The article mentions that 55 percent of visitors to Thailand are repeat visitors. Most of the repeat visitors from the UK will have used scheduled airlines on their previous visits so I wonder if there would be some reluctance to use a charter flight such as Mytravel or Thomson ...especially as they have not upgraded the planes yet.

Also the type of long haul offered by the charters tend to be to destinations that offer all-inclusive resorts something rarely found in Thailand. And to be honest the operators don't seem to have given much time or marketing effort to actually develop the product before pulling flights. The recent coup probably put a few people off as well.

In Phuket can anyone share their hotel experience, its still on for january, but i would like a hotel not to far away from all the hustle and bustle and not having to get taxis everywhere. But a fabulous beach. Where do people go? What hotels can i start researching into please.
thank you.

The Chedi. Best beach (Pansea Bay) thats' protected from hawkers, so it's peaceful.

And the hotel is great value considering the quality. And 10-20 minutes into all the party areas.

Nai Thon...but too quiet for you Derwentrocker :). Never found hawkers a hassle in Thailand so I wouldn't factor that in as a worry when deciding on your beach...in fact darned useful if their bringing round chilled pineapple.

Kata Noi is also nice--quieter than Kata but just a short ride to it. The Katathani hotel is on that.

It all depends on what you want from a beach and your hotel are we talking total luxury and seclusion here or a resort style hotel in some of the main resort areas.

Just a point...what makes Thailand cheap and a great experience is the little local restaurants and bars...if you pick too remote a hotel you may end up being trapped with paying hotel prices or having to taxi out.