Travel suggestions for Thailand
 

For those who have already been, what's the best way to get there? I'm looking to go as far as I can on Delta metal and then Zed to Bangkok.
Any deals for airline employees once in country?

Thanks

BTW, planning on a beach vacation so I probably won't spend a lot of time in Bangkok.

Ha! Deals? In Thailand? Is that a joke? You can live like a king on $60/day!

I’m here in Thailand right now. We did the Spirit pass to ICN then ZED to Bangkok. Korean, Thai and Asiana all fly direct from ICN and have ZED agreements. There are several low cost carriers that do it as well if you are looking to buy a ticket. You can also go thru Narita with lots of connecting options. It’s technically possible to go thru China as well but we chose to avoid that route due to uncertainties about visa requirements for transiting (especially when doing ZED).

Once in Thailand I would recommend just buying inter country tickets. They are generally 150 ish dollars RT anywhere in Thailand. ZED is doable as well and there are lots of flight options on Thai and Bangkok Airways.

It’s a seriously miserable trip. The flight to Korea is ok but the sit in Incheon and 6 hour flight to Thailand will test your will to live. Plan on 24-30 hours enroute.

It’s a long way to come for just a beach vacation. I would highly recommend Chiang Mai for 3-4 days. It’s up north in the “mountains” with cooler weather. Great cafe culture, lots of activities (tiger Kingdom, elephant camps, zip lining, biking, hiking, rafting, etc). We stayed at the Le Meridian there which is western 5 star hotel but there are thousands of nice boutique hotels if that’s your thing as well. Another option is to head over to Siem Reap Cambodia for a couple of days and visit the ancient city of Angor Wat. There is van service from Bangkok which takes about 4 hours I believe.

Used Booking.com for all our reservation (Bangkok, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai). Really easy to use and seemed to have the best prices. I’ve used ID90 website in the past but I found it not as easy to use and prices seemed no better.

Good luck and have fun!

Sounds great, the forum would do well if it had a section on this stuff. No thread creeps allowed. Just travel. Thanks for the info.

We really enjoyed Phuket.
Nice condo with private plunge pool, walk to beach.
Also went jet skiing in the ocean, wakeboarded at a lake with a “high line” system, went to a cooking class, and market. :)
Beautiful beaches and mountains

If you do stay any nights in Bangkok, our last layover hotel is a place I would recommend. The Marriott Sukhumvit gave some great rates with your ID, and has what the locals say is the best rooftop bar in the city. No kids allowed on the roof, but they can be one floor below. Incredible sunsets, great drink discount, neat ambiance the way they have it set up. Pool area really neat also. Brought my wife down for a long layover just before we stopped going there and she loved it.

I worked at the US Embassy in Bangkok for 3 years. It’s a very safe place but I would recommend you never get on a Jet Ski there. It’s without a doubt the #1 tourist scam in the country. You rent the jet ski and when you bring it back they claim you damaged it and demand payment for repairs. There will also be a local cop in on the scam who sides with the Jet Ski owner if you protest. It got so bad that we basically prohibited any US service members from getting on a jet ski while they were TDY to Thailand.

I’m sure there are legit operators around but you have no real way of knowing (about the only exception would be if it belongs to the hotel you are staying at).

Thanks for the great info.
I was looking at possibly going through CDG...flights look good from MSP and then Zed on Air France. Still checking it all out.

I'm sure we won't spend the whole time at the beach.

Lots of great options in thailand and you live like a king for 50-60 bucks a day.

You want islands? Head to the south. Koh Tao (turtle island) is where I learned to scuba dive, and eventually took the wife back. Take a ferry to Ko Samui which is great. Good flight options from ko samui to get back to bangkok or over the mainland to phuket.

Like somebody said earlier, Chang Mai up north is a laid back feel. Don't pass on Bangkok though, aside from all the dirty stuff you can get into if its your thing, there are really cool markets (floating market, MBK) you can go see, and you can get a really nice hotel room for cheap.

Best thing for us was the 6 dollar foot massage for an hr... while drinking a huge beer that cost $1.50.

Safe travels... PM for more info.

CC

If only Delta did not stop service to a major tourist destination and country with over 70 million people :mad:

I would go Delta to Hong Kong then you could ZED on CX, TG, or even EK to BKK. That or just buy a ticket on Air Asia to Chiang Mai or ZED on Cathay Dragon.

I have a home in Chiang Mai so I am somewhat biased, but I will agree to the advice above about Chiang Mai. It's a great place to spend a few days before going to the beaches in the south. Although the hot season of March, April, May is rapidly approaching and it gets very hazy. Not a nice time of year to be there. When the "rain season" starts in June it is actually much more pleasant. Some good white water rafting on the rivers outside of Chiang Mai during the rainy season.

For beaches, or a beach vacation, it depends a little on what you are after. There are numerous nice resorts along the mainland sides of the Gulf of Thailand but the beaches themselves leave a little to be desired. I just spent three days at the Marriott resort Hua Hin. Great pools and a reasonable beach for that side of the coast. Along the other side is the Marriott Resort Rayong. It's far enough south to be away from the mayhem of Pattaya. Again, great pools and a reasonable beach.

The better beaches are further south in/near Phuket and Krabi as well as the islands in the Gulf of Thailand like Ko Samui and Ko Pha Ngan.

When in Bangkok I always recommend chartering a longtail boat for an hour cruise on the Chao Phraya and especially the canals that connect to it.