Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

Hi!

in september we are on a trip from europe to taiwan. we do fly via BKK
and have chance for a stopover from saturday afternoon (arrival in
bangkok airport) to tuesday afternoon (departure to taipei).

Any suggestions for a relaxing stopover destination that is:

a.) beach

b.) with facilities but not too touristic (e.g. I did not like
phuket/krabi/phi-phi too much)

c.) easy to reach from BKK airport so that we do not spend too much time
traveling to and from the site

Any suggestions?

manfred

p.s. I know that it is well worth to stay 4 days in bangkok but I'd
prefer beach instead of city ...

Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

"Manfred Aigner" schrieb
Any suggestions for a relaxing stopover destination that is:

a.) beach

b.) with facilities but not too touristic (e.g. I did not like
phuket/krabi/phi-phi too much)

c.) easy to reach from BKK airport so that we do not spend too much time
traveling to and from the site

Hmmm... then you probably won't like Pattaya either.
What about Koh Samed? Or a bit farther away: Koh Chang?

cu, Thomas

Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

"Thomas Endt" wrote in message
...

"Manfred Aigner" schrieb
Any suggestions for a relaxing stopover destination that is:

a.) beach

b.) with facilities but not too touristic (e.g. I did not like
phuket/krabi/phi-phi too much)

c.) easy to reach from BKK airport so that we do not spend too much time
traveling to and from the site

Hmmm... then you probably won't like Pattaya either.
What about Koh Samed? Or a bit farther away: Koh Chang?

Hua Hin?

Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

schrieb Thomas Endt:

"Manfred Aigner" schrieb
Any suggestions for a relaxing stopover destination that is:

a.) beach

b.) with facilities but not too touristic (e.g. I did not like
phuket/krabi/phi-phi too much)

c.) easy to reach from BKK airport so that we do not spend too much time
traveling to and from the site

Hmmm... then you probably won't like Pattaya either.

Probably ...

What about Koh Samed? Or a bit farther away: Koh Chang?
Looks good ...Any hint how long it would take (and how) to get from BKK
airport to Samet or Koh Chang and back?

Manfred

Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

On Thu, 1 Jul 2010 22:03:48 +0200, "Thomas Endt"
wrote:


"Manfred Aigner" schrieb
Any suggestions for a relaxing stopover destination that is:

a.) beach

b.) with facilities but not too touristic (e.g. I did not like
phuket/krabi/phi-phi too much)

c.) easy to reach from BKK airport so that we do not spend too much time
traveling to and from the site

Hmmm... then you probably won't like Pattaya either.
What about Koh Samed? Or a bit farther away: Koh Chang?

Thailand has been so successful at promoting the country over the last
couple of decades that a nice beach with facilities but few tourists
is just about nonexistent these days.

Chris

Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

schrieb Chris Blunt:
[..]
Hmmm... then you probably won't like Pattaya either.
What about Koh Samed? Or a bit farther away: Koh Chang?

Thailand has been so successful at promoting the country over the last
couple of decades that a nice beach with facilities but few tourists
is just about nonexistent these days.

Well, there are places where a lot of package tourists typically go
(Phuket, Krabi), with a lot of "entertainment-facilities" and others
that are less exploited and still more quiet/relaxed (e.g. Koh Tao or Ko
Phangan) ... recently (~2 years ago) I spent some very relaxing days in
Samui/Hat Lamai .. the question is, if there is something similar a bit
closer to BKK airport (in terms of traveling time and cost) so that it
is worth going there for 3 days ... this is what we are looking for ..
it is clear that we will not reach a totally unexplored area in this
short time ...

Manfred

Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

"Chris Blunt" kirjoitti
om...
On Thu, 1 Jul 2010 22:03:48 +0200, "Thomas Endt"
wrote:


"Manfred Aigner" schrieb
Any suggestions for a relaxing stopover destination that is:

a.) beach

b.) with facilities but not too touristic (e.g. I did not like
phuket/krabi/phi-phi too much)

c.) easy to reach from BKK airport so that we do not spend too much time
traveling to and from the site

Hmmm... then you probably won't like Pattaya either.
What about Koh Samed? Or a bit farther away: Koh Chang?

Thailand has been so successful at promoting the country over the last
couple of decades that a nice beach with facilities but few tourists
is just about nonexistent these days.

Samet Island should be a good choice. It is a national park, so not even a
Thai politician.... I mean developer can not seal the island from one corner
to another by concrete. However, I don't quite understand why to restrict
the potential selection to nearby locations close to Bangkok.We are living
an era of cheap flights......

Air Asia flies to Phuket for a few baht. Travelling time to Phuket is about
80 minutes. The airline has the hub in the new airport in Bangkok, so no
transfers there. On Phuket the most remote beach is not far away. Air Asia
also flies directly from Bangkok to Krabi and Surat Thani (from the latter
town there are boats to both Samui and Phangan). They also have flights to
Narathiwat which is a neighbourhood with nice beaches (well, the province is
witnessing some moslem violence).


Weatherwise Samet is probably a winner over these beach destinations in
Southern Thailand because it rains a lot less there in September in average.
Hua Hin and Cha Am could be also attractive choices in this respect. And
naturally Bali which beats all the other destinations mentioned above hands
down. Timetables may be unfit for such a short time vacationing on Bali (for
a reasonable fare anyways) and the air tickets probably cost several time
more than to domestic destinations.

Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

schrieb Markku Grönroos:
[..]

Weatherwise Samet is probably a winner over these beach destinations in
Southern Thailand because it rains a lot less there in September in average.
Hua Hin and Cha Am could be also attractive choices in this respect. [..]

Thanks for your detailed answer ... I think it will be Samet ... looks
nice and easy to get there ... any suggestions for a nice area/hotel
there? How long will it probably take to get from the airport with a
driver to the boat and organize the boat trip? And how much will
driver charge?

Bali is off course a good idea, but since we are anyway between two long
haul flights I want to avoid another flight that is quite long ...

Regards,

Manfred

Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

"Manfred Aigner" kirjoitti
.ac.at...
schrieb Markku Grönroos:
[..]

Weatherwise Samet is probably a winner over these beach destinations in
Southern Thailand because it rains a lot less there in September in
average.
Hua Hin and Cha Am could be also attractive choices in this respect. [..]

Thanks for your detailed answer ... I think it will be Samet ... looks
nice and easy to get there ... any suggestions for a nice area/hotel
there? How long will it probably take to get from the airport with a
driver to the boat and organize the boat trip? And how much will
driver charge?

I was there in 2003. So my knowledge in this respect is outdated. However,
lodging seemed to be rather low key but sufficient. I stayed in a modest
"hotel" at the northernmost part of the island (sandy beaches reside on the
eastern side of the island). Nowadays there seem to be a few fancy places
too.


I believe in September there is lots of accommodation available for those
who have not pre-booked. A rough road is meandering through the island which
is covered with dense vegetation. Beaches are very nice. In my opinion there
are no better beaches in the kingdom for swimming and so. Because the island
is a national park, visitors must pay a park fee.

Both fast boats and slow boats leave from the piers of the fishing village
of Phe which is about 20 kilometres east from the city of Rayong. The sea
voyage is a short hop. There are buses to Pattaya from the airport for sure.
Perhaps to Rayong too. And perhaps all the way to Phe too because the
village resides along the highway 3. From Pattaya there are lots of
departures to Rayong and from Rayong it is easy to catch a songtaew to Phe.
Local transportation is very cheap in Thailand. A couple of euros from the
airport to Pattaya for instance. Fast boats can be a bit more expensive (I
guess they *may* include the park fee) from the mainland to Samet.

If you pre-booked your stay at a decent hotel, they could obviously arrange
you a smooth going transportation all the way from the airport to the island
(probably somewhat more expensive but a lot faster and convenient).

Stopover for 4 days in Bangkok
 

schrieb Markku Grönroos:

[..]

Thanks a lot ... very useful tips.

Manfred