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stevieg4ever
Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Location: London, England
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 Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 6:31 am Post subject: Thailand islands minus the drinking crowds + any other usefu |
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useful information.
I really want to explore some of the Thailand islands during next year's winter vacation (January). I have a laymans knowledge of them and understand that Krabi, Phukhet and Koa Phangyang (sp) are among the more popular.
I am however concerned at the large numbers of uber young/cool crowds that flock there in their masses. I am not interested in full moon parties or anything like this. What is the best way to avoid these crowds?
I want to relax, tuck in to some good food and I want to maximise any opportunities for good quality landscape photography (though I have heard this isn't hard to come by) that I can.
How much would midrange accommodation cost? And does 10 days sound reasonable and what can I expect to do in that time? How much does it cost to tour the islands and take jettys to other surrounding islands? |
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interestedinhanguk
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 6:40 am Post subject: |
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| Best advice I can give is find an island where it's low season (it varies from location to location). You'll have to deal with some rain, but it is usually in bursts and the rest of the day will be clear. I went to Koh Lanta in the low season (late Aug/early Sept) and enjoyed it. I forget the price in Baht, but it was about $4.50 for my own star and bamboo bungalow on the beach with cold water, a fan and electricity. I think my scooter cost about $10 a day, but I'm not sure. VERY few tourists on the island, despite it being very popular in high season. |
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Hotwire
Joined: 29 Aug 2010
Location: Multiverse
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 6:48 am Post subject: |
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AMte you can easily avoid those kind of crowds even on Phuket and Koh Samui (the latter of which I highly reccomend over any other Thai Island I;ve been to for sheer beauty.)
On Phuket just stay at Kata Noi beach or somewhere like that. On Samui stay at Lamai or one of the even more remote beaches to avoid the Chaweng crowd. Hey do wha tI do and hire a scooter / motorbike and when those odd occaisions come when you feel all horny or want to get your drink on at the reggae bar or whatver - you just ride on in to town and then go back to the peace and quiet when you're done.
Phuket is overrated tbh but for photography is verty good as you have the old China town and lots of inland semi jungle and rubber plantatiion areas. Samui is more photographic though I think.
I wouldn't go to Phi Phi again if you paid me.
Touring the islands and Island hopping is cheap. You could stay in a decent beach hut or a guest house for around 200 baht or so a night or less depending on your preferances.
I alsways say a good rule of thumb for Thailand is that living genuinely frugally 250,000 a week / mil won a month is plenty. Give yourself 500k for ten days and I'd be super surpised if you didn't come back with change if you just keep it to local food and drink, scooter rental, ferry's and accomodation etc...
It'll cost you about 200k eqvt to get to and from Samui or Phuket by plane from BKK though so figure that in also... |
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travelnguy
Joined: 27 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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We love Koh Samui. We will be there again with our 1 year old son in February for a bit more than a month.
If you are staying at least a month, you should look into some house rentals. We found a great little place about 1km from Choeng Mon Beach that has 2 bedrooms and a swimming pool for less than $1000 for the month.
Choeng Mon Beach is really nice. It's quiet and has mostly upscale resorts. We were there during Chuseok and it is really peaceful. Yet, we were only a 15 minute taxi ride from some really nice bars. |
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 8:23 pm Post subject: Re: Thailand islands minus the drinking crowds + any other u |
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| stevieg4ever wrote: |
useful information.
I really want to explore some of the Thailand islands during next year's winter vacation (January). I have a laymans knowledge of them and understand that Krabi, Phukhet and Koa Phangyang (sp) are among the more popular.
I am however concerned at the large numbers of uber young/cool crowds that flock there in their masses. I am not interested in full moon parties or anything like this. What is the best way to avoid these crowds?
I want to relax, tuck in to some good food and I want to maximise any opportunities for good quality landscape photography (though I have heard this isn't hard to come by) that I can.
How much would midrange accommodation cost? And does 10 days sound reasonable and what can I expect to do in that time? How much does it cost to tour the islands and take jettys to other surrounding islands? |
Not sure what you want, but I went to Krabi in May last year and LOVED it. The beach isn't suitable for swimming but it is so mellow there with no crazy crowds and very few Koreans (if any). If you need to hit a beach, you can go to Railay Beach near Krabi or Phi Phi Island.
If you go in the offseason, Krabi can be quite cheap and you can bargain down rates for hotels and water sports. Certain businesses shut down for the season and the ones that remain open give discounts across the board.
I've been there once and I heard from someone that in high season, Krabi seems like any other crowded Thai resort and loses its appeal. |
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stevieg4ever
Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Location: London, England
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| Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2010 1:27 am Post subject: Re: Thailand islands minus the drinking crowds + any other u |
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Did you put that in just for me Yaya ? lol
| Yaya wrote: |
| very few Koreans |
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tiger fancini
Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Location: Testicles for Eyes
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| Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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| travelnguy wrote: |
We love Koh Samui. We will be there again with our 1 year old son in February for a bit more than a month.
If you are staying at least a month, you should look into some house rentals. We found a great little place about 1km from Choeng Mon Beach that has 2 bedrooms and a swimming pool for less than $1000 for the month.
Choeng Mon Beach is really nice. It's quiet and has mostly upscale resorts. We were there during Chuseok and it is really peaceful. Yet, we were only a 15 minute taxi ride from some really nice bars. |
The quieter areas of Samui are pretty awesome. I love Choeng Mon, Big Buddha area and Bophut. These are seriously mellow areas, away from the madness. As another poster said, live here and hire a scooter to travel around.
I also recommend Ko Lanta in the Andaman sea. I went in February, and while I did notice a lot of tourists, most of them seemed to be respectable family types from Scandanavia. Not the tree-hugging, smelly-hippy, Ko-San-Road Full Moon Party, gap-year-students-with-rich-parents-on-a-spiritual-journey-of-self-discovery type kids found in Ko Pha Ngan. Ko Lanta is a beautiful island with killer sunsets, lovely locals, and great opportunities for day activities. |
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 7:48 pm Post subject: |
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| tiger fancini wrote: |
| travelnguy wrote: |
We love Koh Samui. We will be there again with our 1 year old son in February for a bit more than a month.
If you are staying at least a month, you should look into some house rentals. We found a great little place about 1km from Choeng Mon Beach that has 2 bedrooms and a swimming pool for less than $1000 for the month.
Choeng Mon Beach is really nice. It's quiet and has mostly upscale resorts. We were there during Chuseok and it is really peaceful. Yet, we were only a 15 minute taxi ride from some really nice bars. |
The quieter areas of Samui are pretty awesome. I love Choeng Mon, Big Buddha area and Bophut. These are seriously mellow areas, away from the madness. As another poster said, live here and hire a scooter to travel around.
I also recommend Ko Lanta in the Andaman sea. I went in February, and while I did notice a lot of tourists, most of them seemed to be respectable family types from Scandanavia. Not the tree-hugging, smelly-hippy, Ko-San-Road Full Moon Party, gap-year-students-with-rich-parents-on-a-spiritual-journey-of-self-discovery type kids found in Ko Pha Ngan. Ko Lanta is a beautiful island with killer sunsets, lovely locals, and great opportunities for day activities. |
I hear many businesses on Koh Lanta shut down in low season, but hey, that's good for travelers, eh? |
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waynehead
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Location: Jongno
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| Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Basically, you just need to price your way out of that company. Staying in a mid-range hotel or better will pretty much guarantee that you won't have backpackers crashing through your walls. |
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interestedinhanguk
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 1:12 am Post subject: |
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| Yaya wrote: |
| tiger fancini wrote: |
| travelnguy wrote: |
We love Koh Samui. We will be there again with our 1 year old son in February for a bit more than a month.
If you are staying at least a month, you should look into some house rentals. We found a great little place about 1km from Choeng Mon Beach that has 2 bedrooms and a swimming pool for less than $1000 for the month.
Choeng Mon Beach is really nice. It's quiet and has mostly upscale resorts. We were there during Chuseok and it is really peaceful. Yet, we were only a 15 minute taxi ride from some really nice bars. |
The quieter areas of Samui are pretty awesome. I love Choeng Mon, Big Buddha area and Bophut. These are seriously mellow areas, away from the madness. As another poster said, live here and hire a scooter to travel around.
I also recommend Ko Lanta in the Andaman sea. I went in February, and while I did notice a lot of tourists, most of them seemed to be respectable family types from Scandanavia. Not the tree-hugging, smelly-hippy, Ko-San-Road Full Moon Party, gap-year-students-with-rich-parents-on-a-spiritual-journey-of-self-discovery type kids found in Ko Pha Ngan. Ko Lanta is a beautiful island with killer sunsets, lovely locals, and great opportunities for day activities. |
I hear many businesses on Koh Lanta shut down in low season, but hey, that's good for travelers, eh? |
Lots do, but a few do stay open. There are very few tourists on the island during low season. But, there's still bungalows for as low as $4.50 |
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kiknkorea
Joined: 16 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 6:35 am Post subject: |
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| tiger fancini wrote: |
| I did notice a lot of tourists, most of them seemed to be respectable family types from Scandanavia. Not the tree-hugging, smelly-hippy, Ko-San-Road Full Moon Party, gap-year-students-with-rich-parents-on-a-spiritual-journey-of-self-discovery type kids found in Ko Pha Ngan. Ko Lanta is a beautiful island with killer sunsets, lovely locals, and great opportunities for day activities. |
Someone likes hyphens.
But that's a great description of the type of tourists I like to avoid!
I didn't make it down to Ko Lanta last time, I'll definitely check it out. |
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AnsanAnswers
Joined: 16 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:27 pm Post subject: |
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We spent 3 weeks in Thailand during the summer on the gulf islands. Our absolute favorite was Koh Tao, but we really liked Phangan as well. Even though Phangan has the moon parties, the island is plenty big enough to avoid the madness and inconveniences that accompany them.
Check out our website to see our review and itinierary. Hopefully, some of the info will help you out.
http://www.ansananswers.com/Travel/index.html |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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I recommend Pattaya. It's close to Bangkok. Great international cuisine and great nightlife. Just for one day the decadence can get too much it's a bit like Amsterdam or Los Vegas.
Krabbi is a great place to melow out and enjoy the beach. Great rock formations and nice change from Pattaya.
Take one of those day tours from Krabbi five islands in one day. You get a lunch and snorkeling gear. Watch out for the Sea Urchins.
Phuket is OK check out Pating beach. I'd gine Kho Samui and miss accomidation is too expensive and the beach is modiocre at best. |
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ramen209
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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