Hi all,
We have had great info from you guys previously here.
I have been to the above in the last few years staying at Poppies on samui(fantastic!) and Krabi Thai Village (The one on the beach, very good value)
We are 2 adults and 2 teeneagers 14 & 15 we love our food and snorkeling and relaxing with sand between the toes at the beach with a freezing cold beer (thats me BTW).
The challenge is that we are desperately in need of a relaxing holiday in May (2 Grandads died in the last 4 weeks).
1. Can you fly non-stop London to a resort in Thailand avoiding Bangkok?
2. If we cannot avoid a change in Bangkok where is the best place to go other than Samui and Krabi.
3. It does not have to be a busy place but we do like to eat out every evening.
4. We do like a bit of luxury in accomodation if possible (think poppies!)

Any info would much appreciated
Cheers
Kieron

Hi Keiron,

I don't think you can fly direct London- Thai resorts because those regional airports are small and can't accommodate the big planes that are used on long-haul international routes. There's also the issue of certain airports being the exclusive domain of certain carriers.

So, a few options spring to mind...
1. fly London-BKK and get a domestic flight to Phuket or, on a smaller scale, Koh Chang. These places would probably meet your requirements of snorkelling, beach, restaurants and some 'high-end' resort hotels.

2. fly London-Bkk and hire a minivan, limo or 4 wheel drive vehicle and travel to a place accessible by road - Hua Hin or Jomtien - I don't think they are renowned for snorkelling but have some nice hotels (quite a few absolute beachfront) many restaurants and plenty of shopping.
You might like one of the nice 2 bedroom suites at Cabbages and Condoms just out of Pattaya (absolute beachfront resort with lovely gardens) or a 2 bedroom villa at Rabbit Resort - across a paved, narrow roadway (no cars during the day) to the beach.

I've just come back from HH and there are certainly some upmarket hotels there too - many absolute beachfront.
Do a google search on hotels in these areas and you'll get a lot of information.
3. You could also check the luxury resorts on Koh Samet - but they could be a bit boring for your teenagers (most of the action is in the main part of Koh Samet and if you like luxury hotels I think you'd hate the main part of KS - personally I think it's grotty and very over-rated, except for the couple of expensive options)

Hi Keiron

Like you, we've done Koh Samui and Poppies and then Krabi. This year we're going to Hua Hin and doing a private transfer which means straight from Bangkok by car. This avoids the transfers and the hanging around for an internal flight.

Not 'til June though so cannot give you any helpful information.

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Alison

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It's Better to Burn Out than just to Fade Away!