Hi I have been to Thailand many times but never to Samui.
Today we booked 14 nights from 30th of May and plan to have 3 nights in Bkk then night sleeper/ferry combo to Samui,3 nights in Al,s huts on Chewang,3 nights Salad hut on Phangang, 1 more night in Samui,night sleeper back to BKK then 1 night in BKK before flying out.

We are in our mid 40's,dont mind a bit of party noise (Well in Thailand anyway) and hate spending big on accomodation and food.

We do short trips to Thailand at least 3 time a year but usually do Patt,Samet,Chang,BKK (phuket once Our only package holiday). And over recent years have used Sawadee.com to book accomodation as i find it easy to book this side due to limited time when we get there.

Any thoughts,suggestions would be apreciated .

Den

This sounds like a pretty nice travel plan to me Den. 3 nights in BKK will give you long enough to see the major sights. I always suggest a boat trip on the Chaophyra River, either take an organized dinner-tour or DIY on the local "river buses" Most of the important BKK temples can be seen/reached from the riverside. A week on Samui/Phangan will be fun, you can soak up the sun during the day and boogie at night (I'm much older than you and I still like to boogie) I'm not sure where Salad Hut is, Koh Phangan does have a bit of a rep' for rages, so there could be some action there. My advice is to join in. There's no need to spend big on food, plenty of cheap eating everywhere in Thailand, just ask to look at the menus first. I always ask how much a beer is, that seems to be a good yardstick for the rest of the prices. If a large Henieken is 75-80Bt, OK. If they tell me 150bt, get stuffed, I walk on.
I also suggest avoid doing heaps of shopping during the 3 days in BKK, I'd be inclined to work out what I wanted to buy and grab everything on that final day before flying out. You don't want to be carting heaps of stuff on the ferries.
Hope you have a ball.

Can't add much to Bob's reply other than enjoy yourself.
Al's huts are pretty central and don't miss out on the night life on the beach when in Chewang it is a welcome respite fromthe street. Soi Green Mango is when the busiest action is a t night if that is your bag.
We will be there at the same time.

__________________
Kiss
God laughs at people who make plans.

Thanks bobmac,We always stay at the Indra Regent in BKK as my wife likes to shop til "I"drop and its so close to the markets and night seller that I can just have a few beers while she does the hard yards plus they let us leave all her stuff at the hotel until our return.
I Know there is a lot better hotels for the price but have only ever had good experiences at the Indra and have become a bit of a creature of habit over the years.

The Salad Hut on Phangang is at "Haad Salad" far north west of the island,I read good reviews about it and it may be a quiet change after Chewang and Bkk but am open to any sugestion on Phangang and Samui.

Have you done the night sleepr from Bkk to Samui?

Den.

Thanks ,at least you didnt say"Avoid Al's Huts" which to me is a good sign.

Do you know the best way to get from Chewang to the Phangang ferry?

As I have not been to Samui before I am going in a bit blind as to prices ect of getting to the other side of Samui,getting ferry tickets ect.

Den.

When I was last at Samui the boats to Koh Phangan went from near the Big Buddha beach, this is not too far from Chewang, I'd line up a songteaw to take me there. Why not rent a motorcycle for a day and take a run over to Big Buddha beach and check out the ferries, you can do your booking there and then.
The north of Koh Phangan is lovely, I think the best beaches are up there. Hat Thong Nai Pan Noi is lovely and well worth visiting. I have done the train/ferry combo to Samui many moons ago, it's OK, you'll have an AC sleeper to Surat Thani and from there you'll be transfered to the pier and put on the ferry, it's a nice trip. When at Samui I used to love the night BBQs on Chaweng Beach, sitting right on the beach, just inches away from the water, dining on a seafood meal & a coldie. Way to go!!!

We are really just doing the night train cos we are sick of flying,also seems more fun at the moment,and will proberbly end up forking out a few exta baht to fly back to Bkk.

I always hire a scooter,thats part of the holiday for us,mind you the last few times in Pattaya i have given it a miss,not sure if its the traffic or me losing my nerve over the years.

Den

Yeah Pattaya traffic is ridiculous, as bad as Bangkok. I lived there for 2 years but just recently moved to Bangsaen, it's fantastic to be away from all that traffic and stinking fumes.

I am rethinking this trip now! Because our flight stops at Phuket on route to BKK it may be better to get off at Phuket and catch a flight to Samui and do Samui and Phangang first then make my way to BKK.

Trouble is when I do an Island thing before BKK I am so chilled out that I cant be bothered doing much or enough in BKK.

Does seem a bit silly to come back to Samui from Bkk when the plane stops at Phuket though.

What do you think?

Den

Yep, if it was me I'd jump off at Phuket and do the Southern islands, then Bangkok last of all. In fact, if Bangkok doesn't turn you on, why not fly back to Perth from Phuket, just forget Bangkok, stay around Phuket/PP/Samui?Phangan? As you already been to Bangkok before no real need to travel all that way.