Hi,

My two sons and I would like to rent self-contained accommodation in a nice place along the SE Coast. Our budget is around US$2000 to US$2500 per month. We will be in Thailand for July and August.

Our goal is to get to know a specific area very well.

We need help on the best place to stay and how to locate accommodation.

Andy

By SE Coast do you mean the Andaman coastline (PhangNga, Krabi, Trang, Satun)? or the eastern gulf coast (Chonburi)? If the Andaman coast be aware that July/Aug are in the wet season for that coast, you'll get some nice days but a fair bit of rain too and rough sea that will hinder isalnd trips. Also are you looking for beachside accomm' or will being in a town be OK? Are you looking for a tourist area or do you want to be away from western influences (there are plus & minuses in both options) Anyway your budget is OK, you can get by on that amount OK. You'd be better looking for a furnished house rather than any resort, the more you are off the tourist track the cheaper a house will be. Wherever you are food is no problem (as long as you eat Thai) as stalls & restaraunts are all over the place. Plus you can shop and do some cooking yourself. Get back with some more specific details and we can narrow things down a bit.

Thanks for the reply BobMac,
The Gulf Coast. Beachside would be great, but not necessary. Quiet would be helpful as we meditate a lot. Outskirts of a town would be OK. A three bedroom furnished house is what we had in mind. Is this "narrowing it down"?

Would a furnished house come with hired help like a cook? Must we reserve the house in advance?

Thanks,
Andy

The Gulf (eastern) side of the southern peninsula is quieter than the Andaman side. Consider Songkhla. You can certainly rent a 3-bedroom house there, and you're off the tourist track but not totally isolated. Some houses will come with maid/cook and some won't. But if the house didn't and you wanted help then the owner could no doubt arrange it for you. I'm not sure how you would arrange a house in advance unless you had a contact. You could just roll into town, put up at a cheap hotel for a couple of nights and scout around for a house.

Thanks BobMac,
I gave you incorrect info (sorry). We are looking at the coast around Sattahip, Rayong, and Ko(s) Samet, Chang and Kut. I'v been told that it's less touristy and expensive.

Does the same information you provided previously still apply?

Am I well informed about cost and tourism?

Thanks again,
Andy

There will be plenty of options in and around Hua Hin. THis will give you the best of both worlds as there will be acessible tourist infrastructure if you want it and just a few kilometres south of town you will find it reasonably quiet and peaceful. The beach is nice but not in the tropical island paradise way. The sand is beautiful but the water is not as clear but still fine for swimming. THe town itself is really nice and only gets busy on the weekend due to it's proximity to Bangkok.

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Agree with shanek's suggestion. HH will be easier to pre-arrange a house too as you'll find property agents on the internet. Start searching!

Thanks Shanek and BobMac. Is the internet the place to start my search for a house? Other than google, are there other search paths?

Is there an easy way to do it once we are in Thailand? Or, is prebooking best?

Andy