Hi.
There are 3 of us travelling to Thailand, on June 14th for 3 and a half weeks. None of us have been to Thailand before so need a fair bit of help!
First of all, one of my friends is keen on paying for a tour before we go, such as a northern thailand tour which ends up costing about £450 for 10 days. Is this advisable, or is it better value to make a plan yourself, and would this be easy for people like us?
Our possible plan was to Travel for about 9-10 days in land then move to the islands for the rest of the time there, how does this sound?
We are not going to book any hotels before we go and just sort it out when we get there, is this ok also?
Our budget will likely to be around £800-£1000 each for 3 and a half weeks, is this a good amount too?
What kind of places would be good for us to travel too, especially considering we are students and all outgoing, will be looking to meet loads of people, go out drinking a few times, but also sample the cultural side.
Any tips would be very much appreciated. Thanks

Young people like you travelling on a budget would in far the most ways go staying in Khaosan Road in Bangkok while being there where there are hundreds of young westeners like yourselves, fairly cheap accomodations, lots of shops and bars where you might find other travel companions.

A trip to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand for a couple of days is also recommendable. For beaches you have to go to the southern part of Thailand where there are sooo many beautiful beaches and/or islands worth a visit, and I wouldn't know which one to recommend. Personally I'm living in Kanchanaburi 125 km west of Bangkok, which is a nice medium size city mainly famous for the World War II story about The Bridge Over the River Kwai and The Death Railway, but has other nice places to go. But I'm sure other people have other suggestions to consider.

Hi ,
1st tip - DO NOT BOOK a trip at home, u will save many $$$$, by doing it in Thailand,

i always find a hotel when i get there, lot cheaper than using a travel agent (unless iam arriving very late at nite, i may then book one online or by phone)

not sure of wat type of hotel u looking for, but there are many cheap Guest Houses that will suit yr budget,
internal flights can be cheap,

u will always meet ppl ,

send me a private message & i can give u alot more info

cheers Gary

I don¡'t know how much it cost to book an accommodation in Thailand. I guess it depends on the type of accommodation. Are you going backpacking?

you may want to book your first night in bangkok at least, you will be tired when you arrive- get a taxi from the airport by going to the taxi stand. i think it is outside door 7(?) but others will know more precisely. should cost about 400B for the taxi.

take the overnight train up to chiang mai. you can buy a ticket in advance if you want and have it delivered to your hotel in Bangkok, or buy this when you get there (advance purchase will save some time later though). so much to do in chiang mai and so much cheaper than the southern beaches. elephant riding galore (see Thai Elephant Conservation Center along with many other camps), trekking, touring, flight of the gibbon (zip lines), white water cooking school etc etc the possibilities are endless. My husband has been in CM for 4 weeks lucky thing on sabbatical and has done a few organised courses: a weeks tai chi staying in university housing, a week at massage school and has just left for 2 weeks yoga in a lahu hill tribe. I'm green with envy, but join him next week with our daughter. He has been staying at lanna house (which he liked), banilah (wasn't very enthusiastic about this) and rainforest inn (his new favourite)

When i arrive we will move to the centara, a world away in price at £30 for 2 with breakfast!. My plan is the zoo, they have pandas, doi suthep, a day touring with paul collins tuktuk tours, flight of the gibbon and a day on quad bikes in the jungle. Then we fly to phuket airport (would take forever by train) and head north to khao lak (orchid resort). this could be too quiet for you but we love it. there are, however, more lively areas of khao lak. If funds are running low, you might want to consider KL over some of the other beach areas as it is still much cheaper than phuket, samui etc etc. The orchid is a little remote but there are other parts, like bangniang with more going on within walking distance. there are good reports of cousin resort and nang thong resort.

For busy, busy, see phuket, especially patong. samui is also fun but cannot comment on other islands.

Personally, I would to this without a tour; we took a 6 night tour on our first trip, and although we did see a lot and learn a lot, we also felt dissatisfied at the pace, accomodation and meals. Just organise it yourselves. spend time exploring chiang mai, or go up to mae hong song. research a few day trips you want to do, and book them when you get there. consider a 2 night trek, with a third day spent white water rafting for example. Spend a day with elephants (or sign up for 1 or 2 nights at an elephant camp). We find on each trip we are spending less and less time in the south, and more time in the north.

have a great time. with 3 of you, consider serviced apartments instead of hotels they will be better value.

Remember its rainy season then. Anyway google Koh Samet Island its a brilliant island for a few days. The beach to go to there is Siakaew, great white sand, heaps of accomodation choices and oly 2 hour drive from bangkok.
The mainland city that is the ferry point for the island is Ban Phe.
happy travels cheers
Mark