Hi all,

I am travelling to Thailand on the 11th November 2010 with one friend. I arrive in Bangkok on the 12th at 18:50 and plan to spend one night in Bangkok initially so will book a hotel before we leave. We travel back to London from Bangkok on the 28/11/10 and dont have anything booked between 12th-28th.

We are both currently completing our PADI referral diving course in the UK so plan to do the four open water dives in Thailand. We have been recommended to do this in Kho Tao, would you agree with this?

Apart from the diving we are planning to be in Koh Phangan for the 21st for the Full Moon party but other than this we dont know where to go and when.

Some of the other things we are keen to do include jungle trekking, bungee jumping, some shopping, drinking and relaxing. We are also very keen on Phi Phi as have heard very good things about the island.

For the people who have been to Thailand before could you recommend a route to take and means of travel so that we can do the diving, get to the full moon and fit in as many of the other activities as possible?

We would really appreciate your help.

Ben

pm ref diving - full moon I am afraid I am too old -please book most before you leave as it will be a hell of a lot cheaper

Kho Tao is ok othwise the most beautiful island for diving [scubar] is Similan National Park in Phang Nga , [snokering should be Surin National Park]. U must book boat ticket and package from Bangkok or UK.
Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan is very fun if u love drinking , dancing maybe taking drugs.555
About Adventure trip and shopping , just go to Phuket.

i would like to tell U about the very amazing and beautiful festival in Thailand that's ' Loi Krathong Festival' it's on 21 November this year.
we celebrate and apologise the river , for more information search by google. Have a good trip.

PS. Koh Phi Phi is very nice , I love Phi Phi .

Pat..Bangkok Thailand

I agree with Pat. Both Koh Tao and Similan Island are the best places for Scuba Diving. For shopping I would actually recommend Bangkok if you have time (say on your way back before flight back to London) otherwise here in Phuket there are also many areas for shopping depending what you're looking for.

Phuket also offers bungee jumping although it is nothing extraordinary. You jump from a crane with a lake beneath you. I strongly recommend Krabi. Beautiful area for seightseeing and climbing (i you like that).

And here in Phuket you always have Patong for a good time out at night!

Hope you'll fully enjoy your holidays.

Let me know if you need more help.

Koh Tao is cheap for open water courses, but the quality of the diving for certified divers is hardly worth mentioning.

Hi Ben,

My husband and I are travelling to Thailand the 3rd of November until the 28th (as well a stopover in Vietnam -Halong Bay). Where are you both travelling from? We are departing from Toronto and into Bangkok, where we hope to spend a day or two to start. Perhaps we can exchange some info... It would be great to meet some fellow travellers along the way!

Shannon

Thanks for the info everyone.

I think the plan is going to be to spend a night in Bangkok and then over to Pattaya for a few nights. Then get to Koh Tao for a few days of diving before arriving at Koh Phangan for the full moon. Spend a few days there before going down to Phuket/Phi Phi and then returning to Bangkok for the flight home.

Thanks for the advice about booking hotels before we go Phil but ideally we would like thimgs to be flexible so we can change our minds at any time and dont have to stick to a rota. Is November likely to be very busy or should we be ok finding accomodation when we arrive?

McKinz we are both travelling from London. Yeah it could be fun to meet up if our schedule allows.

Will the ' Loi Krathong Festival' have any impact on the full moon party as its the same day?

Thanks again everyone

Ben,

Excellent - shall we swap emails?

Shannon

Hi Ben, how did your diving go? I'm going o Thailand in November & want to learn to dive but most sites say kho Tao is very wet in nov & to go to the Phuket, phi phi side. I love kho Tao & Samui but don't want to be there in a monsoon!