Hey my friend and I are travelling to Thailand for 2 weeks for the first time and we have some questions
What are the nicest places to go to if we dont have a big budget( around 700 $ each to spend in 2 weeks )?
Can we go without hotel reservations and still find a decent place to sleep ?
Is it fine to travel there in august if we are looking for some beach time and partying ?

Thank you

Hey my friends and I got back from Thailand last week and had been out there for just under a month, we are both 20 like you guys.

Before we left England we booked accommodation for the full moon party in Ko Phangan, but apart from this we turned up at hotels and simply negotiated a price for the room and found this very easy. We would pay 300-400 baht per night for a fan room and around 500 baht for a air conditioned room. My advice would be to look at a few hotels before making a decision and always ask to see the room before paying.

I have friends from university traveling in August and I imagine it to be just as busy if not busier than when I was there.

If you are looking for both beautiful beaches and great party life I would recommend Koh Samui and Ko Phangan. These two islands are separated by a two hour boat which will cost you around 300 baht.

In Koh Samui look for accommodation in Chaweng, this is where you will find lots of backpackers and an awesome choice of things to do at night. The main bars and clubs are all on one street and it is incredibly easy to find, incredibly busy and incredibly good fun!

When we were in Ko Phangan we experienced both the full moon and half moon parties. For full moon we stayed in Ban Thai at a place called Munchies which was a cool and chilled out, but for half moon we stayed in Hadd Rin at a hotel called Coral bungalows which cost 500 baht per night and was very lively. Expect hotel prices to be inflated during full moon, although it costs more for accommodation the full moon party is amazing and well worth visiting if you are in Thailand at this time. (August 25th)

From my experience of Thailand and being the same age as you guys my advice would be to spend as little time as possible in Bangkok. Most people we spoke to didn't like it and I would highly recommend spending your time on the islands as you are away for only two weeks.

Tips:

1. Don't book accommodation at a tour office in Bangkok or elsewhere. They are overpriced, hotels are often empty or well out of the tourist areas and it makes your trip too structured.

2. You are likely to use the tourist buses to travel around as these are extremely convenient and very cheap. DO NOT LEAVE ANY VALUABLES IN YOUR MAIN BAG!!! Each time we used a bus we found that our luggage had been rummaged through regardless of our bags having padlocks on them. I even gained an extra bag of clothing after one of my journeys! We did meet a group of girls where two of them had had money, credit cards and their cameras stolen so keep anything expensive in your pockets or bags that you have with you on the bus.

I hope this has been helpful and if you have any other questions then I will be more than happy to help you both out.

Matt

I agree with MattG. I'm also in my 20's and travel to Thailand a lot. Bangkok is fun for about 2 days maybe, but anymore than that is a waste of time. The islands are the best. I'm not a big fan of Phuket, but I loved the Phi Phi islands the only time I went. But I wouldn't want to waste 2 weeks there either. For parties, MattG is right, that's where I'd go.

I think for nightlife, nothing beats Pattaya, but it can be quite sleazy out there with all the prostitution. So I wouldn't go there if you're offended by seeing that type of thing. Walking Street is a must see for anybody traveling there I think, because there aren't many places like that on earth. Very sleazy, but very wild and crazy.

Kanchanaburi is good for scenic nature type stuff. Erawan National Park is real nice, with levels of waterfalls there. But I wouldn't go out of my way to go there if you only have 2 weeks. But I'm more of a party guy so it depends on your style.

August on the west side of Thailand can be very rainy sometimes, with thunderstorms appearing quickly and disappearing quickly. It isn't as bad on the east side for another month or so.

You don't need to make reservations. I never did, but sometimes you will really have to look for nice or cheap places. Some things can be different in Thailand than foreigners are used to. Like for instance, when I first arrived in Pattaya, I was on the north side, far from the beach. As I traveled towards the beach, the hotels got cheaper. In California or Florida, it'd be the exact opposite. So if you're in a town and looking for a place to stay, you should really look around because prices can really fluctuate in odd places sometimes.