Where would be best to visit around the months of June thru August? Best for hot sun/little rain and sea swimming?

thanks everyone.

LauraXX

It might be rainy on the Andaman side then. In theory, the weather is best on the Gulf side at that time of year. Samui, Ko Tao, Ko Phangan, Ko Samet, Ko Chang and its satellite islands (Ko Maak, Ko Wei and Ko Kut). Hua Hin would be OK weather-wise too.

If you could be a little more specific about what kind of environment you want .... type of accommodation, whether you want quiet or busy with shops nightlife etc...it would be easier to narrow down the choice!

Hi Fio, we usually go to Kata in Phuket, so that sort of destination.

Nice beaches/sea, hot sun, beers and food in nice local restaurants (not patong style tho!).

thanks Fio

LauraXX

Phuket area was best during May and June because;
1) Fewer tourists
2) Rainy season still not upon you
3) In February many hotels go to low season rates BUT in June they often give 2 for 1 specials (stay one night, get one free) on the low season rates!

This suddenly makes a whole load of more expensive hotels, say a beachfront suite at Pee Pee Island Village, incredibly cheap

I think the rainy season on the West Coast might be early this year. Was raining almost every day on coast between Ranong and Phuket already when I was there about a month ago. Mostly just evenings but not always. Still who knows with weather...the weather has been "abnormal" these last few years anyway. Long droughts, flooding, seasons starting late or early.

I actually stayed at Pee Pee Island Village a few years ago...they were renovating/upgrading at the time, they'd cut a huge swathe through the forest to get heavy duty diggers in and there was a noisy sand barge ruining the picture perfect beach. God knows why they thought it necessary, it was perfect as it was, still had character as it wasn't too big and who really needs a huge infinity pool when there's a gorgeous beach and turquoise water with a decent reef right there? The teak bungalows were absolutely beautiful...discrete luxury, not an impersonal bog standard chain hotel. In spite of my current penchant for $5/night beach huts, I have stayed in some very expensive luxury hotels in my life and this one was hard to beat as far as far as the rooms and setting go. Think I paid 2000B/night with breakfast. Haven't been back since but I doubt if the "upgrading" improved it much. How much does an incredibly cheap off-season night cost there now Mark?

A couple of negative points as far as Laura is concerned though....PPIV is isolated from the main drag and there are no nearby restaurants apart from a local one I found on the track leading to a bay on the other side of the island. The hotel did its best to prevent people using it by sealing off access to PPIV at 7-8pm and charged extortionate prices (by Thai standards) in its own restaurant. I didn't think the food was that exceptional either. The only way to get to the main village when I was there (apart from walking for an hour or 2 on a track) was by long-tail which can work out expensive if you don't want to be tied down to the fixed hotel boat schedule. Once a day when I was there, not sure if it's the same now. Another thing I didn't like was the way they had big notices stuck up saying the beach was "private". AFAIK there's no such thing as a private beach in Thailand? Anyway, maybe someone can give an update.

I've read that Phi Phi has become very expensive in general since the Tsunami. Think Thaksin had plans to squeeze out the smaller cheaper resorts and make it a "boutique" island where you couldn't stay for under 5000/night. Although he's gone, the policy still seems to be going in that general direction...hard to find anything approaching pre-Tsunami prices nowadays from what I hear.

Hmm sounds like Samui would suit you Laura. Unfortunately I've never wanted to go there (or Phuket come to that, though I used the airport recently). I'm sure ither posters could help you out with hotel choices though. Have a google at the other place as well though. Samet is a bit crowded at times for my taste (it's so easy to get to from BKK) but it still has that tropical island feel about it....think you might like that too. I didn't really like Ko Chang, too much frenetic building going on, but if you want somewhere different try Ko Kut...mostly upmarket and quiet. There's an airport in Trat if you can't face the 5-7hr bus trip. Ah my new mission in life...get you lot to try somewhere different and see what you're missing!

Have you thought about this place? It's about 2-3 hour drive from Bangkok. It's on the coast with various styles of accommodation available .
It's no where near as built up as Phuket. It has a lovely feel to it, great restaurants of all varieties .. no in your face sex scene as the royal family has a residence here. No real bother with touts either.
Hotel suggestion would be the Hyatt. It's a little bit out from the centre of Hua Hin, but that's not really a bother. Only 100 baht tuk tuk ride in.
It has an awesome swimming pool and located on a nice section of beach.

That is my mission to go somewhere different. I liked Koh Lanta Not sure about the weather at that time though.

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I too would like to try somewhere different, but the problem is that I enjoy Samui, Kata and Bangkok so much that I am Reluctant to take a risk. I would like to find a place that mirrors what Chaweng was about 10 years ago as it was starting to get a tad busy when I was last there. Kata is almost perfect but needs some beach bungalow accomodation(not too rustic) and a Reggae Pub or two. Is Lanta the answer or will It not have the range of entertainment options? These days we travel with two youngsters as well (active boys , 6 and 8 yo) so we need to have mini golf, go karts , bowling and the like to keep them entertained.
Am I asking too much?

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