[akshay380]

Guys family trip to Bangkok for 5 days. Any suggestions for budget accommodation around old town area? Also how to commute from Airport to the city? Reaching 3pm local time. Thanks in advance.

[harry10]

Hi
We are 2 couples and 1 kid.
Planning a 10 day trip to Thailand in first week of Feb.
Need help with finalising the Itinerary.
So far this has been decided.

6. feb - reach Phuket in morning. (Tips needed to view places around)
7. feb - Phang nga bay tour. Evening spent roaming Bangla street etc.
8. feb - Phuket roam around ( tips needed for things to see)
9. Feb - ferry to Phi Phi island. Spend the night there.
10. Feb- ferry to Koh Lanta. Spend the night there.
Need to know if we can increase our stay by a day on any of these islands.
Otherwise Next morning ferry to Krabi. Needs tips and places to go in Krabi.
15th feb - flight back from Krabi to Delhi.

Also recommendations for hotel stay in all these places are welcomed. Budget for accommodation is 3k-4k per night.

[GKR9900]

Hi, me and my family (4 adults in total) are planning a 5 day trip to Bangkok from 5th March to 10th March 2019. I was planning on hiring a self drive rental car. Do we need to get an international driving permit to drive around? Will the Indian driving license be enough? Also, is it better to opt for a taxi than a self drive rental?

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by GKR9900

Hi, me and my family (4 adults in total) are planning a 5 day trip to Bangkok from 5th March to 10th March 2019. I was planning on hiring a self drive rental car. Do we need to get an international driving permit to drive around? Will the Indian driving license be enough? Also, is it better to opt for a taxi than a self drive rental?

I am not 100% sure but I don't think you need an IDP to drive in Thailand. For two wheelers, the rental guys don't even check your license, nor have I ever been stopped by the cops. But better to check with some known names like Hertz.
If you are going to be in and around Bangkok, there is no need for a self drive car. In fact, bangkok traffic is bad and the metro is preferred over taxi. However, if you plan to drive from Bangkok to say some place like Phuket, get the self drive. The highways are beautiful.

[GKR9900]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I am not 100% sure but I don't think you need an IDP to drive in Thailand. For two wheelers, the rental guys don't even check your license, nor have I ever been stopped by the cops. But better to check with some known names like Hertz.
If you are going to be in and around Bangkok, there is no need for a self drive car. In fact, bangkok traffic is bad and the metro is preferred over taxi. However, if you plan to drive from Bangkok to say some place like Phuket, get the self drive. The highways are beautiful.

Thank you so much Planning to take a trip to Pattaya maybe for 2 days in between, but the plan hasnt yet finalised. Will indeed check your suggestions.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by GKR9900

Thank you so much Planning to take a trip to Pattaya maybe for 2 days in between, but the plan hasnt yet finalised. Will indeed check your suggestions.

If its just Bangkok and Pattaya, don’t take car for the whole duration. Bangkok works better with the BTS Skytrain/local taxis. And hire a car to go Pattaya.

[fiestarry]

Bangkok is a traffic heavy city though the vehicles follow lane discipline. Cabs and public transport are wonderful and easily accessible. There are excellent luxury bus services to Pattaya from Bangkok. Once booked on them, they send a vehicle to pick you up from your hotel, put you in style aboard their bus and again deliver you to your Pattaya hotel. Rent a scooter in Pattaya, it is cheap and omni present.

[GKR9900]

Originally Posted by vb-san

And hire a car to go Pattaya.

This is my first international trip. We would be primarily staying at Bangkok and take 2 days off in between to visit Pattaya. The main purpose of visiting Pattaya is to try my luck in skydiving from Thai sky adventures. Going by the reviews in various travel forums, it can take anywhere from half a day to full day, depending on weather conditions. That would leave us only a day to go to other attractions like Sriracha tiger zoo , Khao Khew open zoo (yeah...a lot of zoos, I know ). The hotel checkout time is at 12.00 PM. If we have a self drive rental, we could leave the luggage inside the car after checking out, and could visit other attractions at a leisurely pace on our way back to Bangkok. Hiring a taxi would incur extra waiting charges at each station nah? Hence the doubt. Nothing have been finalised yet though. Waiting for suggestions from the community to plan further.

Originally Posted by fiestarry

Rent a scooter in Pattaya, it is cheap and omni present.

I love this option but we are a group of 4 with only me capable of driving a 2 wheeler

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by GKR9900

Hi, me and my family (4 adults in total) are planning a 5 day trip to Bangkok from 5th March to 10th March 2019. I was planning on hiring a self drive rental car. Do we need to get an international driving permit to drive around? Will the Indian driving license be enough? Also, is it better to opt for a taxi than a self drive rental?

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I am not 100% sure but I don't think you need an IDP to drive in Thailand.

The rental agencies are happy to let one rent on the basis of the Indian DL, but it is said that some traffic cops can be unpleasant in asking for an IDP, preferably in the Thai language! That said, I've been stopped once by Thai traffic cops on the highway for a speed violation (I was driving a Toyota Hiace - vans have a limit of 100 kmph while cars are allowed 120 kmph, and I was unaware of this), and was fined 400THB - but they had no issues with my Indian DL.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

...if you plan to drive from Bangkok to say some place like Phuket, get the self drive. The highways are beautiful.

Always rent from a reputed internationally known agency like Avis (my favourite), or Hertz / Budget etc., and insist on a full insurance with zero liability (Super Collision Damage Waiver or SCDW in Avis-speak) Never rent from a local operator. There are plenty of demented drivers in Thailand too (though less than India), and crashes are not uncommon.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by GKR9900

This is my first international trip. We would be primarily staying at Bangkok and take 2 days off in between to visit Pattaya. The main purpose of visiting Pattaya is to try my luck in skydiving from Thai sky adventures. Going by the reviews in various travel forums, it can take anywhere from half a day to full day, depending on weather conditions. That would leave us only a day to go to other attractions like Sriracha tiger zoo , Khao Khew open zoo (yeah...a lot of zoos, I know ). The hotel checkout time is at 12.00 PM. If we have a self drive rental, we could leave the luggage inside the car after checking out, and could visit other attractions at a leisurely pace on our way back to Bangkok. Hiring a taxi would incur extra waiting charges at each station nah?

I would suggest to leave just one day for Pattaya. Its a highly overrated destination (especially in Kerala), probably owing to references in some recent movies . Plan your stay around Bkk, and arrange a day trip to Pattaya. You can negotiate for a car with driver for the whole day; they will do an early morning pickup from your Bkk hotel and drop you back in the night.

[turbospooler]

Visa on Arrival is free for Indians till 30th April 2019. Don't get Visas from Embassies here as the scenario has changed from what this thread suggested.

[sach.sri]

Hi
has anyone tried jungle safaris in National Parks in Thailand. I have tried to search for details - i can see that there is a national park - Khao Sok near Phuket, but cannot find the details of how to book safaris.

I can see tour packages - but they all look like day trips with elephant rides, road rides and so on. No jeep safari options


Can someone guide on this? Also - can we expect to see leopards or tigers in a safari there?


Thanks

Sachin

[airbus]

I will be visiting Phuket and Krabi along with family during mid-April. Planning to spend 3 nights in Krabi and 5 nights in Phuket. Please suggest things to do / places to visit in Phuket and Krabi with young children. Also, need some suggestions on accommodation near beaches.

We will be flying directly to Phuket from Bengaluru. How's the Visa on Arrival queue at Phuket Airport?

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by airbus

I will be visiting Phuket and Krabi along with family during mid-April. Planning to spend 3 nights in Krabi and 5 nights in Phuket. Please suggest things to do / places to visit in Phuket and Krabi with young children. Also, need some suggestions on accommodation near beaches.
We will be flying directly to Phuket from Bengaluru. How's the Visa on Arrival queue at Phuket Airport?

You could message me on Thursday, my wife and her best friend are on a 5 days trip to Phuket and Krabi from yesterday. She will be able to give you the latest updates from both places including the visa queues.

[navtiwari]

Originally Posted by airbus

I will be visiting Phuket and Krabi along with family during mid-April. Planning to spend 3 nights in Krabi and 5 nights in Phuket. Please suggest things to do / places to visit in Phuket and Krabi with young children. Also, need some suggestions on accommodation near beaches.

We will be flying directly to Phuket from Bengaluru. How's the Visa on Arrival queue at Phuket Airport?

I live in Singapore and visited Phuket/Krabi in Oct last year. Took me 15min to get VOA but I had prefilled forms, I was on the first bus from aircraft to terminal and I was made to skip queue as I was with 2yr old.

Island hopping is must do when you are in Phuket or Krabi. Most famous are for Phang Nga bay and Phi Phi island tours. There are tons of operators and they can customize as per your preference. You can take a speedboat that will save time but the ride will be bumpy and can cause nausea. Or you can take ferry which will not go everywhere, will be slow and comfortable. Almost all operators provide pick/drop service from any hotel in Phuket when you book tour with them.
In Phuket local you can spend time at Patong beach, Kata beach, Trick eye museum and Upside down house(forgot the name).
Krabi is again a beach destination smaller than Phuket but I found it more peaceful than Phuket. You can get tours to same islands from Krabi also if you miss any while in Phuket. Around Krabi you can plan for Emerald pool and hot spring, I did not go there but if you have time you can explore.
Can't really help you with hotels as there are so many choices right from budget to luxury. I stayed in Chanalai Resort but if I had money I would choose Le Meridian.
Lastly, I would suggest you look at phuket Sail tours. I went with their Secrets of Phang Nga bay tour. It was little expensive but it was very relaxing. I opted for it as I did not wanted to rush with my 2yr old girl.

Cheers, Have fun
Naveen