Hey Queen!
Normally this page is where I share stories or poems, but this time I’m going to share all the valuable information I collected on a recent, very magical, trip to Thailand. After sharing our adventures on social media, I received many questions about the planning process. I’m no expert, but I did conduct my fair share of research before booking the trip for my husband and I. I’m happy to share what we learned to make your process easier! And rest assured, I will skip the fluff that many blog pages are spattered with. There’s nothing I despise more than twenty pages of information that could be condensed to two. Off we go:
Alex and I went to southern Thailand (land of the vibrant islands— not Bangkok or Chang Mai, which are common northern destinations) for fifteen days in January, which is peak season.
For a photos of everything I’m about to describe, see my Instagram recap post.
Key notes/tips:
- From the east coast, it’s a 12 hour time difference and a solid 30 hrs of travel each way.
- Expect to spend about $2k on each round trip flight (economy—if you’re able, upgrade that shit. Nothing is worse than being awake for 24 hours with crying babies and people pushing on the back of your seat.)
- Don’t do any less than two weeks— I think 18-21 days would be the sweet spot.
- Although most places take cards, cash is preferred. Currency is Baht, and there are ATMs and currency exchange places everywhere in the touristy areas so don’t stress about running out, it’s easy to take out more cash.
Locations: 3 nights in Phuket (beach and city), 3 nights in Khao Sok National Park (mountains), 6 nights in Krabi (beach, city and mountains), and 1 night at a hotel near the airport. This allowed us to experience various environments without spending excessive time traveling.
I originally wanted to book Airbnb’s, but Alex talked me into hotels so that we would have resources and easy access to food — and I’m SO glad he did. Unless you prefer to rough it, I would definitely do hotels. Should you get sick or hit a bump in the road, you’ll be grateful for easy access to people who speak english. Plus you can get a 4 star experience for the price of 2 star in the states, and the room service rocks.
Budget: Book early. Way early. Our third hotel was $80 a night when we booked five months ahead, then $350 when we checked the last minute rate.
We didn’t hold back on most spending and excursions, and in total ended up spending about $10,000, flights included, for two people for two weeks. For a similar experience, you could get away with spending $7,000, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to do it for less than that.
Flights: We flew straight into the island of Phuket instead of flying into Bangkok and then taking a domestic flight. I recommend doing this if you’re looking to stay in the south.
Transportation: We rented a car at the airport. Although this was convenient, I don’t recommend it. Not only can you get a rental car for much cheaper outside the airport, but it’s left side drive and there are dozens of mopeds on the road at all times.
If you’ve never driven internationally, trying not to scratch the car let alone kill someone will stress you the fuck out. Plus, if you’re in city areas you won’t be driving to dinner because there’s never anywhere to park. We only drove because each of our locations were about 3 hours apart and we wanted to be mobile to explore. If this is what you’re going for and you’re confident in your freestyle driving skills, I recommend renting a car somewhere local vs the airport.
Highlights:
The people/culture: Thai land is referred to as “Land of Smiles” and WOW is that accurate. People smile with their teeth upon greeting you, from across the street, and even when trying to sell you something on the street. They are the warmest, most welcoming people I’ve ever met.
Elephants: There are an abundance of elephant sanctuaries, and I highly recommend two things:
- Do the research to avoid unethical places (riding/trekking is cruel AND dangerous! Feeding the elephants is so magical, there’s truly no need to ride.)
- Find an experience that can be as private as possible by contacting the hosts and asking when their least busy time is. We were the only two people at two out of our three experiences and it’s a game changer, especially for getting photo and video content.
Food: The food is SO good and SO cheap! $5-10 max per meal and $3-5 per drink, sometimes $1 during happy hours. Alex did get food poisoning from a club sandwich, and we then heard that it’s best to stick to hot food. To be extra cautious, take “Travelan” — a supplement that prevents food poisoning. Faves:
- Singha beer
- Pina coladas (duh)
- Fresh coconut shakes and water (straight out of the coconut)
- Pad thai
- Pineapple fried rice
- Mango sticky rice
Massages: There are about a dozen massage parlors on every street, and you can get a 60 min massage (full body, head and neck, foot, foot reflexology, back and shoulders, etc) for $10-15. Get a Thai massage and thank me later!!!!! They’ll crack and stretch and massage you using their entire body. It’s transformational.
Least favorite thing: The boat tour. Phi Phi Island is a MUST see — this is the island that you see on Pinterest and in the movies. It is absolutely stunning and has incredible snorkeling, but is absurdly crowded. We bought a day boat tour for $35 a person instead of doing a $350 private tour and it was a grave mistake.
From 9am-5pm we were squished up against 50 other soggy people in life jackets on a small boat. If you can afford it, do the private tour. The islands were cool but the boat really sucked the fun out of it.
Oh, and definitely take Dramamine just to be safe. It’s really easy to get seasick on any kind of boat tour.
Location 1: Four Points by Sheraton in Patong Beach, Phuket (~$250 a night)
We decided to book a kushi hotel upon landing so that our comfort was assured as we adjusted to the time zone and adapted to a new country. This is THE MOVE. This hotel was immaculate and the food was to die for. 10/10 recommend.
We skipped central city Phuket, which we heard is unpleasantly crowded. Although Patong beach was crowded, I loved this beach because it was lined with street food and excursions like parasailing, jet skiing, etc. Patong is very walkable and has a decent nightlife.
Location 2: Magical Mountain View Resort in Khao Sok National Park (~$120 a night for their honeymoon villa)
Being nestled in the mountains and out of the touristy areas was our favorite leg of the trip—we wish we’d stayed here longer. Every time we left the resort we got an authentic, countryside feel.
There were only 17 villas at the resort, so it felt like we were the only ones there half the time. The food was great and the staff was incredibly kind and generous. There was lots of easy access to guided excursions and adventures. I can’t recommend this place enough. If you go, visit Jem’s Elephant Retirement home. It’s a small family business that is very ethical, fun and wholesome.
Location 3: Ao Nang Pu Phi Maan Resort in Krabi (~$80 a night)
Long story short — don’t go here. It was rated one of the best in Krabi which is concerning, so do thorough research and choose a nice place (that’s not in the muslim district if you want to drink.) I recommend picking a hotel that is walkable to the main street in Krabi town.
Krabi, however, ROCKS. It’s very touristy yet still authentic. There is so much to do – fire shows, massages, shopping, dinner and bars of all different themes, hiking, ATV tours, island tours, elephants, scuba diving, etc. There is something for everyone in Krabi.
Krabi favorites:
- Railay beach: catch a long tail boat shuttle and hike, hang out on the beach, and smoke some weed before coming back to Krabi and watching the sunset before the fire show.
- Phi Phi island private boat tour: I’ve already given my spiel about this one. Definitely snorkel — you’ll meet all the Finding Nemo fish 🙂
- Mueang beach: about a 15 min drive from Krabi town and is super low key and beautiful.
- Ali Baba Restaurant – Thai and Indian Food
- Mcdonalds – IT SLAPS!!! Try the mozzarella sticks
- Custom suits, dresses and pillowcases @ “Royal Tailor”: Alex got three custom tailored suits for $500! And apparently this is the place to get silk pillow cases which are great for your hair.
Something to consider: Scuba diving: the only reason we didn’t do this was because for people who aren’t certified, a six hour excursion only allows for a thirty minute dive. Apparently it’s an insane place to scuba, so if you’re interested just try to get certified before going.
Location 4: Phuket Airport Hotel (~$100 a night)
I thought this was going to be a shitty hotel and was extremely surprised. It was perfectly quaint, clean, within walking distance to restaurants and the beach, and was less than a five minute drive from the airport. Highly recommend if you are getting in late or have an early flight out.
Overall, I cannot recommend a vacation to Thailand enough. It is worth the travel and the extensive planning process because to me, it’s the closest thing to heaven on earth. I hope this helped, please feel free to reach out with further questions or pass this along to those interested in traveling to the Land of Smiles 🙂
Xoxo – Kari