Taking tips/suggestions. I’ll be in Vietnam from 8/10-8/17, and Thailand from 8/17-8/24.
Flying into Vietnam via Hanoi.
Flying out of Vietnam via Ho Chi Minh
Flying into Vietnam via Bangkok.
Pressing questions:
tickets aren’t booked yet but that’s what i’m tentatively thinking.
We need Siam Sam to answer this one.
You need to tell us more about what you like to do and see.
Personally, I enjoyed taking the train the length of Vietnam, from Hanoi to Saigon with a couple days in Hue.
I very much like Bangkok, but Chiang Mai is smaller, more manageable, and cooler—though no place will be very cool in August. They’re also used to lots of Westerners there, so it’s not like visiting a remote village. Again, I took the train but budget flights are easy to find.
For Vietnam, I’m all about food, and history. I’m also intrigued about Hoi An and picking up a cheap suit as a souvenir.
For Thailand (I’m going solo for the Vietnam part) we’d like to (1) see cool things (not very helpful I know) and (2) spending some time getting drunk on a beach - but not rowdy drunk.
From the travel blogs, Chiang Mai seems to be ideal but it hasn’t gotten very good reviews in the other threads on SDMB. The elephant sanctuary looks cool, and not corrupt like the tiger temple.
For Thailand:
spend a few days in Bangkok. Search “Top 10 things to see in Bangkok” on the interwebs. Try to see as much of those as you can. Eat Thai food, not Subway or McDonalds for God’s sake! 
Fly to Koh Samui and spend a few days there. Better than Phuket.
I haven’t been to Phuket but I have been to Koh Samui twice and strongly recommend it.
Fly. Kiwi.com is a good place to book. Some Asian airlines have difficulties processing foreign credit cards.
Depends on what you want to do and where you are coming from. IMHO it doesn’t make a lot of sense to fly around the world to hang out on the beach. A couple points I will say:
The elephant sanctuary is awesome and riding an elephant is a once in a life time type experience.
Thailand and Vietnam were my least favorite countries in SE Asia.
Thai/Vietnamese food is better at a good restaurant in the US than what I ate on my trip. That by far was the most disappointing thing for me.
I think I’m ditching Vietnam.
For Thailand, I’m settling in on splitting time between Chiang Mai and Hua Hin.
How necessary is Bangkok and for how long?
Treis’s comment on the food is disappointing - can others corroborate? I was really looking forward to world-class $2 pad thai.
If US Thai food is anything like Australian Thai, it’s a lot sweeter, milder and less oily than the food you get in Thailand. Basically, really authentic Thai food is demanding to a Western palate. I first had it as a twelve-year-old and at the time couldn’t hack it at all, but I later grew to appreciate it. It wasn’t a comfortable dining experience, but it was an enriching one. YMMV. How are you on spice levels cranked up to 11?
IME there’s less going on and less to see in Chaing Mai than Bangkok, but I preferred it - Bangkok is just a big crazy polluted city where people drive like maniacs. It’s a great place to hang out and chill if you’re not particularly on for beaches. I spent a week and a half there doing a Thai massage course with a bunch of other ferangs - a particularly relaxing way to spend ten days since we practised on each other!
Unfortunately in August the high temperatures and high humidity that you are certain to run into is what should drive your travel plans. Bangkok is going to be unbelievably hot and humid, but there are a few sights worth seeing so stay 3 nights. Make sure you splurge enough to get a hotel room with a decent A/C and make sure the place has a nice pool. You are going to spend a lot of time in the pool. Bangkok in August does not cool off at night.
Chiang Mai is a wonderful place to visit BUT not in August. Don’t go there.
Hau Hin is a beach town, but the only reason it is popular at all is because its close to Bangkok. Compared to Ko Samui its a dump. I was so disappointed when I saw Hau Hin and I hadn’t even been to Ko Samui yet.
Spend a couple of days in Bangkok and then fly down to Ko Samui. It will be hot and humid, but at least you’ll be on a beautiful beach where you can cool off in the ocean (even though the water will be like a warm bath tub.)
I say again, this!
How are you picking these places? What is the draw of Chiang Mai and Hua Hin that you are picking them?
Consider Koh Phayem or Koh Lanta (Samui is WAY overdeveloped for my tastes now!)
If you’re looking for something very quiet and beautiful try Koh Mook!
Have a great holiday!
Within Thailand you have several airline choices: Bangkok Air, Thai Air, Thai Air Asia, Thai Lion, & Thai Smile. And there are probably other non-Thai choices that operate between major cities. Bangkok has two airports and most of the domestic flights operate out of DMK. Bangkok Air and Thai Air are the main carriers and the others are the low cost carriers, but still fine in my experience. I’ve personally flown Thai Smile (which I believe is the low-cost arm of Thai Air) and Thai Lion. Some of these will show up on Google Flights, so look there to get an idea about cost but then book on the airline website. As treis notes, they may have difficulty processing foreign payment. For Thai Smile I ended up having to use a 3rd party payment system called LINE Pay and got a call from the airline, but it eventually went through. Then I had to process it again because my credit card denied it, so make sure you give your credit card company a heads up before you purchase.
My impression is that you need to do some more research on what you want to get out of this trip. Go ahead and book your main flights to/from Thailand and hold off on the domestic flights until you’ve had a chance to read up some more on the country. Lonely Planet has all their guides 45% off right now, so that’s a great place to start. If you have Amazon Prime and a Kindle, the LP Thailand’s Islands and Beaches guide can be downloaded for free (link) and the full Thailand guide (among others) is included if you have Kindle Unlimited. Search out some top-ten type lists for Thailand then then narrow down the places that will be most tolerable in August. In fact, just google “what to do in Thailand in August” and you’ll get a number of results, including this one: Visiting Thailand in August
Obviously opinions differ but IMHO it would be a mistake to go all the way to Thailand and skip its world-class islands and beaches. I wouldn’t spend the whole trip doing that, but 3-5 days mixing up beach time, island hopping, snorkeling, island exploring, etc. is worthwhile. If you want few crowds and little commercial development that will counterbalance with more travel. For example, the island mentioned by elbows, Koh Mook (Ko Muk), is off the coast of Trang Province. You’ll need to fly into Trang, find ground transport from the airport to one of the piers, and then take a boat to the island. I don’t remember if Ko Muk is serviced by a ferry but some islands only have one a day so if you arrive later than that, you’ll need to arrange a long-tail to take you out there. It’s all doable and not that much of a hassle but you need to work it out before you book tickets.
I settled on Chiang Mai for the mountain splendor and the elephants.
I settled on Hoi An because it was close to Bangkok. I only have a week so I don’t know if I can do island hopping.
We enjoyed our time in Chiang Mai, but the heat can be quite oppressive. We visited the elephant park which we later learned was not a place known for its ethical treatment of the elephants. There are several to choose from with varying track records. Note that no ethical park will have elephant rides, since training the elephants for that is very abusive. So, if you want to ride an elephant know what you are supporting. I wish I had known before I went on an elephant ride.
Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep was worth the trip, a beautiful monastery in a mountain setting. We also did a day trip to Doi Inthanon National Park. Although that was a long time in the car it was worth it. We also visited Doi Pui Tribal Village which was an interesting look into rural life. There are Karen Long Neck villages but again, read up on the exploitative nature of these before deciding to visit.
that’s disappointing to hear. the tiger exploitation is more widely shared…
I was on Ko Samui in 1976. The only way to get there was a bus from Bangkok to Surat Thani and then a 7 hour over night boat to Nathon. Electric power was from generators. No hotels, only beach huts, steps to the water, $1.00 a night. Planned on a five day stay that turned into 3 weeks. All the food was locally grown or harvested from the ocean.
Went there with a local girl I met at the Atlanta Hotel in Bangkok who had been there before. She was great at knowing how to get down there among other things. Good times.
Due to typhoon season and travel-companion-related reasons, my updated travel plans are now to reincorporate Vietnam and cut down the Thailand portion and de-emphasizing the beach aspect.
9 days in Vietnam:
4 days in Hoi An
2 days in Hai Long Bay
3 days in Hanoi
4 days in Thailand:
2 days in Chiang Mai
2 days in Bangkok
thoughts?
i’m also toying with the idea of signing up for a motorcycle tour while in Vietnam but I’ve only sparingly ridden 50cc scooters and effectively have 0 motorcycle experience. def not thinking of venturing out in any cities on a bike but there are some packages that i’ve seen that take you on a tour in the countryside. is that just a deathwish?