O great and learned dopeland, I am visiting Thailand for 23 days and would like to solicit advice on lodging, neighborhood wise.
My plan is Bangkok for just a couple of days, then Phuket for maybe a day before hitting Krabi for 10 days or so (where I plan on taking a PADI open water course - which should fill up 3 or 4 days).
I am traveling solo, and I would like to stay in lodgings that have amenities like hot water and ac - though I am certainly open to staying in a hut on the shoreline without said amenities).
I might then go to Phi Phi for a couple, then work my way to Koh Samui and/or Koh Pagnang (though I will miss the full moon party).
Consider Koh Lanta for that beachfront bungalow, though it’s probably quite built up by now too.
You want to go to the slowest developing part, you’ll have a blast.
I used to go to Samui quite regular, really watched it grow up. But the last trip it was too much for me, I left after two days and spent a month at Koh Lanta instead. It was really wonderful.
Have a great time!
What sort of budget do you have? And when are you going? Accomodation in high season will be 2-3x the cost of the off-season.
The Khao San Road area seems to be the backpacker favourite, with plenty of cheap guesthouses.
For 3-4 star accomodation I haven’t gotten much change from $100 a night in Krabi and Phuket. I booked about a month ago and my first and second choices for both areas were unavailable. Phuket seems to be enormously expensive compared to the rest of Thailand.
Krabi is a little better. If you’re after cheap accomodation there seemed to be a fair bit in Krabi Town. A lot of the climbers and backpackers also like to stay at Railay and Ton Sai, which are less accessible but have much cheaper accomodation. When I was researching Krabi I found these links to be quite useful:
In Phi Phi I’ve heard good things about Paradise Resort - I think they’re basic beachfront huts with fans. My friend went awhile back and said the accomodation on Phi Phi was either very cheap or very expensive, with not much in between.
I’ve heard that Ko Lanta has very good diving. The prices seemed to be much less than Phuket and Krabi.
Bumping this so Siam Sam can read it. I’d PM him if I were you.
Thanks for the responses. I’ve booked a few nights near Khao San Road at about 45 usd a night, and I have a place in Phuket for about 35 usd a night.
In Bangkok I recommend Rammbutri Village Inn- it’s round the corner from Khao San, but quieter. Cheap, clean, pleasant.
Phuket… stayed in a variety of places there but can’t recommend anything.
I stayed a few months in Andaman Legacy Bungalows on Phi Phi. Nice places, basic, a/c. No hot water but then you don’t really need it. Would recommend, though it’s in between a late nightclub, and the mosque, so a bit noisy…
The only thing about Khao Sarn Road, is that it’s loaded with backpackers. So it’s not “real” in that regard, but I suspect it can be an okay place.
Mrs Shibb and my daughter were in Thailand this past summer and they were pretty keen on one of the places that they stayed, so I’ll ask her when I get a chance.
The best diving in Thailand is supposed to be the Similan Islands, but it’s my understand that a) you really need to know what you’re doing and b) the best, or only way, to dive them is on a live-aboard boat.
Thanks. Just saw this.
For Bangkok, we always recommend the old Royal Hotel, a decent mid-range place with rooms I believe still under US$50, maybe as low as $35. Looking a tad worn, but it’s near but not on Khao San Road; right across from the big Sanam Luang and within easy walking distance – this from someone who hates walking far in Bangkok, because of the heat and humidity-- of the river and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. You can get a decent room for maybe $35 a night or less. It has a swimming pool. Air-con, cable. 24-hour coffee shop. But what’s really nice about the place is it’s one of the few hotels that does not have a “farang tax,” meaning they do not charge foreigners more than Thais. What the Thais pay is what you pay. The only drawback is the taxi drivers parked in front can be a little aggressive, but nowhere near the scale of some other nearby countries. (And they generally refuse to turn on their meters; simply step out onto the street around the corner and hail a hassle-free cab there.) They don’t seem to have a website, but I have their number here: (662) 222-9111-26. (If you dial from within Thailand, substitute 0 for the 66.)
That said, I can second jjimm’s recommendation of Rambutri Village. It’s nice and fairly new, and in the little plaza tucked away back in there is a nice English fish-and-chips place run by a friendly guy named Chris. He has great breakfast specials and is a super-nice guy.
Another decent mid-range option in the area is the Viengtai Hotel. Their website does not seem to be working right now, but their number is (662) 805-4345.
The thing about the Khao San Road area, though, is it’s not near the Skytrain or subway. It being the old historic part of Bangkok, they don’t want to spoil it with the construction disruptions that would entail. But the river taxis are good for beating the traffic, and unless you are really into shopping or the bar scene, there’s no real reason to get a hotel on the Skytrain route. Based on the OP, it sounds like the Khao San Road area is good. I like checking out Khao San Road itself a couple of times a year – it’s always changing, and the wife thinks it’s better than Chatuchak Market for buying little Thai souvenir stuff – but I would not want to stay ON the road. I used to back in my saald days and lived upcountry, but it was a much quieter, laid-back palce then. There must be hundreds of guesthouses of varying degrees of professionalism on and near Khao San Road; many travelers simply take a cab to Khao San and then pick a place out. Khao San is also an excellent place to learn from fellow travellers what’s good right now upcountry; just don’t make the mistake that some do of never setting foot off of Khao San Road.
Say, I just remembered Khao San Road has its own website. It’s quite informative.
For Phuket and that neighborhood, I’m afraid we’ve not been that far South for years, and I’m just not up on what’s what in that neck of the woods. Things change quickly in Thailand, so I’ll actually have to defer to others who have been there more recently. But I can tell you that for Phuket, you may want to avoid Patong Beach unless you are really into the bar scene, in which case Patong might be good for you. I like Patong myself – it’s certainly nicer than that hole, Pattaya – but it’s not for everyone. Also, Lonely Planet has named Railay Beach in Krabi province as Thailand’s nicest, so that could be a good place to check out. And Koh Samui these days seems to be a big tourist trap; I hear nothing but complaints about it from the farangs who live in Thailand, but as a tourist you may not think it all that bad.
To avoid confusion, I should clarify that means they have 16 lines starting at (662) 222-9111, then 222-9112, etc, up to (662) 222-9126.
And if you do decide you want a place on the Skytrain route, the Asia Hotel is a long-time favorite of older backpackers who have a bit more money these days. Direct access to Ratchathewi Skytrain Station.
Just saw this post. Which place did you book, if I may ask? I can maybe tell you if you made a good choice.
Oddly enough, the Vengtai, before you mentioned it.
Great. I think you’ll be happy there. I used to stay at the Viengtai (which by the way means “Southern City” in one dialect) occasionally back when I lived up North and have some rather unique memories of the place. I admit I haven’t seen the rooms themselves since the 1980s, but it still looks good from the outside. I have heard some people say they thought it was a bit overpriced, with rates going up without services being improved, but I’ve heard the same about the old Royal Hotel, and I don’t think it’s true of them, so maybe not here either. A venerable old place, I believe it’s been there since before Khao San Road even had much in the way of guesthouses. I think I may have paid $30 or $35 back then, which at that time was quite a princely sum for me, especially since I was no stranger to the $2 cots with electric fan in a windowless cubicle over in some of the Khao San Road establishments. $45 is not that much more considering the number of years it’s been since I last stayed there.
There are a couple of little lanes connecting to Khao San Road. One to your left as you exit the hotel; that one’s busy and straight and easy to find. The other one is as you exit to the right, winds a bit and at one point is very narrow; you won’t think it leads anywhere, but keep going and you’ll pop out onto Khao San. Either way, you don’t have to circle the block to get to Khao San Road. But Khao San has exploded way beyond the confines of the street itself.
Enjoy!
Ok. I can’t wait to see this alley to the right. Thanks, Sam.
I have a friend that stayed in Phi Phi last year at some beach side bungalow, and on the cheap, Everything that I see on line is way overpriced for me - I’d like to stay somewhere for about 350 b per night, on the beach. It seems that these places need to be booked via telephone.
I hate to say this, but when I was there last year, it seemed that this alleyway (presuming you mean the one that used to have Reggae Bar in it) has disappeared because the buildings around it have been demolished to make way for a new hotel complex.
Clarification: I mean the old Reggae Bar, not the one in Soi Damnoen Klang Nua.
No, the one I mean is definitely still there, or at last it was about three months ago when last I trod it.
But I think I know the one you mean, and that one never connected through to Rambutri Road, where the Viengtai Hotel is located. If I’m thinking of the one you are, it was a short lane off of Khao San Road down toward the Chakraphong Road end, just around the corner from the Boots drug store, and it dead-ended after a very short distance. There have been two or three reggae bars in that little alley over the years, sometimes all at once, but yes, the buildings there are all gone now, and they were building a giant hotel when I was in the area last.
The one I was mentioning pops out more about in the center of Khao San Road. There did actually use to be a reggae bar up in there, too, at one point, but that bar closed down a year or two ago.
And I was teed off when they closed down the old Hello Guest House and put in that Boots drug store. The Hello used to be open 24 hours, and in my younger days, I’d pass out in blissful, drunken unconsciousness in their plush booths, wake up sometime after daybreak, and no one had ever screwed with me. Ah, those were the days.
Has anyone gone to Phi Phi without a reservation? Everything on line is resorts.
When we went there I had a reservation, but the place was not terribly expensive and really only a resort in title. Not sure exactly how badly they were hit by the Tsunami and if maybe some of the lower end places didn’t get rebuilt.
I can tell you that lots of backpackers and other budget travelers pretty much go everywhere in Thailand without a reservation, just showing up and looking for a place. That’s really only a problem on holidays (a LITTLE problem on weekends, but not enough to mention). There are no official holidays in November, but the Loy Krathong festival is extremely popular, and many take off for that. It’s November 12 this year, Wednesday of next week. For December, we have three holidays: The king’s birthday on Decemebr 5th; Constitution Day on the 10th; and New Year’s Eve, which, unlike in many places in the West, is an official holiday along with New Year’s Day. In addition, many Westerners will be taking off and traveling for Christmas. So you may want to be a little careful around those dates, especially the first two holidays, on the 5th and the 10th; many people simply combine them and take the whole week off.
One good thing about Khao San Road is meeting up with fellow travelers and learning from them what and where is good. It is Travel Central, and you’ll get a lot of valuable information almost without trying.
That said, I just took a peek in my Lonely Planet, and for the main Phi Phi Don, it says: “Finding accommodation on this ever-popular island has never been easy, and now with a reduced number of facilities [because of the tsunami] you can expect serious room shortages during peak holiday times. It’s best to book ahead if possible; otherwise be prepared for some legwork once you get here. If you choose to go with the touts meeting incoming boats, be sure to find out where the accommodation is, or you may end up on a remote part of the island – which may be just what you’re after.” (Personally, I would never give a tout the time of day let alone listen to one.)
It list a few places of varying prices, some with phone only, a couple with websites. You may want to pick up a good guidebook. Lonely Planet tends to be the traveler’s bible around here. It’s a bit overrated, but we still like them best. The problem is things can change so much so quickly in Thailand anyway that it’s hard to keep a book up to date. As well, once something gets a good recommendation, everyone flocks to it, ruining the ambience and driving the price up! So checking with fellow travelers provides a good balance. The LP Thailand comes out about every two years, and they’ve even taken their Southern section and made it into a separate book.
Thanks, Sam. One friend of mine gave me a # for a place that was cheap with great ambiance. I bought an international card, but either the # was wrong (how many digits should it have?) or I am entering the national code or city code incorrectly.