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Don Khong or Don Khon?
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EdSue
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We are two oldies (but well travelled) planning to visit the 4,000 islands in Feb 2011 for 4 nights. Is this too long? After browsing many websites we are now totally confused about where to stay! We are prepared to pay a bit more than average for some comforts and a peaceful stay in beautiful surroundings, but have heard horror stories about nightly 'raves' and aggro between islands.
Has anyone any recent experiences of visiting the islands and can give us some advice or tell us of your experiences?
#1 Posted: 12/9/2010 - 23:48
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arah
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We were on Don Det in January this year. I don't know if that's low season or what but it was pretty quiet with definitely no nightly 'raves' - and we were looking for action! There were a lot people around but it seemed much more about just chilling than partying. When I got there I was surprised that people had raved so much about it and had stayed so long, but it's very easy to relax into doing nothing and we ended up spending 8 nights there. We didn't go to Don Khong but friends of ours who did said it was really quiet and older than Don Det.
#2 Posted: 13/9/2010 - 10:30
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tinoh
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If you want to party with other westerners go to Don Khon or Don Det. For more peace and quiet go to Don Khong . We stayed on Don Khong this april for three nights. You have a varied selection of hotels, cheaper ones and some really nice looking expensiver hotels.
#3 Posted: 13/9/2010 - 15:48
Captain_Bob
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Definitely visit Don Khon g (the big island). Stay in any of the guesthouses at Muang Khong (the main "town" if you can call it that) right along the river. After around 9pm it goes totally quiet and the overall vibe is very tranquil. Good idea to rent a bicycle and tour the island in a low-key way. By comparison I found arrival at Don Det a small slap in the face initially, having to re-enter the homogenous backpacker scene with the usual "No Woman No Cry" soundtrack and "full moon" mentality. That can be fun but not the kind of fun the islands seem best suited for. Actually Don Khon can be good too if you stay slightly away from the bridge that joins it with Don Det. 2 nights Don Khong 2 nights Don Khone is basically what I did last time.
#4 Posted: 13/9/2010 - 17:17
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arah
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Agreed Don Det does have a backpacker scene vibe about it which doesn't suit everyone - although I certainly didn't pick up any full moon mentality. But I can't compare with any of the other islands: we planned to move to one of the others but it's very easy to get stuck when you've got a hammock, a good book and a bottle or so of whisky.
#5 Posted: 13/9/2010 - 17:22
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