Thailand forum

Hello Travelfish -

I will be taking a 6-week trip to SEA starting 22 Sept. I have done a good amount of research here on TF (great site by the way!!) and have pretty much narrowed my itinerary down to different routes that I am now trying to decide on. Nothing is really set in stone, but there are a few activities that I really would like to work in (specifically, getting scuba certified somewhere [thinking Ko Tao but open to suggestions]). The two itineraries differ significantly and I just wanted to get some advice/opinions on the two options.

Itinerary 1: Arrive BKK 23 Sept and stay for 6-7 nights > Chiang Mai for 2-3 nights > Huay Xai 2-3 nights> Luang Prabang 4-5 nights......fly from Vientiane to BKK, stay BKK 1 night then train to Chumphon and on to Ko Tao. I would probably stay in the Ko Tao/Ko Samui area for anywhere from 7-13 nights before heading to Krabi . Spend approx. 7-ish nights in the Krabi area before ferrying over to Phuket to fly back to BKK and then home on 1 Nov.

Itinerary 2: Arrive BKK 23 Sept stay for 6-7 nights > train to Chumphon and on to Ko Tao. Stay in Ko Tao for 7-10 nights > Krabi for 7-8 nights > over to Phuket (maybe stay 1-2 nights for vegetarian festival as it falls during this time frame) then fly to Singapore. Singapore for 4-5 nights then fly onto Bali. At this point, I expect to have around 9-11 nights in Indo before flying back to BKK for a night or two then flying home.


Sooooo, basically I just wanted thoughts/suggestions/critiques of these two routes. I have read alot of forum posts and feature stories so I know there is alot of material on this type of stuff already, but I thought it would be nice to have some personal opinions on my tentative travel plans. Like I said, I plan to be flexible (notice alot of "3-4 night stays" and can charge thru some traveling if I have to, or I can kick back if I find somewhere special) and I am also open to any experiences/activities/locations that anyone would like to recommend. Thanks for all who take the time to read and reply. I love this site!!!

P.S. To give you a little info about me..... I am a 27 y/o male traveling SEA for the first time. I will be flying solo for a good part of the trip (which I am both excited and just a little bit anxious about) so while I would like to meet some good people along the way, I would also like to spend a good amount of time snapping photos and seeing some of the amazing sites I've read about. I hope this helps!!

Cheers,
DB