Thailand forum

Alex,

We're looking for exactly the same thing on our planned trip to Thailand over Christmas 2009. So far we've been looking seriously at Ko Mak, so I'd love to hear more about the good time you had there, and if you think it is a good spot for Christmas and NYE this year.

As for down south, we've also been looking at little Ko Chang and Phayam islands just off the coast of Ranong, but we are also thinking about the islands off the Trang coast.

Frankly, I think the information on Travelfish is quite excellent, but we've also been using the wonderful blog by tezza, which has some of the most unbiased and detailed information I've seen anywhere. Just find one of his posts and follow the link to his blog. If you do, please be sure to give my regards to his surfboard caddy. Cheers.

Seems a bit presumptuous of Tezza to tell the OP to check out his own website BEFORE looking at the very comprehensive and frequently updated information on Travelfish!

HI All,

Thanks for your replies - i will be sure to check out the islands you all mention.
Another question - we arrive in Bangkok at 18.30 on the 12th of December and were hoping not to spend the night in Bangkok. What would you all suggest? We are happy to travel the interior for a few days on our way down to the islands...

Exacto - sorry for the dealy in replying to your post. I would absolutely recommend Ko Mak and Ko Kood for christmas and New Year! We spend 5 days on Ko Mak - 2 nights in Pano and then 3 nights in Suchanaree, the altter of which i absolutely loved. Cold water, and fairly basic bungalows, but great beach and lovely people. Good, inepxensive food too. We hired a bike and spend a couple of evenings down at Buri Hut chewing the cud with Stan (the American owner) which was fab - the man has had an interesting life.
On Ko Kood we stayed at a super little flashpacker place run by Papa Joe. I can't rememeber the name of it at the moment (will check with DP) but it was only 500 per night, great food, really laid back atmosphere. Hardly a beach to speak of, but again, we hired a bike and scooted round the island for 4 days. Seriously, if you want a laid back, quiet but absolutely amazing time then go to these 2 islands! Remember to take cash with you though, as there are no banking facilities on either - having said that, if you've got dollars, Stan would definately be able to sort you out!

alex,

thanks for the additional info. good stuff! suchanaree is definitely one of the koh maak options that caught our eye too.

if you haven't yet, you might also want to read the Travelfish feature story on the islands off Trang. you can see it at:

http://www.travelfish.org/feature/135

arriving in bangkok at 1830 might give you time to get to the hualamphong train station to catch the last train heading south at 2250 or so. but even that would be cutting it close, even if your flight arrives on time and you make it through the airport and bangkok traffic without too much trouble.

another option, if you really want to avoid staying in bangkok that night, would be to head directly to the southern bus station and catch a bus heading south.

a third option might be to book a connecting flight to the south, but trying to fly that late in the day will likely limit your options to samui or phuket.

by the way, one of the best parts of tezza's blog is the which island or beach? section. it helps define the look and feel of all the different islands so you can easily narrow down your research to the types of places you are seeking. great stuff. if you head back that way, please be sure to extend my regards to tezza's surfboard mechanic as well. cheers.