victim of overresearch? plz help w/ itinerary

[AMSD]

I've been skulking this particularly board (Thailand) for several months. Seriousl diving couple just FINALLY booked roundtrip tix to BKK (using miles) for Mid-late March '10. It will have been 2 years since we've had a vaca so we're looking for the whole meal deal - great (epic?) diving, lots of relaxation and great beaches; nightlife is fine but we're not ragers (we want to be able to make the early a.m. dives but do enjoy beers after a great day of diving to compare experiences!). Also it's our first time to Asia so we're excited to spend a few (3?) days in BKK before heading out for diving adventures. Long story short, I've overwhelmed myself with the great info and posts here so that now I'm almost catatonic and now don't know what to do. At first was thinking Andaman side due to our timing but then hear Siam is so gorgeous for non-diving (and less tourism, less $, etc.); then started thinking since we'll be there for a while (*almost 3 weeks*) we may want to try it all, including a liveaboard (never done, seems intriguing, not sure when we'll be back and don't want to miss out, etc.), altho $ is an object. We also have an English friend who says we need to spend time in Ko Lipe, granted he doesn't dive but he had an epic vaca here and wrapped some time in Malaysia into the deal, which he loved... so now we are totally stumped!

We each have 100+ dives, mostly in the caribbean and are excited to see something new altho are also just very pleased to be in the water again. Can you please, please recommend an itinerary (given our restrictions - we're in our mid/late 30's, not backpacking any more but do like to spare a little $ and also experience the local culture a bit) for almost 3 weeks in Thailand in mid-late March, including a few days in BKK?

Also, I've not seen any comments about bringing gear to Thailand - we own all our dive gear and are accustomed to hauling around the Caribbean. Do folks do that in Thailand? is it painful to do so (so perhaps mask & maybe fins only make the trip)?

thank you in advance for all your sage (indirect) advice so far, and your help on getting our trip cemented!

 

[TomLansford]

AMSD -
sounds already like you will have a good vacation.

Equipment - take your own equipment. You will want to pack as lightly as possible due to weight restrictions so leave the extras at home, but take your 3mm, reg, BCD, computer, etc. You can pack 1 pair of shorts, 1 t-shirt, etc, and get whatever else you need when you arrive. Same for toiletries.

Bangkok is fun for sight-seeing (grand palace, wat pho) as well as for shopping, Pantip Plaza for electronics and Pratunam for clothing.

Diving - I only know Koh Tao - generally a great place for people learning to dive, which is not your case. On the other hand, you have a good chance in March for whale sharks and the like, and the viz should be great. And Koh Tao can offer some unique training opportunities for experienced divers. For example, an u/w video course could be very interesting for you, or learning Apne, etc... Then there is yoga, thai kick-boxing, etc, for out of water activities.

If you would like some specifics, I'd be happy to email more details...

Enjoy your trip

Tom
PS: to get to Koh Tao from Bangkok, take Bangkok Airways to Koh Samui and then the Ferry - the best deal on tickets is directly from the Bangkok Airways web-site... costs about 1/2 the price of the tickets elsewhere on the web.

 

[Ringo]

I highly recommend a Liveaboard Cruise to The Similan and Surin Islands. To see the best of these sites you would need at least 4 days/4nights. There are many options ranging from basic to medium and luxury class. March is a great time to go there.

Have a great holiday!

 

[Quero]

AMSD, trying to choose which among the many options in Thailand is tough! But you've got 3 weeks, so you really can do a lot of it. My suggestions:
Week 1: a few days in Bangkok, then fly to Phuket to hop on a 4d/4n live aboard (as Ringo so wisely suggests). People--including those on this board--debate endlessly about what attracts/repels them when comparing Gulf of Thailand islands and Andaman Sea ones. But nobody denies that the best diving in the country is in the Similans and Surins marine parks. So do that.
Week 2: After the live aboard, make your way to Koh Lipe. You can get there by ferry from Phuket via Phi Phi and Lanta (as well as a handful of other little islands), so you could conceivably spend a couple of days at each one of those just to get the flavor of them.
Week 3: Koh Lipe, and if you wish, hop on over to Langkawi Island in Malaysia, which is nearby. Finally, return to Bangkok for your journey home.

 

[AMSD]

Thanks everyone! I'll dig deeper on the liveaboard option - hope we haven't missed the best boats for us (I've noticed they've been getting booked up already an unfortunately we don't have flexibility on flights). Will defo bring the gear as suggested - do we need to worry about someone making off with it (sorry to seem paranoid, I have vivid backpacking memories/nightmares...), that is, does having the gear dictate where we should stay? Man, that sounds terrible.

Finally, Quero, is Lipe "all that"? If there's somewhere else we should see/have our hang out beach time than I am v. interested in hearing about it!

Thanks again for all the help - I'll take all i can get! Cheers!

 

[QBit]

About equipment- You dont have take your equipment, I say.
The equipment in Thailand is usually good. And sometimes there is no, or little discount if you have your own things.

Rental masks I do not like. Also, maybe fins.

I would dive as many times as possible on the Andaman sea. I like the diving here better!

Have fun!

 

[katdiver]

Rental kit is usually good and spot on, so save your baggage allowance.

March is a great time to dive the west coast, good weather, good diving and prices for hotels dropping after the peak season.

Dive Krabi, Phi Phi and Shark Point marine reserve from Ao Nang. Transfer over to Khao Lak for a Similan liveaboard. Or vica versa.

Ferries from Krabi, Phi Phi to Lanta. it's really easy to get around. Enjoy!

 

[Stout]

Victim of over research ? Ha ha now there's a thread title I can relate to as I'm just in the middle of over research myself.

I haven't been to Thailand post tsunami but I'm seeing a lot of "complaints" regarding over development post tsunami and it appears that Ko Lipe is experiencing just that.

Last time I went, I hung out on Koh Lanta. The diving was amazing and I highly suspect that diving of Lanta is going to provide the same underwater experience as Lipe and given Lipe's access "hassles" I figure I'm going to give it a miss unless I decide to forgo a 60 day visa and have to leave Thailand after 30 days to get a renewal.

I was happy with Ko Lanta, they seems to have everything I needed ( I don't party all that much ) with my only "complaint" being that, on the north end of the island swimming/snorkeling...well, sucked. The beach experience, as in lying around soaking up the sun was fine IMO and given that most dive trips are full day trips ( on a slow boat) there was more than enough time to lollygag around with a novel on the dive boats.

Hin Muang, Hin Dang ( sp ? ) were five hours each way from Lanta to the divesite which provided a sunup to sunset diving experience starting and ending with the DC operator picking me up and dropping me off at my bungalow.

At 14KTHB for a 5 day package it's pretty hard to beat the price, so if money is an issue, you may want to consider this option over a liveaboard. I don't know if night diving is your thing but I didn't notice anyone offering night dives on Lanta. Maybe they do on Phi Phi, but from what I've been reading 'round the 'net, Phi Phi sounds like another one of those places that I'd better avoid. Yep, I'm jaded to the "full on tourist experience" with things like uniformed waiters standing out in front of restaurants pointing to plates of plastic wrapped food, smiling and saying "Hello my friend, come looking" I hated Railey beach and ran away after one night.

I'm taking my own gear as some operators do offer a discount. I want my own mask and snorkel ( Proear 2000 ) cold water fins, and not previously pissed in my strangers full length wetsuit The only other thing I'll have to "lug" is my BCD which is old anyway. In two trips to Thailand, I've not had any problems with theft.

 

[Quero]

AMSD, In answer to your follow up question:

Finally, Quero, is Lipe "all that"? If there's somewhere else we should see/have our hang out beach time than I am v. interested in hearing about it!

I like Lipe. I don't think it's any more "overdeveloped" than Lanta, and I do think that the "complaints" about Lipe development are a product of the recent opening of some luxury resorts there when previously there had been none, and mainly come from the backpacker community who feel that "their" paradise has been compromised. There have been luxe places on Lanta for ages! And there are still tons of basic huts on both islands for those who want that sort of experience. Having said that, Lanta is also lovely, and being many, many times larger than Lipe (which you can actually walk all the way around in a couple of hours), it is easier to get completely away from everybody other than those people right at your resort. It also means that you cannot walk anywhere because of the distances. It all depends on what you are looking for! As I said, you well may decide to spend some time at each just to get the flavor of them.

You mention beach chill-out time.... do you mean to say you won't be diving at these other islands? Both Lanta and Lipe have well-developed dive operations, but if you definitely don't want to dive, that opens up a whole bunch of other possibilities on islands where the ferry stops! Again, it all depends on what you are looking for: isolation or walking distance to a town? bamboo shack on the beach or air conditioning and hot running water? easy access to diving or not? travel time? I could go on, but you get the idea.

Finally, for Stout: Lanta is indeed wonderful, and I do love Hin Daeng/Hin Muang as well as the Koh Haa group for diving. But it sounds like you haven't dived from Lipe yet, right? The dive sites are quite different from those at Lanta--you cannot reach the same ones from both islands. If you have the opportunity, why not spend a couple of days diving from Lipe to check it out? There's a dive site called Stonehenge that is really something for underwater scenery, and of course there is 8-Mile Rock, which has some of the same attractions as Hin Daeng/Hin Muang do.

 

[Stout]

Hi Quero

If it's your take on the overdevelopment on Lipe is simply a matter of complaining about luxury resorts then I'll seriously reconsider stopping by then. I'm into the basic accommodation as I hate Ac and i don't really care about hot water 'cause, hey, everything's 28 degrees.

TBH I've been reading the same stuff about overdevelopment about pretty much everywhere and I've heard the same 'it isn't like it was before" type complaints when I was last in Thailand, 6 years ago.

So, Lipe's on the list:cool3: