[i_nv]

Thanks so much.

Now final word on which route to take.

I am now going to Kanchanaburi and would stay there for two nights. From there I will start early in the morning for Phuket.

How much time would it take from Route 4. Can you suggest midway stops where we can plan our breakfast,lunch, evening tea breaks.

Having booked an expensive hotel in Phuket, I would want to reach as early as I can

Thanks

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

We've driven AH2 to Phuket/Krabi, but the last time we took the Route 4 from BKK to Phuket (followed the GPS guy's route plan, via Ranong). The scenery is much the same most of the way (some mildly hilly sections after the turnoff at Chumphon, and lots and lots of greenery), but Route 4 has less heavy vehicle traffic - and parts of it are undivided.

However, given the kind of discipline on Thai roads, it really doesn't make a difference to travel times.

Weatherwise, you'll probably find Thailand to be much cooler and more pleasant than Delhi in end-June. Plus, there's liberal use of air-conditioning in most places (though perhaps not as rampant as in Singapore).

[Akhilash95]

What was average money spent per person including air tickets in Indian rupees?
which airlines did you travel and how many days in advance was it booked?

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by i_nv

How much time would it take from Route 4. Can you suggest midway stops where we can plan our breakfast,lunch, evening tea breaks.

Kanchanaburi to Phuket took us about 13 hours. Left at 8 PM, arrived at Phuket around 9 AM. But then, overnight drives are not everyone's choice.

Dinner, coffee and breakfast breaks were all at 7-Eleven stores - sandwiches, sausages, packaged snacks, a variety of 3-in-1 coffees, soft drinks and juices - we had that kind of food. The kids loved it of course. Again, that could be considered junk food unfit for a major meal by others.

[i_nv]

Finally I booked all tickets yesterday including all hotel bookings....

Also extended a day in Bkk as I had cut one day from BKK Schedule to accommodate an extra day in Kanchanaburi.

Many thanks for all the hand holding so far.

However some questions still remain :-

1. Please let me know how should I plan my two days in Kanchanaburi. Can I also plan a day trip to the floating Market. Wont be able to do on my way to Phuket.
2. What would be approximate travel time to Phuket from Kanchanaburi if I start at 5 am. Google says 11 hours. Will 13 hours be enough including breaks?
3. Tips for booking trips to Phi Phi Island, Coral Island, Fantasea Show etc. to get best rates.

4. Tips to plan for parking in Phuket and Kanchanaburi. How difficult/easy it is to find a parking place. Is it safe to leave the vehicle at the pier once we leave for Phi Phi Island or Coral Island trip. Carrying big VAN all around may have its own challenges.

5. Any other must have attraction in Phuket that we shouldnt leave. We have three full days and 4 nights to plan.

Thanks so much in advance and for your patience.

INV

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Kanchanaburi to Phuket took us about 13 hours. Left at 8 PM, arrived at Phuket around 9 AM. But then, overnight drives are not everyone's choice.

Dinner, coffee and breakfast breaks were all at 7-Eleven stores - sandwiches, sausages, packaged snacks, a variety of 3-in-1 coffees, soft drinks and juices - we had that kind of food. The kids loved it of course. Again, that could be considered junk food unfit for a major meal by others.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by i_nv

1. Please let me know how should I plan my two days in Kanchanaburi. Can I also plan a day trip to the floating Market.

You can stop over at the Damnoen Saduak floating market for a couple of hours on your way from BKK to K'buri.

2. What would be approximate travel time to Phuket from Kanchanaburi if I start at 5 am. Google says 11 hours. Will 13 hours be enough including breaks?

Completely depends on how you drive, how many breaks you take, how comfortable the other passengers are, etc. etc.

3. Tips for booking trips to Phi Phi Island, Coral Island, Fantasea Show etc. to get best rates.

Locals pay a different rate (or if you can decipher Thai, you can too) than foreigners who can only read English - our hostess at the Sansuko Ville in Phuket offered to arrange tickets for the Fantasea show etc. at local prices. You could check the regular 'foreigner' rates, then ask the hotel to procure you the tickets at lower prices. Once you have the tickets, no one is bothered whether you live locally or not (obviously, plenty of non-Thais live locally).

The Koh Phi-Phi motorboat trip from Phuket or Krabi cost ~800-1000 THB per person till 2012, including lunch. You leave around 8 am, and come back by 4 pm.

4. Tips to plan for parking in Phuket and Kanchanaburi. How difficult/easy it is to find a parking place. Is it safe to leave the vehicle at the pier once we leave for Phi Phi Island or Coral Island trip.

Never had a parking problem at either place, unless you're trying to park on Bangla Road at 9 pm...

BKK, yes - traffic jams and parking headaches are such a pain, though no one breaks lane/queue (I had to take the van up to the 10th floor to park in a multi-level parking once - and it was a bit of a struggle to negotiate the ramps with an elephantine people-carrier without scrapes and dents).

[i_nv]

Thanks so much for the info. That more or less sums up my query parade

There is just one last worry that is giving sleepless nights to all the woman folks travelling with us .... And that is "Luggage Crisis"...

They are extremely upset with me to have planned such a trip as they have to cut lots of stuff from the luggage for a 10 days trip.

I got a mail from Hertz stating that we can put 4 large suitcase and 2 small ones on the back side.

With 8 adults and four kids its impossible to fit each ones luggage in 6 bags.

However I saw 9 bags in the image that you has posted.

Need to now the sizes of those bags. Else you can recommend how many bags that we can carry (including the sizes) that can be accomodated on Commuter along with 8 adults and 4 kids.

(Kids age 4,6,8,9)

Thanks a million...

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

You can stop over at the Damnoen Saduak floating market for a couple of hours on your way from BKK to K'buri.

Completely depends on how you drive, how many breaks you take, how comfortable the other passengers are, etc. etc.

Locals pay a different rate (or if you can decipher Thai, you can too) than foreigners who can only read English - our hostess at the Sansuko Ville in Phuket offered to arrange tickets for the Fantasea show etc. at local prices. You could check the regular 'foreigner' rates, then ask the hotel to procure you the tickets at lower prices. Once you have the tickets, no one is bothered whether you live locally or not (obviously, plenty of non-Thais live locally).

The Koh Phi-Phi motorboat trip from Phuket or Krabi cost ~800-1000 THB per person till 2012, including lunch. You leave around 8 am, and come back by 4 pm.

Never had a parking problem at either place, unless you're trying to park on Bangla Road at 9 pm...

BKK, yes - traffic jams and parking headaches are such a pain, though no one breaks lane/queue (I had to take the van up to the 10th floor to park in a multi-level parking once - and it was a bit of a struggle to negotiate the ramps with an elephantine people-carrier without scrapes and dents).

[rk_sans]

I did 1 week trip covering Kanchanaburi, Koh Samui and Phuket, return just last week.
Thanks to SS-Traveller for the accommodation suggestion here. It was the best accommodation and very good host both at Kanchanaburi and Phuket.
SS-Traveller, Bobbi was remembering you and your family a lot

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by i_nv

"Luggage Crisis"...
I got a mail from Hertz stating that we can put 4 large suitcase and 2 small ones on the back side.
However I saw 9 bags in the image that you has posted.

We routinely carry multiple smaller suitcases and bags, cabin luggage specifications or just one size bigger, rather than one big suitcase. The usual proportioning is one suitcase and one backpack/handbag/sling bag for each person. No more. Easy to pack, easy to carry, and easy to fit in the boot of any vehicle.

What you saw are smaller suitcases. What Hertz probably calculated was 32" (or bigger) suitcases.

Originally Posted by rk_sans

Bobbi was remembering you and your family a lot

We had a wonderful time over-enjoying ourselves there, so I hope she hasn't been remembering us in any negative manner?!

[SS-Traveller]

For those planning to travel to Thailand in the coming days and weeks, and concerned/apprehensive about the present situation there following the coup last week, please follow Richard Barrow's tweets and blog at the following links for current updates regarding the real situation:

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow

http://www.richardbarrow.com/

Presently there is curfew in Bangkok between 10 pm & 5 am. Malls close at 8 pm, the BTS train stops service at 9 pm.

However, flights continue to operate as usual (with taxis also available), and travellers from/to the airport are not being detained as long as they carry their travel papers with them.

[dkaile]

What is the cheapest source of getting air tickets to Bangkok for around 25th June? What should they approximately cost? Also need domestic tickets from Bangkok to Samui as I have a relative running a resort in a nearby island where we plan to stay.

[DevilsDoggie]

Originally Posted by dkaile

What is the cheapest source of getting air tickets to Bangkok for around 25th June? What should they approximately cost? Also need domestic tickets from Bangkok to Samui as I have a relative running a resort in a nearby island where we plan to stay.

Personally, I prefer to book the tickets directly with the airline website. They will normally be cheaper than travel sites such as makemytrip,etc. However, you can check the prices with your local travel agent for comparison

For flights from BKK to Samui you can check the deals with the following airlines:

(1) Air Asia <http://www.airasia.com/th/en/home.page>
(2) Bangkok Air <http://bangkokair.com/eng>
(3) Nok Air <http://www.nokair.com/nokconnext/aspx/Index.aspx>
(4) Thai Airways <http://www.thaiairways.com/en/index.page>

Alternately, you can check this for Bus+Ferry option:
http://lomprayah.com/

Hope this helps.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by dkaile

What is the cheapest source of getting air tickets to Bangkok for around 25th June? What should they approximately cost? Also need domestic tickets from Bangkok to Samui as I have a relative running a resort in a nearby island where we plan to stay.

The cheapest tickets are usually on Air Asia, but Air Asia doesn't operate from Delhi at present. You could try the various ticketing websites to get the best deal.

A number of low cost airlines operate on domestic sectors - Nok Air, Air Asia, Bangkok Airways, Orient Thai etc. Try this site for an idea of the fares: http://www.domesticflightsthailand.com/

[gearhead_mait]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

It was big and bulky. But one could drive it on a LMV driving license.

It didn't cost a bomb to rent (we paid ~7300THB for 5 days, including SCDW or Super Collision Damage Waiver, to Avis).

It was far more frugal with the fuel than we expected.

It had remote central locking, ABS+EBD, but no airbags.

It was comfortable at speed, with minimal roll, but with a strange pitching movement over road undulations.

It was a 11-seater Toyota HiAce Commuter. With a 3.0L D4-D engine and manual transmission.

I was on this vehicle while doing the trip to James Bond Island from Krabi this year. I didn't drive it though, it was rented. The comfort this car offers is unmatched, and the speed achieved is also good.

On return, I was so impressed that I searched for the model and its availability in India.
Not available here.

[ajmat]

Just back from Bangkok

Some pointers

1: Coup has impacted nightlife. Taxis put up their prices towards evening. Make sure you get to your hotel around 7 as public services get crowded and taxi's get uppity.

2: Forex - Vasu's provide the best rate - next to exit 3 Nana BTS station

3: if there are 3 of you, and you need to ravel short distances, take a taxi. What costs us B75 on BTS, cost B 60 by taxi

4: Shopping - things are not necessarily cheaper but variety is better. Check out Chatachuk first although they do not come down on price. Quality is not as good as MBK. Recommend you check out MBK first then go to Chatachuk and take a call accordingly.

5: Bangkok Airport food prices are exorbitant

6: Street food is awesome and way to go -

[dkaile]

Was going to Goa but booked 5 nights 6 days Bangkok+Pattaya through D'Pauls with all meals and major shows/river cruise etc. for 4 pax. Departure 26th June after my daughters UPCPMT entrance. Hope things would have normalised quite a bit by then. Inquired from a cousin working in Koh Samui and its business as usual there. Fingers crossed.