Travel to Thailand this summer!

[tinkerbell02 10]

Hi,

 

I am 24 and am finishing uni this summer and have a few weeks off before starting my new job and entering the world of work! I have wanted to go to Thailand for a while now and feel this may be my last chance to do such a thing! Problem is I have never travelled alone before and am a little wary.

 

Wondered if anyone has travelled Thailand alone before and can offer any advice (I was looking to go for around a month?) or whether there is anyone else thinking of doing the same thing and looking for a travel companion! I am fairly flexible on plans at the moment, I just know id like to go around June, get a PADI licence and go to an infamous full moon party!

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Kayla

[ab6262 202]

you will have a great time and generally Thailand is safe, even if you are on your own, there are loads of places to meet people who are doing the same i have been going since 1988 and love the place and people not forgetting the food and the culture....fantastic.

everything is loads cheaper than uk, go to chang mia, Phuket, Krabi, koh samui and some less well known places such as Hua Hin. check the references of PADI schools as some are not accredited, full moon is great or it was 10 years ago watch the drug thing, its really very very inadvisable to get involved in any way even taking stuff, Thai authorities are very strict. have fun.

[jake 10]

I'm not sure you'll never get the chance to go again - its pretty easy to get there these days! Plus you'll also meet lots of people along the way. I really like it as a holiday spot - its beautiful, easy to get around, great food, safe and good value

 

A good website for all thing SE Asia travel related is http://www.travelfish.org/

 

The full moon party isnt really a drug fuelled rave anymore - just lots backpackers getting too drunk on thai whiskey/red bull to top 40 music - if you can imagine a big freshers party on a beach - that pretty much sums it up these days - now whether thats appealing or off putting depends on your view point! Had riin where its staged is very built up now - but there's a lot more to Ko Pha Ngan than that- theres a lot of great beaches around the island

 

Ko Tao has geared itself up for diving & PADI certs - with lots of dive operators (though bear in mind you'll spend a few days inside learning theory)

 

If you havent already done so - get a copy of the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide to Thailand (or just have a read in Waterstones!)

 

Hope you have a great time

 

[oinkjames 10]

Hua Hin is well worth a visit and is a 2 hour bus ride from Bangkok. Do not go to Pattaya though it is an absolute dump. Very seedy and full of East European gangster types. You should have a good time as long as you take basic precautions - dont buy any travel package from anyone approaching you in street, and have nothing whatsoever to do with drugs.

[emma.82 10]

Im off to Oz in october,but will be stopping in thailand on the way there, and on the way back and im going alone. Do it while you have chance im counting the days and have things in order register with the britsh embassy over here and print out copies of the british ones in thailand, there are three, I know you are going for a month, but you never know xxx

[jake 10]

and have things in order register with the britsh embassy over here and print out copies of the british ones in thailand, there are three, I know you are going for a month, but you never know xxx

 

...

 

If you're after a longer visa than the standard one you get at the airport - there's a thai consulate in Hull of all places!

Edited February 9, 2012 by jake

[Muldoon 10]

I can thoroughly recommend this place to visit -------> Mars bar/ cafe

Restaurant/Café

Ban Bang Niang, Phangnga, Thailand The owner is a lovely man called Marcel originally from Rowsley Derbyshire.. :banana:

[callippo 10]

you get 30 days visa-exempt stamp at the airport every time you arrive by plane, but if you come in overland or by boat, you only get 15 days. It's very easy to get to the neighbouring countries, Cambodia and Laos, if you have enough time.

 

Thailand just isn't as cheap as it used to be, especially in the more popular southern beach destinations, partly because the baht is now quite strong but also because prices have increased a lot in the past ten years. But up in the north and north-east you will still find some of the cheapest and good quality accommodation you are likely to find anywhere. You can still get a pretty nice room up there, with fridge and cable tv, plus you can rent a motor scooter on top of that for only a tenner a day.

[ViperK 10]

Muldoon, where is this bar? I can't find a site for it. Have you got a link?

[ViperK 10]

Kayla,

I'm going for 6 months next week (mostly in Bangkok). I've been before and loved it. Loads of people are travelling alone but always end up meeting people in the youth hostels. My friend just came back from a solo trip, didn't make any plans but joined in with people that he met. This is the way to do it I think.

If you need advice with Bangkok stuff just PM me.

[tatton 10]

Hua Hin is well worth a visit and is a 2 hour bus ride from Bangkok. Do not go to Pattaya though it is an absolute dump. Very seedy and full of East European gangster types. You should have a good time as long as you take basic precautions - dont buy any travel package from anyone approaching you in street, and have nothing whatsoever to do with drugs.

 

any place is better to go, besides Hua Hin?? I also plan a trip to Thailand without travel agency's help...I heard such traveling is much cheaper

[callippo 10]

you definitely don't need any travel agency. The infrastructure in Thailand is generally excellent, apart from Malaysia it's the richest south east Asian country. Avoid the tourist minibuses that leave from the Khao San Road area, especially on the longer trips to places like Samui and Phuket, and north to Chiang Mai. They have a terrible record for robberies, where they rifle through bags at night, but don't think this is typical. A lot of backpackers are just bone idle lazy and don't even want to get across town to a bus or train station. Just get a government bus or take a night train, or fly. Thai Air Asia have massively increased the number of internal flights in the past few years.

 

a good idea is to get out of Bangkok straight away, and save it for last. Bangkok is fantastic, but it's better to acclimatise somewhere less frenetic.