Tell me all about Thailand :)

We are heading to Thailand in March for 2 weeks, meeting DF's parents halfway for a quick holiday before DD turns 2. We'll be flying probably out of Brisbane into Bangkok and spending most of our time around Bangkok and Pattaya and possible one of the islands.

I would love to hear from people who have been to Thailand with their littlies. Where did you stay, what did you do, what airline did you fly, did you have any stopovers, would you recommend an overnight flight? Is there anything that should definitely try to see or do? Thanks

We went to Thailand when DD1 was 2.5 an it was the best holiday! We flew Thai which was brilliant and flew straight to Bangkok, changed flights and onto Phuket. We did do overnight flights and they were fine although she woke up for a stretch and I had to keep her quiet with the movies on the tv. We stayed near Surin Beach and while there went to the Butterfly Park, and Elephant Safari, Long boat ride and to the beach many times. We spent a lot of time in the pool.

In Bangkok we stayed at Pantip Court apartments which were near the night markets and also just a great place to stay - huge apartment and easy to get around. We rode on the boats, went to the markets, went to the Grand Palace and saw the Great Buddha. DD1 had a great time and still talks about her holiday and asks when she can go back!!

Thanks Nai :) Did you guys book everything through a travel agent or do it yourself? I've got a quote from a travel agent but it looks like I can get the flights and accommodation almost $800 cheaper by doing it myself. Do you reckon we should book transfers to/from hotel to airport or is it safe to just catch a random cab?

I booked everything myself. I used the Thai airline website which saved me heaps. I also booked accommodation through hotels dot com. Some hotels offer free transfers but with the ones that didn't i booked the transfer with them as it usually ended up costing about $40 for the 3 of us and they generally had buses which I felt safer in that the taxis for some reason.

:bump:

Thanks Nai! Anybody else???

havnt been to thailand with littlies, but we went to patong, chang mai and bangkok.
HATED bangkok with a passion, we stayed in the china town end and it was horrid! and the ppl on the streets were the biggest scammers ever, never had an issue in other places.
Chang mai was lovely, its a city, alot smaller than bangkok, but very quiet and pleasant and TBh i found the shopping better there than bangkok, everyone told us that bangkok was the best for shopping, now i wish i had of bought everything at chang mai.
patong...tourist central but lots of fun anyway.
Have an awesome trip!

We went to Thailand last year with a 6 and a 4 year old. We stayed at Koh Samui in the Centara Grand Beach Resort. Hotel was fantastic, we had a suite with our own little pool which was really good when the kids needed some quiet time or if DS fell asleep (didn't happen very often!). We spent a lot of time around the pool and on the beach. The resort is beachfront so we could do both at once! I really wanted to see the elephants but we never got around to it.

We stopped in Thailand on the way home from a month in Europe, we did fly Thai and had no problems with the airline. If transfers aren't included with your accommodation I would definitely pre-book them to and from the airport. The cost is usually very reasonable and you won't have to mess around with a taxi.

Thanks for the tips girls.

I'm more of a pool than beach kind of girl so hopefully we can find a hotel with a nice pool in Pattaya.

Hiya hun,

Im a travel agent so hopefully I can shed some light for you. Thailand is one of my favourite places, ive been many times including my honeymoon. Koh Samui is my favourite place out of all of them, but it can be very quiet for children.

Bangkok is great for shopping but do doesnt really have that 'lay by the pool' atmosphere. Def wouldnt spend more than 5 days there esp with kids.

Pattaya has a VERY BIG red light district and the child sex industry is booming over there, I dont say this to scare you but to warn you as a lot of people get a very big shock and to tbh imo it isnt a place for children.

Phuket is great for families, has some awesome hotels with family friendly atmosphere. If you want to be right in the hustle and bustle then check out the Holiday Inn. If you would prefer to be about a 10 minute ride out of the main area of patong then checkout the Phuket Graceland hotel, very popular and reasonably priced.

If you want me to have a look at anything for you then send me the info to amy.harrod@flightcentre.com.au and I can check it out for you tomorrow.

Amy :-)

my mum stayed at gracelands last yr and looooved it

Thanks Amy,

We were thinking 4 nights in Bangkok which should give us enough time to see the grand palace, cruise up/down the river, maybe see the zoo and do a little bit of shopping :)

One of DF's friends lives in Pattaya, near Jomtien beach I think, so that's why we're heading there. They have 2 kids, one the same age as DD so we'll probably hang out quite a bit and I guess it will be like having our own tour guide. DF's parents haven't seen DD (except for skype) since she was 8 months old so we'll mostly just be spending time together because it'll probably be another year before we see them again.

Koh Samui sounds nice, I might just take you up on your offer :)

DH's Dad owns a bar in Pattaya and I went there and HATED it! I would have to say it is one of the most awful places I've ever been to. Such a shock... I couldn't believe it! You have friends there so that is good you'll have someone else around with kiddies....but we spent most of the time at FIL bar with him (and he has two little ones....sheesh) and it was boring and just dirty and gross. The whole sex scene of the place is eye opening....the lady boys, amazing. I also couldnt get out of my head that some old dudes might be looking at my kids in 'that' kinda way....:( Been there, done that...happy to see the back of it!

BUT we did go to Thailand again, but stayed in Surin in Phuket....and it was awesome! Recommend it :)