Planning 1st trip to South thailand

My Husband and I stayed in Bangkok for a few nights during our honeymoon (which we absolutely LOVED!) and have been meaning to go back to explore the beaches and islands ever since (only 5 years). We are now trying to plan this trip for Easter this year and would like a little advice. From reading brochures, forum information and speaking to friends we are thinking of flying into Bangkok and then onto Phuket - staying there for a few nights, then moving onto Khao Lak for a few more nights, then onto Khao Sok National park for a night or two and then back to Phuket for a few nights before making our way back to Bangkok on our way home. I am after advice on this plan initially, and then on suitable accomodation if we decide on this route. We are really open to suggestion as have never been to this area before. We would like a complete mixture of experiences - diving/relaxing/night markets/restaurants/bars (but not into clubbing)/natural beauty and SUN!!! Also is Phi Phi worth a visit from Phuket? and are we missing something really important in this route? The type of accomodation that we are after is as nice as possible for a reasonable rate - £35 per night tops. Where is the best place to book accommodation? At the moment we are looking on agoda.com

Thanks in advance

Planning 1st trip to South thailand

Certainly sounds do-able.

There are plenty of spots in Phuket, including Patong, where you dont need to be into clubbing. You may want to stay north of Patong since you%26#39;ll be a little closer to the airport and for the drive to Khao Lak (it%26#39;s about a 1 or so hours drive north of the airport. You could look for a hotel at Kamala, Surin, Nai Yang perhaps? Not sure of hotel prices at Bang Tao. You could always take a trip into Patong for night markets and shopping.

For ideas on Khao Lak, go to its forum. You can visit the Similians from there.

Apparently to get the most from a visit to Phi Phi, its best to stay overnight, otherwise its very touristy.

One trip you must to is a day on Phang Nga Bay. 2 really recommended companies are Simba (which uses a speedboat) or Phuket Sail Tours (motor sailboat). See in things to do.

Some sites I can think of is sawasdee.com, phuket.com, asiarooms.com - just make sure you compare. Sometimes also worthwhile contacting the hotel directly.

Have fun planning.

Planning 1st trip to South thailand

We found the best place for accommodation specials was wotif.com. We were in Asia for 3 weeks, and didnt make a single booking before we left, except for our first night when we arrived in Bangkok. Phi Phi is well worth the trip - we stayed at Phi Phi Island Beach resort - a little big for our taste - a 10 minute walk to the pool - but the best massage ever. You get there by a small boat from the town. The town has got great shopping too. Its a lovely boat trip to Phi Phi as well. Kata beach on Phuket is lovely, and we stayed one night in Patong which we didnt like a lot as it was very seedy with the sex industry, and constant pressure to buy stuff.

Poppitt9 did you book your hotels on the internet whilst there or did you just go into hotels on arrival? Also was this a much cheaper option and did you go during a busy time? Just worried that we will have problem getting a room as it will be Easter Holidays and dont want to spend long trying to sort out accomodation during trip - however if we can get much nicer accomodation for a reasonable price this could be an option? All advice welcome