I'm planning to go to Thailand for the 1st time, and am taking my wife and 2 kids (aged 12 & 9 by then in 2009) - can't decide if Phuket or Koh Samui - any advice or views ?

Thai

You ought to plan on spending a few days in Bangkok in the beginning of your trip and a final night there at the end of your trip. This way you can get used to the time changes and heat.

Thailand is sunny most of the time, even in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. You don't have to be at a beach to get some sun. You can find beaches all over the world but to experience Thailand you have to be in Thailand!

Since you are spending a lot of money to visit a beach in Thailand why not also see some of the popular tourist attractions? In Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Phuket travel agents are the people you go to for tours. Tour companies pick you up at your hotel and return you there at the end of the tour - pretty simple!

Other msg. bds. that you can also use for other points of view.

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/forum-1943-1-Travel-Thailand-1-forum.html

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g293916-i3687-o20-Bangkok.html


Have fun.

You don't say how long you are planning to stay, so I am guessing a week or more!

Samui and Phuket have very different seasonality: the rainy season in Samui coincides with the European and North American winters, whereas the opposite is true in Phuket.

As this is a first trip, you may want to spend some time in Bangkok seeing the sights, some time at a beach, and then try something a little different: I'd recommend a trip to the Northeast which is off the tourist trail, yet fun and a lot more genuine! Check out
Gecko Villa in Northeast Thailand.

Also, I'd recommend using the budget carriers Nok Air or Air Asia over Thai Airways, but would avoid One to Go!

Hope this is useful.

We really enjoyed a trip to the bridge over the river Kwai. you can walk over the bridge and there is a very nice man from Oxford with an elephant on the other side who you can pet and feed bananas and ride if you want to.