Shall I book Thailand hotels in advance or once there?

Question

I am going to Thailand this December for my honeymoon. Everyone is telling me not to book any hotels / internal flights in advance because you will find much better deals once there. I have decided to book the first internal flight to chiang mai and hotel so we have somewhere to rest after a long haul from Europe. Do you think we'll find available flights & hotels there, even in the peak season of december, for our other destinations? We will be visiting Phuket, Krabi, Bangkok and Ko Samui.

Answer 1

   I may be wrong but I don't think Chiang mai receives international flights.I am an American living in Thailand and the last thing I heard is that you can only fly into the 2 airports in Bangkok.I tried 4 years ago and could not do it.Then again maybe things have changed but I have never heard about it.You can if I am still correct fly to Bangkok and use Air Asia which has been the best price so far to go most places you want.But if you want something fun and cheaper then land in Bangkok and take a private 1st class train to Chiang mai.The only problem is Chiang is soooo over rated.It is just an old wall and a bunch of hookers.If you do decide to go there then go to the mountain temple named Doi Sutep outside the city.It is beautiful.Then forget Chiang mai and go to Mae hong son and Phi a few hours away northwest..They are great places to visit.Also,I have been to every island in this country and I believe Koh Chang is the most beautiful.Having the best price variation in the country and the biggest,most beautiful cloud circled mountains in Thailand.It has some of the best  places to stay in the world and the cheapest backer places to stay in the world.Which are still in great surroundings.It's all perfect there.

    If you like history then you can visit the sister places in Thailand to Angkor wat in Cambodia like Ayuthaya a couple hours north of Bangkok and get a cheap ride on a V.I.P bus to see it all.You can ride a boat for about 5 dollars U.S.around the island city in a tour of all of the temples and archaeological sites for a few hours and it is all nice.You can go from there to Khao yai national park a few hours east by train to visit the place where Leonardo DiCaprio and his friends jumped of the waterfall in the movie 'The Beach.'Yes,it's nowhere near any island but FULL of wildlife.Koh samui is nice but not like before.Too touristy now.The island Koh phan ngan a little north boats ride of it is a hippie,marijuana smokers paradise but most of the islands now are like that anyway.You can always find a room on Chiang mai but the island areas are a different story.In the high season they are very difficult to find something to stay in but in the low season it's easier and cheaper.You are coming in the high season.OOPS!You will have fun anyway.You will find something guaranteed but because it is not so hot in December it costs about 30% more.HOPE YOU HAVE FUN.I just gave you a taste of what I know about this country hopefully you find more.    

Answer 2

Well dear

Always you go for a holiday, you should book your hotel in advance to avoid any kind of un-availability of hotels.

However it is also cheap to book hotel on the spot because there you have option to bargain.

I am a travel agent and I advise my passengers that if they wish to save money and love to bargain on the spot and they dont feel any hassle in wondering for a hotel.

They should only book initlal 2 nights in advance. Because when you reach there in a long haul flight. You know that you dont have to search for a hotel and have to go to a specific hotel.

Next day you may go out and find out some other cheap hotels for you.

Good luck in your honey moon. Enjoy a lot ;)

Answer 3

High season, book in advance unless you wanna sleep on the bench in the park. It's not as cold, but can get to just above 10 degree celsius in Bangkok and below that outside Bangkok. Besides, it's too dangerous sleeping in bus stops or closed parks during the night, unless of course you are Jason Borne.

Answer 4

Advise you strongly to book especially the flights to the islands in advance for December otherwise you might get stucked in one place. Also for the Hotels I wouldn't take a chance - it's your honemoon and you don't want to end up in a 1* dump...

Answer 5

congratulations!

I'd also suggest to book in advance. You may get special discount, too.  

You'll find glorious sunshine all day in Dec. Yet, because Krabi is sheltered by mountains it is still very cool and breezy especially at night.  If, you talk about the private and extraordinary beach in Krabi , go to Railay Beach. the beach is situated South of Ao-Nang. No road, No car here. for your accommodation, try Railay village Resort, it is peaceful tropical resort in ideal beach location and simply beautiful.  This is a super resort for civilized, peaceful couples, both old and young. Two super pools too.  Get a long tail fish boat to any of the many islands off shore.  175USD/night for Pool Vila http://discovery-thailand.com/Krabi%20ho...

For Bangkok hotels, I'd recommend Grand Millennium Sukhumvit Hotel. Breakfast buffet spread was great and had a good assortment.The hotel is near lots of amenities, shops, pubs, bars, restaurants so walking is an easy way of visiting the area. Sukhumvit is lively but not noisy. It's also a five minute walk to the sky train so seeing the city as a whole is cheap and convenient. Also very friendly and motivated staff. I like the bath room very much. We can enjoy watching TV and movie from bath tub over the bath room window. There is even an audio speaker as well.

http://www.discovery-thailand.com/Hotels...  

Answer 6

Book in advance!

December is the holiday month: 5 December is the King's birthday, and the end of December we have New Year. Either festival makes certain most hotels will be fully booked.

You don't want to spoil your honeymoon by something that you can easily prevent.

Answer 7

for december your better looking on the internet far in advance for your hotels because although some places will have rooms, finding them will be precious time lost on your honeymoon and less stressful , as for domestic flights i'd book them in advance too.

Answer 8

The cheapest places to book flights and hotels is on the internet, so it doesn't make any sense to wait until you get here. December is one of busiest months of the year in Thailand and many hotels will be fully booked, especially in the beach areas and many hotels in Bangkok will also be sold out. You'll most likely be able to find flights once you get here, but flights can also be fully booked and very likely more expensive if you're buying last minute fares. The only reason to wait until you get here to book is if you're undecided about how long you want to stay in particular places, otherwise you're not going to find better prices once you get here and will probably have a hard time finding available hotels and flights. Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, Air Asia and Nok Air are airlines that serve most domestic routes, here's some good hotel websites to check for prices, good luck:  

http://www.asiarooms.com/search?q=thaila...

http://www.sawasdee.com/

http://www.agoda.com/