Spending 7 days in July in Thailand, suggestions on islands?

Hi Everyone!

This forum has been great for traveling tips so I hope to get some ideas for my upcoming thailand trip from all of you experts.

This will be my second time to thailand. I have been there once about 7 years ago, but the tour went by too fast so I did not truly experience Thailand on my own. My bf and I, both in mid-late 20%26#39;s, are looking for some fun in the sun, shopping, sightseeing %26amp; nightlife, but also a relaxing time on the beach and sun tan. We have only 7 days and we plan to stay in Bangkok for atleast 2 days. After that, we would like to hop over to an island where our main purpose would be to sunbathe on a nice sandy beach. Nightlife isn%26#39;t as important here, but local bars for a drink would be nice. Some suggested we should ride the bus from Bangkok instead of catching a domestic flight to minimize time. It seems like Pattaya or Ko Samet would be an option at the moment. But from what i remember of Pattaya, the beaches were not the selling point. Can anyone give me some suggestions on where we can go for ~5 days from Bangkok to enjoy some sun and sand?

All your advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Cherriebombz.

Spending 7 days in July in Thailand, suggestions on islands?

If you want an island then Koh Samet, relatively quiet though but some areas can be busy, few hours and then boat.

For Koh Samui you would need to fly or take the tain/ferry or bus/ferry so quite a long way and doesn%26#39;t come into your few hours.

If yuo don%26#39;t want as busy as Pattaya had you thought about Hua Hin ? Couple of hours by take or 3 hours by bus, you can train also.

The beach color is not as %26#39;bright%26#39; as on the islands but lying on a beach lounger it honestly won%26#39;t make much difference !

Plenty of places to stay walking distance to town for restaurants, bars, night markets etc, and some lively clubs should you wish, but fare more %26#39;tame%26#39; than Pattaya and very good for couples - some nice quiet beachside restaurants for dinner at the waters-edge etc. Also nice places for a drink and some music relaxed style - much more a couples and family sort of place. You can wander the town at night quiet relaxed, cheap Thai snacks.

National parks nearby for a trek or nature.

You will get the sun sure and the beach is ok as long as you don%26#39;t try and compare with say a tropical island white sand.

Spending 7 days in July in Thailand, suggestions on islands?

If you did want to snorkel from Hua Hin it is about 2 hours by road and then 15 minutes over to Koh Talu island for snorkeling, there are day trips operated. You %26#39;can%26#39; stay on Koh Talu but it%26#39;s a bit expensive and absolutely no shopping, nightlife etc. But you can do the day trip.

Koh Chang could also be good option.Can fly to Trat and ferry across or bus from Bangkok about 4.5 hrs.

Has some great places to chill out and some cool nightlife but not to full on.

I agree, Koh Chang is another good option, yuo can fly to Trat in about 40 minutes or road and ferry

Sorry just noted again you were asking about July, Koh Chang can be quite wet in July.

Thank you so much for your suggestions Monica and Daw! I was browsing the Ko Samet forum and it sounds quite nice, however, it doesnt seem like there is enough to do for 5 days. Do you agree?

As for Hua Hin, I thought about that option as well, but again, I was looking through the forums and the general consensus was that the beaches were not very nice compared to Phuket. I know i mentioned that I would like to minimize time and thought that the bus route would be best, however, taking an hour flight to phuket might also save some travel time compared to 3 hours by bus to Hua Hin? Also, I was thinking what to do on my way back since we will have to catch a flight from Bangkok to hongkong at 4pm. Maybe it would be easier to fly back from phuket to bk, then just transfer planes to hk. I%26#39;m just afraid that if the bus takes longer than usual or something unexpected comes up, we may miss our connecting flight. Would you prefer phuket over hua hin? If Ko Chang is going to be too wet, do you have any other suggestions for places that only requires an hour or so flight?

Is up to you but I think you will enjoy Koh Samet as you said you wanted to relax on the beach,but there are other activities like scuba,fishing and the like.Koh Chang has much more and if it is raining do a cooking school its fun,enjoy a massage but when its not you can explore the beautiful island.For me you will still have the chance of rain in Phucket but it is over commercialized hey but lots of people go and have a ball.Honestly where ever you choose you will love it guaranteed.Have a great time.