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hello. i am a 28 year old dude who is no stranger to solo traveling. i have been to hawaii, puerto rico, brasil - rio de janeiro (twice). i am an adventure/beach lover. i am planning my first trip to Thailand. i am planning this trip for Nov 2014 during the USA thanksgiving break to extend my vacation days. i am wondering if anyone has been there and can provide some info on how much money so i bring, hotel to stay. or should i rent a vacation apt?
Phuket to Phi Phi Islands by Speedboat $134.99
Canoe Cave Explorer Phang Nga Bay Tour from Phuket $134.99
Khao Sok Full Day Jungle Safari from Phuket $126.56
Phuket Introduction City Sightseeing Tour $13.00
Trekking and Rafting Adventure from Phuket $132.00
4hr Private Muay Thai training $81.86
Tandem skydive $360.00
FLIGHT (1 roundtrip ticket) + HOTEL (9 nights) $1,756.22
Total = $2,870.10
How much would i need to bring for cash? (tips, to buy street food, etc) I would also bring a credit card for the trip.
what are these prices you are posting? please don't tell me you've already paid for all this stuff for a trip you're not taking for almost another two years.
anyways, hiring a speedboat from phuket to phi phi would prolly be a lot more expensive than 4000b. those guys are rip offs. going on a ferry would cost like 500b, so why not just take that?
i dont know anything about kayak tours, but renting a kayak yourself isn't very expensive.
considering the things you posted, you should consider checking out krabi/ao nang/railay. it is right up your alley by the looks of it. great rock climbing and kayaking. and very scenic. not too far from phi phi, cheap ferry ride away.
as far as hotels go, depends what you're looking for. hostel: 200-300b. decent guesthouse: 500-800b decent hotel: 1000-2000b. luxury, the sky is the limit.
what are these prices you are posting? please don't tell me you've already paid for all this stuff for a trip you're not taking for almost another two years.
anyways, hiring a speedboat from phuket to phi phi would prolly be a lot more expensive than 4000b. those guys are rip offs. going on a ferry would cost like 500b, so why not just take that?
i dont know anything about kayak tours, but renting a kayak yourself isn't very expensive.
considering the things you posted, you should consider checking out krabi/ao nang/railay. it is right up your alley by the looks of it. great rock climbing and kayaking. and very scenic. not too far from phi phi, cheap ferry ride away.
as far as hotels go, depends what you're looking for. hostel: 200-300b. decent guesthouse: 500-800b decent hotel: 1000-2000b. luxury, the sky is the limit.
those are the tours that i will be taking when i go in 2014. (i have not paid for them) I got the prices from Viator.com. i would be open for a decent hotel to decent vacation apt.
A 28-year-old adventurer beach loving dude should not be planing Puket in advance beyond plane tickets. Just show up and hop on the local bus into town. Ask around for cheap lodging. Plenty of English spoken and the whole place is one big tourist trap. You can find everything you want on the spot. If you look like a westerner, touts will throw themselves at you[r wallet] and even if you just go with the first guy, the place you get will be a MUCH better deal than anything you find online ahead of time. Pre-planned package tours are for old people or first-timers who've never been abroad before.
Bring about 1000 baht, an ATM card (keep it in a safe location for when you need to pull up some more funds), and a backpack with basic travel supplies. Spend day 1 on a self-tour checking out activities and prices. Haggle a few things to get a sense for what the real prices are.
If you're considering extreme stuff like cliff diving or skydiving, get travel insurance and study up on rescue/recovery services in the area in case you get badly injured or killed. Ask around a lot to make sure you don't sign on for something with a shady operator who might be using faulty equipment or exposing you to more risk than you realize/plan for. If you're just doing pedestrian stuff like kyaking, hiking, and partying, just get your immunizations, carry appropriate meds along--especially immodium--and exercise common sense.
Daily costs:
Meals (3): 20-30 euro
Drinks (10-15): 30-50 euro
Prostitutes (2-3): 100-120 euro
Think 150-200 euro per day.
that's a straight up mongering budget. i think the focus of his trip is more conventional tourist stuff. if he is only going to experiment with the P4P scene for a couple nights of his trip he would be fine to just bring an extra 4000-6000b for his trip.
Sort of off-topic, but speaking of adventure touring, I find that you really can't do THAT much adventurous stuff as a backpacker. Stuff like rock-climbing, diving, surfing, etc. really requires specialized equipment, transport, planning, and local knowledge.
For instance, after a few months backpacking around Europe, I ended up in Mundaka; a great surf spot in Spain. A big winter swell was hitting and the waves were 12-20' on the faces. I've surfed bigger, but I did so 5 miles from my house with friends who I knew and trusted and when I was in good physical condition.
After months of hostel/couchsurf living, not great diet, not great sleep, and no regular exercise outside of walking 5-10 miles a day, it was not wise to paddle big Mundaka in travel shorts and some really poor 2nd-hand borrowed equipment. I survived, but I had my azz handed to me by the waves. That experience really learned me my lesson; if your touring, be happy with touristy stuff and don't try to push the limits of normal living. If you want to do extreme stuff, plan, equip, and prep for the experience.
Anybody agree/disagree? Anybody backpacked around and then suddenly done cave diving or some crazy thing, and had a good experience?
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