How busy is Thailand high v low season

[kevker]

Hi all, Happy New year to everyone

I'm planning my first ever trip to Thailand later this year. There's a wealth of information around whcih has taken me weeks to get through. I've already decided which area I'm going to stay etc but was after some info from people with personal experience. I know the low season is during our summer months, but the price difference between high and low doesn't appear to be great, or not so much that would make me want to avoid paying the extra. My main question is, how busy is the lo compared to high season. I'm thinking of going in October, whcih is the tail end of the low season, thinking that there won't be as many people around. But I'm happy to go in November if people still think it won't be absolutely rammed.

The other quickie I have, when booking a room, do I need to putr down 2 people? I saw this mentioned on a website, but can't for the life on me find it again.

Thanks in advance guys

[subswiper]

I've been all year round. November isn't rammed. With October it's OK but you risk getting into the wet season a bit. Downpours and floods make everything more difficult. The best girls often won't bother turning up to their gogos if it's raining too hard, etc.

You don't need to book for 2 at a hotel. Most hotels are cool in Bangkok and Pattaya. Just pick a good one near the action.

[kevker]

Thanks sub, thats what I was hoping. Will probably aim for November then.

For 7 days, do you think £1000 would be enough to cover food drink and fun?

[METEOR]

My last 2 visits have been off season, September and June. It's still pretty busy in the main places like phuket and Bangkok. It's kind of nice actually but having hoards of people around and the weather wasn't bad either time. Some of the smaller islands will probably be quiet.
Hotels were a lot cheaper and I'm sure the girls do better deals!

[Nice-dr]

Thanks sub, thats what I was hoping. Will probably aim for November then.

For 7 days, do you think £1000 would be enough to cover food drink and fun?

For food yes, easily a few hundred when eating in simple restaurant.
For drinks - probably yes but depends on quantity and quality
For vice - daily vice is definitely not enough. Massage per hour is 400B exclude extras. For ST or LT then it goes up. You probably read it can be 2k-4K depending on women.

My advice is work out your daily spending.

[pgpgpgpg]

For food yes, easily a few hundred when eating in simple restaurant.
For drinks - probably yes but depends on quantity and quality
For vice - daily vice is definitely not enough. Massage per hour is 400B exclude extras. For ST or LT then it goes up. You probably read it can be 2k-4K depending on women.

My advice is work out your daily spending.

Hi, Agree with most of above. You'll have more rain than earlier in the year but that can be refreshing

Food - you can eat on £100 for the week if you stay out of restaurants - street vendors are far cheaper and often tastier. Depends on your constitution though. Tell your girl you are hungry for street food and she'll take you to a good seller.

Leisure money - presumably you will want to have a look around as well so agree £1000 not enough if you don't want to count every penny.

HTH and enjoy.

[seandana]

I usually go February-March and I don’t find it too busy street food is the way to go very tasty and I think £1500- £2000 is more like what you need if you are planning on lots of fun ,all depends on your stamina, take enough money the last thing you want is to be watching your pennies enjoy everything it has to offer you may not get back there

[subswiper]

For 7 days, do you think £1000 would be enough to cover food drink and fun?

Depends how fussy you are and your preferences (LT vs ST, etc). £1000 is about 39,000B so about 5,500B per day.

My rates are years old but I'm a fussy short-timer so maybe the calculation is still about right. Perhaps you'll need a bit more.

Bangkok
Daytime: BJ bar, say 1000B at a usual place like Lolitas or Kasalong including a drink or tip. (I'd skip the drink. Waste of time)
Evening: Gogo girl, not sure exact barfine these days. 700B? 2000B S/T for a looker in demand.
Nightcap: Freelancer, perhaps 1000-1500 s/t.

That's 5,200B on girls alone. Drink in bars is 100B per time but I wouldn't treat it like the UK anyway alcohol-wise. There are more interesting things in Thai bars.

Food is cheap. You could eat well at somewhere like Foodland for a few hundred baht a day.

Pattaya's worse for BJ bars, better for freelancers. Perhaps cheaper with less quality in the gogos but more young guys on stag dos and Chinese tourgroups.

Personally I'd forget massage places because you don't get to see the goods beforehand and I prefer girls with perfect bodies (no signs of childbirth or scarring). Also, I find they're just not as good with services. E.g. They'll tend to offer cbjs not bbbjs as standard with gogo girls and freelancers.

[southcoastpunter]

 

.... and I think £1500- £2000 is more like what you need if you are planning on lots of fun ,

Bloody hell,  so by the time you add in flights and hotel costs we are talking somewhere around the £3000 - 3500 mark or £5000 plus for two weeks.? I had always hoped that one day, i would be able to get there and maybe 2020 would be the year - but thats a lot of dosh and a lot of UK and / or european punting. Is the experience worth that much?

[pgpgpgpg]

Bloody hell,  so by the time you add in flights and hotel costs we are talking somewhere around the £3000 - 3500 mark or £5000 plus for two weeks.? I had always hoped that one day, i would be able to get there and maybe 2020 would be the year - but thats a lot of dosh and a lot of UK and / or european punting. Is the experience worth that much?

You hit the nail on the head in the final question. Thailand is an experience. If it's your first time out here then it will be a real eye opener and many people just have to keep on coming back. If you've not experienced Asia before, then bite the bullet and come.

You can live very cheaply if you are careful. Food and drink cheap. Don't have to buy much - cheap also lol. 

Girls - bars can cost you an arm and a leg if you get sucked into buying all the girls drinks. No different to at home, but boy are they better at it than in the UK lol.

You've not said where you are going but if you want to splash out on a 'pretty' then try a soapie on Ratchadapisek road (BKK) and save some funds for that. 5000 baht will get you a beauty of whatever age/background you fancy, and you will be able to choose first at your leisure rather than being hustled, however nicely. 3,000 will get you still a pretty damn sexy time with a cute girl.

Depends what you enjoy of course, but just be wary as you would be at home about being fleeced and get chatting to other westerners in the bars who have some experience.

If you are intending to go anywhere near BKK Nana (Soi 4) then try a little bar called the Bangcockney on Soi 6; many visits over the years, no girl-pressure, cheap drinks, pool table and a small handful of cuties. Easy start as it were.

Pick and choose carefully, don't rush and you can have a great time. Better than sitting at home wondering 'what if'.

HTH


 

[seandana]

You hit the nail on the head in the final question. Thailand is an experience. If it's your first time out here then it will be a real eye opener and many people just have to keep on coming back. If you've not experienced Asia before, then bite the bullet and come.

You can live very cheaply if you are careful. Food and drink cheap. Don't have to buy much - cheap also lol. 

Girls - bars can cost you an arm and a leg if you get sucked into buying all the girls drinks. No different to at home, but boy are they better at it than in the UK lol.

You've not said where you are going but if you want to splash out on a 'pretty' then try a soapie on Ratchadapisek road (BKK) and save some funds for that. 5000 baht will get you a beauty of whatever age/background you fancy, and you will be able to choose first at your leisure rather than being hustled, however nicely. 3,000 will get you still a pretty damn sexy time with a cute girl.

Depends what you enjoy of course, but just be wary as you would be at home about being fleeced and get chatting to other westerners in the bars who have some experience.

If you are intending to go anywhere near BKK Nana (Soi 4) then try a little bar called the Bangcockney on Soi 6; many visits over the years, no girl-pressure, cheap drinks, pool table and a small handful of cuties. Easy start as it were.

Pick and choose carefully, don't rush and you can have a great time. Better than sitting at home wondering 'what if'.

HTH

+ 1 on everything you said there buddy it’s the experience you are buying!

[pgpgpgpg]

+ 1 on everything you said there buddy it’s the experience you are buying!

 

Travel broadens the mind and I love being broadened

Even without girls it’s a trip to make and soak in a different way of life.

[tobyk1]

Yep, given the experience + funny times + quantity and quality of girls; 3K = absolute bargain.

Re. Budget, you can get a flight for 500; decent hotel @ £70 p/n; £40 a day for GOOD food (could do less); then the rest on girls 

From BKK, can get a domestic flight to/from Phuket for ~£30; or a £50 cab to Pattaya. Sorted!

One warning: you’ll probably get addicted and may re-locate there by 2024.

[samsung 10]

Hi all, Happy New year to everyone

I'm planning my first ever trip to Thailand later this year. There's a wealth of information around whcih has taken me weeks to get through. I've already decided which area I'm going to stay etc but was after some info from people with personal experience. I know the low season is during our summer months, but the price difference between high and low doesn't appear to be great, or not so much that would make me want to avoid paying the extra. My main question is, how busy is the lo compared to high season. I'm thinking of going in October, whcih is the tail end of the low season, thinking that there won't be as many people around. But I'm happy to go in November if people still think it won't be absolutely rammed.

The other quickie I have, when booking a room, do I need to putr down 2 people? I saw this mentioned on a website, but can't for the life on me find it again.

Thanks in advance guys

I certainly would book a room for two, in general across asian you pay for the room so same price, booking for two stops them charging you a 'guest fee' which they can if you only book for one.But its not fool proof. 
A friend was charged a 500 bht fee for each of his guests visits to his room, on his two week stay when he went to check out as he only booked room for one)
If in doubt always ask in Thailand if there is any charges, ask twice just incase

[kevker]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Realised just after I posted £1000, that I was being optimistic. For what I want to do, I'd imagine at the very least I'll need 1500 and probably closer to 2000. I'll mainly be going for bar girls or freelancers. Not sure if the gogos are really my thing, but happy to be advised otherwise.

Yes, it's a lot of punting here, but as everyone says, it's the experience. Nowhere here can you stroll down a street and take your pick of girls.

As for the two guest booking, I probably will, as you say it doesn't cost any more. I've read up on lots of forums about the hotels that don't charge a guest fee, so will probably be picking one of them, but hoping to get a place spitting distance from Soi Cowboy, mainly because I'm a lazy fucker.

How good is the English over there? I'm going to learn a few phrases, but I'm not going to be anywhere near being able to hold a converstaion. Will it get me brownie points if I make an effort?

[METEOR]

Most will speak English or enough to understand.
If you're not a bad looking bloke and show girls respect you'll have a good chance of pulling Thai girls for free, even in bars. Nightclubs can be good for picking up locals. If not then prices won't be high.

[RogerBoner]

External Link/Members Only
5 minute taxi to Soi Cowboy. Really enormous beds, probably 2 x the width of a European Superkings and double the length! I also stay in 1000 baht hotels that are surprisingly good.

[subswiper]

Swiss Grottino, Soi 19, 4 minute walk to Soi Cowboy (Soi 21). When I stayed there it was a real monger's hotel. Adjoins the restaurant but has its own separate entrance. Bring who you like. One friendly security guard but no checking of girl ID ever. They assume you're a grown-up. Used to see the manager in Thermae quite a bit.

[HERTSBLUE]

Hi all, Happy New year to everyone

I'm planning my first ever trip to Thailand later this year. There's a wealth of information around whcih has taken me weeks to get through. I've already decided which area I'm going to stay etc but was after some info from people with personal experience. I know the low season is during our summer months, but the price difference between high and low doesn't appear to be great, or not so much that would make me want to avoid paying the extra. My main question is, how busy is the lo compared to high season. I'm thinking of going in October, whcih is the tail end of the low season, thinking that there won't be as many people around. But I'm happy to go in November if people still think it won't be absolutely rammed.

The other quickie I have, when booking a room, do I need to putr down 2 people? I saw this mentioned on a website, but can't for the life on me find it again.

Thanks in advance guys

It's never rammed even in high season just come back from pattaya 39 bt to the pound it's almost UK prices you missed the boat mate 90s to 2008 brilliant place bird all night for 20 quid great days.

[southcoastpunter]

Arghhhh - would guys please stop telling us how good it USED TO BE. That is not only no bloody good to us but also annoying. And nearly everywhere used to be better than it is now! But we live in the NOW. We can only go now or in the future. And if you have just come back, it can't be too bad. (Ok, rant over!)

Thanks to the guys that answered my question. Useful information and view points.

[Mickeyp]

I've been following this as I'm going out there end of March.    Slightly disappointed at prices when I've been doing research.   I looked at an agency for a 3sum and they want 8000bht per girl.....thats crazy prices.

I'm going out for 18 days and now I think my £3000 budget is not going to be enough :-(

[HERTSBLUE]

3000 grands plenty  I spent 1700 in 16 nights that was including  5 rounds of golf some good value down Soi 6 I'm quite happy punting 7s if they have good bodies you can keep your go go girls.

[Mickeyp]

3000 grands plenty  I spent 1700 in 16 nights that was including  5 rounds of golf some good value down Soi 6 I'm quite happy punting 7s if they have good bodies you can keep your go go girls.

That's music to my ears haha.   But I definitely want to try some real hotties while I'm there.   So much research to do lol

[tobyk1]

By the way, don’t forget to get a soapy massage in BKK. Probably want to budget in a spare £100 for that excursion.

[BaldEagle]

If you want a soapy massage (which I agree you have to try) I went to Honey Bee Massage in Soi 22 and had a one hour full service for THB2,300 which is well under £100.

[tobyk1]

Yep, agreed you can definitely fulfil the Soapy experience for ~£50-60 (in current exchange rates)

Recommend visiting the Huai Khwang district which has the most dense selection of soapies, including super-parlours (e.g Poseidon) where models are available (roughly £90-£110).

External Link/Members Only

[Mickeyp]

Yep, agreed you can definitely fulfil the Soapy experience for ~£50-60 (in current exchange rates)

Recommend visiting the Huai Khwang district which has the most dense selection of soapies, including super-parlours (e.g Poseidon) where models are available (roughly £90-£110).

External Link/Members Only

I'm going out in March, what sort of tip should you include after something like this?

[tobyk1]

I'm going out in March, what sort of tip should you include after something like this?

£2.50-£5, about 200baht should do it.

[Mickeyp]

£2.50-£5, about 200baht should do it.

Great thanks :-)