Family Thailand Adventure - Dipping our toes cautiously into long haul travelling with 3 kids!
The intervening years has meant I have built up a great deal of knowledge of European and UAE family resorts, especially those with accommodations for families of 5 (which those persons who belong to a family of 5 will know, can sometimes be a challenge). Thankfully, many hotels have noticed the demand for two bedroom accommodations and are now adding more and more rooms to cater for this market.
We decided 2023 was the year, we were going to take the plunge and take our first cautious steps back into our long haul travelling roots to a country we have been to many times before, but never with kids -Thailand.
With our kids now 11, 9 and 6, we felt that Thailand offers a lot for kids of our children’s ages. It’s provides exposure to another, very different culture, but a little softer round the edges than some of the other countries in Asia. Most hotels offer many of the creatures comforts that they are used to and English is widely spoken in most resorts. But there is still enough to do to have the Asian Adventure we were all after.
First stop, Bangkok. We stayed at the Shangri-La Bangkok. A fabulous choice for a family being located on the Chao Phraya riverside, but with great connections to most of Bangkok’s attractions by rivertaxi or Skytrain. We also had interconnecting rooms and there was a great pool which the kids enjoyed cooling off in after a morning of sightseeing.
For more recommendations, tips and advice on negotiating Bangkok with kids look out for my blog ‘3 nights in Bangkok with 3 kids’.
After Bangkok, we flew down south to Koh Samui for 8 nights. We chose to stay at the Melia Koh Samui mainly because I had heard that it offers a great mix of luxurious touches, a gorgeous location on Choeng Mon beach (not far from Fishermans Village and Chaweng Beach) and caters well for families. Many hotels in Koh Samui are aimed at the couples market or are adults only so it’s important to do your research well.
I also have friends with kids staying in Koh Samui at the same time and they are staying at and enjoying The Anantara Bophut and SantaBuri on Mae Nam beach.
We stayed in a one bedroom Family Suite which was very spacious even with a double bed and single bed set up in the lounge area. It also had a huge balcony overlooking the gorgeous garden and pool which snakes around the resort.
Look out for more reels showcasing both the Shangri La Bangkok and Melia Koh Samui.
We decided to do two day trips in Koh Samui with my boys. First, we took a speedboat trip to some of the surrounding islands including Five Islands for some sightseeing and Pig Island to see the pigs that roam the island. Finally, we stopped for some snorkelling time amongst the coral. The kids enjoyed bumping up and down in the speedboat the most, I will never forget their squeals of delight every time we crashed over a wave.
Pig Island itself was pretty commercialised, but all the same it was nice to venture outside the resort and go on an adventure. We also went to one of the several Elephant Sanctuaries on the island. The kids enjoyed feeding and washing the elephants. Some of the sanctuaries offer better experiences than others so again it’s important to do your research. We went to Samui Elephant Home Sanctuary and I would recommend this.
We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis which I would recommend doing, mainly because there are so many delicious restaurant options within easy reach. We divided our evenings between 3 locations; 1. Fisherman’s Village in Bophut - 15 mins west of the Melia in a taxi. It offers plenty of eating options on the beach. Our personal favourite’s were @Happy Elephant and @Coco Tams. The kids particularly liked the light show at CocoTams. Twice a week, there is also a huge night market with all sorts of weird and wonderful things to buy including some culinary treats like grilled locusts and scorpions.
2. Chaweng Beach - 15 mins east in a taxi from the Melia. Chaweng is not the most glamorous area and certainly there were a lot more bars (and unfortunately Cannabis outlets due to recent de-regulation) than I remember. We brushed past them with the kids and nobody asked us about them thankfully. But there were some nice restaurant options which offered a mixture of western and Thai dishes. Our favourites were @Dayandnight and @Spargo.
3. Beachfront restaurants in Chong Mon beach. The Melia hotel itself had a lovely beachfront restaurant called Breeza which we eat in most lunchtimes and would thoroughly recommend. But there were lots of other beautiful beachside restaurants along Chong Mon beach and a couple also did light shows which entertained the kids. We also tried out Kirati restaurant and the beachfront restaurant at SALA hotel and enjoyed both meals.
On the last day, we flew home, taking a connecting flight to Bangkok and then onto London Heathrow with EVA Air. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about the long flight before travelling to Thailand, but with the boys being a little bit more grown up now, they have taken it in their stride and especially enjoyed the onboard films and games.
In summary, it’s safe to say, our Thailand Family Adventure has been a big success! We have all had a fabulous time - the boys have learnt lots and have thoroughly enjoyed the ‘soft’ exposure we have given them to a completely different culture. Whilst, myself and my husband have relished revisiting our long haul roots once again.
We are already thinking about what long haul countries we want to visit in 2024 with the kids. And with prices continuing to be fairly steep in Europe, Asia is not only an appealing family holiday option, but also could prove to be a fairly cost effective choice too. What’s not to love?!
If this has tempted you into having your own family long haul adventure, contact me by DM, email on johanna.cumbers@travelcounsellors.com or call on 01277 790 056 to discuss all the possibilities.
