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Home » Reader question » Reader question: To book hotels in advance or not?
Reader question: To book hotels in advance or not?
Dear readers,
We are going to Thailand on August 17 and will stay there for 4 weeks. Our first trip to Thailand. We would like to go to Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai, Krabi, KoH Phi Phi. Is that feasible?
My question is do we have to book the hotels before then? What is most beneficial for us?
There are several answers on the internet that we can't figure it out.
Yours faithfully,
Daphne
Dear Daphne,
I would skip Chiang Mai………….then you have more time and rest for your other choices. Then next year you will have time for the north and northwest. The following year the Isaan and the islands in the east, towards Cambodia. Have fun.
I would definitely not skip Chiang Mai! It is a very nice relatively quiet city compared to Bangkok, there are many beautiful temples and it is very nice to book a day trip to the area at your hotel in which you can do a lot of fun things, including an elephant tour / show, rafting, butterfly farm lying under a waterfall, possibly. visit another Karen village. You can choose to go there by plane or (night) train (train tickets can only be booked in Thailand (take with air conditioning)). have fun.
What you are going to do in Thailand is quite doable. A nice trip for 4 weeks. We have never booked a hotel for 27 years now. There are plenty of hotels and you can go whenever you want, for example it can rain for days and then I leave again and for example Krabi is so beautiful then you stay there a little longer.
everything is feasible and of course you don't have to book hotels in advance if you like adventure. I regularly see people looking for a hotel here in Hua Hin. Dragging their suitcases through a warm country. It's just what you want!
Nice trip for 4 weeks, is quite doable. I usually book hotels in advance, look at hotels2thailand or booking.com and always email the hotel itself because they sometimes have special offers that are cheaper. Often you can also book a hotel which you can still cancel. When you arrive there and you don't like it, you cancel, you just look around, check the price with booking.com and on their site and you also ask the reception for a price, ok some work but you can save a lot. Safe journey
Booking a hotel via booking.com agoda etc etc is (very) often more than 30% cheaper.
You can also simply ask the price at the hotel and then look at your tablet and then book the cheapest one. Only once have I experienced that a hotel did not like that (you can guess why), but in general they understand that very well.
But just visit the hotel and book that was finally. At the hotel they have special (more expensive) prices for tourists who just pass by.
Of course there are very occasional exceptions. But there is nothing against comparing the prices with a tablet in the lobby.
And then first ask if you can have the WIFI codes…
Haha.
Have already looked up hotels a few times through various sites. But when I walked in without a reservation, the prices were always lower.
So just don't book anything. don't believe stories about almost full.
Have fun!!!
The 'walk-in' prices are higher at one hotel (usually the more expensive ones) than on the booking sites.
I once saw someone go completely crazy at the Sky Baiyoke Hotel in Bangkok because his reservation didn't go through, and he was now charged more than ฿ 7000 per night instead of ฿ 4000.
But for example at the R-con Blue Ocean Hotel in Soi Buakao in Pattaya I now see a special offer price on hotels.com of €40 for €24, but if you just walk in you can get it for ฿690 per day, ฿5990 per ten days, or 10.990 per month (most expensive €18 per day, cheapest €9.52 per day).
Especially outside the high season you can see where you would like to sit and then send the hotel an email if they want to make you an interesting offer for a certain number of days, for example 30% below the prices you see on the booking sites.
I did yesterday too, I had suggested 1000 baht per day as a gesture instead of 1280.
Received an email back within two hours that of course they couldn't start on that. But for 1100 I was welcome. Then crossed the street and walked in. 🙂
Dear Daphne,
The west coast is often rainy, it may be wiser to choose the east coast, Samui, Phangan and/or Tao.
If you want the nicest house or the best room, beachfront, you have to book, otherwise they are simply fully booked. Good luck and wish you lots of fun.
In 2014 we visited Bangkok – Phuket – Krabi – Pattaya from mid-May to the end of June. Booked the hotel in Bangkok here in the Netherlands, just like our flight to Phuket and a hotel on Phuket for a few nights. From Phuket we booked the boat trip to Krabi and at that time booked a hotel in Krabi via the internet for a few nights. In Krabi we extended that hotel on site. When we decided to book a ticket back to Bangkok, we also booked a hotel in Pattaya.
Once you are on the road, your trip will also take shape more and you can easily book something online a day or two in advance. This way you are still flexible, but you do not have to search for a hotel with your luggage.
In the high season (November / December) I do book everything in advance, but then we always know our destination at the time the flight tickets are booked.
Before, when I traveled alone, I never booked a hotel in advance. But then you didn't have internet either. Now with sites like Agoda, booking.com and more, it's easier to spend a few hours at home than, as ko points out, drag your bags and go looking. I think you save a lot of time and sometimes money by doing it in your easy chair at home.
Now when I go somewhere (for example Bangkok) I use the internet to find a hotel that is close to where I need to be. It's so easy. By the way, if you have internet, you can even do it when you arrive in Thailand. A few weeks ago we arrived from Bali in the evening and although we had booked a hotel, it turned out that we did not want to spend the night there because our plans had changed. I canceled the booking via the internet and booked another hotel. An hour later we were already in the new booked hotel. We could have just gone there, but that hotel was cheaper when you booked it.
So… you don't have to book all the hotels right away. Make sure you have something for the first night and then you can book the next hotel depending on your destination.
I often book in advance because of the convenience and I can also look forward to going to a super deluxe hotel in advance. But I usually go on holiday in Thailand to relax and not travel like many others do. I think that's a big difference in approach. I also once celebrated the King's birthday in Hua Hin and then I regularly saw no being sold at the reception. That regularly caused some tension among the couples. It depends what kind of person you are. Do you not want to arrange anything and or do you not want to be under stress during your trip or holiday, or do you whistle with a smile to the next hotel.
The travel program seems to me too much in too short a time .
For that reason, I would also book hotels when you are on the road (which is very easy with a tablet), so that you have more freedom of movement. I would determine the arrival/departure hotel
You can book one or two days in advance via bekings sites. I would book directly with a hotel if you are not sure whether you are “going to make it”, whereby you must agree with the relevant hotel.
I regularly go to Thgailand twice a year. I have often booked hotels before and usually with disappointments. On the brochure they show the hotel 2 years ago with a fisheye lens. So the hotel looks much nicer and bigger. My advice: book it hotel for 30 days. If you like it, you can always book more. There are enough hotels and so you can judge whether it is calm at night and no construction sites are working in the area, because they also build there at night. There are plenty of hotels and negotiating the price can also be beneficial. For example, you can also encounter Russians and Chinese in the hotel and they are not so quiet. Good luck.
I totally agree with this advice!
4 weeks is also enough time to visit everything you want. Booking all hotels in advance is certainly not recommended. Firstly, this is not necessary during this period, secondly, you are stuck with a fixed travel schedule. And you like it here and would like to stay a little longer, and you don't like it there and you want to leave earlier. And that's not possible if you've already booked everything.
So: book the first few days and the last few days. And not in between.
Furthermore, I booked once with Expedia for India and once with Agoda for Thailand and both times the hotel in question knew nothing about my booking, and a room for that price was impossible. So if I ever book, it will be directly with the hotel.
If you are looking for a resort in Kanchanaburi where you will certainly not be disappointed, I would go to the oriental kwai resort. Hospitable people, beautiful and extremely clean bungalows. Excellent service and delicious food.
It is not for nothing that it has been number 1 on TripAdvisor for years
Do not try to book through agoda or booking.com, but at the hotel itself. The websites are often up to 50% more expensive. You can often book cheaper via the internet. and often one also has to pay booking costs. The advertisements must also be paid from those booking websites
Can you perhaps give me an example of this, I have only had positive experiences with booking.com so far, and worldwide, I am going to Thailand for 3 months at the beginning of October and start in Bangkok, because I do not believe that it is cheaper directly booking in the hotel and with booking never add booking costs, usually even pay on arrival first and possibility to cancel free of charge. Thanks in advance.
I am now in a hotel through booking.com. $105 per night. Now I had booked for 2 weeks. I've been here for a month now. The two weeks that I extended myself without booking.com are $90 per night.
The reverse is also sometimes true I have experienced in Dubai. In short, always ask the price through multiple channels.
Well, don't exaggerate, Monte, with your 'often 50% more expensive'. That is utter nonsense.
Sorry, but my experience is different. I have already been able to book twice cheaper at an online site than at the hotel itself. At the reception I was even recommended to book through the site. If you are in Thailand you can also call the hotel in advance and ask. You can do this at home with Skype, for example. Then you can compare better. I also stayed in a hotel where you got a better price at the reception. It is different at every hotel.
i regularly visit khon kean, kalasin and Roi et en bangkok. I often compare the hotels via the websites and it happens that I pay up to 50% less. How is it possible that they give a 50% discount from one day to the next? on the agoda and bookings.com websites. That is very strange. Kgo to the Netherlands via the local tourist office, the hotels are much cheaper. i needed 3 which i could book through the tourist office for 39 euros while through the booking website they cost 98.
i don't want right.. i look look look and call the hotel and then book the cheapest price and if it is then agoda or bookings. com is ok and believe me it is often much cheaper than the websites. Those websites employ staff who also have to be paid.
Monte, as many say, what you are saying here is incorrect. Assuming that you too are an honest person, I find it strange. I myself want to help people by sharing my experiences to book a hotel cheaply and you tell the opposite.
Even super extreme with 50% more expensive you say Can you give 1 example?
But good for all compare the price of the hotel with on the internet.
what you want to do is perfectly doable in 4 weeks so don't miss Chiang mai
what I usually do is book my hotel upon arrival, in your case Bkk (Lamphu tree hotel is recommended) 2 or 3 nights and then book your hotel for the next destination the day before you leave if you want to save time, domestic flights are cheap 1000 to 15000 bht to chiang mai I would go to chiang mai after Bkk (4 to 5 nights and definitely do it, can be done as a day trip to Chiang Rai (White Temple – Black temple)
fly back to Bkk then to Kanchanaburi (3 nights) and then to
Ao Nang – Krabi and from here a day trip to Koh Phi Phi – spending the night on Koh Phi Phi is expensive and not worth it, especially beautiful from Ao Nang to raley beach
Of course if you want specific hotels you have to book in advance, e.g. Lamphu tree in Bkk is usually sold out 2 to 3 months in advance, I don't know your budget but count on 1000 to 1500 bht if you want air conditioning and a bit of luxury
What we usually do is just book the hotels in advance via booking.com. But pay attention to the reservation conditions. With some hotels you have to pay part of it after you have booked! There are more than enough hotels where you only have to nap on the spot. pay. And note that you can cancel for free if you want to change the itinerary
Book the first one or two nights in Bangkok, the rest can be arranged on site. If you like the hustle and bustle of Khao San Road, Rambuttri Village Inn is a must. Just not in the hustle and bustle, but a few minutes walk from it. Great rooms for a good price. And lovely roof terrace with swimming pool.
When we went to Chiang Mai we often booked 1 night. Then when you arrive you immediately have a place where you can go. And just in front of the hotel is a great travel agency where you can then arrange the night train to Chiang Mai. You can store stuff in a locked room so that you can still go into the city during the day and pick up your stuff just before you head for the station.
Back home we usually also sit in Rambuttri and then just keep the room and write before we go to the airport. Then you can freshen up after such a last day of shopping, etc.
There is always a hotel available, so booking in advance is not necessary. If you want a specific hotel, there is a chance that it is fully booked. We have been going to Kanchanaburi for years and always book the Oriental Kwai resort. Truly one of the most beautiful resorts in Thailand.
I have a very bad experience with Booking.com, I am single and they booked me in a hotel, the word hotel is an insult, it was in Pattay, the door of the hotel room was a few planks, which was just closing I have felt very unsafe there, I am now just going back to safe Bali.