As I’ve mentioned, planning your first week is the way forward. And the way I went about this, was to book a tour for my first week in Thailand.
Booking ThaIntro was the best decision I made when planning my trip. I was picked up from the airport, made a whole bunch of friends on my first night, had my accommodation and transport sorted and learned a lot about the country, possible places to visit after the tour and generally how to be a backpacker!
I also got some amazing experiences out of that week – explored the temples of Bangkok, visited the amazing floating bungalows in Khao Sok, rode an elephant, went to beach parties, as well as half moon party, and after the tour ended, went on to Koh Tao with everyone. Well, you can see how much fun I had –
The best thing I got of the tour was a travel buddy for Southeast Asia and later Australia, and a life long BFF. Wow how cute am I! But really you can’t ask for more from a tour can you?
You also get a lot of information about Thai culture as well as how to go about getting a ferry to another island, booking an overnight bus or getting visas for other countries. Information that’s hard to get from a book and feels a lot more relevant when you’re there.
And the price is pretty affordable. I think the main thing that puts people off of tours is that you can do it all on your own, much cheaper. I’m not sure how prices have changed since last year but at the time it worked out £100 more expensive than doing it yourself. And for that extra hundred, you’re getting that peace of mind, some great experiences and brand new friends. I think it’s worth it.
I know this sounds like a weird plug to book this tour but I just had the best time and really recommend it. I did a lot of research before my trip and I know others say the same.
So what are you waiting for?
I looked at doing the Thai Intro course and was a bit gutted that it came to about £400, about £250 off a months budget, just for one week?! after reading your post it has made me consider it a bit more but I dont think I could justify spending all that for one week. Still uhmming and ahhhing…..