Bali and Thiland via Japan - need help!?

Question

Hello my husband and I are going to Tokyo, Japan in August for business and would like to continue on to Bali and Thailand for a 10-14 days after Tokyo for a vacation. Has anyone done this before? Is it fairly easy to go to both destinations via Japan or should we concentrate on only one? We would like to see as much as possible, as we have never been to Asia and will most likely not be going back for a long time due to the long flights and work. Can anyone suggest an itinerary for us? We would like to go to the beach, as well as see the sights. I’ve heard the east coast of Thailand is drier in Aug....but I hear the west coast is prettier...Bali is in their dry season in August. But a little rain won’t scare us away. We will be flying in and out of Japan to the U.S. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Help!!!! Thanks.

Answer 1

I suggest the following:
Day 1 Fly to Bali. Tour Ubud. View the wonderful arts and crafts of Bali with a spectacular barong and kris dance. Continue to the artisan villages of Celuk, Mas and Ubud known as the center of Balinese gold, silver, wood carving and painting. Enjoy a dinner cruise around Benoa harbor. Or just relax and do some shopping.

DAY 2, Tour the Royal Temple, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot. Travel to the outskirts of Denpasar, Bali's Capital, to visit a Batik center. Continue to the village of Mengwi to visit the 17th century Taman Ayun Temple, a legacy of its glorious kingdom's era. Visit the nearby sacred monkey forest of Alas Kedaton. End with a spectacular sunset at Tanah Lot Temple.

DAY 3, Spend a tropical evening a la Balinese. Enjoy a short, pleasant ride along the hills of Bali's southern peninsula. This area, known as Bukit, offers a landscape and topography unequaled by any other regions of the island. At the very end of this peninsula, perched on a sheer cliff, is the highly venerated Uluwatu Temple. Enjoy a performance of the Ramayana Kecak dance with the majestic temple and sunset as its background.

DAY 4, Transfer to the airport for your flight to Thailand.

DAY 5, Do some shopping in Bangkok or enjoy a half day city and temples tour. Visit the three of Bangkok's most unusual Buddhist temples: Wat Traimit, Wat Po and Wat Benchamabophit. Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha) boasts the world's largest solid-gold Buddha, believed to be cast over nine centuries ago. The seated statue is nearly 10 feet high, weighing 5.5 tons, and carved in the ancient Sukhothai style. Interestingly, when the Burmese were en route to sack Ayutthaya, the Buddha was enveloped in plaster to conceal its worth, a disguise which held strong for two centuries until a monk accidentally discovered it in 1957. Passing through Chinatown, your next stop is Wat Po (Temple of the Reclining Buddha), the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok. Surpassing the Wat Traimit Buddha in size, Wat Po's Reclining Buddha is 150 feet long and 49 feet high, and designed to illustrate the Buddha's passing into Nirvana. Continue to Wat Benchamabophit (The Marble Temple) to view the "Phra Buddhajinaraja" (Bronze Buddha), beneath which lies the ashes of King Rama V. See the Temple's Ubosot Hall or Ordination Hall, erected from Italian Carrara marble in the European Neoclassical style. This evening, enjoy an dinner with Thai music and dance.

DAY 6, Enjoy a day tour to the Floating Market and Rose Garden Country Resort. Begin at the colorful floating market of Damnoen Saduak. Here you will witness boat-to-boat bartering unlike any you've seen as hundreds of agricultural vendors float side-by-side, buying, selling, or exchanging a variety of goods. Have lunch at the beautiful Rose Garden Country Resort, and follow with the highly entertaining Thai Village Cultural Show. Relax, as more than 150 performers vividly portray a fascinating cross-section of Thailand’s cultural heritage. This 60-minute, action-packed show features exciting displays of Thai martial arts, Thai boxing, and sword fighting skills that date back over 600 years. Also included are the romantic rituals of the traditional Thai wedding ceremony, the rich pageantry of Buat Naag (the ceremony of ordination into Buddhist monkhood), hilltribe dances, and Thai elephants on the move. Or just relax and do more shopping.

DAY 7, This morning, transfer to the airport for your flight to Chiang Mai, the largest and foremost cultural city in Northern Thailand. In the evening, delight in a Kantoke dinner with traditional dances from Northern Thailand. As guests of this unique event, you will be seated on the floor, as is customary, and enjoy acted scenes depicting the local culture as you dine. After dinner, villagers from various hilltribes will perform an exciting array of cultural dances, including the Fon Lep (Fingers Dance), Sword Dance, Fon Thien (Candle Dance), and Ramwong, in which all guests are invited to participate.

DAY 8, Enjoy a half day Doi Suthep and Temples Tour, including a visit to the Chiang Mai handicraft villages. Begin the tour with a visit to Wat Phrathad Doi Suthep, erected in 1384 A.D. Located 3500 feet above sea level, Wat Phrathad Doi Suthep is Northern Thailand's most sacred temple, containing a holy relic of Lord Buddha and a copper-plated chedi topped by a tiered-gold parasol in its interior cloister. Equally impressive is the mythological Naga (Dragon-headed serpent) staircase, consisting of 290 steps leading up to the temple grounds. You may choose to ascend the sacred steps on-foot or take a tram to the top. Afterwards, visit Wat Phra Singh, home to the beautifully ornate Lai Kham Chapel. From here, the tour continues to visit the handicraft villages of Chiang Mai. Here you will see the spinning and weaving techniques of Thai Silk merchants, Bo-Sang paper umbrella makers, and the high-fired stoneware, lacquerware and silverware of the Celadon Kilns.

DAY 9, Tour the Mae Sa Elephant Camp and Orchid Farm. Travel northwest along the Mae Sa Valley, with its scenic botanical gardens and ten-tiered waterfalls, to visit the Mae Sa Elephant Training Camp. Here you will see elephants bathing in the running streams or demonstrating their daily feats of skill and strength in a show with music and dance, a soccer match, or an abstract painting demonstration. Even more impressive is the Camp's goal to protect the endangered Thai Elephant by controlled breeding, a program which has flourished since its establishing in 1995. At an additional charge, you may choose to ride on the back of a Thai Elephant, making for a truly memorable experience. Enjoy time at leisure to walk the exhibition greenhouses, gardens and nature trails, or, should you choose, participate in educational activities at the Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden. Continue to visit the Meo Hilltribe village to observe the daily life of the Meo tribesmen. After a traditional Thai lunch in a local restaurant nearby, conclude the day with a visit to the Orchid Nursery and Butterfly Farm, home to more than 50 species of mountain orchid.

DAY 10, Join a full day tour of Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle, including lunch. Depart for Chiang Rai by country road, crossing mountainous lands and lush valleys en route. Enjoy a short stop at Wiang Pa Pao, one of the most famous Hot Spring regions in Thailand. Continue to the bustling trading town of Mae Sai. Here you'll have time to shop for local handicrafts before a typical Thai-style lunch at a restaurant nearby. After lunch, the tour continues to visit the famed Golden Triangle where the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos convene. From here, you'll visit the ancient fortified city of Chiang Saen, the former capital of the first Thai Lanna Kingdom, situated on the banks of the Mekong River. Return to Chiang Mai in the evening.

DAY 11, Transfer to the airport for your flight to Phuket. Upon arrival, enjoy a half day tour of Phuket, Asia's most popular holiday retreat. Visit the 100-year-old Sino-Portuguese buildings along the roads of Dibuk and Thalang, before continuing south to visit the Gypsy village at Rawai Beach. From here, visit Chalong Temple, the largest and most beautifully ornamented Buddhist temple in Phuket. The temple is dedicated to 2 monks, Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang, who used their knowledge of herbal medicine to aid the injured Chinese tin miner's of the 1876 rebellion. Proceed to Phromthep Cape, the southern most point of Thailand, and admire spectacular views of Koh Kaew Yai Island and the Andaman Sea. After the tour, transfer to your hotel and enjoy the balance of the day at leisure.

DAY 12, Join a full day Phang Nga Bay and Lawa Island tour. This full day excursion takes you to the Phang Nga Bay, one of the most unusual and beautiful coastal locations in the world. Travel by cruiser through the mangrove jungles and limestone peaks, where cliff faces rise vertically from the sea. Visit Koh Ping Kan, the island made famous by the James Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun. In the afternoon, visit Koh Pannyi Sea Gypsy Island for lunch. This remarkable village is built over the water on wooden stilts, and is guarded by a giant rock monolith. After exploring the village, cruise to Lawa Island to relax on its white-sand beach.

DAY 13, Join a full day tour to the Phi Phi Islands. Departing from the pier by speedboat, travel first to Monkey Beach for sightseeing and a relaxing swim. The tour continues to the island of Phi Phi Ley where you will discover the beautiful scenery of Maya Bay, the site where the movie The Beach was partially filmed. Here you will have time for snorkeling in the refreshing waters of the Bay. Afterwards, continue to Lho Sa Mah Bay and Pi Leh Cove before arriving at Viking Cave. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant nearby and time at leisure to walk along the beach or sunbathe before continuing to Bamboo Island. Afterwards, stop at Khai Nai Island for the chance to swim, snorkel, or simply relax on the beach before returning to the pier. Transfer to your hotel.

DAY 14, Enjoy a full day exploring Phuket on your own

DAY 15, Transfer to the airport for your departure flight

Answer 2

Hi there

I live in Thailand and been to Japan and Bali recently. It's around 6 hours flying from Tokyo to Bangkok - and then another hour's domestic flight to get to Phuket or Samui. In August it's monsoon season on the west coast of Thailand so you can expect a fair bit of rain and some pretty rough seas - personally I think you'd get better weather on the Gulf of Thailand around Samui and Phangan. Koh Tao is also good if you scuba dive and is also a bit more remote.

From Thailand to Bali is another 4 hour flight - you can go direct from Bangkok to Bali with Thai Airways. Not sure what the weather etc will be like but go if you can - it is stunningly beautiful, especially up in the north east of the island around Tulamben

So in short, yes, you could do your trip pretty easily - a week in Thailand and a week in Bali would work well.

Have fun!

Answer 3

Could you add to your description. What would you like to do in Bali and Thailand? 3-5 days in Bali will give you plenty of time to relax at one of the resorts and see a few sights. They're plenty of inexpensive tour options in Bali.

Thailand is full of wonders. Each part of the country has its own feel and vibe: the North, the East (Isan), the South, and Bangkok.
Air travel in Thailand is inexpensive, so you could get a sampling of different areas.

Answer 4

Hi there,

u can basically travel from tokyo to bangkok using thai airways or air japan.Its gonna take u 6 hours. from bangkok u can go to pattaya.( 2hours drive or by bus) or else just enjoy 2-3 day hustle and bustle of bangkok city.

from bangkok u can fly to phuket using air asia. this is a budget airlines.( If budget is your concern!!.) If not then use normal airlines. once arrives in Phuket u can enjoy beatiful beaches of thailand. People said Phuket is among the most beautiful beaches in the world. But doubt it. check also pangan and koh samui! for me is more beautiful

from phuket, if im not mistaken u cant fly directly to Bali. then fly to kuala lumpur in malaysia and then take flight to bali. from Phuket to KL gonna take u 1 and the half hour. KL - Bali 3 hours.

check the schedule in www.airasia.com.

Kuala Lumpur is the capital of malaysia. Or else u can add another destination that is Langkawi island in malaysia. Air asia now fly directly from phuket to langkawi. Langkawi is famous for its golden sandy beaches and warm water and friendly people.

place to visit in Langkawi- Kuah, Beras terbakar, Cenang Beach, marina, Cable car, Padang Mat Sirat

Once arrived in bali, i suggest u guys to stay in Kuta Beach. Kuta is the heart of Bali. The main town in Bali. all the hotel also located near the beach.

intresting places in bali- Kuta, uluwatu, Ubud, Sukawati Market, Tanah Lot.

u can check all this intresting places in internet. just type the name!! enjoy your trip!!

Answer 5

if you want cheap then dont use a travel agent. go online and just look for cheap flights. travel agents are a rip off!