Beautiful Phi Phi  Phi Phi in Thailand is a simply stunning destination and well worth spending a few days chilling in this island paradise.  The Phi Phi Islands are famed for their stunning beauty, soft white sands, towering sea cliffs and swaying palms. True island paradise, spend a few days here relaxing in to the laid back atmosphere. It has a great, chillout vibe so well worth staying a few days.  The smaller island of Koh Phi Phi Leh can be visited for its excellent snorkelling, while the hotels and other facilities are located on the larger Koh Phi Phi Don, with superb seafood and a relaxed vibe, with a variety of local, small bars and restaurants. The islands are within a marine national park to p rotect their natural beauty. Phi Phi combines really well with both Phuket and Krabi as it's only a relatively short speedboat ride away, so it’s easy to spend time in both the main resort and the islands. Including other areas of Thailand such as Bangkok or Chiang Mai i...

We have some great holiday ideas to this amazing part of Thailand -  http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/thailand/elephant_hills_khao_sok_national_park.html Escape Worldwide - Home of Long Haul Holidays http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk

TOP 5 ROMANCE Add a little romance to your life with our top 5 romantic destinations. LIGHT A SKY LANTERN ON THE BEACH IN THAILAND Traditional sky lanterns are launched across Thailand for celebrations and to bring good luck, and there’s no better way to mark a special occasion than to launch your own lantern in to the night sky. Made out of rice paper and a bamboo frame, the lanterns can drift for miles in a breeze before gently returning to the ground once the candle has gone out. The most popular time to launch a sky lantern is during the Loi Krathong festival in November, but lanterns are available in most beach resorts year-round – our suggestion would be to head for Krabi , and watch your lantern rise above a backdrop of island and outcrops of Phang Nga Bay. HOT AIR BALLOON OVER THE MASAI MARA, KENYA A safari is a special travel experience, and a balloon ride over the plains of Africa is truly something else – a real ‘once in a lifetime’ experience when the roma...

As the wedding season approaches, we take a look at some of their most popular destinations for honeymooners. If your idea of the ultimate romantic honeymoon is to be alone with just the love of your life, then look no further than the Maldives . Hundreds of tiny islands scattered across the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is a stunningly beautiful destination where romance comes easily. Lazy days on the beach, beautiful sunsets and understated service are the order of the day here – forget sightseeing and partying! Resorts do vary quite considerably, and as you can’t really leave your island once you’re there its important to get the right one for you. Larger islands tend to offer a range of facilities and more of a village feel, ideal for those who like a little more activity, while some islands are little more than a dot on the horizon, perfect for a real get-away-from-it-all. From the moment you land at the airport, the beauty and romance of the Maldives really does take your breath a...

Thailand is one of our fav destinations, home to fascination culture, scenery, beaches, people and food. Thailand has plenty of island paradises and one of our favourites is Koh Phangan. Christine spent a few days here and loved it!  'I was on a trip around Thailand and spent some time on Thailand east coast. Koh Phangan, just to the north of  Koh Samui , is renowned for its monthly Full Moon parties, but away from the partying there’s a beautiful island that makes a perfect hideaway destination.  Adjacent to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan is reached by boat from her neighbour, taking around 90 minutes in total to travel from the main areas of Koh Samui to the resorts of Koh Phangan. Koh Samui airport has regular flight connections from around Thailand. With over half the Island being a national park there’s plenty to explore with a hilly interior and coastline dotted with fishing villages, plus it’s a great spot for diving too.  Koh Phangan  makes a...

If you are looking for something a little special then how about a stay in a pool villa and nowhere does them better than Thailand. Thailand is home to some of the most luxurious hotels you can find and many offer rooms that not only are stunning but also feature your own private swimming pool. One of Darren’s favourite pool villas can be found the beautiful Evason in the Thailand beach resort of Hua Hin. The resorts of Hua Hin and nearby Cha Am are relaxed alternatives to some of the more commercialised resorts, and offer a more Thai feel – I find this area of Thailand to be perfect for a relaxed stay, without being dull. As they are reached by road from Bangkok they also offer a straightforward and great value option with no domestic flights involved. Hua Hin offers long, sandy beaches, great food (try the night market in the centre of town or the restaurants along the beach – the seafood is fantastic!) and a good range of quality hotels, while Cha Am has a more r...

Bangkok, Siem Reap and Hua Hin  A superb three-centre itinerary combining cities, history and relaxation, taking in vibrant Bangkok, the incredible Temples of Angkor in Cambodia, and relaxing Hua Hin to finish. This is one of our favourite holidays at Escape Worldwide. Mark has been to all three destinations to feel free to give him a call! ITINERARY Day 1 - UK to Bangkok Fly from Heathrow to Bangkok, arriving the following day. Departures from other UK airports are also available, please ask for details. Day 2 - Bangkok On arrival, you’ll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel, the handily located Park Plaza Bangkok Soi 18 for a three night stay. Our holidays to Thailand are extremely flexible so if you’d prefer a shorter or longer stay just ask! Days 3-4 - Bangkok Spend the next few days exploring chaotic Bangkok . Check out the temples, markets, restaurants and nightlife of this wonderful city. Day 5 - Bangkok to Siem Reap Transfer back to ...

A holiday to a great way to relax and spend time with the ones you love or great friends, however, it doesn’t always follow that your loved ones and friends are in the UK! Escape Worldwide can offer holiday packages starting from all over the globe, just the other day Christine arranged an amazing holiday to Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, for two sisters. One sister and her family lived in the UK and the other sister and her family lived in Auckland,  New Zealand, so we arranged a holiday where they all meet up in Bangkok, then onto Phuket before going  home to their respective countries.  All flights, transfers and accommodation arranged for them. The lady was so happy as the sisters and their families hadn’t seen each other for 10 years and Thailand was a perfect location for them to meet up. The world is smaller than ever so feel free to give us a call, 020 8989 0970 or email us at info@escapeworldwide.co.uk if you would like us to help you ...

Karen and Christine was in Thailand in 2015 and whilst in Bangkok they went on a tour with a bit of a difference: On my recent visit to Thailand with Karen we sampled the Tuk Tuk Experience excursion in Bangkok . This was a really fun way of travelling around and as our guide was in the Tuk Tuk with us she pointed out different places of interest that we could go back to at a later date if we wanted to. After meeting at the hotel and introducing ourselves to other people doing the excursion as well we headed off to our first destination, Wat Saket (the Golden Mount). You ascend up the outside of this and upon reaching the top the views over Bangkok are amazing. Your guide will inform you of what you are looking out at and also all the history. You then descend and get back in your Tuk Tuk to your next destination. The next place we stopped was Wat Po. Here you will be able to see the reclining Buddha. Your guide will tell you all the history of this temple like this is t...

Karen was recently in Thailand and headed to the beautiful island of Koh Phangan: Christine and I visited Koh Phangan on a recent visit to Thailand, which also included Bangkok, Koh Samui, Phuket and Khao Lak, so it was a bit of a whirlwind trip! Because of this we had just one night in Koh Phangan, and we definitely could have stayed for an extra couple of nights. We stayed at the Santhiya Resort , which is built into the hillside on the north east coast, and is stunning. From Koh Samui airport to the ferry terminal is only about 15 minutes, and Santhiya’s speedboat only takes around 30 minutes, so from landing into Koh Samui airport at around 09:30 it didn’t take long at all to set to the hotel. As the hotel is built into the hillside it can be quite hard work walking to your room (ours was right at the top of the resort!) but there are little wooden cars to take you around if you’re not feeling particularly energetic! Unless you’re heading for the Full Moon Party Koh Pha...

The Thai island of Koh Samui is a real tropical paradise, with beautiful beaches and a stunning interior, quality hotels, excellent food and cold beer - not surprisingly, it's one of our favourite parts of Thailand! Just off the southern coast of Thailand and around an hours flight from Bangkok is the island of Koh Samui, a relaxed tropical paradise that offers everything from peaceful secluded beaches to late night nightlife, traditional temples to superb shopping, and a host more besides. Koh Samui makes the perfect destination for a beach holiday or can be included in to a multi centre holiday to Thailand or beyond. Around the Island Tour Big Buddha at Big Buddha BeachDiscover the beauty of Samui by exploring the island - there's only one main road so it's very easy! Take in Big Buddha Beach and the nearby Wat Plai Laem, beautiful Na Muang Waterfalls, the famous rocks of Hin Ta and Hin Yai, go elephant trekking in the jungle and finish with sunset on Ang ...

We Love Bangkok! It's our favourite Far East city and we can't get enough of it! We've put together our '48 hours in Bangkok' guide to give you some inspiration too. At Escape Worldwide we travel to Bangkok frequently, to get to know this fast-paced city as well as possible - Darren recently stayed at the Chatrium Riverside Hotel , Mark's favourite is the Dusit Thani while Karen & Christine are planning their next trip for September! DAY 1 - MORNING Start your visit to Bangkok by hopping on the Skytrain and travelling down to Taksin Station on the Silom line - the Skytrain is by far the best way to get around, and an all-day pass will cost you around £2, which is worth it for the air conditioning alone! Temple guardian at the Grand PalaceAt Taksin station, walk towards the river and hop on one of the public boats that ply the waters of the Chao Phraya - it's a great way to see the city from a different angle, and at around 20p for the trip to ...

Honeymoons are always a difficult one, you want something special but at the same time you don’t want to totally blow your budget, you have after all you probably had to shell out a small fortune on the wedding! One of our favourite and good value honeymoon options is Thailand . Thailand has so much to offer from the shopping paradise and fun of Bangkok to some of the most amazing beaches you’re likely to see. Also Thailand has some amazing value for money hotels, including some great options with Pool Villas. I’d suggest spending 3 or 4 nights in Bangkok – it’s quite a hectic place so you need a few days just to take in the main sites. There’s loads to see and do in Bangkok, and I find it handy to stay near the Skytrain monorail network to make getting around easy. Areas such as Silom and Sukhumvit are popular for their mix of shopping, great food and easy links to the rest of the city – try MBK centre for bargain electronics, or my favourite Platinum Mall for great clothes ...

Krabi is one of our favourite parts of Thailand and is an area we've visited a number of times - we'd love to share our passion for Krabi with you! WELCOME TO KRABI The relaxed beach resort of Krabi is set in some of Thailand's most   impressive scenery , overlooking beautiful Phang-Nga Bay in the south of the country. As Thai beach resorts go it's fairly small and laid-back, making it a great option for those wanting to   chill out on holiday , rather than partying all night. The main beach area is at Ao Nang, a few minutes from Krabi town itself, and here you'll find a good selection of hotels, a number of bars and restaurants - including some of the   best seafood  you'll find in Thailand - and a relaxed atmosphere. GETTING TO KRABI   Most of Krabi's beach hotels can be reached in around half an hour from the airport, which has direct flights from Bangkok for an easy   Bangkok and Krabi twin centre holiday , and also Koh Samui. Phuket airp...

Karen just got back from a superb trip to Thailand, taking in city, countryside and beach in a three-centre trip - Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin. Today, back in the office, she's full of tales about riding elephants, learning Thai cookery, visiting floating markets and singing karaoke (there was quite a lot of Singha beer involved!) so we thought we'd bring you some of her highlights from her trip, plus details of how you can do the exact same trip too (the karaoke is optional!) Bangkok "My trip started in Bangkok, which is a place I've been to a few times before, but there's always so much to see and do - it would be hard for me to visit Thailand and not have at least a few days in Bangkok! I spent a full day exploring the city , travelling by skytrain, tuk tuk and boat to take in places that I hadn't been to before - the flower markets in Chinatown, the beautiful teak house of the famous silk entrepreneur Jim Thompson, and the fabulo...

  Mark has just got back from Bangkok and whilst there he visited the new Centara Watergate Pavillion:   Having been to Bangkok a fair few times and having seen plenty of hotels I was keen to see Centara Hotels and Resorts new offering and I have to say was pleasantly surprised by the Centara Watergate Pavillon .     The hotel is well located, close to Pratunam Market and a short walk to the Central World shopping mall, one of the largest in Bangkok .   Arriving at the hotel, the reception is located on the 9th floor which I have to say give it an exclusive feel. The lobby was large, bright and welcoming with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the water features and main restaurant.       I was welcomed by the friendly reception and met the marketing manager for my look around. Firstly we were taken to the impressive Spa, which has a good number of treatment rooms and also seemed to be very well priced for a city hotel...

Thailand is one of the most beautiful, charming and diverse countries you can visit. It's also one of Asia's best-value holiday destinations, says Mark Haughton of Wanstead travel agent Escape Worldwide. Thailand's diversity makes it a fascinating place to visit, where you can take in ancient temples and modern cities, deserted beaches and non-stop nightlife, stunning countryside and plenty more – all in one trip. Holidays to Thailand are very flexible, so it's not just a two-weeks-on-the-beach kind of place, you can do as much – or as little – as you wish. Most visitors start their Thai adventure in Bangkok, the capital and by far the largest city, with the best flight connections from the UK. It's a hectic place with lots to experience – there's everything from ancient temples and grand palaces to vibrant markets and lively bars, and while it's a full-on city that's not to everyone's taste, it's an easy place to fall in love with. It...

Darren talks about one of his fav places.... Bangkok..Thailand Thailand is probably my favourite country of all those I've visited, and it's one I've been to the most - I went twice this year alone, taking in the beach resorts of Phuket and Koh Samui , plus spending a few days on Bangkok , one of my favourite cities anywhere! This time I stayed at the Rembrandt Hotel , which is really well located for zipping around Bangkok on the skytrain, the monorail network that keeps moving when the City's terrible traffic grinds to a halt. The best thing I find is to get a day pass for the skytrain that costs 100 Baht (about £2) which lets you travel all day - it's easier than getting a ticket each trip! The Rembrandt Hotel has a superb Indian restaurant on the top floor, and dining here comes with a spectacular view across Bangkok - the food's pretty good too! On this trip I did a bit of sightseeing in Bangkok and went back to the Grand Pa...