Discover Bangkok: Thailand’s City of Contrasts Bangkok in Thailand is a city that never fails to surprise. Known as the “City of Angels,” Thailand’s capital is a vibrant mix of tradition and modernity, where golden temples sit alongside futuristic skyscrapers, and bustling street markets thrive just steps away from luxury shopping malls. Whether you’re visiting for a short stopover or planning a longer stay, Bangkok offers an unforgettable experience for every type of traveller. Temples & Traditions No trip to Bangkok is complete without exploring its dazzling temples. The  Grand Palace  and  Wat Phra Kaew  (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) are must-sees, showcasing Thailand’s rich history and intricate craftsmanship. Nearby,  Wat Pho  is home to the famous Reclining Buddha and is also the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. For a riverside experience, take a boat across the Chao Phraya River to  Wat Arun , the Temple of Dawn, which glitters beau...

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

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...

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 ...

As the wedding season approaches, Escape Worldwide takes 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 ...

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! Stunning beaches of Koh Samui, Thailand WELCOME TO KOH SAMUI 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 Discover 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, ...

We're celebrating our 10th birthday at  Escape Worldwide , and looking back at 10 years of globetrotting in the name of bringing you great holidays - at least that's our excuse! We're having a look at our personal top 10 favourite travel experiences of the last 10 years. Natalie picks up a bargain - or three!  "This was my first visit to  Bangkok , and as an experienced shopper and bargain-hunter back home I was pleased to see that there were tons of shops and lots of shopping to be done - I am a self confessed handbag addict and was pleased to see that there was plenty on offer! Before shopping comes sightseeing, and I started at the Grand Palace, a real 'must see' for anyone visiting Bangkok. The palace is a series of palace buildings and temples, and is very much in use - it dates back over 300 years and although the current King doesn't live here, the palace is still used for official events, and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha i...

Unfortunately not, there aren’t any direct flights to Bangkok from Manchester. Direct services to Bangkok are only from Heathrow with Thai Airways, British Airways, Qantas and Eva Air. There are a few easy indirect options for example with Emirates, which is a world class airline and would fly direct from Manchester to Dubai and then you would change aircraft for an onward direct flight to Bangkok. You can even fly on the new double decker A380 aircraft on the Manchester / Dubai leg, which I loved when I flew on the A380. You can do a similar thing with the likes of Etihad Airways, which would go via Abu Dhabi and Qatar Airways which would go via Doha. There are also options with Air France or KLM going via Paris or Amsterdam. Escape Worldwide - Home of Long Haul Holidays http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk

Whenever we visit a destination we always like to explore local places to eat & drink, so when Darren & Mark were in Hua Hin , they turned this in to a ‘pub crawl’ of the town centre! “Hua Hin is a great place for trying local Thai food, and combined with a good selection of places for a cool beer, it makes an ideal pub crawl location – everything in the town centre is fairly close together, so it’s easy to try various locations without having to walk too far! We started at the Hilton Hua Hin, one of our favourite hotels in the town as it’s so handy for the beach and the town’s restaurants and bars, yet still maintains a lovely atmosphere. The bar at the front of the hotel is a great place for a spot of people-watching, and we started the day with a Tiger beer – they also have a range of Thai beers, but Tiger seemed like a good starting point! From here we headed along to where the fishing boats drop their catch off, which to be honest didn’t smell particularly pleasant, ...

Hi All, So it's now getting darkers in the evenings, the rain has come, it's getting colder.....time for a holiday! This week Escape Worldwide  has some great value holiday  ideas to Thailand , one of our favorite places! Check them out: http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/newsletter/offers/Sep10d2.html Our bargain of the week is a 10 night holiday to Pattaya  staying 10 nights on a room only basis at the 3* Loma Resort & Spa for only £569 per person! Or 10 nights staying in Cha Am  at the 4* Holiday Inn for only £615 per person.....what a cheap way to get some sun! How about a bit of luxury, we have a great holiday to Hua Hin  staying at the lovely 4*+ Evason Hua Hin  but what makes this so special is for just £799 per person you can stay for 7 night on a bed and breakfast basis in one of they stunning Pool Villa , image spend a week in luxury with your own plunge pool! I've stayed in one of the Pool Villas at the Evason and they are simply stun...

Hi fellow travellers, Another week and another newsletter: http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/newsletter/offers/Aug10b2.html This week have some great value options to Thailand , Goa , Sri Lanka  and Dubai . The Thailand  triple centre has to be my favourite. Bangkok , Hua Hin  and Pattaya . This holidays is a great introduction to Thailand and at a great price, only £849 per person for a 15 night holiday ! Though the offer we have to Sri Lanka  is blinding, only £669 per person for 8 nights staying at the 4* Kani Lanka , this offer cannot be missed! We have plenty of other great holiday  idea, so why not shopt by: http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/ Happy travelling Darren Escape Worldwide Home of great long-haul holidays

Hi all, Yep Thailand is getting there, back on it’s feet and our newsletter this week is focusing on this fantastic country. Check out our this weeks newsletter: http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/newsletter/special/Thaijun10b.html We have some great holiday ideas including some single centre options including Phuket , Khao Lak and Cha Am . Also great twin-centre options including bonkers Bangkok. Check out our triple centres too! Also to celebrate the return of Holidays to Thailand , Escape Worldwide has a thai evening! Check out the recipe of the simply amazing Thai Curry we had! Happy Holidays! Darren Escape Worldwide

Thailand is slowly getting back on it's feet which is great news and the place is simply stunning and should not be missed! OK at the moment you can't go to Bangkok but that doesn't mean you can't head to one of the stunning beach resort. I took this picture when I was in Krabi and as you can see it's is simply stunning! You deserve a holiday to head to Thailand! Happy Travelling Darren Escape Worldwide

Hi fellow travellers, We have a bit of a Thailand week this week! Check out some of the great special offers we have: http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/newsletter/offers/Jan10a2.html My particular favorite is the Evason Hotel in Hua Hin in one of their Pool Villas. I stayed here last year and the hotels is simply beautiful and the pool villas are pretty special. It was brilliant waking up to the sunshine and then straight into my own private pool for a dip before room service delivered the breakfast....bliss! Thailand is such a FAB place.... check out some of the other great place that you can visit: http://www.thaiescapes.co.uk . Thailand not for you, then check out the other great places we feature and have also visited: http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk Happy travelling! Darren