Many first time visitors to Thailand choose to get there either on one of the countless package tours advertised or by telling a travel agency what they want and leaving details such as airline and hotel choice up to them. What they are offered may seem to be such a bargain that they’ll accept it even if it means spending a few nights somewhere they hadn’t originally planned to.

Would you do this if you knew that by booking the items separately yourself, you'd not only be able to choose exactly what you want but also pay less? Well you can and, provided you know which websites to visit, it only takes about ten minutes to do it online.

There's no big secret but you do need to know what you are looking for, where to find it and what to avoid. The travel tips offered here come from years of travelling half way round the world to Thailand and will show you how to make the trip as cheaply as the frequent visitors do. There's also some suggestions that might help you to avoid some of the bad experiences that can befall those who are new to long distance travel or maybe just new to The Land of Smiles.