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12 Day itinerary in Thailand, Asia

Thailand Classic

Embark to a 11 days trip in Thailand with all the highlights you expect for a first time travelling here. Start in Bangkok with a boat ride on the "Klongs" and visit Chinatown, later you travel to Chiang Mai where you join a cooking class and drive your own TukTuk. You finish your trip on the beach... Read More

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Thao

By Thao

Overview

Physical Difficulty

Easy
help_outline

Recommended Age

Everyone

Operated in

English

GUIDANCE

On Some Day Trips

starting point

Bangkok

trip type

Private

trip attributes

Visit markets

Meet local people

Rural home stays

Indigenous culture

Culture & Arts

Food & Drink

Start

Night

End

Highlights

1

Bangkok with a boat ride on the "Klongs" and some delicious street-food in Chinatown

2

Chiang Mai with a cooking class and drive your own TukTuk in the countryside

3

Enjoy the famous beaches of Phuket

4

Night train ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Itinerary

Mid-Range Accommodation expand_more

Day 1

place Airport Transfer

Upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport, (Bangkok International Airport), a driver is bearing a signboard with your name on it will be waiting for you in the guide pick up area located at the arrival gate B or C on your left-hand side as you walk out of the arrival hall. Private transfer to your hotel in Bangkok. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Nouvo City Hotel - โรงแรมนูโว ซิตี
Day 2

place Backwaters of Bangkok - Boat ride on the "Klongs"

Meet at Chamberlain Hostel at 8:30, where you will meet up with your guide who will accompany you to the nearby pier to board our long tail boat. From here you’ll move down the Chao Phraya the main river in Bangkok, with amazing backdrop views of the Bangkok skyline, before making a turn to enter the klongs. You will pass a range of local wooden stilt houses with clothes hanging to be dried in the sun, a local "7 eleven", klong style. Feel the atmosphere of having entered the klongs. You will hear Thai music being played from the houses, you will see birds looking at the trespassing boats, if you are lucky you will spot one of the sunbathing lizards. The first stop is at the temple Wat Khun Chan where you will be inspired by the postmodern temples on one side of the klongs and the feeling of old days on the other with the beauty of the river crossing through the landscape. From there it’s onwards to the Artist Village, with old wooden walkways with artists, an old barber shop, an old grocery, vintage posters, colors of freedom, and a small stupa licking the sunlight. Feel the quietness surrounding this place. A stop will be made where you can feed holy Catfish. It’s a remarkable sight when hundreds of fish come to the surface seemingly out of nowhere! Upon leaving the klongs you will see several houses on stilts and how locals live in small houses on the river. Then we leave the quietness and get back to noisy, Chao Phraya river and the majestic grand palace. Your trip ends at Pier 9 on the Chao Phraya River, from where you you can visit the nearby temples on your own, continue to the shopping malls or return to your accommodation.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Nouvo City Hotel - โรงแรมนูโว ซิตี
Day 3

place Chinatown by night time

Morning is free at your leisure either join the pool or explore the temples. Then late afternoon be prepared to walk through Bangkok’s Chinatown. For over 20 years we have provided our travelers in Bangkok with advice on how best to explore Bangkok's Chinatown and its jungle of markets, lights, sounds, and street life. Now we take you on a journey through the best places we've recommended over the years. This evening, we'll meet at Chamberlain Hostel, located just south of Bangkok's Chinatown. From here, we'll venture north by public bus or tuk-tuk to the heart of night-time Chinatown and explore the secrets of this bustling neighborhood. On this 4-hour trip, we experience the wave of life on Yaowarat Road that mixes locals and foreign tourists alike. We'll taste multiple dishes that are loved by Thai and Chinese people alike. We'll try the spicy stuff, indulge in the sweet deserts, hear stories about the dishes, and talk to the food sellers and lovers around us. In between, we'll explore the less-traveled side-streets and hidden alleys for temples, local customs, and the behind-the-scenes of this world-famous foodie haven. If you still have space, we'll finish our trip with some local desserts and your guide will bid you farewell around 21:30. You can choose to continue exploring Chinatown on your own or return to your hotel to prepare for tomorrow!

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Snacks

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Nouvo City Hotel - โรงแรมนูโว ซิตี
Day 4

place Free day Bangkok and night train to Chiang Mai

Today is your last day in Bangkok after checkout explore the city for one last time. In late afternoon heading to Hua Lumphong railway station by a private transfer. Board on the sleeper train and experience the new way of transportation to Chiang Mai, the largest city in northern Thailand and the capital of Chiang Mai Province. It is 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok in a mountainous region.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 5

place Arrival in Chiang Mai and cooking class

Welcome to Chiang Mai! A private transfer to your hotel. Get familiar with the Thai ingredients and learn the techniques and secrets of Thai cooking. You will be amazed with the delicious Thai food that you can cook for yourself, and it is sure to impress your friends and family once you get home, too. You will be picked from your hotel in Chiang Mai between 16:00 and 16.30. Get ready to learn how to cook tasty Thai food in a beautiful home garden setting. Start with a trip to the local market to get to know the ingredients, and shop for whatever you need for your dishes. You can choose to make 6 dishes from 6 different categories: Appetizer: som tam (papaya salad) or spring rolls, Curry Paste: green, red or massaman, Curry: green curry, panang curry, khao soi (Chiang Mai noodles) or massaman curry, Soup: tom yam kung (hot and sour shrimp soup), tom kha gai (chicken in coconut milk soup) or Thai noodle soup, Stir Fry: pad thai (fried noodles Thai style) or stir-fried cashew nuts with chicken, Extra Dishes: sticky rice with mango or banana in coconut milk. In the home garden, you will start cooking one dish at the time. 1 wok for 1 person, so you really get a feeling for the techniques. Thai food is based on a balance between the different flavors; spicy, sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. It goes beyond a single dish but seeks to balance a full meal of various dishes. You will get an understanding for this philosophy during your afternoon and, once you have cooked your way through, you can take seat to test all the lovely dishes you have prepared yourself. Expect to be back at your hotel around 21:00 with a cookbook in hand, and a very full stomach!

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Rimping Village Chiang Mai
Day 6

place Drive your own TukTuk

You will be picked up from your accommodation in the morning between 08.00 am and 08.30 am. Please be ready in the hotel lobby 15 minutes before the scheduled pick-up time. We will travel by van to our base in Mae Wang, arriving around 9.30 am. At our Mae Wang basecamp, our team will introduce you to your tuk-tuk and begin your driving training. If you do not want to drive a tuk-tuk do not worry and just enjoy nature’s air-conditioning from the breeze in the backseat. The tuk-tuks are easy to master and once everyone is feeling comfortable behind the wheel, we will head through tiny rural roads, snaking through farming villages and past rural temples. One of our guides will always drive the lead tuk-tuk, making sure that you do not lose your way, and no one is tempted to go too fast! You will make frequent stops to explore and, more importantly, make sure everyone has an opportunity to drive. You will get great insight into rural life in northern Thailand; something that is not as easy to come across as you would think. By late morning, we will arrive at the elephant home where you will not only learn about the past, present and future of the Thai Elephant, but also can interact with them. Once you are introduced to the elephants – who have been taken out of a life of trekking and can now relax and enjoy their time more naturally – you will help the mahouts feed the majestic beasts. After you have fed the elephants, it is time to sit down to a feast of traditional Thai food right next to the elephants. You can continue watching them and seeing how they interact with each other. Once you have finished lunch, you will walk with the mahouts and their elephants through the local countryside and to the river where you will help the mahouts bathe the elephants – a fantastic experience for both you and the elephants! We will enjoy some water activities of a different kind as you lazily float along the local river on a traditional bamboo raft. Do not worry, there are n

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Rimping Village Chiang Mai
Day 7

place Free day in Chiang Mai

Enjoy a free day in Chiang Mai

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Rimping Village Chiang Mai
Day 8

place Chiang Mai to Phuket

After an early breakfast, check out from your hotel. A private transfer to Chiang Mai airport for flight to Phuket. Phuket is among the world’s finest beach destinations, with fine white sands, nodding palm trees, glittering seas, and lively towns. Upon arrival in Phuket, you'll be picked up and transferred to your hotel. Enjoy an afternoon and evening exploring this beautiful area of the country on your own.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Chanalai Hillside Resort, Karon Beach - Phuket
Day 9

place Free day Phuket

Enjoy your free day on Phuket, have a fresh coconut, relax on the beach or take a stroll along the coastline.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Chanalai Hillside Resort, Karon Beach - Phuket
Day 10

place Free day on Phuket

Enjoy your free day on Phuket, have a fresh coconut, relax on the beach or take a stroll along the coastline.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Chanalai Hillside Resort, Karon Beach - Phuket
Day 11

place Free day on Phuket

Enjoy your free day on Phuket, have a fresh coconut, relax on the beach or take a stroll along the coastline.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

  • Mid-Range Accommodation: Chanalai Hillside Resort, Karon Beach - Phuket
Day 12

place Departure Phuket

Last day on this paradise. After checkout continue to your next destination.

Meals: Breakfast

What’s Included

Accommodation expand_less

  • Nouvo City Hotel - โรงแรมนูโว ซิตี
  • Rimping Village Chiang Mai
  • Chanalai Hillside Resort, Karon Beach - Phuket

Meals expand_less

  • Breakfast (10)
  • Snacks (1)
  • Dinner (1)
  • Lunch (1)

Transport expand_less

  • All transfers as per itinerary

Activities expand_less

  • All guided activities as per itinerary

Extras expand_less

  • Entrance fees and admissions for tours as per itinerary

Not Included expand_less

  • Other expenses not mentioned in the itinerary
  • Visa fees
  • Travel insurance
  • Tipping for guide/driver
  • International Flights
  • Government Environmental Fee

About Thao

TEAM LEAD

verified Baboo Certified

Expertise: 

Cycling

Kayaking

Snorkeling/Diving

Visit markets

Meet local people

Rural home stays

Yoga

Wellness retreat

Outdoors & Nature

Classic Sights

Food & Drink

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FROM PRICE PER TRAVELER

$2,511.00 USD