Travel from Bangkok’s lively streets to Chiang Mai’s sacred temples on an unforgettable journey. Wander through the terracotta ruins of ancient Ayutthaya and uncover stories of Thailand’s past. Then share a delicious northern Thai lunch with a local family in their charming wooden stilt house.
Includes
11 Day Trafalgar Guided Holiday
10 Nights in cherry-picked hotels, all tried and trusted
10 Breakfasts, 8 Lunches, 5 Dinners
Flight from Bangkok to Sukhothai
Transport by luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi in most countries or alternative transportation (such as rail journeys)
All porterage and restaurant gratuities
All hotel tips, charges and local taxes
Must-see sightseeing and surprise extras
Audio headsets for flexible sightseeing
Optional Experiences at an additional cost during your free time
Sightseeing Highlights
Explore Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Sukhothai
Visit the Grand Palace, the temples of Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho in Bangkok, the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, the ancient city of View the Bridge over the River Kwai, Hellfire Pass in Kanchanaburi and Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya and much more!
Excludes
Flights
Arrival/ departure transfers
Visas
Travel Insurance
Spending money and items of a personal nature
Extras
On occasion, hotels of similar standard and location may be utilised
Optional Experiences available at an additional cost
Not all departure dates are definite at time of loading, please enquire with one of our agents
Highlights
10 Nights in cherry-picked hotels
23 Meals
Must-see sightseeing and surprise extras
Itinerary
Day 1: Welcome to Bangkok
Say sawadee ka to the land of smiles, starting your Thai adventure in Bangkok. Transfer to your hotel where this evening, you will meet our Travel Director and fellow guests for a drink with local appetisers.
Meet your Travel Director at 18:30
Accommodation: Montien Surawong
Included Meals: Dinner
Day 2: See the Sights of Bangkok
Rise early and join the locals for a graceful T’ai Chi practice in Lumpini Park to kick-start your day. Alternatively, enjoy a leisurely start before joining your fellow travellers on a City Tour, which begins with a visit to Bangkok’s Grand Palace, where you’ll visit the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand, Wat Phra Kaew. See the largest-reclining Buddha in Thailand in Bangkok’s oldest temple, Wat Pho, and enjoy a traditional Thai massage in the temple’s massage centre. Return to your hotel by express river boat, cruising down the Chao Praya past beautiful Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn.
Accommodation: Montien Surawong
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 3: Thai Cuisine and Cooking Experience
Immerse your senses in the five flavours of Thai cuisine as you join a Local Specialist for a traditional cooking class in a colonial-style house. Visit a local market nearby to source the freshest ingredients that reveal the sweet, sour, salty, bitter and hot flavours of Thai cuisine. Sample the results later, then spend the afternoon exploring the City of Angels on your terms, or consider joining an Optional Experience to Jim Thompson's House, home to an impressive collection of Asian art.
Accommodation: Montien Surawong
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 4: Onwards to Damnoen Saduak and Kanchanaburi
A riot of colours greets us this morning as we embark on a visit to the famous floating market at Damnoen Saduak. Connect with the friendly merchants who paddle along the congested canals in their sturdy canoes, laden with fresh fruit and vegetables to sell to shoppers on the banks. En route, we’ll Dive Into Culture, stopping at a coconut palm sugar plantation where we’ll discover how the farmer extracts the sap from his palm trees to create palm sugar.
After lunch in a local restaurant, visit the world-famous Bridge over the River Kwai. After a walk along the bridge continue to the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum, revealing insights into the history of the infamous railway line built during WWII by the Imperial Japanese army. Our final stop today sees us pay tribute to the thousands of allied prisoners of war who were laid to rest at the War Cemetery.
Accommodation: Dheva Mantra Resort and Spa
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Railways and Rivers in Kanchanaburi
This morning, we visit Hellfire Pass, a section of the Thailand-Burma “Death Railway”, so named for the tortuous conditions that prisoners of war endured during WWII to build it. After lunch, we embark on a thrilling train ride across wooden viaducts, skirting the winding waters of the Kwai River. We’ll disembark and see the wooden viaducts first-hand walking across one. This evening, we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.
Accommodation: Dheva Mantra Resort and Spa
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6: On to Ancient Ayutthaya and Sukhothai
After breakfast, we travel to the UNESCO-listed Ayutthaya, once the second-most important ancient capital of Old Siam and the largest city in the world. Here, we’ll delve into the trading heritage of a mighty city that was all but raised to the ground by an 18th century Burmese invasion. We’ll enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, then return to Bangkok for our flight to Sukhothai, Thailand’s first capital.
Accommodation: Sriwilai Sukhothai Resort and Spa
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7: Explore Sukhothai
Gain insights into a powerful kingdom that enjoyed its golden age during the 13th and 14th centuries and shaped modern Thailand as we know it today. Start the day with a visit to the UNESCO-listed Sukhothai Historical Park which reveals thousands of years of history and a 15-metre seated Buddha secreted within its walls. Your choice of exploring will see you engage with the historic complex by bicycle or on the internal tram. This afternoon, visit the home of a local family and learn how to make amulets which are thought to protect the owner from harm.
Accommodation: Sriwilai Sukhothai Resort and Spa
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 8: Continue to Chiang Mai
Our day begins with a visit to the first of our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experiences today at the village of Natonchan, where our visit supports the community’s eco-tourism project . We’ll interact with the locals and meet one of the villagers to learn about 'gymnastic doll' making and the villagers’ traditional cotton clothes which are soaked in mud to protect them from fading. Arriving in Chiang Mai, we enjoy an evening walk with our Travel Director and visit the colourful Sunday market. Our hotel tonight is located in the old town of Chiang Mai.
Accommodation: Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 9: Meet the locals of Northern Thailand
Visit Wat Suan Dok where we’ll meet a local monk and learn about Buddhism, against the backdrop of the temple’s magnificent golden chedi. We continue to a small village nearby where we’ll Connect with Locals, joining a family in their typical stilt house for a northern Thai-style Be My Guest experience with lunch. Then admire the delicate hand-painted fans and colourful paper umbrellas that are famously crafted in Chiang Mai’s Sankamphaeng district.
Accommodation: Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 10: A Day to Discover Chiang Mai
Your morning is yours to enjoy or join an Optional Experience to visit the Kayan tribe, where you’ll meet the women who wear traditional brass rings round their necks and learn about their centuries-old customs. Later, you’ll visit Wat Doi Suthep, one of Thailand’s most sacred temples. As the sun sets, take in the breathtaking views and listen to the amazing chants of the monks. It’s your final evening before flying to Phuket, gather with your Travel Director and fellow travellers for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.
Accommodation: Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 11: Farewell Thailand
Our exhilarating encounter with old Siam and new Thailand at its end, we take a transfer to Chiang Mai International Airport for your onward flight.
After fond farewells, your tour comes to an end at 10:00
Included Meals: Breakfast
Terms & conditions
Prices are per person twin share, include discounts, and are subject to availability and rate of exchange changes. Offers above are a guide only and will vary depending on departure date. Our guide price is based on the cheapest departure within the stipulated season, availability is correct at time of loading and may be withdrawn at any time without notice. Visas may be necessary and insurance is essential. Pentravel and Tour Operator terms and conditions apply, and may be found on our website. Package excludes extra nights’ accommodation, optional extensions, airfares, taxes and fees, flight supplements, surcharges and airport transfers. You can do optional free-time add-on experiences in your free time and pay for them as you travel (additional costs apply). Full payment due 120 days prior to departure or at time of booking if booked within 120 days of departure; whichever comes first. Prices are in ZAR, are per person, land only, based on double occupancy and are subject to availability. R3000 per person deposit required at time of booking to hold space; some trips require payment in full at time of booking. If you need to cancel your booking after deposit, we'll give you a Future Travel Credit to use when you rebook with us. High season supplements and block out dates may apply. Supplier and tour operator is not responsible for technical or system errors that may interfere with or otherwise prohibit the use of promotion or sale. Tour operator reserves the right to withdraw promotional offers and adjust savings anytime without notice. At time of loading this may not be a definite departure, please contact a travel consultant for more info. Other conditions may apply. These packages are based on CASH price. E&OE;.
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