Thailand tour, jungles and islands
| country: | Thailand |
| location: | Khao Sok National Park, Southern Thailand, Central Thailand |
| departures: | 2009: 12 Dec |
| price: | From £1805 - £2355 (16 days) including flights from the UK, from £1025 excluding flights. Price includes all transport, accommodation & activities specified in itinerary, all meals (except lunch & dinner on days 13 & 15) |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
A taste of the diversity of Thailand!
From the vibrant metropolis of Bangkok to remote hill-tribe villages, dense rain-forests to deserted beaches and riding elephants through the jungle to snorkeling on coral reefs.
Activities you will take part in include bamboo rafting, elephant riding, snorkelling on coral reefs, jungle trekking, canoeing in mangrove swamps, kayaking on the River Kwai, exploring caves, flora and fauna, viewing Bangkok's temples and palaces and thai food.
During the May to September period we vary this tour to avoid the western monsoons and move our beach and snorkelling activities to Koh Thalu Island on the more sheltered Gulf of Thailand coast. Please contact us for further details.
Note: This tour is offered with or without return flights from London. Those not wishing to take up the flight option should join the tour in Bangkok on day 2 of the itinerary and finish in Bangkok on day 15.
From the vibrant metropolis of Bangkok to remote hill-tribe villages, dense rain-forests to deserted beaches and riding elephants through the jungle to snorkeling on coral reefs.
Activities you will take part in include bamboo rafting, elephant riding, snorkelling on coral reefs, jungle trekking, canoeing in mangrove swamps, kayaking on the River Kwai, exploring caves, flora and fauna, viewing Bangkok's temples and palaces and thai food.
During the May to September period we vary this tour to avoid the western monsoons and move our beach and snorkelling activities to Koh Thalu Island on the more sheltered Gulf of Thailand coast. Please contact us for further details.
Note: This tour is offered with or without return flights from London. Those not wishing to take up the flight option should join the tour in Bangkok on day 2 of the itinerary and finish in Bangkok on day 15.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Departure from London. |
| Day 2: | Morning arrival in Bangkok - meet your tour leader and transfer to a downtown hotel in the City’s lively Banglamphu district. Afternoon to relax, explore the area or check out some local markets. |
| Day 3: | City tour with a difference! Bangkok by riverboat, skytrain, tuk-tuk and canal boat. Stop-offs include the Grand Palace, fabulous Wat Phra Keow - 'Temple of the Emerald Buddha' - and the fascinating Jim Thompson House Museum. |
| Day 4: | Leaving the Capital we’ll journey by local train to Kanchanaburi Province, across the historic Bridge on the River Kwai and along the infamous (and scenic), 'Death Railway' towards the remote town of Sangklaburi on the Burmese border. Lakeside accommodation at the small, family-run Burmese Inn. |
| Day 5: | An exploration of part of the nearby World Heritage Site of Thung Yai Wildlife Reserve, including a jungle hike, rafting and bathing in mountain streams. |
| Day 6: | Check out the sights and markets of this fascinating frontier town with its bewildering mix of Thais, Burmese and Karens, Indian and Chinese traders and Mon refugees from across the border, including a morning boat tour of the lake to see the region’s distinctive floating villages. Afternoon transfer by local bus to nearby Thong Pa Phum village for the night’s accommodation in a picturesque riverside resort. |
| Day 7: | Departure for nearby 'Hellfire Pass'; visit the fascinating museum and hike along the former route of the ‘Death railway’ itself. (So named because of the numbers of local workers and Allied POWs who died during its construction by the Japanese army.) Afternoon expedition down the jungle-lined river with a choice of kayaks or 2 person canoes for the uninitiated. Overnight in chalets on the banks of the River Kwai. |
| Day 8: | Complete our Western loop with a return to Kanchanaburi Town by way of Sai Yok Noi Waterfall and the impressive 12th century ruins of Muang Singh – a former, fortified, frontier town of the Angkor Empire. |
| Day 9: | Morning transfer to the historic town of Petchaburi at the northern limit of the Peninsula. Visit the fascinating hilltop Khao Wang Palace and Khao Luang cave with its colony of monkeys before catching the evening sleeper train to the southern city of Surat Thani. |
| Day 10-11: | On to Khao Sok in Surat Thani Province - acknowledged as one of Thailand’s most spectacular National Parks with its dramatic limestone karst scenery, lakes, waterfalls and lush jungle. Two-day exploration of the park including canoeing, a boat trip on the lake, elephant riding and jungle hiking, with plenty of time to relax, splash around in the streams and waterfalls or just kick back in your chalet and admire the fabulous tropical flora and fauna. |
| Day 12: | Morning minibus transfer through more spectacular scenery to nearby Krabi Province for a short ferry ride to the Andaman Sea’s scenic Lanta Island. |
| Day 13: | Leisurely day on this picturesque, jungle-clad, island - make the most of the turquoise waters and quiet beaches or sling a hammock between a couple of palm trees. (Hiking in the interior for the energetic?) |
| Day 14: | Boat excursion through the spectacular and world famous islands of Koh Phi Phi archipelago with opportunities for swimming and snorkelling on the regions vibrant coral reefs. |
| Day 15: | Morning on the island topping up your suntan, before transferring to Krabi for an evening flight to London via Bangkok. |
| Day 16: | Morning arrival in London. |
travellers' tales
Many memorable and exciting experiences: The awesome caves, the jungle trekking in Sangklaburi, canoeing down the river Kwai for 3 hours. (more)
small group holiday
This is a 'small group adventure' - you will be sharing your experiences with like minded people. Group sizes are limited to a maximum of 11 persons, a genuinely small group. Experience has taught us that smaller groups are less intrusive to local cultures and environments whilst allowing more interaction with local people. Furthermore it means greater flexibility on a day to day basis and on a social level it proves to be fun. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends/family its good value, and a great way to meet new people! The intention is to travel as a group of friends rather than a typical tour group, so don't expect stick-on name badges or any following the umbrella. how this holiday makes a difference
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We and individual Tour Leaders have fostered healthy, respectful working relationship with the Karen villagers who lead us through the jungle trek in Thung Yai. This provides us with very knowledgeable friends on the trip who are excellent oral witnesses to the life of the Karens and are thus able to give our passengers a genuine understanding of this important ethnic minority in Thailand.
Our regular visits provide long term and sustainable extra income for these people. The benefits of our patronage are extended to local business people not immediately connected to the guides. We eat in small food shops and restaurants, encourage our passengers to make souvenir purchases at the local crafts market and make small purchases in the Karen villages such as water and locally make snacks. We have also made financial contributions to the local orphanage and to Karen and Mon refugee camps housing people fleeing the oppression they encounter in neighboring Burma. Wherever practical we use public transport such as the local bus from Sangklaburi to Kanchanaburi and the sleeper train to Trang. This is not only contributing to the local economy, but results in fewer carbon emissions per head than does smaller forms of transport. Khao Lak village in Southern Thailand. A relatively poor farming community was inspired, partly through our interest, to organize a co-operative home-stay and trekking scheme and has since received grants, training and advice to that extent from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. We are also pleased to state that several local village lads are now keener to lead bird watching and nature tours than their traditional pastimes of shooting or trapping. We provided the co-operative scheme with textbooks on local bird and animal life. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |