Nature and wildlife holiday in Thailand

All our holidays are deliberately designed to be as socially responsible as possible, and we work with local people on a highly individual basis, ensuring that working with us is in harmony with their daily lives.

You will get an unrivalled insight into local culture by the people themselves, you'll meet a wide range of people on an 'equal' basis, not just those involved in the tourist industry to 'serve' you. When you are with 'professional' guides, they are usually native to the local area, not from the 'big city'.

You will learn about life in Thailand, both traditional and modern, sustainable ways of living and farming, local festivals, dances etc. We find people who will show these to you and compensate them accordingly, this helps local people's efforts of keeping their pride in their traditions alive.

You will spend most of your time areas away from the main tourist destinations, therefore providing additional income in local economies that may not normally benefit from revenue from tourism. Whether you pop out to dinner in a village, a housewife buys food to make you dinner at her local market, or you pop into the village co-operative to browse the local handicrafts, your holiday will help the very places and people you visit. The accommodation you stay in is small and local, sometimes converted from an existing building, otherwise built with comparatively low impact to the environment. When you do stay in a 'conventional hotel' in Bangkok, it is a Green Hotel, which uses solar energy for heating the hot water and room sensors which automatically turn off lights and appliances.

We encourage visiting less places and spending more time there which allows richer experiences than may be possible otherwise. This also has the environmental impact of travelling less over long distances. Where feasible, we use overnight trains for long distances. Whilst we do use private cars and minivans, where possible the vehicles are fuelled by LPG. We also use local transport in certain areas, though where possible we promote exploring local areas by foot or bicycle.

You may notice that our holidays do not include elephant riding - you will learn why when you spend time at Elephant Nature Park. This is a showpiece of wildlife conservation in Asia, founded by a passionate lady who has been named Time Magazine's 'Asian Hero of the Year' for her efforts. Not only does Elephant Nature Park provide a refuge for elephants from all over Thailand, often previously-abused, but it spreads knowledge on humane training, elephant welfare to the wider community as well as providing medical assistance to elephants who are not lucky enough to live here.

It goes without saying that we also provide cultural guidelines and travel tips which include responsible travel information about the local culture, how to dress, specific information about tipping etc as well as the obvious information like encouraging sensible use of resources such as water.