Tailor made family holiday in Thailand
| country: | Thailand |
| location: | Southern Thailand, Central Thailand |
| departures: | This trip is a private tour. It can be taken on dates to suit you, subject to availability. The itinerary can be customised. |
| price: | From £1700 (15 days) per adult and from £1275 per child (under 12) including flights from UK, accommodation, activities, transport and most meals. Can also be booked without flights. All holidays with this operator have 100% financial protection under UK/EU law. |
| offers: | £50 off per adult and child 12 or over on trips for Easter 2010 (must be booked before 31 December 2009). Also, all children will get free acclaimed activity books. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
Action on shore - Adventures on the Andaman Sea
Make waves on your next family holiday with an adventure that inspires and delights, taking you not just away from home but far away from tourist trail. If you’re longing to visit Thailand but want to see more of the country than shown in the run-of-the-mill holiday brochures yet don’t want to travel with other people, this unique private tour offers just that.
The Andaman sea has stunning coastlines and limestone karst scenery, made famous by films ranging from James Bond to Star Wars, and this action-packed family adventure holiday ensures you’ll make the most of it. Don’t worry about having to get too physical, whilst there’s plenty to keep all your family happy, all of our holidays are very much soft adventures. Best of all, in between your Andaman adventures, you’ll discover the real Thailand that only a few people are lucky enough to experience.
The two-week itinerary starts with a few days in bustling Bangkok where in between ticking off the main sights, cycling around a car-free island and shopping, you will meet a friendly local family who will show you what real life is like in the city.
Then head to south for your Andaman adventures. Make a splash on your boat trips, snorkel in coral reefs teeming with tropical fish, picnic on deserted beaches and learn to kayak in the mangroves, with the sound of monkeys chattering in the air. The uninhabited Hong islands are some of the most beautiful in Thailand and you’ll be able to explore the majestic caves and sunbathe with only the giant monitor lizards that lazily bask for company. Other highlights of this family adventure include whitewater rafting, exploring a tropical rainforest and an overnight desert-island camping experience (optional).
In between your water-based adventures, you will discover the real southern Thailand, meeting many local people, including our friends, Pah who will show you the secrets of making the best desserts in Thailand and ‘Eh’ who will show you how he farms rubber – a great way for your children to find out where their trainers come from!
We have included a summary of the itinerary (see below), please contact us to be sent the full itinerary via email. We have put a lot of thought into designing the perfect family adventure, but the itinerary can be customised to suit you perfectly.
Best time to travel: Between November and April on this particular itinerary although we have itineraries to suit other times of the year.
Make waves on your next family holiday with an adventure that inspires and delights, taking you not just away from home but far away from tourist trail. If you’re longing to visit Thailand but want to see more of the country than shown in the run-of-the-mill holiday brochures yet don’t want to travel with other people, this unique private tour offers just that.
The Andaman sea has stunning coastlines and limestone karst scenery, made famous by films ranging from James Bond to Star Wars, and this action-packed family adventure holiday ensures you’ll make the most of it. Don’t worry about having to get too physical, whilst there’s plenty to keep all your family happy, all of our holidays are very much soft adventures. Best of all, in between your Andaman adventures, you’ll discover the real Thailand that only a few people are lucky enough to experience.
The two-week itinerary starts with a few days in bustling Bangkok where in between ticking off the main sights, cycling around a car-free island and shopping, you will meet a friendly local family who will show you what real life is like in the city.
Then head to south for your Andaman adventures. Make a splash on your boat trips, snorkel in coral reefs teeming with tropical fish, picnic on deserted beaches and learn to kayak in the mangroves, with the sound of monkeys chattering in the air. The uninhabited Hong islands are some of the most beautiful in Thailand and you’ll be able to explore the majestic caves and sunbathe with only the giant monitor lizards that lazily bask for company. Other highlights of this family adventure include whitewater rafting, exploring a tropical rainforest and an overnight desert-island camping experience (optional). In between your water-based adventures, you will discover the real southern Thailand, meeting many local people, including our friends, Pah who will show you the secrets of making the best desserts in Thailand and ‘Eh’ who will show you how he farms rubber – a great way for your children to find out where their trainers come from!
We have included a summary of the itinerary (see below), please contact us to be sent the full itinerary via email. We have put a lot of thought into designing the perfect family adventure, but the itinerary can be customised to suit you perfectly.
Best time to travel: Between November and April on this particular itinerary although we have itineraries to suit other times of the year.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Direct flight from London by Eva Air or Thai Airways (regional departures available via an add-on with BMI). |
| Day 2: | Early morning arrival, pick up at Bangkok airport by private car or mini-van and transfer to your charming homestay (private guesthouse next door to the family’s home). Time to settle in and nap, in the late afternoon, the family will take you for a walk around the local area before you all have dinner. |
| Day 3: | Explore the city. Free morning before your driver picks you up. You’ll have a private boat trip along the river and canals in the afternoon, then visit a night bazaar, have dinner at one of our recommended restaurants and take in a traditional puppet show, guaranteed to mesmerise your children. |
| Day 4: | Cycle around a car-free island in the middle the city, located on the Chao Praya river (with guide). Coast through winding lanes, dotted with palms, through local villages and see the pottery that this island is famous for being made. Dinner with local family. |
| Day 5: | Sightseeing in Bangkok taking in the main sights of the Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Pho and exploring the city at your own pace (your driver will be at your disposal throughout the day). |
| Day 6: | Transfer to the Andaman Coast (via a short internal flight to Krabi) and transfer to your comfortable bungalow/s which are in a local village, close enough to the tourist areas to be convenient but a world apart in other ways. Time to settle in and have a swim in the pool. Evening village walk with one of our friends and dinner with his family. |
| Day 7: | Kayak through the mangroves that protect the shoreline after being shown how to by expert guides. Dinner at the night market with our area co-ordinator who will share some insider tips to make the most of your stay. |
| Day 8: | Day at sea amidst the spectacular Hong islands with their tall limestone karsts, sheltered lagoons and pristine white-sand beaches. You can also explore the caves with your new-found kayaking skills Free evening |
| Day 9: | White water rafting on a river with experts who will show you how not to fall off. Then free time to relax by the pool before you visit our friend Pah who will not only make you a delicious dinner, but show you how to make Thai desserts. |
| Day 10: | Try your hand at rubber farming, then explore the last rainforest in this area, home to beautiful tropical birds and the giant ‘Emerald Pool’, whose colour can be a shade of blue or green depending on the temperature, though inviting to dive into at any time of the year. Free evening |
| Day 11-12: | Snorkel amongst tropical fish and let out your inner Swiss Family Robinson with an overnight camping trip at a desert island. The journeys there and back are great opportunities to sunbathe, look out for dolphins or simply lie back, admiring the scenery. |
| Day 13: | Relax by the pool this morning before a day exploring the mainland with a driver, you can set your own pace – we recommend stopping at a local handicraft village, visiting waterfalls and then making a detour to one the best beaches, but it’s up to you! Free evening |
| Day 14: | Trek up a mountain for stunning views of the Andaman sea. You’ll stop to see coconuts being harvested and visit a fish farm where you can fatten up the gigantic catfish even more. Free evening |
| Day 15: | Fly back to the UK (via a short connecting flight to Bangkok). You’ll be sad to leave your local friends but you will be full of memories that will last a lifetime, and plenty of tales to tell your friends. |
travellers' tales
A brilliant adventure with a wide variety of faces of Thailand...We were made to feel so welcome by all who we met. (more)
tailor made holidays
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This holiday is designed for people who like to travel on their own, as a couple, as a family or as friends (not in a group with other people they do not know previously). You will not have a 'tour leader' or an 'escort' with you all the time. We run our own operations so do not need to rely on this type of arrangement to make sure your holiday is organised. We work hand-in-hand with our unique network of local people who are backed up by our carefully-picked drivers and local office. This means you will meet a range of trusted local people throughout your holiday and have time on your own, with full confidence that your holiday will run smoothly at all times.
how this holiday makes a difference
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All our holidays are deliberately designed to be as socially responsible as possible, and we work with local people on a highly individual basis.
We encourage visiting less places and spending more time there which allows richer experiences and also has less impact on the environment than constantly moving from one place to another. Whilst this itinerary is action-packed, it is centered mainly in two areas. Whilst we do use private cars and minivans (never shared transport), where possible our vehicles are fuelled by LPG. We have also built in exploring local areas by foot, bicycle, boat and even kayak!  On this holiday, you will get an unrivalled insight into Thai culture and you will meet a wide range of ordinary people on an 'equal' basis, not just those involved in the tourist industry to ‘serve' you. You will learn about real life in Thailand, both traditional and modern, sustainable ways of living and farming, local festivals etc. The accommodation on this itinerary is small and local, within existing buildings or built with comparatively low impact to the environment. Whilst we have made sure there is air-conditioning and hot water so that you will be comfortable, we encourage thinking about energy and water use in the responsible travel tips we include, along with the cultural and travel guidelines, in our customer packs. |
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. |