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Thailand budget holiday

country:Thailand
location:Northern Thailand
departures:2008: 23 Nov, 7 Dec, 21 Dec
2009: 4 Jan, 25 Jan, 9 Mar, 29 Mar, 12 Apr, 26 Apr, 1 May, 17 May, 31 May, 21 Jun, 12 Jul, 16 Aug, 13 Sep, 11 Oct, 1 Nov, 22 Nov, 13 Dec, 20 Dec
price:From £495 - £565 (15 days) excluding flights. Some private group departures available from £545 - £575. Price includes accommodation, transport and some meals
 
the amazing things you'll be doing
Thailand has so much to offer the active, adventure-seeking traveller. Suited to the budget travellers’ pocket with plenty of free time and guided tours as optional extras, this tour offers fantastic value for money and the peace of mind of a well organised tour.

We start in the vibrant, colourful capital of Bangkok, with its majestic monuments where we take a walking tour of the important temples and markets before heading to Kanchanaburi, home of the 'Bridge on the River Kwai', where we spend the night with a local family and learn about and take part in traditional village life. After time to visit the local sites we head to Ayutthaya and explore the historic temples at this World Heritage Site before hopping aboard the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai.

Once in Chiang Mai we take you on a walking tour of this charming and bustling city before making our way out to the Huay Nam Dang National Park to begin your jungle adventure. En-route we will visit a local village market to pick up supplies, and have a refreshing stop at a local waterfall. After an easy first afternoon's walk through the forest, we visit a Karen village to sample their simple way of life and to learn a bit more about the local customs – including a basic dinner and overnight in a bamboo hut.

The next day features a longer walk (approx. 7-8km, about 3 hours) through the forest and jungle, before we climb aboard an elephant and a chance to get close to nature on a ride through the jungle.

After spending the night in another hill-tribe village, we spend the next day enjoying a bamboo rafting trip back (approx. 3-4 hours) before returning to Chiang Mai. In Chiang Mai there is time for more sightseeing after which we drive to Chiang Rai via Thaton and an exciting long-tail river boat trip. Once in Chiang Rai, trips out to the hill-tribe villages and mystery of the Golden Triangle can't be resisted.

The tour ends with a drive back to Chiang Mai and the overnight sleeper train back to Bangkok.
day-by-day itinerary
Day 1:Arrive in Bangkok.
Day 2:Bangkok. Bus to village home-stay near Kanchanaburi (B,D).
Day 3:Explore Kanchanaburi (B).
Day 4:Bus to Ayutthaya. Overnight train to Chiang Mai (B).
Day 5:Chiang Mai - Walking tour.
Day 6:Visit local market. Trekking to hill-tribe village (B,L,D).
Day 7:Trekking and elephant ride (B,L,D).
Day 8:Bamboo rafting, Chiang Mai (B,L).
Day 9:Chiang Mai - Free day (B).
Day 10:Bus to Thaton. Free time (B).
Day 11:River boat trip to Chiang Rai (B).
Day 12:Chiang Rai. Free day (optional Golden Triangle tour) (B).
Day 13:Bus to Chiang Mai. Overnight train to Bangkok (B).
Day 14:Bangkok. Walking tour.
Day 15:Bangkok - free time (B).
how this holiday makes a difference
This tour is aimed at introducing semi-independent travellers to the people, culture and country of Thailand, and not cocooning them from it. This is helped by having plenty of free time to explore, and keeping our group sizes small (max 12, normally 6-10) and also running the tour privately for families, couples or groups of friends.

We take responsible travel very seriously, and have given some details below of how this is implemented on this tour.

Local people:
  • We chose our local suppliers in Thailand very carefully and are very impressed with their attitude to responsible tourism in their country, and to supporting local people and different regions not normally visited by many tourists. They have helped us incorporate their beliefs and our own principles into our itineraries.
  • We use fully-trained Thai tour leaders, guides and reps, rather than flying in Western leaders whose knowledge and love of the country will never be as full or passionate.
  • We use small locally owned and operated hotels wherever possible, and the tour also features a small village home-stay, and 2 nights in tribal village huts, where your stay directly benefits small families and village communities.
  • One of the highlights of the tour is finding and enjoying local Thai food in a wide range of small restaurants and snack shops.
  • We give information and advice to our travellers on how to respect local customs and religious practices, giving them a greater understanding of the local people and culture.
Environment:
  • The longer journeys between towns and cities are done using public transport, including overnight trains, public buses and river boats, so reducing extra vehicle miles and resulting pollution and energy use.
  • Explanations are given during the adventure trekking section of how the local people manage their forest resource and how we can help them to sustain it.
  • We have a recycling policy in our UK and local offices and re-use or recycle the information booklets we provide to every client on arrival wherever possible.
  • We do not produce a glossy brochure, concentrating on a comprehensive website, and providing as much information to our travellers as possible electronically, reducing the use of paper and inks.
Local projects & charity support:
  • We donate £2 for every person travelling on this tour to the Border Green Energy team to help this dedicated group build community micro-hydro systems and train Karen Thai villagers to operate, maintain and repair solar electric systems
  • Our travellers are welcome to arrange visits to these projects and to support them personally if they wish.
  • The company also supports further projects and charities internationally.
Responsible tourism: We send all our travellers a copy of our responsible tourism policy before their holiday, and encourage them to read it and join us in following the ideas and suggestions contained within it.

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.
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