North Thailand group holiday, a food adventure
Highlights
Bangkok | Kanchanaburi | masterclass in Central Thai cuisine | Kwai Noi River | Ayutthaya | Chiang Mai | Homestay | Warorot Market | learn how to cook traditional Khantohk dishes |Description of North Thailand group holiday, a food adventure
Any holiday in northern Thailand has to include the foodie delights that make the region such a delicious prospect with a world of spice stalls, street grills and those oh so heavenly aromas emanating from open kitchens, just as important as temple tours and the beaches further south.From Bangkok to Chiang Mai, this northern Thailand holiday will take you on an absolute odyssey of the senses with floating markets and Mae Glong railway adding to an experience that's already about as exotic as you could ever hope to imagine.
Discover the secrets of spinning sugar from palm, cooking a traditional Kanchanaburi curry and sitting down with a local family in Chiang Mai or for a bountiful Khantohk dinner.
This northern Thailand holiday features a fascinating blend of the cultural and the culinary and is a must for travellers looking to unravel this incredibly important pocket of Southeast Asia.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
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Food Adventures
What is a small group adventure?It's a great way to travel! Whether you are travelling on your own, with a partner or with friends, a small group trip is a fantastic way to see the world. You'll travel on a fixed itinerary that has been designed to help you discover the best of region. From the known highlights, the hidden gems that you won't find in the guidebooks.
Itineraries run on set departure dates, accompanied every step of the way by an English speaking local group leader. You chose the itinerary and the date that suits you best and you book on.
Why travel on a small group adventure?
Small groups allow us to explore where larger tour groups can't. Our maximum group size of 16 travellers allows us to use local transport to get from A to B, to visit rural villages, spend time with the locals and even stay at a local home overnight, and it allows us to give our travellers genuine, real life experiences of the countries we are visiting; what you'll be doing and how you'll travel depends entirely on your chosen itinerary.
Is an adventure right for me?
The word adventure means something different to everyone, and our range of trips reflects that. Whether you want to explore local markets, visit out of the way temples and meet local people or go on an early morning safari drive searching for the 'big five', we'll have a trip for you. If you are looking for a physical challenge such trekking the Kokoda Track or summiting Kilimanjaro, we can help with that too.
So what makes a Food Adventure different?
Our focus on these trips is exploring our destination through regional specialities, eating where the locals eat, learning to cook traditional dishes and refreshing your palate with the local tipple! Our usual grass roots style of travel is still very much in evidence and you'll still get to explore a region's highlights as well as more out of the way places under the guidance of your group leader, but there will be a lot of focus on the unique flavours of the region you are visiting.
Can I book my flights with you?
Yes! We are a fully ATOL bonded tour operator meaning that we can book flights from the UK as part of your holiday package. Just ask us for a quote including flights when you make your enquiry.
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
As a global tour operator, we are committed to operating every one of our trips in a way that respects and benefits local people, their culture and economy, while minimising our impact on the natural environment. During the trip, we travel by a variety of means of local transport – including tuk-tuks, songthaews (pick-up trucks converted into shared taxis) and overnight sleeper train.
We also recommended that travellers do not ride elephants or watch them perform, as we believe this practice fuels the demand for elephants to be captured in the wild or captive bred.
As a tour company, our responsibilities don’t stop when our tours end. In 2002, we established a charitable foundation so that our passengers and staff could support grassroots community projects around the world. In Thailand, we support Friends of the Asian Elephant, which aims to protect and conserve the welfare of both domesticated and wild elephants, for example with free medical care and transportation, and an orphanage and community relief centre for children and destitute women, called Baan Unrak (House of Happiness).
To date, our foundation has donated over £2million to over 75 projects around the world which are involved with health care, education, human rights, child welfare, sustainable development, and environmental and wildlife protection. We match every donation made by passengers and pay the administration costs, so every penny that is donated goes to a good cause.
The Impacts of this Trip
We travel in small groups and wherever possible we use local transport, stay in locally-owned accommodation or homestays, eat at authentic local restaurants, support traditional artisans and small-scale businesses, and provide opportunities for travellers to interact with local people.
On this food-focused short break in Thailand, we travel with a maximum group of 12 passengers, which means that we can visit small-scale restaurants, street stalls and markets without overwhelming them. In Bangkok we take a food crawl where we eat each course in a different restaurant, which means we spread income around a number of businesses. We visit one of the more authentic floating markets, which stocks seasonal produce grown in local orchards and we eat in many other markets while in Chiang Mai.
There is a homestay experience in a traditional rural community, which includes cooking our own traditional Khantohk meal from ingredients we purchase from local markets, farms and producers. During dinner, we are entertained with traditional music and dancing and the whole experience gives a unique cultural insight and enables us to support small, rural businesses. The accommodation there is basic, but the welcome is warm!
As well as a Responsible Travel Code of Conduct which we adhere to as a company, we expect our staff and travellers to demonstrate the principles of responsible travel and provide a number of responsible travel tips to facilitate this, for example advice on what clothing is appropriate and respectful. In Asia, where dress standards are conservative we recommend modest clothing which covers the shoulders and knees, particularly when we are at the homestay which is in a traditional, rural community.
As a global tour operator, we are committed to operating every one of our trips in a way that respects and benefits local people, their culture and economy, while minimising our impact on the natural environment. During the trip, we travel by a variety of means of local transport – including tuk-tuks, songthaews (pick-up trucks converted into shared taxis) and overnight sleeper train.
We also recommended that travellers do not ride elephants or watch them perform, as we believe this practice fuels the demand for elephants to be captured in the wild or captive bred.
As a tour company, our responsibilities don’t stop when our tours end. In 2002, we established a charitable foundation so that our passengers and staff could support grassroots community projects around the world. In Thailand, we support Friends of the Asian Elephant, which aims to protect and conserve the welfare of both domesticated and wild elephants, for example with free medical care and transportation, and an orphanage and community relief centre for children and destitute women, called Baan Unrak (House of Happiness).
To date, our foundation has donated over £2million to over 75 projects around the world which are involved with health care, education, human rights, child welfare, sustainable development, and environmental and wildlife protection. We match every donation made by passengers and pay the administration costs, so every penny that is donated goes to a good cause.
The Impacts of this Trip
We travel in small groups and wherever possible we use local transport, stay in locally-owned accommodation or homestays, eat at authentic local restaurants, support traditional artisans and small-scale businesses, and provide opportunities for travellers to interact with local people.
On this food-focused short break in Thailand, we travel with a maximum group of 12 passengers, which means that we can visit small-scale restaurants, street stalls and markets without overwhelming them. In Bangkok we take a food crawl where we eat each course in a different restaurant, which means we spread income around a number of businesses. We visit one of the more authentic floating markets, which stocks seasonal produce grown in local orchards and we eat in many other markets while in Chiang Mai.
There is a homestay experience in a traditional rural community, which includes cooking our own traditional Khantohk meal from ingredients we purchase from local markets, farms and producers. During dinner, we are entertained with traditional music and dancing and the whole experience gives a unique cultural insight and enables us to support small, rural businesses. The accommodation there is basic, but the welcome is warm!
As well as a Responsible Travel Code of Conduct which we adhere to as a company, we expect our staff and travellers to demonstrate the principles of responsible travel and provide a number of responsible travel tips to facilitate this, for example advice on what clothing is appropriate and respectful. In Asia, where dress standards are conservative we recommend modest clothing which covers the shoulders and knees, particularly when we are at the homestay which is in a traditional, rural community.
2 Reviews of North Thailand group holiday, a food adventure
Reviewed on 23 Feb 2020 by Cheryl Phillips
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The incredible guide we had - Soon
The fabulous and flavoursome food.
Trying new delicious food.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be ready to eat a great diversity of food, much of which is totally delicious
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, absolutely. The home stay and cooking classes were all in local villages.
Soon (our guide) was constantly educating our group as well as restaurants about the need to reduce the use of plastic.
Our visit to a rural organic farm was wonderful.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent
Reviewed on 12 Aug 2018 by Jill Sugden
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The food experiences, especially the cooking class at Apple Resort with Noi.
Every market visit was also an eye opener.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Just go... only complaint too much food!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
I think all our interactions were respectful and responsible.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Fabulous. As soon as I got home, I was ready to book my next holiday.
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