Fell the excitement build as you land into the Thai capital. You’ll be greeted at the airport and transferred to your chosen Bangkok hotel, for a three night stay. Enjoy your time at leisure exploring one of Asia’s most exciting and fast paced cities. Enjoy the culture, history, food and shopping that Bangkok has to offer.

Ask your Travel Consultant about our guided tours, to help you get the most out of Bangkok with the experience and knowledge of an expert local guide.

Your chosen Bangkok hotel

Breakfast

Travel from your Bangkok accommodation to Hua Lamphong train station and board the morning train to Chiang Mai. Second class travel enjoys the comforts of air-conditioning and recliner seats so sit back and relax on the nine hour journey. Enjoy the scenery as you travel north through Thailand’s heartlands and also take the opportunity to converse with the locals. On arrival you will be met and transferred to the hotel.

Dusit D2, Chiang Mai

Breakfast, snacks available to purchase on the train

Today is free to explore Chiang Mai at your own pace. Thailand’s second city is famous for its friendly people, cooler climate and stunning mountain scenery. Use your time to explore some one of the three-hundred temples, among them some of the most beautiful and revered in the Buddhist world. Or alternatively ask about adding a tour to explore the region with lots of activities on offer including elephant sanctuaries and river rafting. Don’t miss the night Bazaar with its vast array of stalls, great for that souvenir hunting.

Dusit D2, Chiang Mai

Breakfast

After breakfast, join a group tour to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. The drive takes approximately 1.5 hours and travels through rural landscapes, agricultural areas and forested hills. On arrival, the group will be met by a local guide who will give an introductory lesson about elephant anatomy, history and behaviour, before meeting and interacting with the elephants in their natural home.

Enjoy a lunch of traditional Thai food and fresh fruit and then learn how to make herbal medicine balls that are fed to the elephants. One of highlights of the day will be walking the elephants to the river, bathing and brushing them. Join the elephants for a therapeutic mud spa, swim in the river and take lots of photos.

Dusit D2, Chiang Mai

Breakfast and lunch

This morning, fly from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang, where you’ll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. After checking in, head out with your local guide to see some of the sights that have made this town the World Heritage jewel that it is!

Begin with a personal blessing by a monk who will perform a traditional ceremony by sprinkling water, jasmines and flowers over you which is believed to cleanse bad spirits and bring good luck. Then visit Vat Visoun with its impressive stupa, Vat Aham which is one of the city’s major tutelary shrines, and Wat Mai which is famous for its five-tiered roof built in the traditional style of Luang Prabang.

Phou Sii hill stands right in the centre of this small city. Climb its 350 steps to enjoy commanding views for many miles in each direction. Sunset can be enjoyed with a cold drink at one of the cafes located along the Mekong River.

This evening, head out for a delicious dinner at Tamnak Lao restaurant for a great introduction to Luang Prabang style Laotian cuisine. After dinner, take a tour around Luang Prabang’s fabulous night market with your local guide, where there is an overwhelming selection of local handicrafts on offer.

Maison Dalabua, Luang Prabang

Breakfast and dinner

After breakfast at the hotel head off with your guide to visit Wat Xieng Thong – often said to be Luang Prabang’s most beautiful temples. After visiting the temple begin the road journey out of Luang Prabang town to visit Kuang Sii Waterfalls passing through very scenic Laotian countryside, with rice paddies and many ethnic minority villages along the way. On arrival at Kuang Sii you can visit the ‘Bear Rescue Centre‘ where they conserve the black bears in the northern part of Laos. At Kuang Sii Waterfalls, if water levels permit, there is time to enjoy a refreshing dip in the falls. These beautiful falls cascade over many calcified tiers and down several hundred feet into a series of cool, turquoise pools.

Enjoy a local style lunch at the waterfalls, before returning to Luang Prabang town. En route, it is possible to stop at the village of Ban Phanom, a weaving village populated by Lu minority people that originally came from Sipsongpanna in Southern China.

On your return to Luang Prabang, the remainder of the afternoon and evening is at leisure.

Maison Dalabua, Luang Prabang

Breakfast and lunch

Start the day early with one of the most memorable sights of Luang Prabang – ‘Tak Bat’. At dawn hundreds of saffron robed monks move silently through the streets to collect alms (offerings of food). Your guide will explain the background behind this ritual which is still very much a part of everyday life and you will have the chance to make ‘merit’.

After breakfast back at your hotel, take a boat trip along the Mekong River to the Pak Ou caves. En route it is possible to stop at small riverside Ban Thin Hong weaving and fishing village, where you have an opportunity to interact with the locals and learn about rural Lao life and handicrafts. You are welcomed in the village with the traditional Laotian Baci ceremony. ‘Baci’ plays an important role even today to welcome or farewell, bring good luck and ward of bad spirits for any major event in the life of local people.

Then continue along the river to the Pak Ou caves, which contain many thousands of Buddha images that were placed here by local people since 16th century after King Setthathirat found the caves and declared them a holy spot. After exploring the caves and lunch at a local restaurant, its time to return to your boat and begin the journey back to Luang Prabang town where this afternoon is at leisure.

Maison Dalabua, Luang Prabang

Breakfast and lunch

Visit the National Museum which displays an impressive collection of personal artefacts of the former royal family, before transferring to the airport for your short flight to Vientiane.

This afternoon you will visit the Patouxai Victory Monument which was inspired by the Arc De Triomphe in Paris as well as Wat Sisaket which is the oldest original temple in the city. There will be a visit to Wat Phra Keo and That Luang, the most revered shrine in Laos finishing off with a stroll through Talaat Sao food and vegetable market to experience daily Laotian life.

Salana Boutique, Vientiane

Breakfast

Time to bid farewell to this magical country as you transfer to Vientiane Airport for your flight home.

Breakfast