‘Sawadee ka’ and welcome to Thailand.

Transfer to your hotel where this evening, you’ll meet your Travel Director and fellow guests for a Welcome Reception with local appetisers.

You’ll be staying at the Montien Surawong, which was ceremoniously opened by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand on Valentines Day in 1967. It quickly became one of the capital’s most-loved venues attracting royalty and actors from across the globe.

Montien Surawong

Welcome Reception

Rise early and join the locals for a graceful T’ai Chi practice in Lumpini Park to kick-start your day. Alternatively, enjoy a leisurely start before joining your fellow travellers on a city tour, which begins with a visit to Bangkok’s Grand Palace, where you’ll visit the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand, Wat Phra Kaew.

See the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand in Bangkok’s oldest temple, Wat Pho, and enjoy a traditional Thai massage in the temple’s massage centre. Return to your hotel by express river boat, cruising down the Chao Praya past beautiful Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn.

Montien Surawong, Bangkok

Breakfast, lunch

Immerse your senses in the five flavours of Thai cuisine as you join a local specialist for a traditional cooking class in a colonial-style house. Visit a local market nearby to source the freshest ingredients that reveal the sweet, sour, salty, bitter and hot flavours of Thai cuisine. Sample the results later, then spend the afternoon exploring the ‘City of Angels’ at leisure, or consider joining an optional experience to Jim Thompson’s House, home to an impressive collection of Asian art.

Montien Surawong, Bangkok

Breakfast, lunch

A riot of colours greets you this morning as you embark on a visit to the famous floating market at Damnoen Saduak. Connect with the friendly merchants who paddle along the congested canals in their sturdy canoes, laden with fresh fruit and vegetables to sell to shoppers on the banks. En route, you’ll stop at a coconut palm sugar plantation to discover how the farmer extracts the sap from the palm trees to create palm sugar.

After lunch in a local restaurant, visit the world famous Bridge over the River Kwai. After a walk along the bridge continue to the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum, revealing insights into the history of the infamous railway line built during WWII by the Imperial Japanese army. Our final stop today sees us pay tribute to the thousands of allied prisoners of war who were laid to rest at the War Cemetery.

Bangkok > Damnoen Saduak > Kanchanaburi

Dheva Mantra Resort, Kanchanaburi

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

This morning, visit Hellfire Pass, a section of the Thailand-Burma “Death Railway”, so named for the tortuous conditions that prisoners of war endured during WWII to build it.

After lunch, embark on a thrilling train ride across wooden viaducts, skirting the winding waters of the Kwai River. Disembark to see the wooden viaducts first-hand walking across one. This evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Dheva Mantra Resort, Kanchanaburi

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

After breakfast, travel to the UNESCO-listed Ayutthaya, once the second-most important ancient capital of Old Siam and the largest city in the world. Here, you’ll delve into the trading heritage of a mighty city that was all but raised to the ground by an 18th Century Burmese invasion. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, then return to Bangkok for the flight to Sukhothai, Thailand’s first capital.

Kanchanaburi > Ayutthaya > Sukhothai

Legendha Hotel, Sukhothai

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Today, you’ll gain insights into a powerful kingdom that enjoyed its golden age during the 13th and 14th Centuries and shaped modern Thailand as it is today.

Start the day with a visit to the UNESCO-listed Sukhothai Historical Park which reveals thousands of years of history and a 15 metre seated Buddha secreted within its walls. You can explore by bicycle or ride the internal tram.

This afternoon, visit the home of a local family and learn how to make amulets which are thought to protect the owner from harm.

Legendha Hotel, Sukhothai

Breakfast, lunch

The day begins with a visit to the first of our experiences today at the village of Natonchan, where our visit supports the community’s eco-tourism project. Meet the locals and learn about ‘gymnastic doll’ making and the villagers’ traditional cotton clothes which are soaked in mud to protect them from fading.

Arriving in Chiang Mai, enjoy an evening walk with your Travel Director and visit the colourful Sunday market. Your hotel tonight is located in the old town of Chiang Mai.

Sukhothai > Natonchan > Chiang Mai

Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel, Chiang Mai

Breakfast, lunch

Admire the delicate hand-painted fans and colourful paper umbrellas that are famously crafted in Chiang Mai’s Sankamphaeng district. Continue to a nearby small village to join a family in their typical stilt house for a northern Thai-style lunch.

Next is a visit to Wat Suan Dok to meet a local monk and learn about Buddhism, against the backdrop of the temple’s magnificent golden chedi.

Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel, Chiang Mai

Breakfast, lunch

Your morning is free to spend as you please. Later, visit Wat Doi Suthep, one of Thailand’s most sacred temples. As the sun sets over this mystical temple, listen quietly to the tranquil sounds of the monks chanting.

This evening, join your fellow travellers and Travel Director for a farewell dinner at a traditional Thai restaurant located next to the river.

Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel, Chiang Mai

Breakfast, dinner

Your exhilarating encounter with Old Siam and new Thailand at its end. Transfer to Chiang Mai International Airport for your flight home.

Breakfast