Day 1: Bangkok

Welcome to Bangkok! At the airport terminal keep your eyes open for the Travel Talk sign, as we pick you up from the airport and take you to our Bangkok hotel. Gather round in the hotel lobby at 6:30pm as we meet both the other tour members and the guide. Listen up for a fast and informal meeting with the leader including registration and a short brief about the adventures ahead and information about Thailand. After the meeting, you can join the optional group dinner.

• Included Activities; Welcome Meeting
• Optional Activities ; Group Dinner
• Meals ; No

Day 2: Bangkok City Tour

Today explore the city! We will start by visiting the beautiful 24-hour flower market. Here restaurants, hotels and florists come to buy their daily stock of fresh locally grown flowers. Its then on to the famous Wat Pho with its massive golden reclining Buddha. Wat Pho is also known as the Home of Thai Massage, as the training centre here is world renowned for its levels of excellence. We then take a local tuk tuk, for an exhilarating transfer to the Grand Palace. The Palace is the royal and religious heart of the country, with the revered Jade Buddha taking pride of place and next to the Palace is the royal and religious heart of the Royal Coronation Rooms. We then take a break to enjoy lunch before boarding a private long tail boat which takes you on a ride through the many klongs (canals) that cover the city. The rapid transformation from vibrant city to relaxing suburbia with gilded temples, stilted house, giant basking monitor lizards and old men fishing from the walkways is remarkable. During your hour long exploration, you will have time to feed some of the giant catfish that live in the water here before disembarking near to the famous backpacker district of Khao San Road. This is where many expeditions around the region start and finish, and the area is imbued with an atmosphere of adventure with its mixture of street bars, market stalls, music and travellers.

• Included Activities; Bangkok Guided City Tour
• Optional Activities ; No
• Meals ; Brekfast

Day 3: Bangkok, Kanchanaburi

This morning we set off for Kanchanaburi, home of the famous bridge on the river Kwai. Our first stop is at the bridge itself, where we learn about its history. We then visit the Allied War Cemetery before boarding a train for a 90-minute ride on the 'Death Railway'. This section of track was dug out and laid by allied POWs and locals as forced labour under the Japanese Imperial Army. We then disembark for lunch. Afterwards you will pay a visit to Hellfire Pass, which has an excellent visitors’ centre that gives details on how the workers dug the railway cutting with their bare hands. We take time to visit the cutting itself before driving to a nearby pier and taking a long tail boat to our hotel for the night. Your room is in a floating raft on the Kwai River, facilities are simple (no electricity) however the setting and experience are both breath-taking.

• Included Activities; Sightseeing Kanchanaburi
• Optional Activities ; No
• Meals ; Brekfast

Day 4: Kanchanaburi

Today is free for you to relax and enjoy the facilities at your resort at leisure. There is kayaking, rafting, swimming as well as trekking in the local villages. Or if you prefer, you can just relax in your hammock next to the river and read a book!

• Optional Activities ; Kayaking, Trekking, Rafting
• Meals ; Brekfast

Day 5: Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai

After breakfast, we then drive for 3 hours to the ancient capital of Ayuthaya. We pass countryside and small towns before arriving and taking a break for lunch. Afterwards we get to visit some of the key sites in this ancient capital taking time to visit the impressive ruined temples of Wat Mahathat and Wat Phra Sri Sanphet. It’s then on to a local restaurant for a dinner at your own leisure before we board our train northwards to Chiang Mai.

• Included Activities; Sightseeing Ayutthaya
• Optional Activities ; Group Dinner
• Meals ; Brekfast

Day 6: Chiang Mai

This morning you are met at the train station and are taken to your hotel. After lunch we visit foothills of the impressive Doi Suthep Temple and then have to switch to local vehicles for the journey up the mountain. The temple on the summit stands like a sentinel over the valley below, and monks chanting adds to the sense of atmosphere. The site has been a place of worship since the 14th Century, and is one of the most sacred sites for Thais. This evening we set off an orientation tour of the Chiang Mai Night market. All kinds of wonders can be found on sale, from hand painted umbrellas to intricately carved soaps; freshly cooked street food to linens made by the hill tribe communities.

• Included Activities; Sightseeing Chiang Mai,  Orientation walk in the market
• Optional Activities ; No
• Meals ; No

Day 7: Chiang Mai

Our trip will end today after we say goodbye to our new friends over breakfast, bid you safe travels, and check-out of the hotel at 11:00am.

• Meals ; Brekfast