Bangkok ~ Ayutthaya ~ Chiang Mai 

This tour starts in Bangkok and ends in Chiang Mai. These are your arrival and departure airports. 

Thailand

Friendly and food-obsessed, hedonistic and historic, cultured and curious, Thailand tempts visitors with a smile as golden as the country’s glittering temples and tropical beaches.

Bangkok

It’s the contradictions that provide the City of Angels with its complex, multifaceted personality. Here, climate-controlled megamalls sit side by side with 200-year-old village homes; gold-spired temples share space with neon-lit strips of sleaze; slow-moving traffic is bypassed by long-tail boats plying the canals and riverways; Buddhist monks dressed in robes shop for the latest smartphones; and streets lined with food carts are overlooked by restaurants perched on top of skyscrapers. As Bangkok races towards the future, these contrasts are only poised to increase and intensify, even while supplying the city with its unique and ever-evolving notion of Thai cosmopolitanism.

Ayutthaya

Enigmatic temple ruins are strewn across the modern city of Ayutthaya (อยุธยา), whispering of its heyday as one of the world’s wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities. Once replete with gilded temples and treasure-laden palaces, this island capital of Siam was brutally sacked by the Burmese in 1767. Today, dozens of ruins remain from this period of thriving trade and art and offer a tantalizing glimpse into its glorious past. Standing among towering stupas, it’s easy to imagine how international merchants visiting from around the globe were left in awe.

Chiang Mai

A sprawling, modern city has grown up around ancient Chiang Mai (เชียงใหม่).  The historic centre of Chiang Mai still feels overwhelmingly residential, more like a sleepy country town than a bustling capital. If you drive in a straight line in any direction, you’ll soon find yourself in the lush green countryside and pristine rainforests dotted with churning waterfalls, serene wát and peaceful country villages – as well as a host of markets, farms and tea plantations.

A Bountiful Table

Adored around the world, Thai cuisine expresses fundamental aspects of Thai culture: it is generous, warm, refreshing and relaxed. Thai dishes rely on fresh, local ingredients – pungent lemongrass, searing chillies and plump seafood. A varied national menu is built around the four fundamental flavours: spicy, sweet, salty and sour.  Our roving appetites will visit noodle shacks, floating markets, the Chines Quarter and eat fresh seafood caught that day. 

Trip Highlights

• Bangkok City Tour - Grand Royal Palace, Emerald Buddha Statue & Wat Pho
• Have your senses stimulated as you wander around the Chinese Quarter in Bangkok
• Take a leisurely Long tail boat on the Chao Phraya river
• Enjoy an evening food tour in Bangkok by Tuk Tuk including a drink at a rooftop bar for the ultimate view
• Visit the famous floating markets and railway market of Bangkok
• Step back in time in the ancient capital Ayutthaya and visit the temples of this historic Kingdom
• Dress up in a beautiful traditional Thai costume and have lunch in a lovely restaurant before floating down the river on a vintage timber boat
• Take a rickshaw ride to the Central Market Warorot in Chiang Mai
• Experience the Araksa Tea Estate Chiang Mai - includes tea tour, tasting and lunch
• Visit the charming community Tai Lue Luang Nue and spend the day getting back to nature
• See many sacred temples and artefacts of spiritual significant to the Thai people