17 Day Thailand Adventure for Families with Children

DAY 1: ARRIVE BANGKOK
Upon arrival in Bangkok - Transfer to the hotel - relax at leisure and overnight. Depending

Accom: Montien Riverside (http://www.montien.com/riverside/)
Meals: None

DAY 2: BANGKOK – KUKRIT PRAMOJ'S HOUSE – WAT PO – GRAND PALACE – OLD BANGKOK BY RIVERBOAT – BANGKOK
After breakfast, visit Kukrit Pramoj's house which is an impressive collection, and Kukrit was / is considered a renaissance man both here and abroad, for his interest and participation in the arts and politics. Afterward drive to the Grand Palace and the sacred Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaew). Then continue to Bangkok’s oldest and largest temple, Wat Pho to view the magnificent 46 meter long reclining Buddha. Take a cruise on the Chao Phraya River to view river and canal-side life. Return to the hotel by boat to relax or explore on your own. Then at 19:00hrs, transfer to Silom Village Restaurant for dinner & Thai Classical dances

Accom: Montien Riverside
Meals: B, L, D

DAY 3: BANGKOK – TALING-CHAN FLOATING MARKET – KANCHANABURI – JEATH WAR MUSEUM – LOCAL TRAIN ON DEATH RAILWAY – BANGKOK
Early breakfast before driving to visit Taling-Chan Floating Market with your guide. The floating markets are where the sellers of fresh produce, flowers, vegetables, and a wide variety of tropical fruits come to meet and trade on boats. This floating market is less touristed than others, and the best way to appreciate it is to ride a long-tailed boat along the canal. Then drive onward to Kanchanaburi and visit JEATH War Museum, a realistic depiction of POW living quarters, with photographic, pictorial and physical memorabilia dating from World War II. Continue to visit Allied War Cemetery, resting-place for more than 6,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs). Visit world-famous Bridge on the River Kwai, a part of Death Railway constructed by Allied POWs.
Return to Bangkok to your hotel, relax at leisure and overnight. Dinner is on your own.

NOTE: if you want to track and see wild elephants in Khao Yai on Day 5, you must have your guide inform NXNE operations (Mr Tum) or Nick personally so one of us can try to arrange.

Accom: Montien Riverside (http://www.montien.com/riverside/)
Meals: B, L

DAY 4: BANGKOK – FREE AT LEISURE ON DAY TIME – JOE LOUIS THEATRE (THE PUPPETS SHOWS) – SUAN LUUM NIGHT BAZAAR – BANGKOK
After breakfast, relax at leisure or explore Bangkok on your own. Some suggestions for exploring or doing on your own:

- Railroad museum near Weekend Market (quirky but fun & free)
- Children’s Museum near Weekend Market (appropriate for kids 4-10yrs, about 150B each)
- Weekend market, which has parts actually open during the week
- Shopping

At 18:00 hrs meet your guide and drive to the Joe Louis Theatre for dinner. The puppet show begins at 20:00hrs and last about 1 hour and ¼. The puppeteers skillfully work hand-crafted traditional puppets dressed in elaborate costumes, telling traditional Thai stories. Visitors can also see demonstrations of how the puppets are made.

Afterwards browse the night bazaar for souvenirs and gifts before returning to the hotel.

Accom: Montien Riverside
Meals: B, D

DAY 5: BANGKOK – KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK – BAT CAVE – NIGHT SAFARI – KHAO YAI PARK – ECO VALLEY LODGE – KHAO YAI PARK
After a leisurely breakfast, check out, meet your guide, and then drive for about 2 & ½ hours to Khao Yai National Park. Check in at the hotel first, then go for lunch at a local restaurant. Spend the hottest part of the afternoon at the resort enjoying the facilities or exploring on your own.

Late afternoon get your mosquito repellent, hat, and walking shoes (and bring a light sweater or jacket), and meet you naturalist guide who will bring you to one of the Bat Caves in the area. Bats pour from the cave’s aperture in a solid stream for a long time at dusk in their search for the evening dinner’s bugs.

Then have dinner at a local restaurant, before quickly going back to the park for a Night Safari with the park ranger’s in their open sided vehicles. This will begin about ½ hour after it gets dark. One can typically see civit cats, barking deer and porcupine are common, and it is possible to see the occasional wild elephant. Return to the hotel for the night by 2100hrs, as tomorrow morning will be rising early.

NOTE: if you really want to see wild elephant, this may be possible, but elephants are more active at dusk than in the night. There are no guarantees you will see one, and you must promise to follow exact instructions of your naturalist guide, as elephants are dangerous. You must tell your guide a couple of days in advance!

Accom: Eco Valley Lodge (www.ecovalleylodge.com)
Meals: B, L, D

DAY 6: KHAO YAI PARK – JUNGLE NATURE WALK – CAMP LUNCH – WATERFALL AND PARK HQ – ECO VALLEY LODGE – KHAO YAI PARK
Today we suggest you will need a small day pack carrying your: camera, sun block cream, hat, walking shoes, pair of flip flops, insect repellent, long trousers, long sleeved shirt, shorts and bathing suit and small towel

Wake before dawn to have a simple breakfast in the hotel, or carry a sack breakfast of fruit and bread (also made by hotel) before heading out with your naturalist guide up the biggest mountain in the park. You will see Macaques monkeys on the road sides, and this is also the best time to see local birds. Then leave the road and walk into the forest / jungle in search of a giant Strangling Fig tree; the home of Giant Hornbills and Whitehand Gibbons. Khao Yai is special because it is the easiest place in Thailand (perhaps the world), to see these elegant and charming creatures. While not guaranteed to see them, it is almost certain you will. But you must follow the instructions of your guide, and walk quietly or be quiet when asked.

Continue to a mineral lick where some of the larger animals can be seen. Porters will be carrying essentials for cooking a delicious lunch in the forest. Finish the walk just after lunch, and continue to the Park HQ for a look at the exhibits there, and if you like, you can go for a swim in the cool waterfall next door, which was using in the filming of “The Beach”. Return to your resort by about 1500hrs to relax and enjoy the facilities there, and have dinner on your own.

Walking Distance: 6 km
Accom: Eco Valley Lodge
Meals: B, L

DAY 7: KHAO YAI PARK – BANGKOK AIRPORT – FLY TO CHIANG MAI – CITY TOUR – DOI SUTHEP MOUNTAIN AND TEMPLE – CHIANG MAI
Leave Khao Yai area to return to Bangkok’s domestic airport for the domestic flight to Chiang Mai by TG616 BKK-CNX dep. 12:20 arr. 13:30. You will have ample opportunity to find lunch in either Bangkok or Chiang Mai airports during the flight today.

Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel, check in and relax at the pool or the very Thai minimalist rooms of the resort on the Ping River. In the afternoon visit a few Chiang Mai landmarks and cultural icons including Doi Suthep mountain and the famous temple there, and then a "Lanna" style temple in town. Dinner on your own. Return to hotel for overnight.

Nick Recommends for Dinner: Suntharee’s restaurant 200m from Lanna Mantra (10 years ago Suntharee was still at the peak of her singing career. Today Suntharee raises her family and runs this restaurant. The local food is pretty good, but one goes there for the excellent Northern music Suntharee herself sings, and that made by the wide variety of artistes who play there. Enjoy!
Accom: Lanna Mantra (http://lannamantra.com/)
Meals: B

DAY 8: CHIANG MAI – ELEPHANT NATURE PARK – ELEPHANT RIDE – NIGHT BAZAAR – CHIANG MAI
Leave Chiang Mai after breakfast Elephant Nature Park (www.elephantnaturefoundation.org). Experience a day in the life of these gigantic beasts. Here you will also have the opportunity to ride an elephant for 30 minutes or so thru the local forest. Have lunch at a local restaurant and then return to Chiang Mai to relax at your hotel, or go exploring on your own. After dinner on your own, meet your guide to visit the night bazaar for shopping. Return to hotel for overnight.

Nick Recommends for Dinner: The Whole Earth Vegetarian Restaurant is a Chiang Mai favourite, and it is also near the night bazaar. The Gallery Restaurant is on the Ping River if you would prefer a river view. Both establishments are written up in Lonely Planet etc, so you will see other tourists, but the food is excellent at both. Gallery is also only 10-15 walk to the night bazaar if you care to walk.

Accom: Lanna Mantra
Meals: B, L

DAY 9: CHIANG MAI (FREE DAY ON YOUR OWN)
Free Day – no service

Accom: Lanna Mantra
Meals: B

DAY 10: CHIANG MAI – FLIGHT OF THE GIBBON AT MAE KOMPONG – BAMBOO RAFTING AT MAE TAMAN – CHIANG DAO CAVES – BAN THA TON
After breakfast, 1 hour drive to Mae Kompong join Treetop Adventure Ecotours on an exhilarating ride through the rainforest canopy on zip lines and sky bridges. From high above the forest floor you will view life from a perspective once reserved only for a select group of scientists. Take an exhilarating flight through a 1500 year-old rainforest high above the forest floor. You zip line easily from tree to tree on a spectacular and gradual downhill course, taking time to linger in your favorite places, soaking up the fragrance, clean air and animal life. Our safety team accompanies you and teaches you how to move through the trees with the speed and grace of a young gibbon.

Lunch is at a local restaurant. After lunch, drive to Mae Taman and enjoy a Bamboo Rafting Adventure along the Mae Taeng River, for around 45 minutes.

Then continue drive to Chiang Dao, Thailand’s second highest mountain, rising almost vertically from the valley floor. Take a walk into the Chiang Dao Monastery caves, the cave complex is supposed to extend more than twelve kilometers into the mountain but there are five main areas inside where visits can be safely made.

Just outside the main entrance is a crystal clear pool containing a lot of very large fish that are extremely well fed due to the ever-present fish food vendor and children eager to oblige. The water comes directly from the mountain. You can explore some of the caves on your own, as they are well lit. Other caves can be explore with the help of local guides there, who rent lamps and whose services to lead you can be had for a nominal fee. Continue to Ban Tha Ton and check in at the hotel and overnight. Dinner is on your own

Accom: Maekok River Village Resort (http://www.maekok-river-village-resort.com/)
Meals: B, L

DAY 11: BAN THA TON TO CHIANG RAI TOWN BY RIVER BOAT ON MAE KOK RIVER – HILLTRIBE VILLAGES – CHIANG RAI – HILLTRIBE WALK – GOLDEN TRIANGLE – OPIUM MUSEUM – CHIANG SAEN – CHIANG RAI TOWN
After breakfast, take a local boat along the Mae Kok River to Chiang Rai. Stop on the way to visit a traditional Karen hill tribe village. The Karen originated in Burma and the various groups combined to form the largest hill tribe population in Thailand, numbering about a quarter of a million which amounts to almost half of the total Thai hill tribe population. Nearby is the second hill tribe of the tour, the Lahu. The Lahu originated in Tibet and consist of five main groups - Red Lahu, Black Lahu, White Lahu, Yellow Lahu, and Lahu Shelehn.

After exploring the villages, continue riding to Chiang Rai pier and transfer you to your hotel for check in.

Continue in the afternoon to visit the infamous Golden Triangle previously renowned as the centre of the opium trade. From a hill top viewpoint, view the splendor of the mighty Mekong joining with the Ruak River and forming the actual “Triangle” with Laos Burma and Thailand.

Visit the Opium Museum. This Royal Project aimed at eradicating opium is an interactive museum tracing the history of the drug.

Continue on to Chiang Saen, a small port town on the banks of the Mekong, where there are the ruins of the Chiang Saen Kingdom, from 1325, including chedis, images of the Buddha, and earthen city ramparts. Return to your hotel in Chiang Rai and relax at your leisure.

Accom: Legend Chiang Rai (http://www.thelegend-chiangrai.com/)
Meals: B, L

DAY 12: CHIANG RAI – FREE AT LEISURE – CHIANG RAI
Free Day – no service

Accom: Legend Chiang Rai
Meals: B

DAY 13: CHIANG RAI – BANGKOK – TRAT – TRANSFER TO KOH CHANG
Transfer to Chiang Rai Airport for a domestic flight to Don Muang Airport by TG1133 CEI-DMK dep. 11:10 arr. 12:25. Upon arrival at Don Muang airport, meet our guide and transfer you to Suvarnabhumi Airport to take a flight to Trat by PG307 BKK-TDX dep. 16:50 arr. 17:55 and transfer to Koh Chang islands and check in at Ban Pu Resort. Then spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Accom: Ban Phu Resort (www.banpuresort.com/room.html#a)
Meals: B

DAY14: ISLAND LIFE
Relax on the beach

Accom: Ban Phu Resort
Meals: B

DAY15: ISLAND LIFE
Relax on the beach

Accom: Ban Phu Resort
Meals: B

DAY16: ISLAND LIFE
Relax on the beach

Accom: Ban Phu Resort
Meals: B

DAY17: ISLAND LIFE – FLY BACK TO BANGKOK – ONWARDS
Transfer to the airport – Bangkok – return home
Note: PG302 TDX-BKK dep. 09:35 arr. 10:30 or PG308 TDX-BKK dep. 18:25 arr. 19:20

Accom: none
Meals: B

End of Service