Temples shimmer at sunset as tree roots wrap themselves around the ancient city remains while monks chant, kingdoms extend, and traders shout in floating markets. Welcome to Thailand and Cambodia, where treasures whisper of an amazing millennium of history and legend. Culture embeds itself in every day, and you can go exploring with two weeks to discover how the past has informed the present. Handcrafted to include the best of both countries, this luxury tour celebrates both history and modern...
Customizable Itinerary
Day 1
Bangkok – Cultural Welcomes in the Thai Capital
Bangkok is often a misunderstood city and sometimes passed over by most. It is big and bustling, and not always too inviting after a long flight, but the city is full of secrets to discover and is a place that excites the soul. You will be greeted at the airport by your guide and spend the afternoon relaxing, the hotel having a rooftop pool high above Bangkok’s artery, the Chao Phraya River. Go exploring around dusk and dip into small temples, walk through streets of food stalls, join the locals along the riverbank, and discover what hides behind the city’s busy facade. Bangkok is a wonderful city when you have a good guide, and this will be the first day of three you will spend in the city.
What's Included:
Day 2
Bangkok – Exploring Old and New in Bangkok
Day 3
Bangkok – Thai Recipes and More Iconic Experiences
Day 4
Kanchanaburi – A Floating Market and the Famous Railway Line
Day 5
Kanchanaburi – Hellfire Pass and the Kwai River
Day 6
Sukhothai – Remains of the Siam Capital and Sleeping Besides the Temples
Day 7
Sukhothai – The Exquisite History of a 13th-Century Capital
Day 8
Chiang Mai – Cultural Insights Across North Thailand
Day 9
Chiang Mai – Meeting With Monks and Sunset Above Thailand’s Cultural City
Day 10
Chiang Mai – Sacred Temples, Thick Jungle and Chanting Monks
Day 11
Siem Reap – Sunset Over the Temples
Day 12 - 13
Siem Reap – Immersive Angkor Wat Exploration
Day 14
Siem Reap – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Immerse yourself in the wonder of Angkor with two days spent in the heart of the old Khmer Empire
- Discover the magnificent remains of Sukhothai, the 13th-century Siam capital
- Meet with monks and soak up the style of Chiang Mai, Thailand’s most cultural city
- Explore Angkor Thom, the royal city of the Khmer Empire, where tree roots merge with temple remains
- Visit a floating market in Damnoen Saduak, seeing how culture has hardly changed over the centuries
- Absorb the stories from World War II in Kanchanaburi, where a famous railway line spurts into the jungle
- Experience the vibrant mix of old and new that is Bangkok, a city that is full of surprise when you have an excellent local guide
- Take a Thai cooking class, explore Thailand’s thick northern jungle, and take a tour through the remains of Ayutthaya
Detailed Description
Sonorous chanting rings through a hilltop temple as tree roots wrap themselves around the remains of an ancient city. A railway line surges through the jungle then stops while traders float through a market, their boats laden with fruits. These are the scenes of Thailand and Cambodia, two countries steeped into heritage. Here, the past becomes part of the modern day as even at ancient kingdom ruins, there is a sense of history that blurs into the 21stcentury. Even in a bustling capital city, you can feel the pull of yesteryear. Handcrafted to celebrate all of the cultural treasures, your two-week tour will cover the best of Thailand and Cambodia with five unique overnight destinations and many beautiful places in between.
Land first in Bangkok, a city of color and surprise. The past juxtaposes with the new here, as told through local markets, magnificent temples, riverside scenes and, a sultry evening atmosphere. With a strong local guide, you will find it to be a city full of surprises, and one that happily confounds some of its reputations. Stop at a floating market on route to two nights in Kanchanaburi, where World War II stories emanate from a jungle railway line. Ayutthaya is exquisite, an early Siam capital lost in a redolent state of ruin. Sukhothai is even more expressive, the earliest Siam capital a place of rising stupas, evocative temples, spiritual standouts and a real sense of past glory. You will have a couple of nights here to bask in a mostly 13th-century world.
From here, you will journey north to Chiang Mai, stopping to visit local villages and eighth-century remains. Meet with monks, visit stilt houses, and explore the ancient art of umbrella making, before several nights in Thailand’s most cultural city. Chiang Mai is relaxed, and the sunset from its hilltop temple is a great way to start the experience. The city epitomizes the blur of old and new, whether you are in the jungle or at a night market. Angkor completes this handcrafted tour as you fly to Siem Reap to spend two full days in this heart of old Khmer with one day dedicated to religious histories and another to the royal city. Find yourself alone in the incredible ruins, discover how the old empire influences today’s villages, and watch the sun come down across the temple-dappled plains – there’s nowhere else like it.
Starting Price
$4,600 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
- Accommodations
- In-country transportation
- Some or all activities and tours
- Expert trip planning
- 24x7 support during your trip
Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.
Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service
4.84 stars based on 1004 reviews.
A huge shout-out to Zicasso's trip coordinator, who orchestrated this incredible trip for us. Each outing was better than the previous one; our guides were awesome, both fun and informative; the hotel selections were just what we wanted, intimate and special. And everything was scheduled like clockwork.
Despite epic rainfall (which led to flash flooding in areas of Chiang Rai and, in fact, prevented normal access to the Black House Museum), they carried on, delivering every bit of our planned itinerary on time and to a tee. This type A control freak (me) never felt the need to “manage” a thing, which speaks volumes about this tour operator's extraordinarily high level of organization, communication, and coordination.
Thank you to everyone involved. It was clearly a team effort. We are most grateful for the magical, once-in-a-lifetime experience you made possible for us.
Reviewed By Julia U.
Zicasso's travel company was amazing! I cannot say enough good words about this company and all the people we worked with!
We planned our honeymoon to Thailand with our travel specialist. He gave us a call shortly after we filled out the contact form. We talked about what we were hoping for on our vacation and what kinds of hotels we like to stay at, etc. Our specialist was very responsive over the whole planning process and would send us sample itineraries until my partner and I were completely happy with the whole trip. His suggestions were thorough and we didn't have to do any research on our own.
We did a trip around the whole country: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, a couple of national parks, and Koh Samui. We had mostly private tours and they were all fantastic! The drivers and tour guides were all friendly and knowledgeable.
Each night, our contact messaged us all the details we needed for the next day. It was super-helpful and allowed us to relax more knowing someone was there for us. We really enjoyed our experience and would be happy to work with this travel company again!
Reviewed By Jessica T.
Our trip was seamless from start to finish. We were thoroughly impressed by the expertise and attentiveness of our local guides—their knowledge, perfectly timed tours, and the thoughtfully planned itinerary by the Zicasso trip planner made for an exceptional experience.
Reviewed By Bernadette B.
Everything was very well arranged by Zicasso's travel specialists. It was a smooth and pleasant experience. The tour guides were always on time. Airport pick-ups and drop-offs were very helpful. The hotels where we stayed were amazing. It was a great experience!
Reviewed By Maitraye S.
We had a great trip to Thailand with our Zicasso trip planner. They set us up with a very helpful guide in Bangkok, who made it easy from the time we stepped off the plane, through all the temples, activities, night markets, tuk-tuks, and boats.
Our hotel in Bangkok was great, with nice views and a nice breakfast buffet. We took the free hotel ferry to the shopping mall and it was a lot of fun.
Our resort in Koh Samui was incredible. It had a great beach and pool. The elephant sanctuary and the cooking class were highlights. We would probably pass on Pig Island next time as it was very dirty and we saw pigs getting attacked.
Overall, we had a great time and the tour guide took care of us completely, from start to finish.
Reviewed By Miles K.
We had an amazing, nearly three-week trip throughout Southeast Asia. Zicasso's tour operators did an incredible job planning all of the details of the trip. In general, I am not easily impressed and I tend to be pretty upfront with my criticism. In this case, I was truly impressed. I really don't have any criticism about the whole experience.
This was a very complicated trip, with eight cities/locations and six internal flights. We had great communication in the months and weeks leading up to the trip. They were receptive to all of our requests and they gave very good advice when we had questions.
All of the guides were great. The hotels were amazing and all of the details of the activities, transfers, and internal flights were well thought out and well coordinated. I was so impressed by their attention to detail. They were also willing to be flexible and able to make changes, even during the trip. I was able to reach them throughout the trip by WhatsApp and they responded quickly every time. I would recommend them wholeheartedly.
Reviewed By Jeffrey W.