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Northern Thailand Adventure

Experience
Tour
Destination
Thailand
Duration
14 days
Ages
18+
Operated by
TruTravels

Trip overview

An amazing 14-day adventure starting in Bangkok and ending in the beautiful northern city of Chiang Mai. Experience the coolest places & activities central and northern Thailand have to offer. Cycle around the ancient temple ruins of Ayutthaya. Swim with elephants, trek & zipline through the jungle, learn to cook Thai food and stay with a hill-tribe village in Chiang Mai, visit the hippy/backpacker mountain town, Pai. The ultimate northern Thailand adventure.

Inclusions

What's Included

  • Khao San Road Nightlife
  • Taling Chan Floating Markets
  • River Kwai boat cruise
  • Erawan waterfalls
  • Bike ride around Ayutthaya ruins
  • Chiang Mai temples
  • Jungle trek and hill tribe homestay
  • Zip lining
  • Elephant sanctuary
  • Hot springs and waterfalls in Pai
  • Lod cave & Bamboo rafting
  • White Buddha temple
  • Thai cooking class
  • All transport between destinations and to/from included activities

Meals

3 lunches, 2 dinners

Accommodation

13 Nights accommodation in hotels & homestay (twin-share basis)

24/7 Global Emergency Line

Feel confident knowing we have a worldwide emergency team on standby 24/7/365, so you can feel safe and secure throughout your whole trip no matter where you are in the world.

gWorld access

Stay organised with your personalised portal where you can keep all of your important documents and trip details in one spot and gain insider access to everything Global.

Global Academy

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Gain access to an ever-growing range of skills & languages to learn before & whilst you travel.

Marketplace Deals

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Get exclusive access to deals and discounts through our online Marketplace. Save big on a huge range of products and services from our brand partners worldwide.

Ask a question

Chat with us online now, or we can call you back for free, 24 hours Mon-Fri.

Trip itinerary

Day 1

After we have picked you up from the airport the first day is kept free to get settled in, meet your new travel buddies & either chill out or explore the area. In the evening we’ll take you to one of our favorite restaurants and then for a few drinks on Khao San road so we can all get to know each other over a beer or a bucket (or three). Then get ready for the Northern Thailand Adventure of a lifetime.

Day 2

We leave Bangkok in a private minivan in the morning & stop off at some floating markets on the way out of town. When we arrive in Kanchanaburi an hour or two later, we jump on a boat & cruise down the river Kwai exploring your new surroundings. We head to the famous ‘Bridge Over the River Kwai’ for sunset.

Day 3

Prepare to be amazed at the jaw-dropping beauty of this amazing 7-tier waterfall just an hour away from Kanchanaburi town. Bring a towel and your swimmers because you will undoubtedly want to take a dip in the crystal clear water on some, if not all of the levels, as we trek from one to the next. We’ll provide some lunch and soft drinks to keep you energised and hydrated for the walk, then when you’re done swimming & enjoying this natural wonder we can jump back in the minivan to Kanchanaburi where we will have a few hours to chill by the pool or explore the town before meeting for dinner and drinks at a couple of well-known backpacker bars in town.

Day 4

After a bit of a lie-in and a free morning, we hit the road again to the ancient capital city of Ayutthaya; a place that’s absolutely dripping in history and culture. We’ll take a leisurely bike ride around the world heritage site of the ancient city’s ruins & learn a little about the fascinating history of this place and indeed the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand). After exploring we’ll grab a bite to eat before hopping on the night train to our next destination, Chiang Mai. The train is comfortable and each person gets their own full-size bed with covers and pillows etc, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get a decent night’s sleep & wake up ready to go in the famous and beautiful city of Chiang Mai.

Day 5

After we check into our guest house, which is ideally situated between the old & new areas of Chiang Mai, you’ll have a bit of time to relax by the pool, explore the town or check out the oldest temple in Chiang Mai which is literally opposite our new digs. After lunch we’ll get a cab up to the most famous and possibly beautiful temple in Chiang Mai – Wat Pra Maha Doi Suthep (or just Doi Suthep for short) – This is situated way up high on the side of a mountain so the views from the top are incredible, here you get a panoramic view of the whole of Chiang Mai & the surrounding area. More free time in the afternoon to chill or explore Chiang Mai before we meet in the evening for dinner.

Day 6

Today we head off to the jungle to do one of the most popular activities in the north of Thailand – a trek through the jungle. We spend one night in a hill tribe village homestay, so you can experience what life is like for the many traditional hill tribes of northern Thailand; whose way of life has not changed a huge amount for generations.

Day 7

Continue the trek where you’ll see all kinds of trees, plants & wildlife; we’ll do some bamboo rafting down a river, and maybe even stop by another waterfall or two to freshen up.

Day 8

Chiang Mai is known to some as the adventure capital of Thailand and for good reason. Our absolute favourite of these and probably the most popular with tourists is ziplining through the jungle. This is an amazing experience which is bound to get the heart racing and adrenaline pumping. Practically flying from platform to platform through the canopy of the jungle up to 50m above the ground, throw in some rope bridges and a few abseils and you’ll experience the jungle in an entirely different way to walking through it at ground level.

Day 9

Today we get up close & personal with some of the planets most amazing and majestic creatures. All of the elephants are free to roam at the sanctuary and are not forced to do anything unnatural for the sake of entertaining tourists. When we arrive in the morning we will be given a quick briefing & learn about some of the elephants there, then we’ll be able to feed them some sugarcane and banana (which they love) & get to know them a bit before we wander down to the river for a swim and a bath. This is another once in a lifetime experience and something that you will not forget for a long time. In the afternoon we’ll jump on a minibus to the awesome little hippie town of Pai. It’s about 3 hours outside of Chiang Mai & is now a very popular backpacker destination for good reason. Loads of cool stuff to see, really relaxed vibe, lovely people, good bars & excellent food.

Day 10

Today we’ll take a day trip to see some of the highlights of Pai & the surrounding areas. Starting at the biggest cave in Thailand (Lod Cave), we’ll hike through one or both of the main chambers & take a bamboo raft along the river which runs through the cave (depending on season and accessibility). After the cave, we head to the hot springs, a completely natural pool in the jungle which is heated by geothermal activity. Take a refreshing dip in the crystal clear water, give yourself a beauty treatment with the clay, & float around in the perfect temperature pool before heading to a nearby waterfall with a natural slide & an amazing view. We finish the day high up at Pai Canyon which has an even more amazing view of the surrounding mountains & jungle. You can walk along the ridge and take some amazing pics of the view as we watch the sun go down before heading back into Pai town. After a long day of sightseeing, we’ll go to a nice restaurant and possibly a few local bars to relax & mingle with the many other travellers who are here for pretty much the same reasons as us!

Day 11

A well-deserved chill out day today. After a bit of a lie-in, we head to Fluid Swimming Pool Bar where many of the backpackers in town head to relax, cool down & socialise. When we are done here we’ll head to the local Chinese Village for some tea tasting.

Day 12

In the morning we’ll jump back in our minivan for the return journey to Chiang Mai. In the afternoon we get picked up by our pals from one of the nearby cooking schools, where you will learn a bit about Thailand’s culinary delights and even try your hand at making a few of them yourself. Some of the most delicious food in Thailand comes from the north, so what better way to improve your own culinary skills and understanding of Thai dishes than learning from the masters themselves? The first stop is the local market where our guides & teachers will show us how to select the freshest & tastiest ingredients, to take back and turn into mouth-watering dishes of delight. You can choose between many well-known dishes & will be shown step by step how to prepare each one. The best bit for many is that we will, of course, get to eat it all after, so don’t fill up too much at lunch. This really is a great experience, even for those who don’t usually take to the kitchen too often.

Day 13

Chiang Mai’s very own grand canyon. This is an awesome place to spend the day as it’s basically an old excavation site where they would dig out sand for building etc. It is now a man-made lagoon/canyon which has been turned into an adult playground. There are floating chairs to chill in the water, paddleboards, tubes & for the more adventurous/brave of you, can do cliff- jumping, have a go at deep water soloing or climbing on their new climbing wall. There’s a restaurant on-site so we can grab lunch, snacks, and refreshments whilst there. In the evening we head out into Chiang Mai town once again for dinner and to party!

Day 14

Today is check out day. Your group leader will help you plan any further activities or transport you need to continue your adventure.

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Frequently asked questions

Why go with Global Work & Travel?

As the world’s leading gap-year and “work & travel” company, we offer you the ability to not only choose from a number of awesome experiences all over the world but, we'll be your support system from the very first moment you become a Global Traveller! We provide a premium service that allows you to pick the destination of your dreams, get our visa & pre-departure assistance, book great flights and organise the perfect travel insurance or tours for when you arrive. Plus, we’ll back it all up with some cool and exclusive tech features that are with you the entire time.

As a Global Traveller, you’ll get exclusive access to gWorld, our personalised app where you can keep all of your important documents and trip details in one spot and gain insider access to everything Global. This is where you will find exclusive Marketplace deals for discounts with our brand partners, a unique social network to connect you with other Global Travellers when you’re overseas, access to our Academy with an ever-growing range of skills & languages to learn as you travel, invites to bucket-list side trips with other travellers, local meet-ups and so much more. Think all of your favourite apps merged into one, but like, better?

And it doesn't even stop there. We continue to be there from the moment you land with a dedicated 24/7 emergency team, over 100 staff and ongoing support ensuring that you have the tools you need to feel like a local. That’s why 65,000+ Global Travellers from all over the world have chosen to turn their travel dream into reality with us and we can proudly brag that we’ve got the most & best reviews in the biz!

Why should I book now?

Covid-19 threw us a curve ball and pretty much halted all travel. This means that we have a backlog of travellers, just like you, who are desperate to get out and explore the world! Global Work & Travel works on a first-in-best-dressed basis. Booking earlier ensures that you don’t miss out on the best intake, season, placements and more! We recommend our travellers take 6-12 months to plan their trip for a reason - to make sure you’ve got everything organised perfectly, stress-free.

As a Global Traveller you’ll get exclusive access to gWorld, our personalised app where you can keep all of your important documents and trip details in one spot and gain insider access to everything Global. This is where you will find exclusive Marketplace Deals, a unique social network to connect you with other like-minded Global Travellers, access to our Academy with an ever-growing range of skills & languages, and so much more. Think all of your favourite apps merged into one, but like, better?

Why not give yourself something to look forward to by booking that trip!

Can I travel with a friend?

Yes you can! Simply tell your Trip Coordinator after booking that your friend is also going and they can link your profiles. For most of our trips we should be able to have you and your friends placed together or nearby. Meaning that you can live, work, play & travel together!

But wait there's more! Not only can you travel the world with your besties at your side, you can also earn some extra cash towards your own trip just by referring your friends to Global Work & Travel. You can learn more about the great referral rewards program inside your gWorld account once you join.

And for those who decide to go-it-solo, we’ve made it easier to meet other Global Travellers in the same region as you. Just like any other social platform, you’ll be able to interact, share, chat and meet with some really cool people who are doing trips just like you!

What happens if COVID affects my trip?

If you have to make any changes to your departure date, you’re protected with our Lifetime Deposit Guarantee and our Ultimate Corona Booking Flexibility. With this, we will change your trip dates for free. If this doesn’t fit around you and you can’t go on your trip anymore, we will give you a 100% refund in the form of a Trip Credit with us (See terms). If you’re unable to use it, you can also transfer that credit to someone else for them to put towards any trip too.

If you’re affected by Covid-19 while you’re overseas, you will have all the support you need from our team or partners in-country as well as have access to our 24/7 Global Emergency Line. We recommend travellers purchase Global Travel Cover travel insurance that provides Covid-19 medical protection too.

Do I need to be vaccinated to book?

As border restrictions for countries begin to ease, being fully vaccinated will maximise the number of locations you can visit. So while you are not legally required to be vaccinated, and it’s also not a requirement to travel with us, it will limit some of the countries that you can visit and may make it harder to travel through over the next 12-18 months. We highly recommend our travellers look at the current travel restrictions of their destination, speak with a medical professional or get in touch with our team for travel advice.

What happens if I want to cancel my trip?

Our Ultimate Corona Booking Flexibility means you can change your trip’s start date up to 84* days before departure without incurring any charges when you rebook it for any time (or even any other trip) in the next 2 years from your original start date.

In the event that you want to cancel your booking altogether, if you give us over 84* days notice you can do so with only a 50% cancellation fee. Your refund of the balance will come in the form of a Store Credit which you can put towards booking absolutely anything travel related with your Travel Concierge within the next 2 years!

*Some select trips excluded, including Teach (Spain, Italy & Czech Republic) and USA (Summer Camp, Working Holiday and Hotel Professional), and others as listed in Booking Conditions.

How it works

Make your decision

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We become friends

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Time to go

We’ll get your tickets in-hand and your transfers ready. Then, our in-country team or partner will have everything prepared for your arrival. It’s now time for the real adventure to start.

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Still have questions?

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