February 3, 2025 – February 10, 2025
Welcome to your next great adventure!
Your adventure’s itinerary
Put on your walking shoes and prepare your taste buds, you’re about to embark on a trip of a lifetime! Click each day below to see details of what you’ll get the chance to experience, to learn where you’ll be staying, and what delicious adventures you’ll encounter.
Monday, 3rd February 2025
Meals Included: Dinner
Sa-wat dee! Welcome to Thailand’s capital, Bangkok – famous for its tuk-tuks, khlong boats and street vendors serving up delicious Thai dishes. Your food adventure begins this evening with an important welcome meeting at 5pm, but Bangkok has so much on offer that you might like to arrive a day or so early to explore: perhaps uncover the magnificent Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, wander down the tourist mecca of Khao San Road, or indulge in a Thai massage.
After the welcome meeting, head out with your group for dinner at popular restaurant. After dinner, explore the area and sample some Thai sweets with your leader and fellow travellers.
Arrival Transfer: Not included – please refer to pricing table
Included Activities
Bangkok – Welcome Dinner
Accommodation:
Nouvo City Hotel
Special information
It’s very important that you attend the welcome meeting as we will be collecting insurance details and next of kin information at this time. If you are going to be late please let your travel agent or hotel reception know. Ask reception or look for a note in the lobby for more information on where the meeting will take place.
Tuesday, 4th February 2025
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
After an early breakfast, head to the Maeklong Railway Market (approximately 1.5 hours) Prepare for stalls to be quickly pulled to one side when the train quite literally passes through the centre of the market. Walk past canals filled with sellers hawking their colourful fruits and wares at this authentic local market, then board a paddleboat to explore the waterways further. The area is well known for coconut palm sugar production and you’ll stop in at a riverside operation to see how it is made.
Relax by taking a paddle boat ride to explore the Floating Market and the local community which still maintains the traditional way of life along the canal. Damnoen saduak Floating Market in Ratchaburi is one of the most popular floating markets in Thailand.
Afterwards, travel back to Bangkok, where you will have a free afternoon to shop, sightsee or simply relax at a cafe.
Tonight, head to Chinatown for a walking tour. This is a great place to sample some local street food, so ask your leader for their insight and recommendations. You might also like to join other members of your group to enjoy live music at one of the lively bars in the area.
Included Activities
Accommodation:
Nouvo City Hotel
Wednesday, 5th February 2025
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
After breakfast leave Bangkok and travel by private vehicle to a local village and community farm for an epic day of cooking Central Thai regional specialities and feasting with your hosts. Learn about the age-old agricultural traditions still being practised today and enjoy the freshest ingredients straight from the garden.
You will help to prepare a home-cooked lunch of local delicacies, such as kaeng som (green papaya soup), spicy fish cakes and watercress salad with chicken, followed by multiple desserts using ingredients like coconut, rice milk and crispy noodles! Later this afternoon board a longtail boat and cruise the Chao Phraya River to visit a Buddhist temple located on a small, remote island. Head to Ayutthaya city for a free evening to explore and – of course – eat more!
Included Activities:
Accommodation:
Krungsri River Hotel
Thursday, 6th February 2025
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today we explore Ayutthaya, the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai, and once one of the most powerful cities in Asia. Stop by a street food stall for a demonstration and tasting of roti sai mai, a dish synonymous with the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. It consists of a thin pancake wrapped around delicious, fine strands of thin-spun cotton candy.
Lunch today is a steaming bowl of guay-tieo-ruea, or boat noodles. The Ayutthaya take on this classic combo of fragrant pork broth, roasted slices of meat, Thai-style pork balls, sliced morning glory stalks, fresh green onion and a choice of rice noodles is considered the original and best. While the food is no longer served out of sampans on the river, the narrow rowboats are used as decoration at roadside eateries to indicate what’s on the menu.
See the remains and reminders of Ayutthaya’s golden age with a guided tour of the picturesque ruins and temples spread across the town. The rows of headless Buddhas at Wat Phra Mahathat, sacked by the Burmese in the 18th century, are very atmospheric, and a Buddha head surrounded by Banyan tree roots is perhaps the most photographed site in all of Ayutthaya.
In the afternoon, travel back to Bangkok and board on a domestic flight from Donmuang to Chiang Mai. Upon arrival, you’ll be picked up and transferred to your hotel. This evening, enjoy a riverside dinner in town.
Included Activities:
Accommodation:
Estia Hotel
Friday, 7th February 2025
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
The most vibrant city in Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai has many famous temples and an interesting old city area. Most importantly, Chiang Mai is famous for its Northern Thai cuisine and may well be home to many of your favourite Thai dishes. Lunch today is a plant-based meal at a popular local restaurant that sources organic vegetables from nearby farms for their daily array of delicious meals.
Afterwards, take an orientation walk around the streets of the city, stopping at Wat Chedi Luang and enjoying a pick me up at Akha Ama – a social enterprise created by a member of the Akha tribe who wanted to highlight the produce of his community and provide an income source to its coffee growers.
Check out the bustling Warorot Market (Kad Luang), one of Chiang Mai’s largest markets and a thriving social hub, this is the perfect place to get a glimpse into daily life, as well as experience some of the ingredients and snacks unique to the regional cuisine.
Take time to relax and refresh before an included dinner at a local restaurant. If you’re keen to explore further, the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar beckons, full of local handicrafts and fabulous Northern Street food dishes.
Included Activities:
Accommodation:
Estia Hotel
Saturday, 8th February 2025
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today you’ll travel to a small Thai village where you’ll meet Aoi, your gracious host for an incredible overnight homestay experience. On the way to Aoi’s village, stop for lunch at a restaurant specialising in the local delicacy of fermented rice noodles. Next, visit some local producers – including a mushroom farm where you’ll pick up ingredients for a Northern Thai cooking class.
Over the years, a khan tok dinner has become the traditional way to welcome guests in Northern Thailand, with the term ‘khan tok’ meaning both the meal and the raised tray on which it’s served. Eleven dishes are featured on this delicious khan tok menu, so cut, chop and sizzle the day away, then tuck into dishes like nam prik ong (chilli paste with tomatoes), deep fried vegetables, hung leh (curry) and mushroom larb (spicy mushroom salad). Enjoy the fruits of your labour against a backdrop of local musicians singing and dancing.
Included Activities:
Homestay – Khan Tok Cooking Class
Accommodation:
Homestay
Special information
You can leave your main luggage at the Chiang Mai hotel and pack an overnight bag for the homestay. As we will be staying in a traditional rural community, please be mindful to pack and wear conservative dress. The accommodation tonight is multi-share and basic, but the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. Beds are fold-out mattresses on the floor and bathrooms are shared.
Sunday, 9th February 2025
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Wake up and enjoy a sumptuous Northern Thai breakfast of gai tod (fried chicken), fried rice, sweet sticky rice and egg custard. Bid farewell to your homestay hosts and take a scenic, winding drive (1.5 hours) to one of the country’s most stunning temple complexes: Doi Suthep. A 300-step naga-guarded stairway leads you to the temples, and the climb is well worth the effort. The hypnotic chanting of Buddhist monks and the sweeping views of the city make for a memorable experience. Head back into town for a delicious lunch of khao soi: a curry noodle dish that is renowned in the region. You have the afternoon free to spend as you wish.
Tonight, enjoy a farewell dinner of local cuisine with your fellow travellers. Visit Chiang Mai night market, which offers the best shopping options in Chiang Mai. The range and diversity is excellent, and they’re found dotted all over the city. If you’re in town at the weekend then you have even more options to choose from, with entire evenings spent browsing, shopping, snacking and soaking up the scene.
Included Activities:
Accommodation:
Estia Hotel
Monday, 10th February 2025
Meals Included: Breakfast
Today is your last day and there are no activities planned. You are free to leave at any time. For those who have booked an airport transfer, your leader will confirm your departure time to the airport for your onward flight.
If you wish to stay in Chiang Mai to further explore, we are happy to help in booking accommodation (subject to availability).
Departure Transfer:
Not included – please refer to pricing table
