Chris + Savanah’s Thailand Overland Exploration
February 5-16, 2020

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Experience the best of this wonderful country with this overland trip, offering you the opportunity to immerse yourself in off-the-beaten path national parks. Enjoy a balance of beautiful natural scenery and wildlife, traditional cultures, and plenty of time relaxing at your leisure.

You will experience the market areas of bustling Bangkok, the historic temples of Chiang Mai, and of course, the world-renowned beaches and islands of Phuket. Along the way, you will self-drive through national parks of your choosing.

Enjoy…
+ Foodie tours with the locals
+ Market visits
+ Elephant visit at a sanctuary recognized as a leader in ethical treatment of elephants
+ Pristine beaches of Phuket
+ Self-drive overland exploration

SUMMARY

DAY 1: Wed, Feb 5 ::: Arrival in Bangkok, fly to Chiang Mai

DAY 2: Thu, Feb 6 ::: Local Lanna Family Cooking experience

DAY 3: Fri, Feb 7 ::: Full Day Visit Kanta Elephant Sanctuary

DAY 4: Sat, Feb 8 ::: Fly to Bangkok - Chinatown Evening Foodie Tour

DAY 5: Sun, Feb 9 ::: Chatuchak Weekend Market and Chinatown Evening Foodie Walk

Day 6: Mon, Feb 10 ::: Overland: Bangkok - Chumpon

Day 7: Tue, Feb 11 ::: Overland: Chumpon - Khao Lak

Day 8: Wed, Feb 12 ::: Khao Lak

Day 9: Thu, Feb 13 ::: Overland: Khao Lak - Phuket

Days 10: Fri, Feb 14 ::: Phuket Free Day

Day 11: Sat, Feb 15 ::: Fly to Bangkok

Day 12: Sun, Feb 16 ::: Depart Thailand

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 1

The gold facade of Wat Prathat Doi Suthep.Flights: Bangkok - Chiang MaiOvernight: The Rim resort, Supreme Deluxe — *The gold facade of Wat Prathat Doi Suthep.*
**Flights:** Bangkok - Chiang Mai
**Overnight:** The Rim resort, Supreme Deluxe

Arrival in Bangkok, fly to Chiang Mai

Upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, you will walk to the baggage claim and go through immigration. Connect the domestic flight to Chiang Mai where you will collect your baggage and be met at the jet way by and guide/driver who will be holding a sign with your names on it.

Transfer to your hotel. The rest of a day is free at leisure.

Day 2

Enjoy your time exploring Chiang Mai, a city rich in culture, history, and nature.Overnight: The Rim resort, Supreme DeluxeMeals: B — *Enjoy your time exploring Chiang Mai, a city rich in culture, history, and nature.*
**Overnight:** The Rim resort, Supreme Deluxe
**Meals:** B

Chiang Mai Free Day

Enjoy this day to explore Chiang Mai on your own.

Day 3

Enjoy time feeding, roaming, and walking with the Elephants. Overnight: The Rim resort, Supreme DeluxeMeals: B — *Enjoy time feeding, roaming, and walking with the Elephants.*

**Overnight:** The Rim resort, Supreme Deluxe
**Meals:** B

Full Day Visit Kanta Elephant Sanctuary

Meet your driver at your hotel and drive approximately 50 Mins North of Chiang Mai through rolling hills, forest, and local farming areas. Upon arrival at Kanta Elephant Sanctuary, change into traditional clothing. As a group, we prepare fruits for our elephants and meet the elephants. We will allow you to spend as much time as possible with the elephants.

After lunch, we prepare and cook sticky rice mixed with herbal for our elephants and learn about their background, health care and behavior. After roaming and feeding, we take elephant walk to the river and enjoy bathe to scrub elephants. In the late afternoon, we drive back to Chiang Mai for a free evening.

Please Note: At the Sanctuary, we will allow you to spend as much time as possible with the elephants. Therefore, there is no formal schedule and aside from pick-up times, the times shown here are approximations.

(Group activity with Private transfers, duration 50 min.)

Day 4

Dive into the many delicacies of the market.Overnight: The Park Plaza Sukhumvit, Superior room Meals: B | Light Dinner — *Dive into the many delicacies of the market.*
**Overnight:** The Park Plaza Sukhumvit, Superior room
Meals: B | Light Dinner

Fly to Bangkok - Chinatown Evening Foodie Tour

Meet your transfer to the airport at 8:30am to connect with your flight to Bangkok. Upon arrival, meet you guide and drive to your hotel.

In the afternoon, meet your guide at 5:45 to enjoy a mouth-watering exploration of Bangkok’s 200-year-old China Town district by visiting tasty eateries, from sit-on-the-pavement-vendors to characterful restaurants. This evening you will be picked up from your hotel and guided through China Town’s most characterful alleys, and then enjoy the magnificent views of the River from a local rooftop bar. Here you’ll be given a short briefing by your guide and enjoy a drink while watching the setting sun. Then jump on board a tuk tuk to head deep into Chinatown to start our fascinating tour. You’ll be able to sample all kinds of dishes (and a few local drinks too!) from the likes of dim sum, dumplings, fresh seafood, local deserts and more! Throughout the evening your knowledgeable guide will explain the background of all the different food and drink you’ll taste, as well as giving their own insight into the local area.

It’s soon time to stop before your stomach explodes and your evening will finish with a drink in a lovely open air bar from where you can sit in comfort and watch the hustle and bustle of China Town.

DAY 5

Phraya Nakhon CaveOvernight: Tusita Wellness Resort, Deluxe Villa Meals: B — *Phraya Nakhon Cave*
**Overnight:** Tusita Wellness Resort, Deluxe Villa
**Meals:** B

Overland: Bangkok - Chumpon

Your car will be delivered to your hotel by 8am. Travel on your own to Khao Sam Roi Yod National Park (entrance fee not included). Continue to Chumpon for your overnight (approx. 488 km = 7 – 8 hours).

Note: The rental car vendor will place a 5000 Baht (about $165 USD) hold on your credit card.

Recommended site to visit on the way (entrance fee not included):
- Phraya Nakhon Cave One of Thailand’s most beautiful and certainly the most photographed one is the Phraya Nakhon cave in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, about a 45 minutes drive South of Hua Hin. This impressive cave is located inside Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park and getting to the cave you will have some magnificent views of beaches, mountains and forests. - Sam Roi Yod National Park.

Includes:
7 Day Car Rental (Economy Toyota Vios 1.5E Auto) – Self Drive Package with GPS
Insurance: Damage Waiver, Personal Accident, Thief Protection

DAY 6

Explore the beauty of Klong Num Sai on your own. Overnight: Khaolak Bhandari, Thai Style Deluxe Meals: B — *Explore the beauty of Klong Num Sai on your own.*

**Overnight:** Khaolak Bhandari, Thai Style Deluxe
Meals: B

Overland: Chumpon - Khao Lak

Breakfast at hotel, then drive to Khao Sok (approx. 277 km = 4 hours).

Recommended site to visit on the way (entrance fee not included):
- Klong Num Sai, located in Kiriratnikom District, Suratthani. Here you can enjoy the atmosphere of the jungle rainforest and small canal with crystal clear water which you can enjoy swimming and anyway there are also a lot of local restaurants around the area.

- Ton Chongfa Waterfall Ton Chong Fa Waterfall is a five-level waterfall. A 20-minute walk through the rainforest is necessary to reach the first level of the waterfall, which features a large pond where you can refresh yourself. Getting to the other four levels requires you to be fit as the trail is narrow and steep

Day 7

Khao Lak

Breakfast at hotel. Free day at leisure or opt to add a tour.

Optional Tour ($140 per person): Similan Island Snorkeling Tour by speed boat

We will pick you up at about 6.30am from your hotel in Khao Lak. To avoid any hectic rush at the port of Thap Lamu, we start from our own private pier. Here we will serve a light breakfast give a short safety briefing and tips on how to behave whilst offshore and when visiting a Thai National Park.

Our speed boat will whisk you to the islands in approximately 90 minutes. (Just in case, we provide pills to prevent sea sickness (Dimenhydrinate 50mg)). First we will cruise to Donald Duck Bay, you first taste of the unique Similan Islands scenery. You will have time to relax at the beach or get yourself familiar with your snorkelling equipment in the clear and turquoise waters. Feel free to join our guide on the adventurous trek to the magnificent view point to see the true beauty of the area from up high. Picturesque bays and blossoming, tropical fauna will make you forget about time. We will continue with our first snorkelling stop. With water temperatures around 30˚C and underwater visibility around 20m it makes the sea simply inviting. Our tour guides and boat staff have an extremely good knowledge about the nine islands and will choose the best snorkelling place of the day, with as few other tourists as possible. Now it’s time to regain your power with a tasty Thai lunch at one of the beautiful sandy beaches, listening to the sound of the waves. Moreover, there will be some free time to explore the island or simply relax before we rejoin the speed boat to enjoy another snorkel stop. Who knows what is waiting for you? Maybe you can find Nemo, a sea snake or a friendly turtle? In the afternoon we will head back to land. For safety reasons this is usually no later 3:30pm. Finally, when we arrive at the pier our friendly minibus drivers will be ready and waiting to take you to your hotel, hopefully happy and also a bit tired after such an eventful day at the sea.

Day 8

The unparalleled beauty of Phan Nga Bay.Overnight: Bura Sari, Premier Room Meals: B — *The unparalleled beauty of Phan Nga Bay.*
**Overnight:** Bura Sari, Premier Room
**Meals:** B

Overland: Khao Lak - Phuket

After breakfast at the hotel, drive to Phuket (approx. 105 km = 3 hours).

Recommended site to visit on the way (entrance fee not included):
- Tsunami memorial at Baan Nam Khem Just north of Khao Lak is simple, beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. Please watch carefully for the sign, the memorial is not well marked. People at some of the shops in the area know enough English to help direct you if you get lost. It is not a huge area, so you can’t get too far off track.

- Sea Turtle Conservation Center
This nursery is at the naval base at Thap Lamu. Infant turtles from various areas on the Andaman seaboard are brought here, nursed along until strong enough to fend for them, then released into the sea.

Days 9-10

The crystal clear waters of Thailand.Overnight: Bura Sari, Premier Room Meals: B — *The crystal clear waters of Thailand.*
**Overnight:** Bura Sari, Premier Room
**Meals:** B

Phuket Free Day

Enjoy free day to enjoy the beaches of Phuket at your leisure.

Day 11

Soak in the sun on Koh Phi PhiOvernight: Novotel Suvarnabhumi, Superior room Meals: B — *Soak in the sun on Koh Phi Phi*
**Overnight:** Novotel Suvarnabhumi, Superior room
Meals: B

Phuket - Bangkok

Breakfast at hotel This morning, you will drive to Phuket Airport for your return trip to Bangkok

Note: Drop off car at Phuket airport before 4pm

Fly to Bangkok. Upon arrival in Bangkok, proceed to the arrival area and look for the hotel representative. They will direct you to the hotel’s complimentary shuttle service.

DAY 12

Depart Thailand

Breakfast at hotel before you return to the terminal by hotel’s complimentary shuttle service in time for your international flights home. You will be required to check in at least two hours in advance