On arrival in Bangkok, Exotissimo tour guide will welcome you at the airport and take you to your hotel by a limousine. You will have some time to relax and enjoy your elegant guest room at the world’s leading Bangkok Riverside hotel, the Oriental.
In the evening, start your orientation in a city of angel with a dinner cruise on Manohra, a magnificent rice barge that has been converted into one of Bangkok’s finest dining venues. Enjoy a sumptuous five-course dinner while cruising along the Chao Phraya River.
Overnight at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
Our guide will pick you up at your hotel and take you to Wat Po in time to experience the monks early morning chanting ritual (chanting starts at 9am). One of the oldest temples in Bangkok, Wat Po is home of the famous 45 metre reclining Buddha as well as being the original school of traditional Thai massage. Continue to The Grand Palace, the most important and impressive royal palace in Thailand. Your guide will show you the palaces used for different occasions – the Funeral Palace, the Reception Palace, the Throne Hall, the Coronation Hall, the Royal Guest House, and of course the mysterious Emerald Buddha, the most revered Buddha image in Thailand. Appropriate dress is required (or can be rented on site).
Lunch at Supatra River House Restaurant.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Afternoon, starting in Bangkok take an exhilarating longtail boat ride towards the north of the city through the labyrinth of klongs (canals). Experience the sights, sounds and smells of Bangkok river life as you head into Nonthaburi and the cityscape turns into countryside. Stop to walk through a bustling local market place where foreigners rarely venture, and also visit a waterside temple with an impressive reclining Buddha. Continue by boat back into the heart of Bangkok.
Overnight at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Breakfast at the hotel, and relax at the hotel pool offering uninterrupted panoramic views of Bangkok waterway or pamper yourself with the selections of spa treatment
Early afternoon, our guide will transfer you to Bangkok main railway station to board Eastern & Oriental Express Luxury train heading up to the rose of the north, Chiang Mai. Relax in one of the bar cars, saloon car or in the privacy of your comfortable compartment. Afternoon tea is served as you travel into Northern Thailand. Later that evening enjoy dinner in one of the beautiful restaurant cars. Retire to your compartment, transformed into a cozy bedroom by your steward.
Overnight onboard the train.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
After breakfast in your compartment the train arrives in Chiang Mai where you disembark, meet up with our Exotissimo Travel guide upon arrival at the railway station and transfer to your hotel. Enjoy the beautiful ambience of your hotel outside the city.
To see the best of Chiang Mai, one should not only know where to go, but also when. On our signature city and temples tour, you will first explore ancient Chiang Mai, including its old city walls, gates, moat and markets. After visiting Wat Suan Dok, where the ashes of Chiang Mai’s royal family are interred, and the historic Jed Yot temple, you continue to Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, the temple on the mountain, and the most sacred in North Thailand. Your experienced guide will explain the story of the temple, the white elephant and lead you around its impressive chedi and show its beautiful murals. In the late afternoon, the tourist masses have already left the temple grounds and dusk will give a very special atmosphere. After your private blessing ceremony, witness the magical evening chanting of the monks. The tour ends with the spectacularly romantic evening view over Chiang Mai with its millions of glittering lights.
We take you tonight to one of Chiang Mai’s hottest eating venues and select a perfect Thai Fusion cuisine menu just for you at The House. After dinner, jump into a tuk-tuk and head to Chiang Mai’s famous night bazaar for a stroll among the colorful stalls.
Overnight at Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
OPTION A
Off the beaten track of one of Chiang Mai’s most visited areas, an exploration of Mae Sa valley’s best hidden secrets. Aboard your off-road vehicle, our tour starts with watching watch the elephants taking their morning bath in the running streams before starting their day’s training and work. With their trainers, the elephants will demonstrate a number of skills for you, and you may feed them bananas or sugarcane … their favorite treats. You will then have an opportunity for a 50 minute elephant ride into the surrounding woods, a real adventure and wonderful experience. Continue to the Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens compared by the experts to the famous London’s Kew gardens. Overlooking a waterfall, lunch will be taken at a local restaurant. Encounter with the Hmong hill tribe people in the afternoon and visit of the Nong Hoi Royal Project initiated by the King in 1969 to eradicate the cultivation of opium.
OPTION B
Depart your hotel for the Chiang Dao Young Elephants Training Camp, 56 km/35 miles from Chiang Mai. Enjoy a one hour elephant ride into the thick forest surrounding the camp before watching the elephants taking their morning bath in the running stream. After their bath, the trainers and elephants will demonstrate a number of their skills for you. You depart the elephant camp to the Mae Ping River where you meet your bamboo raft driver for a leisurely, one hour ride down the river. Lunch at a local restaurant. Continue your tour to the beautiful Orchid Nursery where more than 50 types of orchids bloom year-round. You will also visit a Butterfly Farm where you will see numerous colorful and rare butterflies.
Overnight at Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
The day is free at leisure: you may wish to join one of the cooking classes, or take our wood carving workshop tour or spend time to relax at the hotel.
Experience North Thailand’s spectacular mountains and countryside landscapes on a 50mn flight aboard your private Cessna Grand Caravan. Flying at low altitude over Doi Suthep, the Ping River, Mount Chiang Dao and other major sights, marvel at the amazing difference in perspective from the air. A glass of Champagne will be served upon landing.
Overnight at Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi.
Meals Included: Breakfast
You will be at leisure until our guide arrives for your limousine transfer to the airport for your return flight including assistance with your check-in and baggage handling.
Meals Included: Breakfast
