A round trip in Thailand is well suited for tourists visiting Thailand for the first time. Because of the variation of the country and the many sights, a tour is a good way to get acquainted with versatile Thailand in a short time.
What is a tour?
With a tour you visit several places or cities according to a predetermined program. This program has been drawn up by the travel organization and known to all participants. You don't have to arrange anything yourself on a tour. The tour operator provides:
- the flight to Bangkok and back to Amsterdam;
- the transfer from the airport to you hotels;
- transport in Thailand;
- the excursions.
Accommodation
The accommodations are generally good but simple. Usually they are three or four star accommodations. Sometimes you spend a few nights in the same hotel because you want to explore a certain area in a few days. Then you continue your journey to the next destination.
Transportation
During a tour in Thailand, you usually travel with a luxury coach, depending on the size of the group.
What places do you visit on a tour of Thailand?
Most tours offer a journey that starts in Bangkok and then travels inland, visiting the famous bridge over the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi, the cities of Ayutthaya and Sukhothai and the city of Chiang Mai in the north on almost all tours .
You can read an example of the program of a tour through Thailand below:
'Amazing Thailand tour'
- Discover the many highlights of Thailand;
- direct flight from Amsterdam;
- expert Dutch-speaking tour guide;
- unforgettable travel experiences: including a boat trip on the Mekong River, encounters with the traditional Yao and Ahka hill tribes;
- overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.
1st day – Amsterdam – Bangkok
We fly comfortably from Amsterdam to Bangkok.
2nd day – Bangkok
After arrival in Bangkok, the coach is ready for the transfer to the hotel where you will spend the first 3 nights at the Golden Tulip Sovereign hotel. Daily life on the street is extremely fascinating. In the middle of the busy traffic (there are about 3,4 million cars and about 3 million mopeds) we find the traditional food carts on every corner of the street. We already experience that the people of Bangkok (just like in the rest of the country) are very friendly. It is not for nothing that the country is nicknamed 'the Land of the Eternal Smile'. Optionally, you can take a trip through the canals (klongs) of Bangkok. It is extremely fascinating to observe daily life on and along the water.
3nd day – Bangkok
After breakfast we take a walk through the atmospheric fruit and vegetable market. We also take a look at the countless flowers at the colorful flower market, the largest in Thailand. Then we go to one of the most important sights in Thailand, the Grand Palace with its Wat Phra Keo temple. The afternoon is at leisure. You can optionally participate in a visit to Chinatown, which is characterized by narrow alleys and characteristic tea houses.
4nd day – Bangkok
A day off. Enthusiasts can participate in an optional bike tour through the real Bangkok. In the almost car-free environment you pass swaying palms, small temples and banana trees.
Wat Arun
Day 5 – Bangkok – River Kwai
Today we leave Bangkok early in the morning. We board a local train from Wong Wiang Yai to the fishermans' port of Mahachai. Here we visit the local fish market. We continue our way to Kanchanaburi where we have lunch in a local restaurant. The restaurant is located near the famous Bridge on the River Kwai and the War Cemetery, sights that should not be missed during this trip! We stay in Kanchanaburi at the hotel Mida Resort. Travel distance approx. 130 km.
6th day – Ayutthaya – Phitsanulok
We then make our way north. We make the first stop in the ancient city of Ayutthaya, which served as the capital of Thailand from 1350 to 1767. The ruins and temples in this beautiful city, which still exudes the atmosphere of its heyday, make a great impression on many visitors. Here we visit the Wat Phra Sri Samphet temple with its adjacent ruin complex. After lunch, we continue to Phitsanulok, located on the Nan River, where numerous houseboats and floating restaurants line the bank. The upcoming night we stay in Ruean Phae Royal Park hotel. Travel distance approx. 430 km.
7th day – Phitsanulok – Sukothai – Chiang Rai
We go to the ancient city of Sukothai, formerly a cosmopolitan kingdom with many different population groups, each of whom has left its own mark on the city. We visit, among other things, the beautifully landscaped Historical Park with immense Buddha statues and serene lotus ponds. After lunch at a local restaurant, we follow a scenic mountainous route to Chiang Rai in the afternoon, arriving in the late afternoon. The next two nights we will stay at the Rimkok Resort. Travel distance approx. 415 km.
8th Day – Akha & Yao Hill Tribes & Golden Triangle
Today we meet the Akha and Yao hill tribes in the Mae Salong Mountains. These colorful and traditional peoples live in the rugged mountains of northern Thailand and have preserved their primitive way of life in a remarkable way. Next, we head to the infamous 'Golden Triangle' on the wide Mekong River, where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet. This is the place where opium cultivation flourished some time ago. The government has made great efforts to persuade the hill tribes to grow other crops and many opium fields have been destroyed over the years. After lunch at a riverside restaurant, we take an afternoon boat trip on the Mekong River, through the banks of Laos to Thailand. After the boat trip we go back to Chiang Rai. Travel distance approx. 60 km.
9th day – Chiang Rai – Chiang Mai
This morning we drive to Chiang Mai via the beautiful Doi Sakhet Highway. A lunch is planned en route. In the afternoon we visit the handicraft industry (including parasol paintings) and the silk industry. We stay at the Park hotel for two nights. Travel distance approx. 180 km.
10th day – Chiang Mai
At the end of the morning we visit an orchid nursery with the most beautiful native species and hybrids. Here we have lunch. In the afternoon we visit one of the most beautiful temples in Thailand, the Doi Suthep Temple, beautifully situated in the mountains. After climbing the 300 steps flanked by dragon-headed snakes, we are rewarded with a beautiful view of Chiang Mai city and the green valleys. Travel distance approx. 80 km.
Day 11 – Chiang Mai – Bangkok
You can take it easy. How about swimming or shopping (you can buy beautiful silk here)? Or do you opt for the optional bicycle tour (half a day), where you get to know the southern, rural part of Chiang Mai in a sporty way? The beautiful route takes you along the banks of the Ping River, along narrow local roads and through beautiful nature. Stops along the way include the temple ruins of Lanna and a Chinese temple. In the afternoon we take the sleeper train back to Bangkok. Travel distance approx. 695 km.
12th to 14th day – Bangkok – Cha-Am
The train enters Bangkok in the early morning (during special periods or if the train is not running, eg during Thai holidays, this route may be covered by bus with an extra hotel night). At the station the coach is ready to go to the seaside resort of Cha-Am, where we can spend the last days of the trip in a relaxed way (approx. 200 km). You will have a great time here on the long and wide white sandy beach. The last nights we stay in the luxurious ****+ hotel Grand Pacific Sovereign on the beach!
15th day – Bangkok – Amsterdam
In the morning we will be transferred to Bangkok airport, from where we will fly back to Amsterdam.
What are the benefits of a tour?
The biggest advantage is that you get to know Thailand in a short time by visiting the most important sights. You don't even have to arrange anything for that. Often there is a Dutch tour guide who will explain the culture and the sights. The price for a tour is attractive, if you book everything yourself you will probably end up paying more.
What are the drawbacks?
The disadvantage is that you are not free to come and go as you please. In the morning you have to be ready for departure in time. You are obliged to follow the program. The success of a tour is also often determined by the composition of the group. If you do, you will have a nice holiday. If there are whiners in between, it can ruin the atmosphere quite a bit.
Some group tours are not guaranteed and will only take place if there are enough participants.
What does a group tour cost?
The group tour mentioned above costs approximately € 1.500 per person. That includes:
- flight Amsterdam-Bangkok vv with Eva Air;
- airport taxes and fuel levy;
- tour by coach and (night) train as described;
- local Dutch-speaking tour guide (day 2 to 12);
- 1 night stay in the night train;
- 9 or 12 nights stay in a room with bath or shower and toilet in 3-/4-star hotels as stated in the day program (or other hotels with the same classification) in or near the mentioned places;
- 13 x breakfast and 6 x lunch;
- described excursion program.
You only incur additional costs for:
- meals not mentioned;
- entrance fees (approx. Baht 900 pp);
- any optional excursions;
- tips;
- Travel and cancellation insurance.
A few more tips
Tip 1: Departure guarantee – A departure guarantee does not always apply to tours through Thailand. This means that the trip will not take place if there is not enough enthusiasm. Therefore, always check before you book a trip whether a departure guarantee is given.
Tip 2: Composition of a (tour) group – It is also important for group tours to look at the composition and size of the group. Will there be many older people or families with children? Or is the group generally a bit younger? How big is the group? Are they mainly couples or singles? These kinds of matters are not always well indicated on the website of the travel provider, so a phone call to the travel provider can help a lot.
Tip 3: How much freedom? – There is a difference in the freedom you get during a tour. One tour is tightly planned and the other tour gives you the opportunity to do things yourself. Then think of afternoons free to make excursions on your own.
Tip 4: Travel period – It may sound logical, but check for each round trip (wherever in the world) whether it is the best time to travel. For example, not in a monsoon period or rainy season.
Organize your own trip to Thailand
If you are visiting Thailand for the first time, a tour or group trip can be a great option. Next time you can compile your own trip. Book your plane ticket and hotel on the internet and determine your own program. Independent travel in Thailand is fine. Public transport is well organized. You can book excursions on every street corner and Bangkok alone has more than 1.000 hotels.
Have a pleasant journey!
– Reposted message –
Did the same trip last year. 15 days for € 900 incl. single supplement. And this was through the German Lidl. Yes, the supermarket! These regularly have special offers in their package. Wonderful trip, good hotels and resort, seen more than enough temples. Thai tour guide who spoke fluent German. German fellow travelers, most of them a complete disaster. Also very friendly Germans, but from the old East Germany. I skipped the last 4 days in Pataya. I drove back to BKK with the driver and stayed with my girlfriend until the departure to the Netherlands. I was able to talk a bit more with my girlfriend about Thailand. Had seen even more of the country now than she had in her 37 Thai years.
Long ago tour in Thailand with the Jong Intratours it was one of the most beautiful trips for us, can recommend everyone to make a tour through Thailand. After that always traveled individually a lot of freedom and you discover more and more things that you don't have on a tour because of too little time to look around, nowadays it is also easy to arrange yourself if you want to.
My first introduction to Thailand was indeed with this trip “Amazing Thailand” from KRAS. (Only I had an extension at the end in Cha Am)
In one word great!
I did the trip alone but was able to connect with one other guest who was also traveling alone. The rest of the group were all couples aged 50 and over.
When the “oldies” stayed in the hotel in the evening to eat, I would try to eat something outside the hotel with my new found buddy. That was quite a challenge at times. We have been sent away more than once, probably because we don't speak Thai and the staff don't speak English… (which could cause problems with the order…)
That extension at the end is certainly NOT an unnecessary luxury. Although it seems relaxed, such a tour is very tiring: jet lag, the many wonderful impressions and “at 05.00 suitcases in front of the hotel-room door, on to the next high-light”.
All in all: highly recommended.
At the beginning of this year we made the tour "complete thailand" with Stipreizen. In a word AF. Fantastic hotels, great Dutch tour guide and Thai tour guide. Seen a lot. Often get up early, but you could always do something yourself if you were actually free or go along with what else was organized. Nice to experience a night train journey from Chiang Mail to Bangkok. Didn't have to carry the suitcases once, put them ready in the hallway and everything was taken care of! We were only 18 people, nice group and fine care by the wife of our bus driver on the bus. At the end of the trip 6 more days of Cha-am, wonderful beach holiday to recover. In a word ,,magnificent holiday,,.
A tour is indeed a very good way to get a first impression of this beautiful country. However, it is a tiring way of flying from hot to her early and late back at your hotel. People often have a certain fear of visiting an unknown country on spec, while this is completely unnecessary for Thailand. Traveling in this country is so easy and easy to do. Again it's fun but would still advise people to do it all by themselves.
I've written about this topic before. Indeed my first acquaintance was through a tour, all inclusive. I soon discovered that just going and standing in Thailand would also be possible. Both have their pros and cons. Most people - including me - conclude afterwards that a first introduction that is organized and in which you can scour a lot in a short time is recommended. Striking in my experience were the characters (and the difference between them) of the NL bus leader and those of the Thai leader. Two leaders on a bus that is due to the interference of the Thai government. One was bossy, the other as amiable as only a Thai can be. I would like to meet him again. It is partly thanks to him that I started to think seriously about settling in Thailand. And I still don't regret that.
Just finished a tour April 3 weeks Thailand.
Fathers (65+) taken in tow for a first encounter with the land of smiles. Is not completely untraveled but think that the first place is now taken in terms of holiday destination.
Have never done a tour myself (once myself 10 years ago by then backpacker brother in tow). Years after that it was SE Asia every year with Thailand as the starting and departure point.
Now everything is so easy and easy to arrange with fathers, so that also helps with the experience of a 1st time visitor.
If you go for the first time, I also think that an organized tour is best for convenience. If you decide to come back you learn something every time, discovering that is also a nice bonus if you like it.
Cheers,
On to the next time in October.
We did a tour once and it was great. Get up very early sometimes departure at 5.30 am luckily we were lucky with fellow travelers. Friends of ours did not have children in the bus and parents did not want to get up early, so they had to miss certain things that were mentioned in the program. So no children on a tour because you will annoy green and yellow.
Now after 1 time and more than twenty years later, we map out ourselves and still discover new places again and again.
A tour, I don't have to think about it myself, but that is of course everyone for themselves. I can imagine that it is an easy way to get acquainted with an unknown foreign country. You see the highlights in a short time and everything is arranged. Still, I think that a tour with a group is not necessary, especially for a country like Thailand. And what I myself have noticed when sometimes listening to the information provided by tour guides / hostesses is not always completely correct. It often surprises me that when a group is given an explanation about food in Thailand, for example, there is a warning about eating on the street and that it is better to go to the restaurant and eat with the whole group. I now know that this of course offers commission for the tour guide and I never find that fair. The excursions that are outside the program are also often increased in price and I think that many people still feel obliged to participate. And then the mandatory tip jar, I also have my doubts about this. Furthermore, everyone should of course do what he or she feels comfortable with, but there are several options to organize a trip without having to make an entire group trip.
I don't see any advantage to a tour and certainly not in Thailand where you can arrange everything yourself and find out so much in advance.
The fact that you have to get out of bed so damn early, that you mainly see the country from a bus (you spend too much time in the bus on those tours and for far too long), you are dumped in often lesser hotels, you have so little freedom and the guide's approach seems to be mainly to sell all kinds of excursions and if you don't take them you will be exposed to the rest of the travelers… no thank you!
PS
Had really bad experiences with Fox. (Was Indonesia and not Thailand by the way)
In January 2015 I myself made a tour of Thailand for 3 weeks. From Bangkok to the bridge over the river Kwai via Phitsanulok to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai (Golden Triangle) Then through the Isaan in a relaxed way, in a Fortuner with 4 people. Getting up early was not possible, we could discuss what time we were going to leave. It was a great trip and good food. The guide ordered food and it was excellent. The trip included all meals and drinks during meals. I thought it was a wonderful holiday
We booked through http://www.janpen.eu
All value is of course for its money.
Certainly the cheap group tours of FOX etc. are a DISASTER in my opinion.
People are lured by the low prices, but that has negative consequences for you as a traveler.
To keep those prices so low, the local operators (bus, hotel, restaurant, local guide) from Fox and other cheap travel providers really get the minimum and you can't deliver quality for that.
The result: getting up early, too tight a schedule, only highlights, lesser hotels/restaurants, a lot of time in the bus, tourist traps, etc.
You see a lot but come home tired.
Fox's tour guides hardly receive any training and are poorly paid (do you want to work 7 days a week 14-17 hours a day for € 1000/month "expense allowance"??) so they earn extra money by selling excursions, receive commissions of restaurants, they warn of activities that do not benefit them and there is a mandatory tip jar.
If you want to make a tour, do something like Co Vaag : small group, own pace, relaxed, delicious food and all the attention.
It takes some searching and costs a bit more, but is many, many times more fun.
Rene, (30+ years of experience as a tour guide)
Traveling Thailand on your own for 25 years. You must be suitable for a tour (company, obligations and a lot of temples).
If you go on your own for the first time, the program itself is excellent to follow.
You will have more problems arranging travel, so you could limit yourself in that.
Thank you, but I don't give tours anymore.
I sold my house and now live in the Netherlands.
Because I want my daughter to get a good education.
regards Co Vaag
For € 1000 / month = 39.000 baht and extra income from selling excursions, receiving commissions from restaurants, a mandatory tip jar and more, many Thai guides can earn very well. And in many other positions you work 6 long days or even 7 if you want to earn extra.
With such a good reward, many Thai guides really want to run out of steam. Been coming to Thailand for over 25 years but the guides generally look very normal, I think quite satisfied.
So the story of poorly paid guides in Thailand is not true.
this written Tour could have come from Peter de Ruijter (Special Journey). I got to know Thailand during an organized tour of NBBS in 1989 together with my then Dutch wife.
There was sufficient room to deviate from the proposed program or multiple options were proposed. There were places where my wife and I did a different program. She went past the looms and hand-painted umbrellas and I went into the jungle and rafting. I liked it so much that when I returned to the Netherlands I could not forget Thailand and felt that I could and would like to live there. My wife had a different experience. I still had vacation days left and also had some money and went 4 months later for 2 months to really look around if I was realistic enough and didn't romanticize Thailand too much. After those 2 months alone, I went to tell my wife that I was going to live in Thailand. Her answer was 'I don't'! so…..I quit my job, got divorced, neatly shared everything with my wife and with my 50% to Thailand and started on Phuket. This all came from my experience on the 4 Weekly Tour supervised by NBBS in 1989. It is an absolute must to start with.
You can also opt for an individual tour. Costs a little more, but more freedom.
we did in 1997. Then in Sri Lanka too. We liked it fine
We have made an organized tour at least twenty times. The Asia brochure of the unfortunately defunct Best Tours has been completely done, always fine. We once tried a hundred euros cheaper with another operator, we complained afterwards. Quality has its price. also gained a lot of experience in this way and have therefore been able to do everything on their own over the last twenty years. Also remember that many more people now speak several languages, forty years ago it was not self-evident that people spoke English. from travel guides. I have only had Internet and an e-mail address since 1998, which makes everything much easier. For many people, however, an organized tour is still the best choice
Just before corona, after years of doubt and postponement, I took the step to book a trip outside Europe for the first time. Because I had never traveled alone and never left Europe, I didn't dare to take the risk of going to Thailand. Someone gave me the tip to book the tour at De Blauwe Vogel (Belgium) and I don't regret it for a minute. Super organized, nice versatile offer, Dutch-speaking local guide, enough freedom, few additional costs, small group, ... really a top trip for me. In 17 days we had seen a lot and we traveled in a pleasant bus. We started in Chang Mai and ended in Hua Hin.
It prompted me to go back alone, in August for the 4th time already.
Touring makes the tourist lazy and superior. And stupid. This applies to Asia, but also to Africa or, say, Europe.
He comes from above in a country and comes to see if it is all true what is told in the travel brochures. He finds it hard to break away from his own superior vision as a wealthy Western man with a wide screen TV and 578 channels.
Monkeys have come to see… how retarded they are here because they don't even know cappuccino…
This type of travel is interchangeable, no matter which continent you are in.
A few years ago, a former colleague followed a Thailand-Laos-Cambodia-Vietnam trip with his wife and adult daughters. He situated Da Nang in Laos, Angkor Wat in Thailand. And Patpong with the ping pong balls was the measure of the (im)moral content of the Thai women.
Such a tourist is only presented with an incorrect picture of reality.
What are we doing then?
Wouldn't it be better to opt for a beach holiday in Scheveningen?
Should mass tourists overcrowd the world's hotspots if necessary, Personally I don't think so. It also leaves a huge ecological footprint. But mass tourism is big business! It's cash register. And as long as companies can deduct their costs to be profitable, they will want to promote the most idiotic things.
Another acquaintance remembered from an organized tour of Japan only that they had always had to wait a long time at intersections for the light to turn green, although no cars drove by…
The Golden Pavilion… euhhh, where?
I wondered why he wanted to go to Japan…
So I say: mass tourist, stay at home! Or go to Benidorm at most. There you will find your match and the simple pleasures you look forward to.
Long journeys and confrontations with foreign cultures should be enriching. They only strengthen the mass tourist's belief that he is superior to what he sees before him. He is not very understanding!
Unfortunately!
Guided tours: the confirmation that you are so much better than other people on this planet. The assumption that other people don't count. Especially not the understanding that we must put on the cloak of humility, to see that every life on earth is meaningful and valuable, no matter how small it appears.
Well Alphonse, you put quite a spin on it? If I were to do that with your comment here I could say “look, someone who feels superior to those who are still unfamiliar with Asia, looking down on…” etc. Of course there are people who feel superior to others but that is not the standard I hope? Those who are inexperienced in terms of (distant) travel can choose to dive into the deep, some of the people are better off. But there are also those who prefer to explore under supervision first. I wouldn't reject that. Let those who are less adventurous have a paddle first. Some of them won't get much further than hotel room, buffet and tour bus. After the first cold feet, some will certainly go exploring on their own. Everyone's thing.
And yes, in group travel you will find "gems" who really know nothing about the world and find it difficult to process (I think of Cor Verhoef who once wrote about not very smart tourists that he had as a tour guide through Thailand, and after a few tours saw that this was not for him at all) and there will even be those who feel elevated above the rest of the world and other cultures. But to see everyone who goes on a guided tour as colonial imperialists who come to see monkeys is going a bit too far for me. Just like among adventurous travelers who travel the wide world themselves, there will also be those who look down on other peoples and cultures. I see a tour with or without a guide apart from such sad attitudes of superiority that a part of humanity has between the ears.
It reads that those tourists are not the only ones who feel superior.
I can imagine that someone who is retired and has ever been outside Europe, opts for a arranged tour.
Mass tourism is not only organized trips, but also independent travellers.
Furthermore, not everyone speaks English. I noticed that most Italians don't speak a word of English.
Many elderly people speak very limited English or no English at all.
Both the tourist traveling alone and the group traveling get a certain limited image of the country.
we all go to the beach, to the shopping malls, but few come to the slums, to the oh-so-boring villages,
The buses to islands are packed with tourists.
In the local buses within bangkok area you rarely see Farangs.
The same goes for the local buses in various cities.
Well Alphonse, broadly speaking I have to agree with you.
That mass tourism, led by the beautiful stories in all kinds of travel brochures, together with the oh so important social media, ensures that the superior tourist indeed just imitates each other.
Added to that, many 'sights' are simply a cash cow to cheat us of the necessary money.
Not to mention that, when you are on such a crammed bus, you are constantly confronted with the arrogant fellow traveler.
No, I also prefer to ignore those pre-made bus trips. You don't get to experience the real culture by traveling around where every trip is planned to the minute. The hidden gems are not even in the colorful catalogues.
You cannot understand the real culture of a place simply by going through the planned tourist attractions. It is often the undiscovered spots, the encounters with local people and the immersion in the daily life of a community that make a trip unforgettable.
The real local population is less and less happy to see that mass tourism. This even escalates to the fact that measures are being taken to stop being overrun by hordes of bus trips with the aim of being able to take that one selfie.
At least avoiding the hustle and bustle of mass tourism gives me the opportunity to travel at my own pace. No rush to check off every attraction, no stress to make it on time for another scheduled activity.
Maybe we should all reinvent sustainable tourism. This is not only beneficial for the traveler himself, but also for the places visited.
Hi Alphonse,
You write that traveling around makes people stupid!
That would really be true for your colleague who mixed up cities and countries. I'm not talking about the ping pong ball trick yet.
And also that acquaintance of yours who went to Japan.
Read Rob V's reaction again, because that makes sense!
Oh come on PEER, everyone is allowed to have an opinion.
You can agree with Rob V's statement, but that doesn't mean Alphonse doesn't have a point. I note that Alphonse has a very well-founded vision of cash register tourism. And bus trips are a good example of that.
You can't get away with hitting Alphonse's arguments hard without giving a single reason.