Jeab Kwanchanok

Jeab was great to work with.
Key attributes:
- She was very responsive especially since we were 12 hours apart when planning the trip.
- She was knowledgeable of the places we wanted to go and did a good job of setting up the activities that showcased the stops.
- We really appreciated her collaborative approach of listening to our input and responding with suggestions and alternatives where appropriate.
-She subcontracted with Vio Travel in Thailand to handle the logistics and they were great, drivers and transportation elements of the trip were seamless.

Stops -
Phuket - stayed at the Kaththani Beach resort - Its a 4 star resort - nice beach and town was interesting. Its a long trip from the airport with traffic and going anywhere you have to deal with traffic. Did Hong Island by Starlight on first full day - took an 1.5 hours to get to dock because of traffic. Boat trip was fun and nice to meet fellow travelers. Boat staff did the Kayaking, but were very knowledgeable about the area and the stops so that made it fun.

Krabi - stayed at that Tubkaak Boutique resort - Its a 5 star resort. Nice beach and the rooms were very nice and had a lot of free activities we took advantage of including a Thai boxing lesson and guided hike in the national park. We went on a four island tour by longtail. We stopped at each beach for about 30 minutes and all were beautiful though fairly crowded. The next day we did the resort hike and then a Sunset Kayaking Ao Thalane tour. This was another highlight of our trip and guide did a great job of taking some of the best picture of us on the trip. Sunset was amazing.

Phi Phi - Stayed at the SAii Phi Phi Island Village. Its a 4 start resort. Nice beach. Its not located in the main town but there were good restaurants off property. Did a snorkeling tour the next day that we arranged on our own in the village based on Google reviews (Mr. Chet). which we would recommend. It was amazing to swim with the turtles and see so many the fish. That tour also went to Maya beach, which was fun but too crowded.

Khoa Sok - Stayed at the Khoasok Boutique Camps. This was not Jeab's first choice but we were late deciding so this was the next best place she recommended. We stayed in a tent but it was Glamping (Bathroom was in fixed structure attached to the tent) and was fine. For activities we did the bamboo rafting followed by a Bamboo cooking lesson. This was a low point in the trip. Both were terrible. Raft trip was constantly interrupted by power rafts dragging rafts up river - very loud. Plus there were lots of other rafts going down the river - kind of like Bangkok traffic on the river. The guide was nice but not very engaging. Bamboo cooking class was just giving us food cooked in a bamboo shoot. No talking or demonstration - just here is your food. Next day we did full day Cheow Lan Lake Adventure. This was a nice trip and our guide was fun as were the other travelers ( small group - 11 other travelers).

Chiang Mai - stayed at the Rati Lanna Riverside Resort - 5 star resort. It's just outside the old city but is a great location as many day trips involve going out that side of Chiang Mai. First evening we did the Doi Suthep, Wat Pha Lat and Michelin Food experience. The guide was great and very personable. Second day we did a half day at the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and that was a highlight. Elephants are rescue elephants and are treated very well. They had a baby elephant so that was a lucky bonus. That night we did a Thai Family Hosting Experience. That was also a highlight as we learned about the local Lanna people and got to cook some traditional Northern Thai food. Next day we did a Chiang Rai tour of White and Blue Temples as well as the Black House Museum. Temples were amazing but because of construction it took 3.5 hours each way to travel. Last day we did a Sticky Waterfall and mountain biking trip. Sticky Waterfalls was very fun and we wish we could have spent a little more time there. The mountain biking was good but the jungle did not seem particularly unique.

In sum - Good to great hotels, great transportation, and fun activities and feel that we have now "done Thailand".

Hotel Reviews

Rati Lanna Riverside Resort and Spa

Just a beautiful hotel. Room was very nice as were staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

in in the old town but located close enough.

Staff

Everyone was very nice and went out of their way to help

Cleanliness & Comfort

Khaosok Boutique Camps

Stayed in a tend but attached bathroom was fixed structure so it worked nicely.

Authenticity & Character

beautiful location, mountains all around

Location

It was a bit of a trip to get anywhere.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

There were a fair number of little ants that got into our luggage.

SAii Phi Phi Island Village

Authenticity & Character

Location

Not in the main town on the island, but had a little village which had good places to eat behind the resort

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Tubkaak Krabi Boutique Resort

Krabi

Great Beach and had a lot of nice amenities - morning palates classes, Thai boxing, and guided hiking.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beach and near national Park

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Katathani Phuket Beach Resort

Muang Phuket

Nice place for Sunset over the beach. Breakfast's were good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sticky Waterfall Cross Country Ride - Small Group Tour

Chiang Mai

Waterfall was very fun and biking was nothing special.

Quality of Experience

Food

Stopped at roadside restaurant on way back into town and I thought it was some of the beat food we had had.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was very good

Transport

Full Day Chiang Rai tour from Chiang Mai

Thailand

Glad we did it. Temples and Black museum were amazing - But because of instruction it was a long day 3.5 hours each way.

Quality of Experience

Food

Average

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was knowledgeable but didn't engage with us that much,. Didn't sit with us at lunch and spend time talking to office .

Transport

Once Construction on highway is finished then trip is worthwhile.

Thai Family Experience Home Host Tour

Chiang Mai

It was great to learn about the local Lanna peoples. Good a good over view of their culture and family dynamics and well as food.

Quality of Experience

Really felt like you were welcomed. And Food was great - even if we made it under their instruction.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Experience at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary

Chiang Mai

Elephants seems to be treated very well and they had a baby elephant at this camp.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Its 1.5 hours out of Chiang Mai

Doi Suthep, Wat Pha Lat and Michelin Food Experience with Local

Chiang Mai

Very good guide and food was great.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Cheow Lan Lake Adventure

Thailand

fun activity for the day. Went to the bat cave and did a short informative hike before lunch and swim. Guide was energetic and other tourist on trip were fun.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bamboo Cooking – Jungle Dinner

Thailand

Waste of time and money - we were dropped off at camp site. Food was already cooked and they gave it to us with minimal interaction and then took us back to hotel when we were done. should have just gone to local restaurant

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Interact with clients - actually talk about how to select bamboo and how its cooked - like the description says.

Transport

Khao Sok Bamboo Rafting

Thailand

Did not come close to the experience as was described before the trip - no coffee stop and river was crowed and noisey

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Kayaking Ao Thalane with BBQ

Krabi

Guide was great, he even took some amazing picture for us. Sun Set was beautiful. Low tide meant we couldn't go through the mangroves but really didnt need to as we went thgouh part of them and it would have been more of the same. Went to san bar for Sunset

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

4 Islands by Luxury Longtail

Krabi

Stopped at each island for about 30 minutes except a little longer for lunch - beaches were getting crowded.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hong by Starlight

Phuket

Was fun and guide was good. Guide did the kayaking but that was fine.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From hotel to dock was 1.5 hours.

Jaeb planned a great, stress-free introduction to Thailand for us! She worked with us to customize the itinerary to see some less popular locations, avoid the rain this time of the year, and still fit in our desired activities. It all worked out to be a great, worry free experience. The transfers were always waiting for us ahead of schedule and the team sent reminders the night before to make sure we were all on the same page for the next days activities. We appreciated how all of the hotels were interesting and so different from each other! Jaeb and her team did a great job making our trip memorable for all of the right reasons.

The guides and people we interacted with where awesome. We stayed at 5 different locations with many different transportations. It worked out great and we didn’t have to figure out anything, just what we wanted to do.

Jeab was great to work with and developed a wonderful itinerary for us. It was so helpful to have someone local to confirm transfers and tour times, without us trying to phone each day to confirm activities over the next couple of days. We spent 13 nights across 4 cities/towns, each hotel was as advertised and met our expectations. We enjoyed all of our tours and our guides were all knowledgeable and friendly.

We had an issue on the first day (I fell over, 100% my fault) but Jeab and Noemie (the KimKim support person we had available 24/7) were helpful and sympathetic. They checked whether tours could be adjusted to accommodate my newly acquired walking stick, and could make recommendations regarding treatment - we did come home with a few different herbal balms that helped the healing.

The Thai Family Experience Home Host Tour in Chiang Mai (cooking with the host family) was better than we expected, the food was delicious, we actually got in and helped with the cooking rather than being mostly spectators (of course we didn't do everything but it was quite hands on), and the large host family prepares several dishes as appetizers as well, all amazing.
Also near Chiang Mai the Patara Elephant Farm tour was good, you get to feed and wash the elephants, plus some cuddles and a few pictures of course. The handlers there were excellent and clearly care for the elephants.

From Phuket we took a full day boat tour Hong by Starlight. Highly recommend this tour to anyone. We were gone 11 hours from hotel pick up to drop off, tired from the fun of the day but not worn out because it is so well run (and pretty much everything is done for you). There is a guide for every couple, they take you from the main boat on inflatable canoes through caves/tunnels, show you the wildlife, and take photos of you with the perfect backdrops. The third and final canoe trip was after dinner, it was pitch black on the water just around the other side of a small island from the main boat. In the darkness we could see the bio-luminescent plankton clearly. It was a great day, they take care of you really well. Not expensive, and certainly worth every dollar for the experience we received.

We'd love to go again and would certainly trust Jeab to plan us a perfect holiday.