2 active weeks in Thailand from Beaches to Northern Thailand.
Thailand
|
Jan 20 - Feb 2, 2026
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
Nice place for Sunset over the beach. Breakfast's were good.
Great Beach and had a lot of nice amenities - morning palates classes, Thai boxing, and guided hiking.
Stayed in a tend but attached bathroom was fixed structure so it worked nicely.
Just a beautiful hotel. Room was very nice as were staff.
Activity Reviews
Stopped at each island for about 30 minutes except a little longer for lunch - beaches were getting crowded.
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
Did not come close to the experience as was described before the trip - no coffee stop and river was crowed and noisey
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
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.
Very good guide and food was great.
Was fun and guide was good. Guide did the kayaking but that was fine.
Elephants seems to be treated very well and they had a baby elephant at this camp.
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.
Waterfall was very fun and biking was nothing special.
Glad we did it. Temples and Black museum were amazing - But because of instruction it was a long day 3.5 hours each way.
