15-day Thailand & Cambodia Family Tour

Welcome to Bangkok, and the start of your Thailand & Cambodia family tour! After arriving in the bustling capital, you’ll check in and get settled before meeting your group and Adventure Leader in the late afternoon for a trip briefing. It’s in this that you’ll learn about the exciting next 11 days, get some tips on adjusting to life in Thailand, and pick up some key advice on remaining safe while you travel.

We’ll then welcome you all in style, with a tuk-tuk tour of the city that whizzes you past the hustle and bustle, as well as the city’s key sights. On this, we’ll also provide you with a welcome dinner, where you can get to know the families you’ll be sharing your adventure with.

This morning, you’ve got a number of options for how to spend your first full day in Bangkok. You can:

• Head out to the Damnoen Saduak & Maeklong markets for a day tour. You’ll visit two of Bangkok’s most unusual markets – the Maeklong Railway Market is known to ‘disappear’ when the working train tracks it sits on are needed to let a train pass by! Then, take to the water to visit Damneon, where you’ll get a Thai long-tail boat down the river to pick up fresh produce. Along the way, your guide will give you top tips for Thai market etiquette, meaning you can shop with confidence and pick up some amazing mementos.
• Jump on board the Chao Phraya River hop-on/hop-off sightseeing boat, where you’ll have unlimited opportunities to cruise the beautiful river, jumping off whenever you find some places you want to explore on land. Throughout the day, your tour guide will take you on a tour – and you’ll have an opportunity to jump off and grab lunch from a local market.
• Take a 2-hour canal tour – by teak boat! As you pick your way through Bangkok’s canals, you’ll get the chance to explore the fantastic scenery of the local riverside Thai villages, including a trip down the tranquil Daokanong Canal. From here, you’ll also be able to get a view of the beautiful Wat Arun and Wat Paknam temples, along with some of the traditional stilted Thai homes that dot the canal banks.
  Alternatively, if you’d like to explore under your own steam, feel free to ask your Adventure Leader for recommendations!

This evening, you can opt to join your group for dinner and a visit to a local night market – just in case you hadn’t finished sampling the local delicacies.

This morning, we’ll check out and head to our next destination: Kanchanaburi. Along the way, we’ll pay a visit to the stunning Erawan Waterfalls on the River Kwai. On this private day trip, you’ll be able to hike and swim around the beautiful tropical waterfalls of this national park.

Arriving in the evening, we’ll check into our next accommodation, leaving you time to settle in and explore the area under your own steam.

Your morning in Kanchanaburi is at your leisure, so if you’d like a chilled morning then you can feel free. Alternatively:

• You can opt to pay a visit to a local hot springs spa. In a beautiful setting by the Kwai river, you can spend half a day exploring 13 different pools, 2 fish spas – and grab yourself an hour-long Thai message.
• Get adventurous, with an e-scooter tour through Kanchanaburi’s beautiful countryside. Pass by rice fields and local farms, spot animals like Zebus, birds and monitor lizards, and take a break in a local café. You can then continue onto a beautiful Chinese temple, before arriving at the river Kwai bridge.
  With both of these options, you’ll be back in time to check out of your accommodation just after lunchtime. We’re then bound for our next destination, Chiang Mai, via an overnight train – but not before we visit the ruins of Ayutthaya, an UNESCO World Heritage site. This historic city was founded in the 14th century and was at one point the second capital of the Siamese Kingdom. We’ll explore the area and have some free time for dinner, before we head to the train station ready to board an overnight train to Chiang Mai!

You’ll arrive at Chiang Mai train station this morning, where we’ll pick you up and make a quick stop for breakfast, before driving on to our incredible unmissable stay – a local homestay. You’ll get lunch here, before heading off to a painting workshop inspired by Chiang Mai’s most famous residents – elephants!

Next, we’ll take you on a tour of the local village, before heading back to your homestay for dinner and some much-needed rest.

After breakfast at your homestay, you’ll head out for a truly unmissable experience – a visit to an ethical elephant sanctuary. While you’re here, you’ll be able to observe them in their natural habitat – we’ll also be served lunch during our visit. In the early afternoon, we’ll head to our next hotel in Chiang Mai, where you’ll have time to freshen up before your evening.

If you’d like, this evening can be spent at your leisure. Alternatively, in the late afternoon you can opt to join us for a cooking class – where you’ll make your dinner!

This morning, join us for a trip to a local temple for a monk chat, where you’ll get the chance to learn more about Buddhism from a practicing monk. Next, you’ll visit Wat Doi Suthep, a beautiful Buddhist temple complex that’s filled with shrines, pagodas, statues, and beautiful murals.

Arriving back around lunchtime, you can either spend the afternoon relaxing or join us for a visit to the Sticky (Bua Tong) Waterfall. This stunning limestone waterfall is known for its unusual face – the limestone is porous, earning the waterfall its nickname ‘Sticky’ as it allows you to climb right up it!

You’ll head back to the accommodation tonight – be sure to get a good night’s sleep before we transfer you to the next destination on your Thailand & Cambodia family tour!

This morning, we’ll check out of our hotel and head to the airport – bound for Phuket!

Once we’ve landed, we’ll transfer to our hotel, ready for you to spend an evening at leisure.

Today is yours to spend at your leisure. Phuket is a stunning island known for its vast stretches of sandy white beaches and beautiful turquoise coastline, so make the most of your day and have some fun in the sun!

Here’s some suggestions for how to spend your free day:

• Pay a visit to the YONA Floating Beach Club for the day.
• Take a half-day tour of Phuket, including visits to the Old Town and Wat Chalong Temple.
• Visit Phang Nga Bay for a canoe tour that gives you an amazing glimpse of the bioluminescent plankton under the water.
• Take a scuba diving day course!
• Head to a local cooking class that teaches you to cook up some regional specialities – with a visit to the local market for a tour.

Today, you’ll join us for an incredible day tour of the beautiful local islands. Climb on board a speedboat, where you’ll whiz around Phi Phi and the surrounding islands. You’ll even get lunch on Phi Phi island! While you’re exploring, you’ll get the chance to go snorkelling at Viking Cove, head swimming in the emerald waters of Pileh Lagoon, bury your toes in the sands of Maya Beach, and pay a visit to the stunning Bamboo Island.

Back in Phuket this evening, you’ll have a free evening to grab dinner and finish your tour in style.

This morning, we’re leaving Thailand behind as we head to Cambodia! You’ll check out this morning and head to Phuket airport, ready to transfer to the next stop on your Thailand & Cambodia family group tour: Siem Reap!

We’ll be checked in at our new accommodation by mid-afternoon, just in time to take a guided walking tour of the city so that you can orient yourself. Along the way, you’ll visit the city’s oldest pagoda where you’ll receive a monk blessing, explore the Royal Gardens, and finish with a spot of souvenir shopping at the Made in Cambodia market.

If you’d like to spend the evening with your group, you can opt to join them for dinner before heading to the Apsara theater show. Here, you’ll enjoy a set dinner menu at Siem Reap’s oldest theater, while your evening’s entertainment is an amazing display of Cambodia’s performing arts heritage.

If you’re an early riser, this morning you can opt to see the daybreak from a very special vantage point – a hot air balloon! These tethered balloons float 120m above ground, and also provide you with an incredible view of the destination of today’s unmissable full day trip: Angkor Wat!

We’ll take you to the world’s largest religious complex, Angkor Wat, where we’ll spend the entire day exploring the incredible temples and ruins. Here’s a tip – we take the tour in reverse so that we can avoid the crowds, exploring three of the most popular temples along the way – Ta Prohm (you’ll know it from Tomb Raider), Bayon, and finally – Angkor Wat itself.

Back in Siem Reap, if you’re still ready for adventure, this evening you could explore the city’s night market! Grab a tuk-tuk from your accommodation and head off in search of Cambodian delicacies – alternatively, you can spend a night at the Phare Circus, an acrobatics show built around a social organization that provides free education and arts training to over 1200 Cambodian children every year.

This morning, you’ll depart by private transfer to the final stop on your Thailand and Cambodia family group tour – Phnom Penh.

However, before we arrive at Phnom Penh in the late afternoon, we’ve got a lunchtime stop built in en route – Sambour Prei Kuk Temple. Located on the eastern bank of the Tonle Sap Lake, this ‘temple of the forest’ features a collection of Angkorian structures within tranquil grounds. It’s the ideal place for you to stop and eat your provided picnic lunch ahead of continuing on to Phnom Penh.

We’ll arrive in the city in the late afternoon. After checking in, you can choose to either relax under your own steam, get to the know the streets, or join us for an evening of mini golf! Head to Koh Pich for an 18-hole mini golf course – and grab yourself dinner from the in-house restaurant.

Today, your group will spend the morning learning about Cambodia’s difficult history with a trip to the S21 (Toul Sleng) Prison – here, you’ll learn more about the institution’s dark past during the Khmer Rouge and have the unique opportunity to meet a survivor.

Around lunchtime, we’ll break to visit Factory Phnom Penh, a vibrant complex that includes – among many other things – artists’ studios, a skateboard park, and the country’s first trampoline park. After a break here for lunch, you’ll have the option to leave our younger guests with your Adventure Leader to enjoy the activities on offer here, while you join a group guide for a sobering visit to the Killing Fields.

This evening, we’ll celebrate the last evening of your family group tour with a dinner cruise down the city’s river. Board a traditional wooden boat for 360-degree views of river’s scenery, and enjoy a free-flowing BBQ dinner with traditional music accompaniments. Grab a drink from the on-board bar, and toast with the rest of your group to two weeks very well spent.

Sadly, today marks the end of your Thailand & Cambodia family group tour. If you’d like assistance organising transport to the airport – or if you fancy an extra night in Phnom Penh – let us know and we’ll be happy to arrange it.