Bangkok to Chiang Mai Overland Tour – 8 Days / 7 Nights

After breakfast you meet your guide and private driver at the hotel (pick-up at 06:45) for a long day of contrasts, between busy markets and the harder history of Thailand.

You start at the Maeklong Train Market, an old food market laid out directly on the railway tracks. When the scheduled train comes through, the traders fold back their awnings and pull in their goods in a few seconds, then put everything back the moment it has passed. Next is the Damnoen Saduak floating market and an hour by motorboat along the canals cut in the nineteenth century, through coconut and banana plantations, with fruit, vegetables and handicrafts changing hands from boat to boat.

After the included lunch of local dishes you head for Kanchanaburi province. The first stop is the bridge over the River Kwai, known worldwide from the Oscar-winning film. You then board the train for a stretch of the so-called Death Railway: the line runs on wooden trestles pinned to the cliff face, following the river through thick vegetation.

At Tam Krasae station you visit the cave shrine with its Buddha images, a place of prayer and shelter for the prisoners during the years the railway was being built.

At the end of the day, transfer to your hotel in Kanchanaburi, check-in and overnight.

After breakfast your guide and driver meet you at the hotel for a morning in Erawan National Park. The park is famous for its seven-tier waterfall, whose shape recalls the head of Erawan, the mythical white elephant, and for the emerald pools where you can swim. A path of about 2 km climbs from level to level through dense forest full of birds and plant life. After lunch at a local restaurant you leave Kanchanaburi province for Ayutthaya, the old capital of Siam. On arrival you take an hour-long boat ride on the waterways that ring the historic island: from the water you watch the great Wat Chaiwatthanaram at sunset, the ruins lit by the last of the light. At the end of the day, transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast your guide and driver meet you at reception. The first stop is the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO site of extraordinary value. You begin at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, with its reclining Buddha and the great central chedi ringed by rows of statues in saffron robes. Then comes Wat Mahathat, known worldwide for the Buddha head held in old tree roots, and Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the royal temple with its three iconic stupas on the skyline. After lunch at a local restaurant the road continues to Lopburi, an old city where Khmer architecture sits inside ordinary modern life. You visit Phra Prang Sam Yod, a sandstone temple known as much for its architecture as for the colony of macaques that lives in it. The day closes at Phitsanulok with a visit to Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, the spiritual heart of the region, home to the Phra Buddha Chinnarat, one of the most venerated and most admired Buddha images in the whole of Thailand. At the end of the day, transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast you meet your guide and private driver and leave Phitsanulok for Sukhothai. The name means the dawn of happiness, and it marks the birth of the first independent Thai kingdom: founded in 1238 after breaking away from Khmer rule, Sukhothai was for more than a century the cradle of Thai civilisation, the place where its art, its architecture and even its script were born. Tradition holds that King Ramkhamhaeng devised the Thai alphabet here in 1283. You enter the Historical Park, UNESCO-listed since 1991, where time seems to have stopped among tall temples and seated Buddhas spread over green, quiet ground very different from the density of Ayutthaya. At its heart is Wat Mahathat, the most important of the temples, recognisable by its lotus-bud chedi, an architectural invention unique to the Sukhothai period. Here, as across the park, you meet the famous walking Buddha of the Sukhothai style, a slender, elegant figure with one foot barely lifted, held by many art historians to be the summit of Thai Buddhist sculpture. If there is time, do not miss Wat Si Chum, where an enormous seated Buddha watches you through a narrow slit in the wall that encloses it, an image that surprises everyone the first time.

You can visit by bicycle or on the local tram; a golf cart is also available for moving easily between the monuments, at an extra charge.

After lunch you head north for Lampang, about three hours away. In the evening, if your stay falls between Friday and Sunday, the day ends at Kad Kong Ta, the night market along Thanon Talad Gao: street food stalls, local crafts and the old Thai, Chinese and European timber houses that line the street, with live music and the most genuine atmosphere in Lampang.

Transfer to your hotel in Lampang and overnight.

After breakfast you leave Lampang for Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat, also known as Wat Phra Phutthabat Sutthawat, one of the most spectacular places in northern Thailand. The temple is famous for its small white chedi perched on limestone peaks, reached along a path through the forest. From the top a wide view opens over the mountains and the valleys below.

From there you carry on to Mae Kampong, a small mountain village deep in the forest, surrounded by thick vegetation and running water. Far from the pace of the cities, Mae Kampong still keeps the feel of a traditional northern village, with timber houses, small dwellings among the trees and a daily life closely tied to the land.

You arrive at Mae Kampong and settle into your accommodation. The rest of the day is for taking the village slowly: walking its lanes, watching everyday life and enjoying the quiet of the forest.

An evening in a genuine, restful place, among nature, mountains and the atmosphere of the far north.

Overnight in Mae Kampong.

After breakfast you leave Mae Kampong for Chiang Mai, the main city of northern Thailand and the old capital of the Lanna kingdom.

On arrival you visit the historic centre, starting at Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan, one of the most important and most venerated temples in the city, known for its elegant Lanna architecture and its traditional decoration. Then comes Wat Chedi Luang, one of the symbols of Chiang Mai, dominated by the huge chedi that was once among the tallest religious structures in the Lanna kingdom.

Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon you head into the mountains that ring the city to reach Wat Pha Lat, a striking temple hidden in the forest on the slopes of Doi Suthep. Surrounded by vegetation, with old stone structures and Buddha images among the trees, it is one of the quietest places in the area.

You then continue to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the best known temple in Chiang Mai, high on the mountain of the same name. Inside the compound you can admire the golden chedi and take in the view over the city and the valley below.

At the end of the visit you return to Chiang Mai and check in at your hotel.

After breakfast you meet your guide and private driver for a full day in Doi Inthanon National Park, home to the highest mountain in the country at 2,565 m. About 100 km from Chiang Mai, the park is a haven of biodiversity, known for its waterfalls and for air cool enough to be a relief from the tropical heat of the valley. You visit the Twin Pagodas, built in honour of the King and the Queen and surrounded by flower gardens with a wide view over the valley. You then reach the summit and the shrine of Prince Chao Inthawitchyanon, and walk the trails through the rainforest. The route continues with a stop at the local Hmong market, where the produce of the mountains is sold. After the included lunch by the Wachirathan waterfall you visit a White Karen village, where you can see how people live here and taste the coffee the community grows and roasts itself. Return to Chiang Mai in the late afternoon and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out the time is yours, for a rest or for whatever you feel like doing. At the agreed hour you meet your driver for the transfer to the airport and the flight on to your next destination.