Chiang Rai, the Golden Triangle and Chiang Mai – 4 Days / 3 Nights

After breakfast you check out of your hotel and take a private transfer (driver only) to Bangkok airport in good time for the direct flight to Chiang Rai.

(Domestic flight not included.)

On arrival you meet your Italian-speaking guide and private driver and begin exploring the northernmost province of Thailand.

The first visit is Wat Rong Suea Ten, better known as the Blue Temple, one of the most striking temples in the north of the country. Its deep blue tones, the gold detailing and the great white Buddha inside give it an atmosphere that is hard to forget. You carry on to the Baan Dam Museum, the Black House, an unusual complex of Lanna-style buildings conceived by the Thai artist Thawan Duchanee, holding a collection of art, sculpture and objects that mixes tradition, symbolism and contemporary work. In the late afternoon you reach the centre of Chiang Rai for the Clock Tower, built by Chalermchai Kositpipat, the artist behind the White Temple. Every evening the tower comes alive with a short show of light and music, and it has become one of the emblems of the city.

At the end of the visits, transfer to your hotel and check-in. Free time and overnight.

After breakfast you meet your guide and private driver at the hotel and head for the Golden Triangle, the point where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet.

The first stop is Mae Sai, the northernmost town in Thailand. The border with Myanmar is literally a street, and the frontier market is the heart of the town: jade stalls, Burmese handicrafts and a constant traffic between the two countries. You carry on to the Golden Triangle proper, where the Ruak river runs into the Mekong, and from the viewpoint you have all three countries in front of you at once. There is an optional boat trip on the Mekong, about 40 minutes (700 THB per person, payable locally), along the Lao and Burmese banks. You then visit the Opium Museum, which explains without varnish how the region came by its name: pipes, scales, period instruments and original documents lay out decades of history and trafficking.

Next comes the Union of Hill Tribe Village at Mae Chan, a cultural centre that brings together the mountain communities. Here you meet the Akha with their silver headdresses, the Yao, the H’mong and the Kayan, known for the brass coils they wear at the neck. Each group has its own language, dress and traditions. Lunch at a local restaurant with traditional Thai dishes.

In the afternoon you visit Wat Rong Khun, the famous White Temple. It is not an ancient building but a contemporary work of art, all white and covered in mirror glass. You cross a bridge over a sea of hands reaching upward, and inside the murals mix Buddhist iconography with pop culture. One of the most photographed places in Thailand.

You then drive on to Chiang Mai, arriving in the evening. Transfer to your hotel and overnight.

The day starts in the heart of the old city at Wat Chedi Luang, a fifteenth-century complex known for its huge partly restored pyramidal pagoda and its stone elephants. You carry on to Wat Suan Dok, the temple of the flower garden, where rows of white mausoleums hold the ashes of the Lanna royal family. Then you move outside the centre for Wat Umong, set in thick woodland: its distinctive feature is the network of underground tunnels where monks meditate in complete quiet, among old statues and untouched nature. You stop for a Thai lunch at a local restaurant. Finally you climb the mountain road to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the most sacred shrine in the north. You can take on the 306 steps of the Naga staircase or ride the funicular to the top, where the great golden chedi and the iconic five-tier golden umbrella are waiting. From the terrace the whole valley of Chiang Mai opens out below, before you head back to the hotel.

After breakfast and check-out the day is yours, for a rest or for whatever you feel like doing, until your private driver takes you to the airport.

You can also extend your stay:

If you would like one more day, you can spend another free day in Chiang Mai or add a small-group excursion in English to Doi Inthanon National Park. The extra day includes a visit to an ethical elephant sanctuary run by the Karen community, a local lunch, the climb to the highest point in the country with its royal pagodas, and a jungle trek to the Rak Jung and Wachirathan waterfalls, with a stop to taste the coffee grown in a local village.