Duration
8 days / 7 nights
Price Per Person
Interests
Destinations

The north of Thailand is home to majestic mountains, exotic wildlife, and ancient ruins. This exciting eight-day luxury itinerary, tailor-made by Remote Lands, takes visitors from the ancient ruins of Sukhothai, to the popular culture-heaven of Chiang Mai, and finally to Chiang Rai, where you’ll get to explore a completely different side to Thailand.

This itinerary is an example. It’s designed to inspire you and provide you with thoughtfully curated ideas. You can choose to do this exact itinerary or completely personalize it. All trips are 100% bespoke.

Highlights

  • Elephants: The elephant is Thailand's national animal and the creature has been both revered and mistreated throughout the country's history. Used for logging until the 1989 ban, the majority of Thailand's elephants must remain in captivity as they sadly don't have the survival skills to be released back into the wild.
  • Cooking Class: Learn how to make beloved Thai dishes from a local chef in Chiang Mai.
  • Tea Plantations: The highlands of Chiang Rai create the perfect environment for growing tea and, in turn, the Thai tea industry is growing too.

Day-by-Day

Day 1

Sukhothai

On the first day of your Northern Adventure, we’re going to take you to explore the ancient capital of Thailand, Sukhothai. We’ll stop at the Sukhothai Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is home to just under 200 ancient ruins, including a royal palace and 26 temples.

Hotel Options
Why We Love This Hotel

· Prosperity, Serenity, Romance: Sriwilai Sukhothai is built around these three pillars. Prosperity is emulated through the Lanna-style architecture and cultural nods to the Sukhothai era, the most prosperous in Thai history. Serenity is embedded in the peaceful natural surroundings, while romance is expressed in room design, the spa and the swimming pool area, inviting guests to unwind and reconnect.

· Location: Sriwilai is a perfect jumping off point for exploring Sukhothai Historical Park, yet far enough away from the tourist sites to feel like a secret countryside retreat - the best of both worlds.

· Sustainability: Both environmental and community iniatives are in place at this green resort, including solar energy, a waste water system, zero chlorine and ECOsmarte systems for swimming pools, as well as sourcing ingredients, textiles and pottery from local producers.

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Sriwilai Sukhothai Resort & Spa Preferred Hotel
About

Modelled on a traditional Thai village, the Legendha Sukhothai is located near the heart of the old town and is adjacent to the beautiful Chedi Wat Chang Lom temple. This boutique resort boasts 62 fully-equipped rooms with classical teakwood furniture.

If our Preferred Hotel is unavailable, this accommodation is a reliable alternative and has been personally vetted by the Remote Lands team. More information on this property is available on the “Hotels” tab at the top of the page.

About

Scenically situated amidst organic ricefields midway between the airport and the city, Sukhothai Heritage Resort is designed to blend seamlessly with Sukhothai’s ancient architecture and consists of 68 beautifully appointed rooms and suites, including luxurious Jacuzzi Suites. Traditional Thai fare is available at the Lotus Restaurant and Sala Sukhothai, while the Vanda Bar is the perfect place for a relaxing drink beside one of the resort’s two swimming pools.

If our Preferred Hotel is unavailable, this accommodation is a reliable alternative and has been personally vetted by the Remote Lands team. More information on this property is available on the “Hotels” tab at the top of the page.

Day 2

Chiang Mai

The next day, you’ll take a scenic drive to Chiang Mai, Thailand’s capital of the North, a four-hour drive. You’ll explore Waroros Market, a sprawling complex of stalls selling everything from fresh produce to Thai handicrafts. In the evening, you’ll relax at your luxury hotel. 

Hotel Options
Why We Love This Hotel

Individuality: The 137 Pillars House is a recently opened, renovated, historically colonial boutique property of select suites.

Added Extras: Guests receive complimentary breakfasts, soft drinks and beer from the mini bar.

Location: Situated in one of Chiang Mai’s most stylish areas, by the Ping River and near unique art galleries, antique shops, coffee houses and just a stone’s throw from some of the cities most up-market nightlife venues.

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137 Pillars House Preferred Hotel
Why We Love This Hotel

Location: The vast resort grounds comprise verdant rice terraces and lush landscaped rainforest gardens over looking a stunning Thai mountain range in the distance.

Dining: Four superb restaurants and a handful of bars in beautiful locations serving Thai, Italian and international cuisine, as well as afternoon tea, signature cocktails and fine wines.

Facilities: Guests may enjoy plenty of world-class facilities including an award winning spa, fitness center, infinity pool, tennis courts, cooking school, library and children’s clubs.

Privacy: The hideaway resort is situated away from the hustle of Chiang Mai city, yet within easy reach of the areas attractions. There are five daily shuttle services to the city center.

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Four Seasons Chiang Mai Preferred Hotel
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai

Day 3

Chiang Mai

You’ll start your day off with the “Prolong Life Ceremony”, which is traditional to the north, and as the name implies, is performed to extend the longevity of one’s life. Next, you’ll visit Wat Umong, nestled into the bottom of one of Thailand’s most majestic mountains, Doi Suthep. Finally, you’ll do some shopping or browsing at Chiang Mai’s famous Night Bazaar, best-known for its talented portrait artists.

Day 4

Chiang Mai

On your final day in Chiang Mai, visit an Elephant camp, where you’ll get to see these majestic creatures in all their glory.  You’ll wind down with a traditional Thai cooking class, whether the popular staples or local Northern fare. 

Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai

Day 5

Chiang Rai

Today, you’ll drive to the heart of the Golden Triangle which connects Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar - Chiang Rai. Once arrived, you’ll head to the Hall of Opium, which presents the history of opium, and the impacts of illegal drugs. Head back to one of our two suggested hotels, either the exotic Four Seasons Tented Camp, or the Anantara, both being luxurious abodes.

Hotel Options
Why We Love This Hotel

Views: Overlooking the misty mountains of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos and Mekong River in the enigmatic Golden Triangle region.

Activities: Yoga, Thai cooking lessons, coffee planting and tasting, tree planting and elephant experiences.

Cuisine: Thai and Mediterranean food with beautiful views from the large alfresco terrace.

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Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort Preferred Hotel
Why We Love This Hotel

All-inclusive: guests needn’t worry about cash as drinks, food and trips are already paid for

Elephants: the most intimate elephant experience in Thailand - have breakfast with baby elephants, and learn how to command, ride, feed and bathe elephants

Luxury: 15 luxurious tents with bedroom, bathroom & living room - 3 come with outdoor hot tub

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Four Seasons Tented Camp Preferred Hotel

Day 6

Chiang Rai

Guests will get close up with elephants again today, and you’ll be taught the basics of mahout training as well as a jungle trek. Next up, you’ll visit the panoramic and famous Golden Triangle. Finally, you’ll check out Chiang Saen, an ancient city from the height of the Lanna Kingdom.

Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai

Day 7

Chiang Rai

Today, you’ll visit a memorable, picturesque place that has been compared to China’s Shangri-La, Doi Mae Salong. Following this will be a trip to a tea plantation, an industry for which Chiang Rai is gaining increasing notoriety. You’ll finish off your journey by paying a visit to one of Chiang Rai’s hill tribes, which are numerous in the area. Return to your hotel for one final night. 

Day 8

After breakfast this morning, spend your time at leisure at your hotel until your private transfer to Chiang Rai airport for your flight onward.

Suggested Hotels For Day 1

Sriwilai Sukhothai Resort & Spa
Preferred Hotel

Sriwilai Sukhothai Resort & Spa

Tucked away in the rich natural landscapes of northern Thailand, just a short distance from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sukhothai Historical Park, Sriwilai Sukhothai Resort & Spa is a tranquil, Lanna-style retreat inspired by rural Thai life. The property is comprised of 52 guest rooms and two suites, a spa, an infinity pool overlooking rice fields and rolling hills, as well as a romantic restaurant serving authentic Sukhothai cuisine.
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Legendha Sukhothai

Legendha Sukhothai

Modelled on a traditional Thai village, the Legendha Sukhothai is located near the heart of the old town and is adjacent to the beautiful Chedi Wat Chang Lom temple. This boutique resort boasts 62 fully-equipped rooms with classical teakwood furniture. Nham Khang restaurant offers classic Thai dishes in an authentic environment, and has a nightly traditional dance show. The resort also has an open-air saltwater swimming pool and spa.
Sukhothai Heritage Resort

Sukhothai Heritage Resort

Scenically situated amidst organic ricefields midway between the airport and the city, Sukhothai Heritage Resort is designed to blend seamlessly with Sukhothai’s ancient architecture and consists of 68 beautifully appointed rooms and suites, including luxurious Jacuzzi Suites. Traditional Thai fare is available at the Lotus Restaurant and Sala Sukhothai, while the Vanda Bar is the perfect place for a relaxing drink beside one of the resort’s two swimming pools.

Suggested Hotels For Days 2–4

137 Pillars House
Preferred Hotel

137 Pillars House

Located in the heart of Wat Gate, an area in Chiang Mai that was formerly designated to foreigners by the government, 137 Pillars House sits idyllically along the Ping River, adjacent to Wat Gate Khar Rham Temple. Combining the regality of traditional Thai elegance with modern luxury, this boutique hotel offers amenities including high-speed wireless internet access, laundry service, a 24-hour on-call medical professional, babysitting services, a spa, outdoor swimming pool and a fitness facility. The Dining Room offers classic Thai cuisine, one of the many dining options offered at the hotel. 137 Pillars House is approximately 25 minutes by car from Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX).

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Four Seasons Chiang Mai
Preferred Hotel

Four Seasons Chiang Mai

The Four Seasons Chiang Mai blends with its natural surroundings seamlessly, with trees growing between and around the resort, overlooking terraced rice fields and the mountains of the Mae Rim Valley. The resort has 64 boutique pavilions, each with a private veranda, as well as 16 private luxury residences. The Sala Mae Rim serves Thai cuisine and offers sweeping views of the valley below, and the Terraces have international dishes with a view of the Doi Suthep mountain range. The hotel has a health club with state of the art equipment, including a sauna, herbal steam room, whirlpool, cold plunge pool, 20-meter infinity edge swimming pool, a business center and wi-fi access. There are also mountain bikes available for use, along with maps of trails through the surrounding forest. The Spa at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai has seven treatment suites with rain shower massage tables and private herbal steam rooms. Professional spa therapists can help you choose the best treatment package for your needs. The hotel is 25 minutes from Chiang Mai International Airport.

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Suggested Hotels For Days 5–7

Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort
Preferred Hotel

Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort

The Anantara is a chic luxury retreat perched atop a high mountain ridge overlooking the confluence of the Mekong and Ruak rivers, and close to Thailand's borders with Laos and Myanmar. It has 58 guest rooms and 19 suites decorated in a style that blends the best of the area's rich fabric and woodcarving traditions with contemporary design. The resort includes a sybaritic spa, an infinity pool that looks over the tree canopy to the Mekong River and up towards the hills of Myanmar and Laos, a fitness center with steam rooms, saunas, squash and tennis courts, a Thai cooking school, and an elephant camp, where you can learn about the importance of the elephant in Thai culture and arrange a ride through the surrounding jungle. The Anantara is also home to three food and beverage establishments: Sala Mae Nam (international buffet breakfast and Northern Thai specialties for dinner), Baan Dahlia (authentic Italian cuisine with a wine selection from vineyards around the globe), and The Elephant Bar and Opium Terrace, the perfect setting for a night cap.

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Four Seasons Tented Camp
Preferred Hotel

Four Seasons Tented Camp

An exotic getaway reached by riverboat, the Four Seasons Tented Camp is set in a bamboo jungle at the meeting point of three countries: Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Fifteen freestanding, luxurious tents are spaced along a half-mile-long hillside trail over the Muak River, each with a large outdoor deck to take in the lush surroundings and the sounds of the forest. The rooms are outfitted with hand-hammered copper bathtubs, and custom-made furnishings that hearken back to the style of 19th-century explorers. The spa offers simple luxury with traditional Thai massages in open-air salas that seem to float in the air amid the trees. The treatments include mountain botanicals and warming spices for a unique and restorative experience. Private yoga classes are also available. A variety of dining experiences are offered and are shared by the small group of guests: breakfast is served at Nong Yao, the camp's restaurant; lunch might be a picnic in the jungle with folding tables, stools and linen napkins; dinner could be a barbecue, a five-course formal meal or a dinner by the campfire. There is a pool and attached whirlpool at the camp that has been integrated into the landscape, surrounded by granite boulders and lush plants. The camp is 90 minutes from Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI).

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Why Remote Lands?

Exclusively Asia

With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.

Travelogues

An Asia-focused magazine brought to you by Remote Lands - a platform for adventure, luxury, and authenticity from experts and explorers around the continent.

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A family from New York

A family from New York

I cannot rave enough about Remote Lands, they provided us with one great guide after another along with a remarkable itinerary.

Thailand

A family from Los Angeles

A family from Los Angeles

Every moving part of the itinerary was perfectly planned and executed. The day to day program [Remote Lands] devised took into account all of our individual interests and preferred levels of activity.

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A Family from Toronto, booked by Wonderland Travel

We loved the level of service and attention to detail...we felt very spoiled.

Thailand, Hong Kong

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