Bangkok, the River Kwai & Elephant Hills
Explore Bangkok and its cultural heritage before taking a river cruise aboard the MV River Kwai and exploring the rainforest around Elephant Hills
To get a broad flavour of different areas of Thailand, take this tour, which explores the thriving, vibrant capital, Bangkok, before setting sale on a river cruise. Having enjoyed the leisurely cruise transfer to the south of the country and explore the rainforest around Elephant Hills, and discover the beach and wildlife here on a safari.
3 nights Bangkok • 3 nights River Kwai Cruise • 1 night Bangkok • 2 nights Elephant Hills • 1 night Phuket
Days 1-3: Bangkok
Depart the UK for Bangkok, where you will be met on arrival and transferred to the Sukhothai Hotel. Spend the rest of your day at leisure. Enjoy a morning tour of the Grand Palace and evening dinner cruise on the Chao Praya River.
Stay: Sukhothai Bangkok (B)
Days 4-7: RV River Cruise
Board the RV River Kwai three-night tour from Bangkok. At the end of the cruise, arrive back into Bangkok and transfer to your hotel.
Stay: 3 nights on RV River Kwai (B, L, D), 1 night Sukhothai Bangkok (B)
Days 8-10: Elephant Hills; Khao Sok
Fly to Phuket, transferring to Phang Nga province, passing small rural villages, rubber and oil palm plantations en route. Glimpses of rural life in tropical southern Thailand can be seen along the way. Explore the rivers that cut through the mangrove forest by motorised dinghy. For people who want to explore the smaller creeks, see some bird life and get closer to nature, self-paddle canoes with life jackets are available for a silent journey into this dense green world. Emerging further along the coast meet up with our classical Burmese junk. Spend the afternoon on a deserted beach, swim, relax or paddle a canoe. The panoramic views of distant mangroves and banyan trees stretch to the horizon. Late afternoon is the time to transfer to Khao Sok, with dinner and an overnight stay at Elephant Hills.
Wake up to the sounds of nature and birds calling from the bushes close to your tent. When the sun comes up and clears the mist over the mountains and jungle to the south of Elephant Hills, the gibbons start to make their morning territorial calls that echo down the valley. Transfer to the elephant camp, where you can see, touch and find out about the life of Thai elephants and about the elephant project the company is running. Your guide will also explain about the mahout, the man who takes care of the elephant. Participating in our Elephant Experience you will get close to and experience hands-on these magnificent animals and will have the chance to interact with them and learn the secrets of their mahouts. You must prepare and feed them one of their daily meals, scrub and clean and watch them bathe. Feed them their dietary supplements, which help with digestion and overall well-being and plant some of their food, which will be ready for next year’s crop.
In the afternoon take a jungle river canoe trip down the Sok River. Drift along the jungle river, passing limestone mountains and cliffs covered with exotic tropical vegetation. Some times hornbill can be seen flying high overhead or reptiles spotted basking in the sun on the riverbanks. From the canoe you can experience a world that has changed little in thousands of years, some of the last areas of primary rainforest.
The following morning, explore on foot; nothing compares to actually walking inside the jungle. It’s an opportunity to explore the ecology of the rainforest, to see a great variety of exotic plants, tropical hardwood trees with huge roots, orchid, palms, ferns, bamboos, mosses; the variety is unlimited. Birds such as the hornbill live high up above, gibbon can often be heard calling to their mates, a macaque or leaf monkey may be heard swinging through the branches. Every day is different but it is truly wonderful to discover the great variety of life forms that co-exists together.
In the afternoon, return to Elephant Hills for your onward transfer to your hotel or the airport.
Transfer to Aleenta Phang Nga overnight.
Stay: 2 nights Elephant Hills (B, L, D), 1 night Aleenta Phang Nga (B)
Day 11: Phuket - Bangkok - UK
Transfer to Phuket Airport for your flight to Bangkok and your international onward connection.
Please note that all itineraries as above are dependent on the local conditions and may change in their order due to this.
Bangkok, the River Kwai & Elephant Hills itinerary map
Pricing Information
Prices from: £2,512 to £2,735 per person
Valid for Travel: 1 April - 10 December 2012
Package includes: International flights from London to Bangkok and domestic flights from Bangkok to Phuket, transfers, 3 nights cruise including all meals and 7 nights accommodation with meals as indicated.
B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner
Terms & Conditions: Prices are per person based on two people sharing a twin/double room, prices are subject to availability and possible change, normal booking conditions apply.
To book, call 0845 643 6561
To book this travel offer, call one of our tailor-made travel experts now, quoting reference WEX102442.
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