Our top Thailand tours and excursions

Discover Thailand’s cosmopolitan roots on a tour of the Ayutthaya ruins, accompanied by art history expert Professor Chedha Tingsanchali. 

For four centuries, Ayutthaya was the centre of a great kingdom that sprawled over much of Southeast Asia, with a culture and architecture influenced by nations as far-flung as Britain, Persia and Japan. Then, in 1767, it was sacked by the Burmese, and its monuments were left to rack and ruin. With Professor Tingsanchali on hand to demystify the city’s multicultural origins, you’ll hunt down crumbling chedi spires hidden along wood-panelled lanes, and Buddha images in temples sandwiched between modern businesses and cafés. For history lovers, this is one of our favourite tours in all of Thailand. 

Bangkok is the city that never stops eating, as you’ll discover on this late-night tuk-tuk tour of the city’s finest street-food spots and drinking holes. 

From Michelin-starred crab omelettes to fishball soup, and from drunken noodles to chive dumplings, Bangkok cuisine is much, much more than just pad thai (though there’s that, too). Zipping through the streets in the back of a tuk-tuk, your guide will take you beyond the usual tourist hotspots and deep into the after-hours food culture of the city, stopping in for cold drinks at hidden bars and street-food treats at thronging night markets. In between bites, you’ll also hop out to explore some Bangkok landmarks — including chedi temple spires glowing golden against the night sky. 

Once you’ve seen one island, you’ve seen them all — or have you? Spend a day island-hopping in Thailand’s beautiful south and discover a treasure trove of hidden coves, pearl-white beaches and vivid coral reefs.  

Whether it’s Phi-Phi, Phuket, or Krabi, Thailand’s southern reaches are world-famous for their palm-fringed sands and turquoise seas basking in the heat of the tropical sun. But while they might all sound alike, Thailand’s southern islands can be surprisingly diverse, encompassing uninhabited jungle islets, sleepy seaside fishing towns, upmarket enclaves and deserted, hidden coves. The best way to get a sense of the variety is to spend a day island-hopping by boat, swimming among coral reefs teeming with fish, stopping to sample seafood fresh from the waves, and cruising to beaches so stunning they’ve starred in Hollywood films.

Learn about one of the darkest periods in Thai history: the construction of the “Death Railway” and the Bridge on the River Kwai. 

To wander the sleepy streets of riverside Kanchanaburi, it’s hard to imagine that this was the setting for one of the most horrific events in Thailand’s history. During WWII, thousands of local people and Allied prisoners of war were forced to build the infamous “Death Railway”, including the famous Bridge on the River Kwai. The bridge still stands today, and monuments commemorating those who died constructing it are found throughout Kanchanaburi. Visiting these memorials and reading first-hand accounts of their suffering at the Railway Museum is a sobering experience, but it’s unmissable if you want to understand the trauma of this important piece of Thailand’s history. 

Rolling countryside threaded through with rivers, mountains speckled with crumbling ruins and minority villages surrounded by rice paddies: northern Thailand is a walker’s paradise. 

Whether you’re after a gentle half-day hike or a challenging, multi-day trek to remote villages deep in the countryside, northern Thailand really does have something for everyone. This region is mountainous, rural, and home to a patchwork of ethnic minorities, each with their own rich culture and customs. Opportunities abound to get to know the local way of life, as you visit traditional villages, eat home-cooked food, and spend the night in tiny guesthouses and homestays. In between, there’s miles and miles of countryside to be explored — criss-crossing trails through farmland and forest, crumbling jungle temples, secluded valleys, rural markets and even a “lost civilisation”.