Our top Thailand tours and excursions

Thailand is overflowing with guided tours and excursions, but not all are created equal. That’s why we only ever recommend the best of the best: the experiences guaranteed to get you under the skin of Thai culture.

What makes a great experience? For us, it always starts with the people. A fantastic guide is your magic key to understanding Thailand, whether it’s getting to grips with war history or learning how to make a killer green curry. They’re not just there to make sure you don’t get lost; they’re there to take you inside their culture and show you what makes this country tick.

You might be exploring the Chiang Mai countryside on the back of a vintage Vespa, stopping off to admire the views and visit old-fashioned farmhouses. You might be island-hopping in the southern islands, visiting hidden coves to splash about in coral reefs. Or you might be in the heart of Bangkok, sampling street-food treats as you explore the city’s world-famous nightlife. Whatever the experience, expect full immersion, hands-on fun, and the company of some of our favorite people in all of Thailand.

Tour the Chiang Mai countryside by vintage Vespa

Hop on the back of a scooter, leave the crowds behind, and discover Chiang Mai’s mountain scenery in style — on the back of a vintage Vespa!

The countryside surrounding Chiang Mai is a stunning setting for a scooter tour: think rippling rice paddies backed by forested mountains, and rolling green farmlands dotted with traditional, thatched-roof villages. With an expert driver to tackle the twists and turns, you’ll be free to soak up the scenery from the back of your Vespa — with plenty of stops along the way to get into the rhythm of countryside life. Eat lunch in a tropical garden, visit a hilltop temple with a giant Buddha, stop in at a Thai farmhouse, and learn how elephant dung can be used to make sustainable materials. Equal parts exhilarating and enlightening, this tour is one of our favourite ways to see a different side of Chiang Mai.

A morning at Araksa Tea Garden

Discover the secrets of growing, harvesting and roasting top-quality tea against the backdrop of the evergreen hills of Mae Tang.

An hour’s drive outside of Chiang Mai, tucked away in the hills, is one of Thailand’s oldest tea plantations. At over 70 years old (and counting), Araksa’s tea plants haven’t seen a single chemical in over two decades, and consequently produce some of the finest organic white, green, black and herbal teas around. On a morning visit, you’ll get to participate in the tea production process from start to finish — harvesting the leaves, kneading and roasting the tea, and brewing and tasting it yourself — concluding with a beautiful set lunch in the garden.

Bangkok after dark

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.