“Worth it if you value exceptional guides and varied activities. Think twice if primitive homestay conditions and plastic waste concern you.”
- About £92/day across 13 days
- ~£1,486 all-in with a typical £286 flight from London (£114/day)
- We only rate a price against this trip's own history once we've tracked it for 21 days — no guessing before that.
- Cheaper per day than 4 of 4 similar trips we compared
- 4.2★ from 17 traveller reviews
Price movement, fill and the all-in cost come from our own daily tracking— not the operator’s feed. You book on TourRadar; the live price always applies there.
About this trip
This 13-day trip takes you from the noise of Bangkok up through Northern Thailand's hills and rivers to the Golden Triangle, covering a lot of ground and a lot of contrasts along the way.
You'll trek to hilltribe villages and stay in simple house accommodation, drift down the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi, and take in the old temples of the Siam Kingdom, alongside local markets and mountain scenery.
It's a long-running route for a reason — a mix of culture, nature and rural homestays that gives you a genuine cross-section of the country rather than just its highlights reel.
What you'll do
- Explore Bangkok's markets and city life
- Trek between hillside villages and stay in a local house
- Drift down the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi
- Visit historic temples of the former Siam Kingdom
- Travel through the Golden Triangle region
- Take the overnight sleeper train between Bangkok and Chiang Mai
- Hilltribe village stays are simple and multi-share, with mattresses, bedding and mosquito nets provided — some hot water isn't guaranteed
- Expect long travel days, including an overnight train in a shared soft sleeper compartment with bunk beds
- Trekking can mean high heat and humidity with little shade, so bring sun protection and expect regular drink breaks
Day by day
Exactly what you do each day, where you sleep, and how it flows — written by us, from the real itinerary.
What's included
- Guide: All group trips are accompanied by one of our group leader or local representative. The aim of the group leader or local representative is to take the hassle out of your travels and to help you have the best trip possible. Intrepid endeavours to provide the services of an experienced group leader or local representative however, due to the seasonality of travel, rare situations may arise where your group leader or local representative is new to a particular region or training other group leader or local representative. Your group leader or local representative will provide information on the places you are travelling through, offer suggestions for things to do and see, recommend great local eating venues and introduce you to our local friends. While not being guides in the traditional sense, you can expect them to have a broad general knowledge of the places visited on the trip, including historical, cultural, religious, and social aspects. At Intrepid we aim to support local guides who have specialised knowledge of the regions we visit. If you are interested in delving deeper into the local culture at a specific site or location then your group leader or local representative can recommend a local guide service in most of the main destinations of your trip.
- Meals: 3 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners
- Activities: Bangkok - Khlong boat canal tour Bangkok - Wat Pho Kanchanaburi - Rafthouse experience with dinner Kanchanaburi - Erawan Waterfalls Kanchanaburi - Kanchanaburi War Cemetery Ayutthaya - Temple Ruins entrance & guided tour Hilltribe Village - Home-cooked Dinner Hilltribe Trek – Mok Fah Waterfall Hilltribe Trek - Mae Malai Market Visit Mae Taeng - 3-day hilltribe trekking Akha Hilltribe - Farm To Plate Demonstration & Lunch Do Mae Salong - Local market Golden Triangle - Mekong River cruise Golden Triangle - Opium House Chiang Rai - Wat Rong Kun (White Temple)
- Transport: OVERNIGHT TRAINS: Overnight sleeper trains in Thailand are air-conditioned and have sleeping berths down both sides of the carriage. The carriage is multishare, with are curtains that close over the beds. A sleeping sheet and a pillow are provided, and our luggage travels in the carriage with us. There is a western and Asian-style toilet located at the end of the carriage, but no showers. Carriage lights staying on during the night, so an eye mask is a good thing to bring with you, as is warm clothes as the air conditioning can be cold. For more on overnight trains in Thailand and around the world: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/adventures/overnight-train-travel-around-the-world/ Private minvan, Public bus, Overnight sleeper train, Songthaew, Taxi, Longtail Boat, Rafthouse
- Accommodation: Hotel (4 nights), Guesthouse (5 nights), Hilltribe village homestay (2 nights), Overnight sleeper train (1 nights)
- Activities: Other activities and services not included
- Flights: International flights not included.
- Optional: Other activities and services not included
- Insurance: Insurance is not included. Travel insurance is required for this tour. Please make sure you are adequately covered. If you require travel insurance, TourRadar has partnered up with Cover Genius to provide a hassle-free experience. More information can be found here (https://www.tourradar.com/travel-insurance).
How travellers rate it
Cheapest live departure per day, in £, recorded by our tracker since 18 Jul. Never a brochure “was” price.
Your free day in Bangkok
Landing early, staying on, or filling free time? The best-rated day experiences in Bangkok — you book on Viator (we may earn a commission).
Worth it if you value exceptional guides and varied activities. Think twice if primitive homestay conditions and plastic waste concern you.
- Guides consistently went above and beyond: translating at doctors, rearranging plans for weather, ensuring everyone felt looked after.
- Daily itinerary genuinely varied—jungle trekking, temple visits, farm stays, waterfall walks, banana-leaf cooking fires kept energy high.
- Homestays lacked basics: no toilet paper, broken bathroom doors, one was dirty. Pre-trip communication from operator was vague on what to expect.
- Sustainability messaging clashed with reality: tour generated excessive plastic waste via bottled water despite 'say no to plastics' welcome bag.
Distilled from real traveller reviews on TourRadar — we don't edit out the bad bits.
The same-vibe trips, side by side — price, value per day, and how each is moving. Only we can lay two operators' trips out honestly.
Sorted by fit — never by who paid. Price moves and availability come from our own daily tracking.
Departing in Oct is cheapest — from £1,200, about 18% below the priciest month (Jan).
Getting there
One-way so you can book your return whenever. Prices & booking shown on Trip.com.
Hotels in Bangkok
View more accommodationLive prices via Booking.com & partners, booked on their site — separate from your tour. We may earn a commission; it never changes your price.
On a budget?
Hostels in Bangkok for the night before your tour · 3 Oct – 4 Oct
Booked on Hostelworld, separate from your tour. We may earn a commission — it never changes your price.
Common questions
How long is Beautiful Northern Thailand?
It's a 13-day trip. It starts in Bangkok and finishes in Chiang Mai.
How much does Beautiful Northern Thailand cost?
The land price starts from £1,200 per person for the 13-day trip. You book on TourRadar, where the live price always applies.
What will Beautiful Northern Thailand really cost me all-in?
On top of the £1,200 land price, budget roughly £286 for a return flight from the UK — about £1,486 all-in before spending money. Most day-to-day meals out and optional activities are extra.
What's included in the price?
The price covers all your accommodation, 10 meals (3 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners), transport during the trip, a group leader/guide. Anything the operator lists as optional or not included — see the full breakdown on this page.
What's not included?
international flights and travel insurance (required) are not included, so factor them into your budget. We show typical flight costs and can point you to insurance on this page.
How big is the group?
Groups are capped at around 12 travellers — a small-group trip, mostly solo 18–35s travelling to meet people, not a coach tour.
When does Beautiful Northern Thailand run?
It runs across roughly 20 months of the year, so there's usually a departure to fit your dates. Check live availability and prices in the dates section above.
Sort the essentials
Partner offersWe may earn a commission from partner offers. It never changes your price or our ranking.
More trips like this
Ranked on real fit — in case this one isn't quite yours.
Booked with the operator via TourRadar · we may earn a commission.
Want longer in Thailand?
Working holidays, volunteering & more — £50 off with code 18TO35TRAVEL.
Powered by Global Work & Travel · we may earn a commission on bookings.