Cruise the Mekong from Huay Xai towards Pakbeng aboard a comfortable riverboat, watching riverside villages, forested slopes and sandy banks drift by. Feel the tropical breeze on deck as fishermen steer narrow boats through gentle currents.

Hear about the river’s role as a lifeline for trade and travel in northern Laos. Photograph misty jungle-clad hills and wooden stilt houses, and settle into the unhurried rhythm of life along Southeast Asia’s great waterway.

Continue downstream on a second day to glide the Mekong towards Luang Prabang, spotting kingfishers, water buffalo and children waving from the banks. The boat’s open deck invites quiet contemplation and unbroken views.

As bends reveal limestone bluffs and fertile floodplains, your guide shares river lore and working longboats. Arriving by water frames the approach to UNESCO-listed Luang Prabang, where temple spires and colonial facades signal a serene cultural crossroads.

Watch the train sweep through Maeklong Market as vendors pull back folding awnings and baskets skim the rails. Trace the salty delta to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, drifting by boats piled with pineapples, coconuts and orchids.

Meet waterside vendors, hear the market’s origins in old canal networks, and photograph the colorful scene from a long-tail boat. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Unwind with a traditional Thai massage, a sequence of acupressure and yoga-like stretches that ease travel-tired muscles. Therapists work along energy lines to restore balance without oils.

Discover how this practice connects to the ancient healing arts taught at Wat Pho’s massage school in Bangkok. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

• 12 Breakfast (B)
• 2 Lunch (L)

• Visit Wat Pho with its impressive Reclining Buddha and the Grand Palace with its golden rooftops and rich royal history
• Travel overnight by train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, experiencing a classic Thai rail adventure
• Visit the hilltop Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, admire the intricate architecture of Wat Suan Dok and Wat Phra Singh

• Selected hotel dinners, with optional meals to purchase
• Deluxe coach, cruise and train travel
• 3-star stays

• Bangkok: Begin your city tour by visiting Bangkok’s Grand Palace, home to the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand, Wat Phra Kaew. Continue your exploration of the city and its renowned landmarks. 
• Settle into your overnight sleeper train as Bangkok slips away and you travel north towards Chiang Mai. Your berth becomes your base for the night, with the steady hum of the rails accompanying the journey before you wake to a new corner of Thailand.
• Three sacred temples introduce you to Chiang Mai, from hilltop Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, where golden details catch the light and views stretch across the city, to Wat Suan Dok and Wat Phra Singh. Notice gilded stupas, carved details and distinctive Lanna architecture along the way.
• Colour takes centre stage at two of Chiang Rai’s most distinctive temples. At Wat Rong Khun, mirrored fragments shimmer across its intricate white exterior, while Wat Rong Suea Ten surrounds you with deep blue walls, elaborate Buddhist artwork and gleaming gold details.
• Glide along the Mekong through northern Laos, with forested slopes rising from the water and small settlements appearing along its banks. Feel the breeze from the river and watch boats, homes and daily life pass by, experiencing a waterway that remains central to communities across the country.
• On a walking tour of Luang Prabang’s historic peninsula, between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, gilded temples sit among traditional Lao houses and French colonial buildings. Pass Vieng Temple and notice carved wood, painted details and temple roofs as you follow the streets of this UNESCO-listed town.
• Travel through Luang Prabang by tuk-tuk, feeling the breeze as you make your way to the morning market and Wat Mai. Continue to Phou Si Hill for views across the city, then visit the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre to encounter the textiles, crafts and traditions of Laos’s diverse communities.
• See Vientiane from a tuk-tuk before heading up Patuxai, where Lao motifs decorate the monumental arch and city views await above. Then visit Carol Cassidy’s Lao Textiles workshop, where handwoven silk, intricate patterns and traditional brocade, ikat and tapestry techniques showcase the precision of Lao weaving.
• On a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at the COPE Visitor Centre, you’ll learn how unexploded ordnance continues to affect lives across Laos. Discover how COPE’s prosthetic and rehabilitation services help people regain independence, access education and employment and participate more fully in their communities. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Costsaver

Explore Bangkok’s spiritual heart as you join a guided visit to Wat Pho and its Reclining Buddha, where incense drifts beneath tiled roofs and gilded statues. Trace cloistered courtyards and chedi spires while your guide unpacks Buddhist symbolism and temple etiquette.

Continue into the royal precinct to admire the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), a masterpiece of Thai craftsmanship clad in mirrored mosaics and gold leaf. Hear stories of Chakri kings and royal ceremonies that still shape the city’s identity.

Ascend the mountain to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, following the naga-flanked staircase to golden chedis and wide views over Chiang Mai. Hear the temple’s founding legend as bells chime on the breeze.

Back in the valley, wander serene cloisters at Wat Suan Dok, where whitewashed stupas honour Chiang Mai’s past, and explore Wat Phra Singh, a showcase of Lanna-era woodcarving and layered roofs. Gain insight into the former Lanna kingdom’s art and ritual.

Join your Travel Director for an evening stroll through the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, where paper lanterns glow above stalls laden with hill-tribe textiles, silverwork and spice-scented grills. Practice your bargaining and meet artisans behind their crafts.

Learn how the bazaar grew from caravan trade routes linking Burma, Yunnan and Siam. Pause to sample regional snacks or a sweet iced tea and soak in the lantern-lit atmosphere as musicians play and families gather to shop.

Discover Chiang Rai’s contrasting masterpieces, beginning at Wat Rong Khun (the White Temple), where mirrored fragments shimmer across intricate plaster reliefs. Contemporary murals and fantastical motifs reimagine Buddhist themes.

Continue to Wat Rong Suea Ten (the Blue Temple), stepping into a cobalt sanctuary adorned with elaborate Buddhist artwork and gilded accents. Learn how local artists transformed these sites into symbols of a creative, modern northern Thailand.

Join a guided orientation walk through Luang Prabang’s UNESCO-listed historic peninsula, passing Vieng Temple, French-era villas and shaded lanes lined with frangipani. Notice carved doors, saffron sashes and the easy flow between temple and town.

Discover how royal Lao tradition blends with Indochine architecture where the Mekong meets the Nam Khan. Quiet side streets, riverfront steps and markets reveal a living heritage shaped by faith, craft and crossroads commerce.

Witness the alms-giving ritual at dawn as saffron-robed monks collect rice in near silence. Ride a tuk-tuk to the morning market to see herbs, river fish and forest produce traded at daybreak.

Visit Wat Mai with its gilded reliefs, climb Phou Si Hill for a city-and-river panorama, and explore the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre, where textiles and baskets illuminate the cultures of Laos’s many ethnic groups.

See Vientiane by tuk-tuk, rolling beneath frangipani trees to Patuxai for sweeping city views and painted mythic ceilings. Pause at riverside boulevards where French-influenced facades meet Lao street life.

Delve into craft and community at Carol Cassidy’s Lao Textiles, watching silk threads become intricate brocade, then visit the COPE Visitor Centre for a powerful look at UXO history and rehabilitation efforts supported by your visit.

Travel by long-tail boat along Thonburi’s klongs, skimming past teak houses on stilts, spirit houses and canal-side temples where daily life unfolds at the water’s edge. Hear the soft putter of the engine as orchids and laundry sway from porches.

Disembark at Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) to admire its porcelain-clad prang rising above the Chao Phraya. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage of brick prangs and towering chedis that once anchored Siam’s thriving capital. Walk between banyan roots and weathered Buddhas as your guide unpacks royal intrigues and foreign trade.

Return to Bangkok by cruise on the Chao Phraya River, watching riverfront life and temples slide by from the open deck. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Ride a tuk-tuk into Yaowarat (Chinatown) as neon flickers to life and woks hiss on the curb. Follow your food guide to sample street food—grilled pork skewers, peppery boat noodles, and gold-crisp Chinese doughnuts.

Hear how traders shaped this historic quarter and cap the evening with a rooftop view over the river. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Step inside Jim Thompson House, a compound of teakwood pavilions filled with art, ceramics and silk. Meander shaded canal-side gardens and learn how American-born Thompson helped revive Thai silk in the 1950s.

Hear the enduring mystery of his 1967 disappearance in Malaya and the legacy his foundation preserves. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Cook Northern Thai classics in a Lanna family home, harvesting herbs from the garden and pounding curry pastes in a mortar. Craft khao soi, sai ua sausage or green chili nam prik with guidance from your hosts.

Sit down to share your dishes around low tables and hear family stories spanning generations. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Visit Elephant Nature Park, an ethical, no-riding sanctuary where you observe rescued elephants foraging, bathing and socializing in open meadows. Learn to read their behaviour alongside expert staff.

Hear individual rescue stories and how your visit supports veterinary care and habitat restoration as a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Walk forest trails in Doi Inthanon National Park, where mossy trunks, orchids and ferns thrive in cool highland air. Pause at misty waterfalls that tumble from Thailand’s highest mountain.

Listen for birdsong and meet Karen or Hmong villagers selling woven textiles by the trail. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Settle on floor cushions for a Khantoke dinner, a northern tradition of shared platters—sticky rice, herb-rich sausages, curries and relishes served on pedestal trays. Taste the balance of herbs, chilli and smoke unique to Lanna cuisine.

As courses arrive, enjoy traditional music and dance performed in colourful costume by local artists. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Visit Kuang Si Falls, following forest pathways to terraced turquoise pools tucked beneath towering trees. Cool your feet on limestone ledges and watch butterflies drift above the cascades.

Learn how minerals create the falls’ distinctive colour and, when conditions allow, enjoy a cool-water swim. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Watch sunset from Phou Si Hill, as temple bells sound and rooftops glow in golden light over the Mekong and Nam Khan. Capture panoramic photos as the city settles into evening.

Continue to a riverside restaurant for a riverside dinner of Lao flavours and cool breezes beside the water. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Learn to cook Lao dishes with a home cook, balancing herbs, fermented ingredients and sticky rice. Stir jeow dips, steam fish in banana leaves and taste robust mountain flavours.

Carry a selection to a nearby temple to offer food to monks, discovering the merit-making tradition that underpins daily life. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore Buddha Park (Xieng Khuan), a riverside field of surreal concrete sculptures blending Buddhist and Hindu imagery. Stroll among serene Buddhas, demons and deities crafted in the 1950s by mystic-artist Bunleua Sulilat.

Step inside the giant pumpkin through a demon’s mouth to climb its levels representing hell, earth and heaven. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Wander Vang Vieng’s karst plains beneath sheer limestone cliffs, crossing rice fields alive with dragonflies. Visit a Hmong village to learn about seasonal rhythms and textile traditions.

Cross the river by sampan and venture into limestone caves as torchlight reveals flowstone and echoing chambers. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.