How To move around in Northern Thailand?

Excellent road conditions and scenic drives. Discovering the north of Thailand screams for a comfortable set of wheels. For couples, our preferred way to travel is with an SUV car and driver who speaks a bit of English to navigate around the north, introducing you to different storytellers throughout the north. Did you know we have some excellent female drivers that love to show your clients around their region?  

Self-drive is becoming more popular, and the feedback has been fantastic. The 4×4 car is delivered to your hotel for an easy and relaxed start of your discovery of the north. We will provide a Google maps route that shows you the most scenic drives away from the busy roads and explain where to stop for exploring, food or other interesting spots. We arrange for you to meet local guides along the route for some guided experiences for a few hours before you continue for your next stop. Self-drives in Northern Thailand are fun and gives a portion of independence many appreciate.  

Some useful domestic flights in the north that you might not have discovered yet: 

• Daily flights from Bangkok to Nan (and vice versa) 
• Direct flights from Chiang Mai to Hua Hin (to go to Pranburi or Kaeng Krachan and skip going through the traffic of Bangkok) 
• Daily flights from Bangkok to Chiang Rai (and vice versa) 
• Daily flights from Bangkok to Lampang 
• Daily flights from Chiang Mai to many beach destinations, yet also international flights and connecting flights 
• Several flights a day from Bangkok to Sukhothai or Phitsanulok (1 hr drive from Sukhothai) and from there it’s just 4 hours drive to Nan, Phrae or Chiang Mai.

Unfortunately, there no more flights to or from Mae Hong Son airport; they stopped last year and there have been talks on re-introducing these but so far no success.

International border crossings in the North

Two useful border crossing in the North: 

• Chiang Khong: to cross into Houayxay in Laos to take boat over the Mekong River to Luang Prabang in Thailand 
• Pakbeng/ Luang Prabang (in Laos) to Nan city – use the border crossing from Laos to Thailand at Huai Kon border check point (not possible the other way around as the Laos immigration doesn’t give visa on arrival at this border point). It’s 1,5 drive on the Laos side and 3 hours drive on the Thai side 

The border with Myanmar is closed for tourists.

Some possible routes:  

Nan – Phrae – Chiang Sean – Chiang Mai 

Chiang Mai – Tham Lod (Kanlaya resort) – Chiang Mai 

Chiang Mai – Gibbon Encounters – Khum Yuam – Tham Lod – Chiang Mai 

Chiang Mai – Phrae – Nan 

Nan – Phrae – Chiang Sean – Chiang Mai Chiang Mai – Tham Lod (Kanlaya resort) – Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai – Gibbon Encounters – Khum Yuam – Tham Lod – Chiang Mai Chiang Mai – Phrae – Nan  

 Accommodation in the North

There are so many stunning boutique resorts in the north of Thailand that are all charming, well managed and often run by the owners, who often also have an excellent taste for good food. They all give a real feel for the place and are true heavens of hospitality, that is not only trained but natural. Some of our favourites are:  

Yazama Homestay – a great little guesthouse run by khun Nook who is an Akha girl from this tiny Akha village, with just 22 household in the mountains about 2 hours from Chiang Mai. Yazama means “jungle” in Akha language. Nook speaks good English and used to work as a tour guide in Bangkok. All rooms have attached bathroom, and the guesthouse has a restaurant with great views and excellent food including Akha food.  

Nan Seasons Boutique Resort – one of our favorites in Northern Thailand; friendly, a great pool and fantastic food (including a wholesome brak. The bungalows are spacious, well decorated in the traditional Nan style and the owners are welcoming and very knowledgeable about Nan province. A little gem in the area

Suan Glang Na Resort – Phrae – Designed with a subtle nod to the legacy of tobacco in the old and rich days of Phrae. The Suan Glang Na owners love Phrae and the area and are telling the story of this ancient kingdom in Northern Thailand. A passion for conservation of culture and nature, the views over the paddy fields are stunning and the restaurant offers both local as international dishes. Spacious rooms and a welcoming, homey atmosphere nestled in rural charm, just outside Phrae city.. 

 Nan Season Resort   Suan Glang Na Resort – Phrae

A little gem in a remote Shan village near Tham Lod cave. The Kanlaya Resort has just 5 rooms including a stunning honeymoon suite and offers a luxury homestay in remote Thailand close to the Myanmar border. Also, the other rooms are all spacious and beautifully decorated. It’s a great alternative to being at the golden triangle, which we think is overrated. This is really what tribal Thailand feels like. Great food and a stunning environment with very friendly owners who can tell you all about this region. 

Pen Cave Homestay is run by an energetic lady who is born in this Shan village who runs her own organic restaurant and bakery and has 5 clean and cozy bungalows, all with attached bathroom in a big garden. A very nice budget option to stay in the beautiful village with the stunning Tham Lod Cave. 

A simple Karen homestay at Gibbon Encounters in the Doi Inthanon area which offers a fantastic glimpse into tribal Karen life AND takes you for walks to spot a protected gibbon species. Discover the story of the region’s wild gibbons and learn how the community is working to protect both the species and their forest home for future generations. Enjoy an immersive and simple village stay in a local homestay, share home-cooked meals with your hosts, and experience the warmth of authentic Karen hospitality. Perfect as a short trip out of Chiang Mai or as part of our Burma Borderland Road trip.  

The Kanlaya Resort

 Practicals for tour operators when dealing with Thailand requests – the inside story.

Every country has its own quirks when it comes to organising a smooth travel itinerary from A to Z. Find some insiders tips on how to arrange a smooth trip for your clients including some candid insights on what works (and what doesn’t):  

1) Bangkok has 2 international / domestic airports: Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi. Don Muang is generally MUCH quicker in terms of international immigration and luggage handling and therefore personally for me the preferred airport. Distance to the city is the same. 

2) Hotel Allotments and apparent “Full Bookings” Many beach hotels allocate large blocks of rooms to tour operators and are not strict with booking conditions. This often creates the misleading impression that the property is fully booked months in advance. In reality, closer to the travel date, significant availability usually reappears. Don’t be discouraged if a hotel shows “sold out” three to four months before arrival. Availability often fluctuates because of weak reservation systems that allow provisional or duplicate bookings, which are later cancelled. We have repeatedly seen hotels claim to be fully booked four months ahead, only to release 10 or more rooms to us at a later stage. Key takeaway: Hotels are rarely truly full; apparent shortages are often temporary and caused by poor booking practices rather than genuine demand. 

3) Thai people travel as well and certain locations and dates can be difficult to book because they are popular with Thai tourists. Some examples:  

• 24 and 25 Nov 2026 in Sukhothai and Chiang Mai (Loi Krathong festival). (13-14 Nov 2027). Try to avoid these dates. 

• 13 – 15 April 2027 – Thai new year festival – some beach destinations near Bangkok (Koh Samed, Koh Chang, Hua Hin) are busy 

• 3 – 5 April 2027 Phanom Rung festival in Isaan

Have a look here for a Thai public holiday calendar

4) Compulsory dinners for New Year or Christmas. Especially beach hotels organise lavish, compulsory dinners on 24 Dec and 31 Dec each year, although Thailand is a mainly Buddhist country and the Thai New Year is celebrated in April. These dinners are cash cows for the hotels and it’s generally impossible to ask for exceptions. If your client doesn’t want to be confronted with this often expensive dinner and a show (we have seen hotels quoting over 1,500 Usd per person for a dinner). It’s generally best to have clients stay in Bangkok or the north during these dates.

Some exceptional, preferred beach hotels that don’t have compulsory dinners are:

Pranburi area

• Praseban Resort
• La A Natu

Koh Chang

• Santhiya Tree Koh Chang Resort  
• Chivapuri Beach Resort

Koh Mak        

• Mira Montra, The Beachfront Resort

Koh Yao Noi

• Cape Kudu

Koh Samed

• Samed Tamarind Beach Resort
• Le Vimarn Cottages & Spa
• Paradee Resort Koh Samet
• Ao Prao Resort

Krabi / Koh Jum

• Koh Jum Beach Villas

Khao Lak

• The Sarojin Resort

La A Natu – Pranburi

Koh Jum Beach

5) Domestic flights: Exploration Travel usually tries to avoid domestic flights as it takes 4 hours door-to-door, it’s not an experience, neither sustainable and it’s bothersome with security checks etc. However, sometimes a domestic flight can save time on the longer routes or avoids backtracking. In that case we will choose the most convenient connections based on availability and timing and NOT based on the inflight entertainment or the snacks served. Budget Airlines in Thailand are good and we always book tickets including 20 kg check-in luggage. The one airline we try to avoid if possible is Thai Vietjet Air because of their regular delays.

6) The most famous / instagrammable places are not necessary the best experiences for your clients (or sustainable places!). Please ask clients WHY they want to go and what they expect so our sales team might be able to suggest an alternative location with a better experience. Every client heard about Phuket beaches but often clients forget the whole world heard about it and there are traffic jams to get to the beach or find a beach chair. We still have plenty of stunning, remote beaches in Thailand without the crowds. 

7) Hotel yield management; rooms available but not at contract rate or not at contract booking conditions. Some Thai hotels cancel contract conditions when they are expecting a high occupancy due to high (perceived) reservations. Unfortunately, this is completely random, and we have seen luxury hotels charging 350 for a room on 27 Dec and increase this to a whopping 1,200 Usd on 28 Dec for the same room because they were expecting high occupancy. Also booking conditions can change with hotels suddenly asking for full non-refundable payment 4 months in advance. Don’t worry, our sales team will manage this for you and inform you incase our regular terms and conditions don’t cover your clients’ booking.

8) Train tickets – we love to travel by train; the scenery is nicer, you meet local people, can walk around or enjoy a drink or food at the train restaurant. The sleeper beds are comfortable with clean bedlinen. The ticket sales for long distance train tickets usually only starts 2 months before the travel date so that’s when our operations staff is on top of it to get the tickets confirmed (and we usually succeed). We don’t include first class train tickets for trips as these are usually sold out the minute they come online. Rest assured that 2^nd class train travel in Thailand is very comfortable.

9) Why we ask a 15% deposit. When confirming a booking we always ask a 15% deposit so we can manage purchasing flight and train tickets, pay deposits to hotels if and when required and give guarantees to all other suppliers that take care of your clients during a trip (from guides to car supplier and local story tellers and restaurants). We think it’s fair practise to give some form of security for everybody and it avoids you being hassled at different times to pay individual hotel deposits for different bookings.

10) Food and dietary request; Thai food is delicious and there is a lot of choice. Whenever we include a meal in the itinerary, we want to make it something special (and not just another tourist dish of chicken and cashew nut or sweet and sour pork) and make it a real experience; for example, home cooked food in the country side, a picnic lunch in a national park, dinner at a Burmese chef home in Chiang Mai etc. We do cater for any dietary restrictions, just let us know. And for all the other meals clients order by themselves during their trip we make small cards in Thai and English to explain the dietary restrictions so clients can easily show this to the waiter when ordering.

11) No problem if you prefer to book certain hotels by yourself; There are about 44,000 hotels in Thailand and Exploration Travel works with a fraction of them – the ones we really know and are confident recommending. It’s totally fine with us if you prefer to book, for example a beach hotel, by yourself as we understand that’s sometimes just better for your clients (better online deals based on different booking conditions, easier to let client choose exactly the room online etc). Just let us know which hotel has been booked so we can still arrange the transfers, excursions etc.

12) Added value of Exploration excursions. Most excursions offered are developed by us based on how to best tell the story of a certain area in the country. We haven’t developed excursions at popular beach destinations like Phuket and Samui as we can’t offer any added value, and therefore, we often suggest clients NOT to pre-book any activities at these beach locations but simply book it on the spot at their hotel concierge.

Cool activities for kids (and their parents will enjoy it as well)

The summer high season is just behind us, and we managed to give more European families a fantastic fun and sometimes a little bit educational experience. We noticed that especially Dutch and Belgium families have really discovered that July and August are perfect months to discover Thailand. Not too hot, very green and really, it’s not raining that much (keep in mind, it’s Thailand, not Scotland). Somehow the German and British families are still lagging behind a bit, so maybe this is the time to start promoting Thailand for next summer holidays.

Some of the highlights of things to do for families? Here is out top 15 of favourite activities for kids: 

• Learn about the exotic animal protection project of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand: www.wfft.org in Kaeng Krachan
• Biking through a landscape of temple ruins and green paddy fields in Sukhothai
• Creating your own ceramic bowl at the famous Lampang ceramic factory
• Kayaking on the river on your way to Thale Noi lake
• Cooking with a friendly Thai chef at her home
• E-scooter through the narrow alleys in China town in Bangkok
• Follow a real national Park ranger in a National Park in Nan or Kaeng Krachan
• Build sandcastles on the beach (fun can be sometimes as simple as that 😊!)
• Paper cutting your own lantern in Phrae
• Vespa Tour in Chiang Mai
• Snorkelling amongst exotic fish the clear water
• Search for pink dolphins near Khanom Beach
• Discovering caves in Mae Hong Son, Pranburi or Khao Sok
• Tuk Tuk food tour in Bangkok with your own tuk tuk and guide
• Boating through the waterways of Bangkok with a private boat

Ohhh and number 16: enjoy the swimming pool at your hotel as it’s always good weather to go to the pool 😊

 Situation in Myanmar

People ask me if it’s possible to travel in Myanmar now and it is possible:

• It’s easy and quick to get a tourist visa online: https://evisa.moip.gov.mm/home
• The UK travel advice for Myanmar is green for Yangon and Irrawaddy division ( www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/myanmar), orange for Bagan, Mandalay, Kalaw and Inle Lake. Other travel advice might have different opinions

We can arrange a trip safely for clients and we constantly stay informed through our local partners, however; clients need to be aware that a situation can change on the spot, and we might have to adjust travel plans.

We do take due diligence very seriously and focus on working with hotels and suppliers that share our vision on sustainability.

As in the old days, 20 years ago, people ask if it’s ethical to travel to Myanmar. Just as 20 years ago, I say yes to that question; it’s good to come and visit and support local people. It’s obviously not a normal holiday destination, but if people have a strong interest / reason to visit now, we can arrange the trip throughout the country. Our guides will talk about history and culture as well as current affairs and explain the situation as it is.

 What to read / listen – The Conscious Travel Foundation

 Exploration Travel is honoured to be a member The Conscious Travel Foundation, a UK-registered, non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) that unites, educates, and advocates for a highly sustainable and regenerative future in global tourism. The organisation is reshaping the way people travel, putting community and sustainability at the heart of every step. Their inspiring initiatives highlight how travel can be a force for good, creating meaningful connections and lasting impact. Discover their stories and see all the positive change they’re driving in travel:  www.theconscioustravelfoundation.com/stories

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The Exploration Travel team has been creating experiences for travellers for over 20 years. It’s our mission to inspire you with our love for Thailand and Myanmar, with occasional quirky travel experiences, in a sustainable and respectful way, leaving a positive impact and a smile on everybody’s face.