THAILAND UNUSUAL
Embark on a cultural and historical journey through Eastern and Northeastern Thailand on this 8-day tour. Begin in Bangkok, then head to Khao Yai National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its diverse ecosystem. Continue your adventure through the heart of Isan, uncovering ancient Khmer ruins in Phimai and Phanom Rung, and visiting traditional villages where silk weaving and pottery traditions are preserved. Explore little-known temples, archaeological sites, and charming riverside towns like Khong Jiam and Nakhon Phanom along the Mekong River. Experience local rituals in Sakhon Nakhon, delve into Southeast Asia’s prehistoric past at Ban Chiang, and admire the surreal beauty of the Red Lotus Sea in Udon Thani. This immersive trip is perfect for travelers seeking authenticity, tranquility, and hidden cultural gems in Thailand’s less-visited regions.
DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN BANGKOKÂ (-/-/-)
Welcome to Bangkok, the vibrant capital of Thailand where rich history meets modern life. Upon arrival at Bangkok airport, you are greeted by our tour manager and transferred to the hotel.
Bangkok is closely linked to the Chakri dynasty, which still reigns today. After hotel check-in, you have free time to relax and explore the surroundings at your own pace
Overnight at hotel in Bangkok.
Distance:
- Bangkok Airport – Bangkok Central: 22 miles -> 1 hours driving transfer
DAY 2: BANGKOK – KHAO YAI (B/-/-)
After breakfast, we depart for Khao Yai, stopping to visit the fruit market in Klang Don, where many kinds of local products, fruits, vegetables on offer. You will then visit Khao Yai National Park, Â Thailand’s first national park. Opened in 1962 and considered today as one of the most beautiful, Khao Yai is listed as a World Heritage Site because of the variety of its fauna and flora. Lunch is on your own. You will stroll through the heart of the park on the Haew Su Wat waterfall trail. Check in at the hotel.
Overnight at hotel in Khao Yai.
Distance:
- Bangkok Central – Khao Yai: 88 miles -> 3 hour driving transfer
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DAY 3: KHAO YAI – PHIMAI – KORAT (B/-/-)
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the north and the capital of Isan: Nakhon Ratchasima, still called Korat by locals despite its new official name. Before reaching Korat, stop at Dan Kwian pottery village. Continuation to Korat and city tour with stop at the memorial of Thao Suranari (Lady Mo) built for a woman who fought the Laotian invasion in the 19th century. In the afternoon, you will go north and visit the archaeological site of Ban Prasat, a remnant of one of the oldest cities in the country. Continue to the Phimai historical site and visit the beautiful Prasat Hin, and Sai Ngam and his giant ficus. Turn back to Korat and free time.
Overnight at hotel in Korat
Distance:
- Khao Yai – Nakhon Ratchasima: 98 miles -> 2 hour driving transfer
- Nakhon Ratchasima – Korat: 37 miles -> 1 hour driving transfer
DAY 4: KORAT – BURIRAM – SURIN (B/-/-)
Today we will depart for Buriram where you can visit Prasat Phanom Rung, Â one of the best preserved Khmer remains in Thailand. Visit the site which is accessed by a large staircase, then a few kilometers away, visit Muang Tham, another Khmer building located near a large artificial lake of time dug to be a water reserve for the community. In the center, two laterite walls, each encompassing four gopuras with superb baluster windows, protect the sacred buildings. You will notice the refined ornamentation of lintels, small columns and door jambs, in harmony with the style of Baphuon and Khleang. The inner courtyard includes five brick towers and two libraries, while the central prang (prasat) contains elements symbolizing Mount Kailas, the home of the god Shiva.
Have free lunch at your own account.
Continue the trip to Surin and visit of its national museum  unknown and very interesting (closed Monday and Tuesday). It presents many pieces retracing the history of the region since prehistoric times, and gives information on the multitude of ethnicities that live there today: The Khmer (heiress minority, often unknowingly, a people who possessed Southeast Asia to India 1000 years ago), the Suays and Laos, each with a language, traditional clothes and distinct customs.
Overnight at hotel in Surin
Distance:
- Korat – Prasat Phanom Rung: 88 miles -> 2 hour driving transfer
- Prasat Phanom Rung – National Museum: 52 miles -> 1 hour driving transfer
- National Museum – Surin: 34 miles -> 1 hour driving transfer
DAY 5: SURIN – KHONG JIAM (B/-/-)
Breakfast, visit a village of Argentiere: Ban Khwao Sinarin and continuation to the Khmer Sikhoraphum temple. Stop at Ban Sam Kho village. Remained very traditional and completely unknown to tourists, this village deserves a walk to discover a lifestyle unchanged. Silk fabrics are produced in almost all houses (or rather “under” houses built on stilts), probably one of the best places to offer you a fabric of “Pha Mai” (Silk Thai) at a lower cost, from the producer to the consumer.
Continue to the beautiful Sikhoraphum temple and visit its 5 towers and its central chedi which is the place of worship for locals. Then departure for Kamphaeng Yai and visit this little-known Khmer site. Dating from the 11th century it consists of 6 buildings. You will discover sculptures of Hindu deities Shiva and Vishnu on the lintels as well as inscriptions in Khmer. Every year in March, an important celebration of the Khmer community is held there.Â
Have lunch on your own.
Continue to Khong Jiam, a city located on the majestic Mekong, the eighth largest river in the world and the third largest in Asia. Originating in Tibet, it travels 4,500 km, crossing China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia before throwing itself into the sea in Vietnam.
Overnight at hotel in Khong Jiam
Distance:
- Surin – Khong Jiam: 139 miles -> 4 hour driving transfer
DAY 6: KHONG JIAM – MUKDAHAM – NAKHON PHANOM (B/-/-)
Breakfast at the hotel then departure for Mukdahan, border town with Savannakhet in Laos where you can walk in its lively and colorful market where sell and exchange products Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese and of course Chinese. Mukdahan has become a staging area for game-loving Thais visiting Savannakhet in Laos, where casinos, banned in Thailand, have been created for them. You can of course make new culinary experiences between a rice rat curry (a quality meat and expensive contrary to popular belief), eggs of red ants or cobra or monitor curry, not to mention a multitude of fried insects and peppers!Â
Afternoon, continue to Nakhon Phanom and stop in one of the most important temples of the region of Isan for its inhabitants, like Wat Phra That Phanom built in a purely Laotian architecture. Before arriving at Nakhon Phanom, stop to visit the small village of Ban Na Chok where Ho Chi Minh lived from 1923 to 1929. Arrival in Nakhon Phanom and check in your hotel at the edge of the Mekong.
Overnight at hotel in Nakhon Phanom
Distance:
- Khong Jiam – Mukdahan: 130 miles -> 3,5 hour driving transfer
- Mukdahan – Nakhon Phanom: 85 miles -> 2,5 hour driving transfer
DAY 7: NAKHON PHANOM – SAKHON NAKHON – UDON THANI (B/-/-)
Breakfast and departure for the visit of Sakhon Nakhon where you will participate in the ceremony of sacred thread that a monk attaches to your wrist, a sign of merits and omens, the opportunity to make a wish. It is also an animistic practice where, according to the beliefs, the body is made up of 32 souls that can fly away. Also the threads tied around the wrists are a way to prevent diseases by attaching Souls to the body.
Continue to visit the traditional pottery and weaving village of Ban Chiang, famous throughout in the country. In 1966, it was here that a Harvard student updated one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. The excavations that followed revealed pottery and bronze tools dating back more than 3,500 years on a site that had been inhabited for at least 2000 years. His discovery revolutionized the knowledge of this period of history by uncovering evidence of mastery of livestock (pigs, chickens and cattle) and rice farming and the use of metal tools. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992.
Continue to visit bamboo weaving work at Dong Yen Village and pottery painting at Baan Pulu. Afternoon transfer to Udon Thani. Departure for the south of the city for visit of the lake : the “Talay Bua Daeng” translates literally the “Red Lotus Sea”. From December to February, a lake is covered with red lotus flowers. You will enjoy a pleasant boat trip in the heart of the “Red Sea”.
Overnight at hotel in Udon Thani
Distance:
- Nakhon Phanom – Sakhon Nakhon: 52 miles -> 1 hour driving transfer
- Sakhon Nakhon – Udon Thani: 89 miles -> 2,5 hour driving transfer
DAY 8: UDON THANI – NONG KHAI – FLIGHT TO BANGKOK – DEPARTURE (B/-/-)
Having breakfast and depart in the morning to visit the Orchids farm. The owner of this farm gave birth to a variety of endemic orchid with a delicate fragrance in 1977: the Udon Sunshine. Continue to Nong Khai, a small border town with Laos. Visit Sala Kaew Ku, a park with sculptures inspired by Buddhism and Hindu deities, some of which are 25 meters high. Visit the picturesque market of Tha Sadet where there are products and crafts of Indochina, trading with Laos.
Afternoon you return to Udon Thani for your flight to Bangkok.
Distance:
- Udon Thani – Nong Khai or vice versa: 42 miles -> 1 hour driving transfer
HOME SWEET HOME!
Included / Excluded
To help you plan your trip, we have put together a list of what's included and what's not included in your tour package. This will give you a clear understanding of what to expect and help you make any necessary arrangements before your journey begins.
- Hotel Accommodation with daily breakfast (shared in twin/ double room)
- Experience English speaking tour manager on tour
- Private transfer and transportation on tour
- Meals are mentioned on program (B: Breakfast, Br: Brunch, L: Lunch, D: Dinner)
- Entrance fees are mentioned on the itinerary
- Daily mineral water (2 bottles/ pax/ tour day)
- All flights with tax
- Visa Approval Letter and Visa Stamping fee at arrival counter
- Travel Insurance
- Early check in or late check out
- Drinks and Beverages
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Surcharge for Public Holidays:
o New Year: 31 December 2025 – 02 January 2026 (inclusive)
o Surcharge for festivals (Loy Krathong 14-16 Nov, Sonkran 12-15 Apr…)
o Christmas: 23 – 25 December 2025 (inclusive
o Compulsory Gala Diner on 24 & 31 Dec 2025 (if any). - TIPPING for local guide, cruise team, tour manager and driver (compulsory)
- All other services are not mentioned on Inclusions
- Bank fee
Tour Map
This comprehensive map is designed to guide you through an exciting journey filled with remarkable destinations and captivating experiences.
