Essential Southern Thailand

Day 1 Bangkok      
Welcome to Bangkok! There will be an important welcome meeting at around 6pm tonight. After your important meeting, get the gang together and grab yourself some food! You’ll be staying nearby Chinatown, so you’re in prime position to eat well tonight.      

Day 2 Bangkok to Koh Samui    
Today, explore some of Bangkok's most famous sights. Take an included visit with your group to the temple complex of Wat Pho, which houses the famous 46-metre-long statue of the Reclining Buddha – he sure looks comfortable. Afterwards, the afternoon is free for you to discover more of the city, like the Grand Palace or Jim Thompson House (or just more food, up to you). In the evening, be ready to head south on an overnight train to Surat Thani.      

Day 3 Koh Samui      
Arrive into Surat Thani this morning, continuing on an approximately 4 hour journey by public bus and ferry to Koh Samui. The island of Koh Samui has been a tourist hotspot for decades, and with good reason. You can swim, snorkel or relax in the waterfalls at Na Muang. Take a trip with the group around the island, visiting the 15-metre-tall Big Buddha (Wat Phra Yai). In the evening, perhaps feast on a delicious curry with the group and then join in the party atmosphere that is Koh Samui's famous nightlife.      

Day 4 Koh Samui      
Spend a free day today however you’d like – swimming, lazing in the sun or more exploring. You may like to take an optional day tour to Ang Thong Marine National Park by either slow boat or speedboat. The park is an archipelago of over 40 islands in the Gulf of Thailand, featuring pristine beaches, jungle, mangroves and limestone mountains rising out of the sea.  

Day 5 Koh Samui to Khao Sok National Park
This morning, head from Koh Samui to Khao Sok National Park. Khao Sok National Park is the wettest spot in Thailand with some of the oldest jungle in the world. See loads of amazing limestone rock faces and, if you're lucky, monkeys playing here and there. Once you’ve enjoyed lunch, take a jungle hike around the park, and depending on the season, you’ll see cascading waterfalls or head up high to a panoramic viewpoint. Later on, take an evening safari with your group, where you’ll head by longtail boat deep in the jungle, keeping an eye and ear out for animals. This is when they are most active. Afterwards, enjoy a traditional southern Thai meal at the rafthouse with your group.      

Day 6 Khao Sok National Park to Ao Nang    
Lucky you with a morning in the oldest evergreen rainforest in the world. Your awesome jungle rafthouse sits right inside the park, so you’ll have time this morning to catch the mist drifting along the lake as you search for wildlife in the jungle on a longail boat. You’ll have some free time before an included lunch, before leaving the rafthouse and heading back to the pier on another longtail boat. Then, take a private vehicle to Ao Nang, on the Andaman Sea.  

Day 7 Ao Nang
Ao Nang beach is on the southern Thai coast and is bursting with white sandy beach and laidback vibes. One of the most popular places to go chill out is nearby Railay Beach, but this is an interesting one to get to. Even though it’s connected on the coast, the massive limestone karsts that surround the bay make it virtually impossible to access via land. That being said, take a longtail boat journey for a matter of minutes, and you’ll be washed up on the pristine shores. There’ll be some time to swim and relax on the sand.      

Day 8 Ao Nang  
Today is as clear as the emerald waters surrounding Ao Nang. Enjoy a free day to relax on the beach or participate in a variety of optional activities. Perhaps unwind with a massage or cook up something delicious in a Thai cooking class. You might like to take a trip out to the quiet, pristine island of Ko Hong, where you can snorkel in the shallow reefs and kayak past cliffs to a hidden salt-water lagoon.

Day 9 Ao Nang  
With no activities planned for today, you are free to depart the accommodation at any time.