When you arrive in Thailand’s capital city, you’ll be greeted at the airport and transferred to your Deluxe hotel in downtown Bangkok. Enjoy a night to rest up before beginning your explorations.

You’ll be dazzled by Bangkok’s most revered attraction, the opulent Grand Palace, which you will tour this morning. Bangkok is filled with temples, and boasts some of the finest in all of Southeast Asia, including the Grand Palace. Each temple is an exquisite work of art, usually consisting of multi-tiered roofs and symbolic winged edges finished with gold filigree and ornate markings. On your tour of the Grand Palace, you’ll also see the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), a two-foot-high Buddha carved from solid jade. Cultural Connection: Your tour includes a stroll through Chinatown with lunch at a local restaurant to sample the local cuisine. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure or learn about Thailand’s renowned silk industry on an optional Jim Thompson tour. Jim Thompson was an American entrepreneur who founded the Thai Silk Trading Company. This evening, gather with fellow Vantage travellers for a Welcome Dinner at your hotel.

On Day 4, enjoy a full day at leisure or a full day optional tour. You’ll visit the colorful and bustling Damnoen Saduak floating market, where local people sell fresh produce from flat canoe boats lining the klongs or canals. Visit Bangkok’s famous Rose Garden, which is set among 75 acres of lush lawns and tropical gardens around a small lake. Here, you’ll enjoy an included lunch, along with a cultural show featuring Thai folk dancing and sword fighting, followed by an amazing elephant show.

This morning depart for Phitsanulok via motorcoach, with sightseeing en route. First you’ll visit Ayutthaya, Thailand’s ancient capital founded in 1350 by King U-Thong, and destroyed by the Burmese army in 1767. See the Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Next, you’ll visit Lopburi, where King Narai moved the Siamese capital during the late 17th century. After lunch at a local, we will visit King Narai’s Palace. Lopburi is also famous for its sizable monkey population, and while you’re here you’ll visit the Monkey Temple. After you arrive in Phitsanulok, dinner is included at your hotel. Cultural Connection: This evening, travel by trishaw to the night market, where vendors sell local goods.

From Phitsanulok, you’ll drive to Lampang, first stopping to visit Sukhothai, a walled city with impressive ancient ruins, and Wat Mahathat. Lunch is included at a local restaurant. Continue on to Lampang, located in a picturesque valley, and well-known for its teakwood industry. You’ll visit a rice mill and Wat Phra That Lampang en route. Cultural Connection: Enjoy a Lampang city tour by horse-drawn carriage. (Lampang is the only town in Thailand still using carriage rides as public transportation). Dinner is at your hotel.

The morning of Day 7, depart for laid back Chiang Rai, Thailand’s northernmost province, located within the Golden Triangle, where Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Thailand converge. On the way, you’ll visit a local farm, and the Marble Temple. Cultural Connection: You’ll also stop at a pineapple plantation, where you’ll learn about one of Thailand’s most important crops. Later, you’ll stop for lunch on the way to your Superior First-Class hotel in Chiang Rai. Cultural Connection: This evening another chance to meet local people awaits with a visit to an ethnic hill tribe night bazaar.

Day 8 is at leisure or consider joining the full-day optional tour to visit Doi Mae Salong hill tribe with included lunch. Dinner is included at your hotel this evening.

The next day, Day 9, embark on a full-day tour to the Golden Triangle, the lush highland, river, and jungle area — the frontier area where much of the world’s opium crop is grown. First stop is Mae Sai, on the Myanmar border, where you’ll visit the Burmese local market. We’ll then continue on to the Golden Triangle, where you’ll visit the Opium Museum. Then embark on a boat ride on the Mekhong River, with a stop at an island in Laos. Cultural Connections: While in Laos, visit a local market. Then, returning to Chiang Mai, you’ll meet a local family, with lunch included in their home. Your evening is at leisure.

You’ll depart for Angkhang, visiting the King Megrai Monument en route. You’ll have lunch at Angkhang Hotel. Cultural Connection: You’ll visit some of the hill tribe villages. Dinner is included at your hotel.

Learn about the “To Follow the Father’s Footsteps” program and the Royal Project, initiated by the king to help villagers replace opium production with legal and profitable crops such as fruits and vegetables. Cultural Connections: Before beginning your discoveries of Chiang Mai, the “Rose of the North,” you’ll visit the San Kampang handicraft village, where you can shop for local-made gifts. Lunch is included. You’ll visit a gems gallery, an umbrella factory, and a silk factory. Dinner is included tonight at your hotel.

Day 12 begins with a visit to an Elephant Camp, where you’ll learn about the honorable pachyderm — and even ride on one, if you like! You’ll also ride on a raft down the Ping River, passing by tranquil landscapes checkered with rice paddies and fruit orchards. Lunch is included at the Elephant Camp. The rest of the afternoon you’re free to make your own discoveries. Later, perhaps you’ll join an optional Kanthoke dinner with cultural show tour. Cultural Connection: Then, find that special souvenir or gift on your visit to Chiang Mai’s famed night market.

Cultural Connection: On the morning of Day 13, participate with local Buddhist monks in alms giving. Then, following breakfast at the hotel, discover the amazing diversity of Chiang Mai on an included city tour. Chiang Mai is one of the few cities in Thailand where centuries- old temples stand next to modern convenience stores and boutique hotels. Your tour includes a visit to Doi Suthep Temple, majestically perched on Mount Suthep, and believed to house relics of Buddha. Lunch is included at a local restaurant. Your evening is at leisure, or treat yourself to an optional Thai massage.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight back to Bangkok. Enjoy a special Farewell Dinner Cruise in Bangkok tonight, and relive the highlights of your enchanting journey.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The above day-by-day itineraries are preliminary and therefore subject to change. If any major changes occur in advance of your departure, you will be notified in writing by Vantage. If changes occur while on tour, you will be notified by your Vantage Program Manager or local representative.