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BEST TUK TUK TOURS
OUR TOURS ARE PRIVATE... PERSONAL... FLEXIBLE... CUSTOM MADE JUST FOR YOU!
Because each of our tours are custom built we provide a list of 4 of our most popular tours each of which can be adjusted to suit your interests and needs. It is your time and your tour, so what we provide is a simple way to book the perfect day in 5 easy steps:
STEP 5:
You will then receive a CONFIRMATION OF TOUR EMAILwith payment information and helpful hints and suggestions to make your tour more comfortable for you and your group. Of course, between your booking and tour, should you have any additional questions please feel free to contact us again.
If you still haven't a clue what to do... see below four of our most popular tours and choose one. The one you choose can of course be altered to suit you and make your holiday very special.
STEP 4:
Review itinerary, price and inclusions and then book us!
STEP 1:
Do a little research on Chiang Mai. Check out our facebook page, search trip advisor, google, ask friends who have been here or even consult a lonely planet. Use this info to get an idea of what sort of attractions most interest you.
STEP 2:
E-mail us with your "Wish List" at: besttuktuktours@yahoo.com
Please include the following:
*Number of people in your group
(Children?Ages of Children)
*Dates of arrival and departure, along with preffered tour day/dates.
*Name of Hotel/Guest House
Is this your first time in Chiang Mai?
Food issues?Allergies, vegan, veg. etc.
STEP 3:
When you recieve your suggested itinerary let us know if you would like to confirm it as is or if there are changes you would like to make.
If there are changes to be made we will resend you the itinerary with proper changes.
Once we have agreed upon an itinerary we will then send you a cost of tour along with a list of your tour inclusions.
Tour A: Merit Making with Monks
Waking up before 6 a.m. is not pleasant, especially while you're on holiday. But, we think this tour is well worth it! Our first stop is at the base of Doi Suthep Mountain to watch the monks descending into the city as the sun is rising to collect their alms for the day. Paul will explained the alms-giving tradition, and help you to make offerings to the young monks as they file down the hill. After Merit Making, we will head up the mountain in a songtaw to visit the venerated temple. Before 8 a.m., the temple is silent; still bathed in the light of the sunrise and blissfully empty. Once we reach the base of the temple you may chose to climb the 309 steps that lead to the temple, or opt to take the tram. After you shed your shoes we will enter the main temple complex. Paul will then tell you the story of Wat Prah That Doi Suthep. Pick up at your hotel/guest house is at 6:30 am for this tour!
*****Before we go up to the temple, it's time for a unique Thai Breakfast. Forget your hotel breakfast buffet, forget bacon and eggs! Eat breakfast like a Thai and with the Thai during this tour!
*****Next we will explore the fresh markets near the Ping River. Fresh flowers, fresh food, very interesting and if you want to try some of the exotic things available here just let us know...the vendors are always happy to watch your reaction to what the locals eat!
*****Our final stop will be Baan Tong Luang, a government sponsored Hill Tribe cultural preservation village where you can visit with five different cultures. Watch them go about their daily life, grow rice, feed their cattle, weave, cook...and perhaps the children would enjoy getting to know how to use a traditional hill tribe bow and arrow. This is a working village that is spread out and doesn't give you the "tourist bus" feeling that you would get if you visited the Long Neck encampment located in Chiang Mai. The villagers do not get "in your face" asking you to purchase anything that they make here. Over the past several years I have taken many, many groups to this venue and each and every one of my guests ask to stay and visit for far longer than they originally expected to! You can see some pictures of the village at: www.facebook.com/besttuktuktours .
*****Return to your hotel between 3:00- 3:30 pm...take a shower, take a nap and then head out to the streets for more food and shopping!
Tour B: Getting To Know Chiang Mai
*****Pick up @ your hotel/guest house at 9 Am
*****Travel via tuk tuk around the moat and into the Old City
*****View The Three Kings Monument and visit the Chiang Mai Art & Culture Center We feel that this stop is invaluable to all of our guests. Located in a charming Colonial building this multimedia, interactive venue will give you an insight into the life, history, culture, art and people of Northern Thailand. It will also give you a chance to have a "birds eye view" of Chiang Mai making it easier for you to get around on days when you "go it alone"
*****Our next stop will be one of the most venerated wats in all of Chiang Mai - Wat Chedi Luang where after learning about the history and viewing the beautiful chanting hall you can engage in a private monk chat if you wish.
*****Lunch at a very small, traditional, family owned Northern Thai restaurant where you most likely will be the only farang!
*****Travel via tuk tuk to the base of Doi Suthep where we will then switch to a songtaw (red truck with two bench seats) for our ride up the mountain. (no tuk tuk allowed up there!) View all of Chiang Mai and admire the many chanting halls located here making sure you ring the temple bells (gently) for luck before you leave.
*****Travel back down Doi Suthep and re-board our tuk tuk before we ride across Chiang Mai City to the Ping River area where we will have a look at the fresh market as well as the fresh flower market.
*****Our final stop of the day will be the Sankampang Cottage Industry area where you will be able to pick and choose our stops. Among your choices are a very small family owned lacquer ware home/shop where you will find designs you will not find anywhere else in the area, the celadon shop, a silk factory where you will be able to see finished goods made from the worm in the tree straight through the weaving process...or perhaps you may enjoy the world famous BorSang Umbrella factory where you can see the process from start to finish...all made by hand!
*****Drop off at hotel/guest house between 4:30 - 5 PM
Tour C: Animal Adventures and Hilltribe Hospitality
*****Pick up at your hotel/guest house @ 8:30 am
****Travel via tuk tuk through the countryside and view many rice fields as well as some local farms to the Mae Sa Elephant Camp where you will be able to view the elephants morning bath ritual, visit the baby elephants in the nursery and feed some of the pachyderms sugar cane as well as bananas before enjoying an elephant ride through some of the Thai jungle
*****Next visit The Tiger Kingdom for an up close and personal visit with the big cats. You may choose between the larger ones who are about 2 years old...or have fun playing with the baby tigers who are between 3 - 4 months old. BTTT feels that this is a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity. The venue is very clean, the animals are well treated and no, the tigers are not tranquilized.
*****Lunch at the Tiger Kingdom where they serve a very good buffet that includes Northern Thai specialties as well as some Western food selections.
***** After lunch we will travel to Baan Tong Luang, a government sponsored Hill Tribe cultural preservation village where you can visit with five different cultures. Watch them go about their daily life, grow rice, feed their cattle, weave, cook...and perhaps the children would enjoy getting to know how to use a traditional hill tribe bow and arrow. This is a working village that is spread out and doesn't give you the "tourist bus" feeling that you would get if you visited the Long Neck encampment located in Chiang Mai. The villagers do not get "in your face" asking you to purchase anything that they make here. Over the past several years I have taken many, many groups to this venue and each and every one of my guests ask to stay and visit for far longer than they originally expected to! You can see some pictures of the village on myfacebook fan page.
*****Stop at a cafe on a beautiful lily-pond for a nice coffee or tea and take the time to visit, photograph and yes...even sit on the resident waterbuffaloes at this venue.
*****Drop off at Hotel/guest house between 4:30 - 5:00pm
Tour D: "D" Stands for Delicious - Enjoy Chiang Mai via Your Stomach in Anthony Bourdain's Footsteps
*****Pick up at your hotel @ 3:00 pm
*****Great Eats From The Streets at Khao Soy Lam Duam - enjoy this signature dish of Chiang Mai at the same restaurant as Anthony Bourdain CNN show "Parts Unknown"
*****Larb Cham Cha - try the northern Thai spicy larb meat salad - grilled frogs (if you're brave enough) or deep fried pork with sesame. (Closed on Sundays) This venue was also featured on Bourdain's show.
*****Worowot Market - where we will find numerous Thai and northern Thai items including seasonal fruits and if you're brave enough, you may want to try some fried insects! The bamboo worms go down easiest for the more squeamish "farang" guests! Really! They do!
*****Another of Bourdain's favorites - "The Star of the Show - The Cowboy Hat Lady" for stewed pork leg over rice.
*****If you're not completely full - we will stop for a Rotee - one of the favorite Kanohm (dessert) loved by locals and tourists alike.
*****Drop off at Hotel or Night Bazaar between 7:00 - 8:00pm