Travel

Thailand Adventure: 5 FAQs for Adventure Travel in Thailand

thailand adventures

An adventure in Thailand is calling your name, albeit the travel restrictions are lifted post pandemic. But for the travel bugged, you do hear that, right? Whispers in the back of your mind are telling you that you deserve mango sticky rice, unblanched seafood (mouth-watering and sometimes burning), a beach, draped in sarong and whites looking for some tropical bliss. Adventure travel in Thailand is a must-do for anyone looking to escape abroad. Whether you like beaches or mountains, city or countryside, sweet or spicy, best part of heading to this part of SE Asia is that you can really tweak your Thai adventure experience based on your immediate get-a-go itinerary. Do you yearn for scuba dive off one of virgin unmanned islands Or Resort curated to your blissful needs? Are you looking for a village life synchronicities for volunteering and fair trade workshops (hand make bamboo raft in the river market) or do you want to meditate at a yoga retreat off to the sublime and findings inner-self at the same, mix-and-match with elephant- play, crocodile and live cobra shows.

5 FAQs for adventure travel in Thailand

1. Popular places for Thailand adventure tours?

Thailand adventures offer a variety of landscapes, nature, and scenery for everyone who has been bitten with wanderlust. Depending on what you are looking for in your Thai-venture, it is easy to choose something you will absolutely love.

Bangkok

Heart of all adventures begins here where big city banter meets sights with historic and modern, traditional, and progressive, wealth and poverty of human diaspora. Giant high-rises catch up playing hide and seek with pre-historic temples and holy shrines and shanty road side jaunts allow you to immerse yourself with flavors and festivities of locals. Inexpensive flea markets, cheap lodges for backpackers scattered across so that If you are finances are tight, you can still find loads of street food and amazing markets to keep your budget in check. 

Chiang Mai  

Landlocked north, like Chiang Mai is quite popular for those that love national parks, rolling rice hills, traditional Buddhist temples, and in sojourn of quiet relaxation. Chiang Mai is the largest city up north and offers quick trips to all the beauty of the countryside. There are 13 national parks in just the province of Chiang Mai. It’s a great place to post up and stay while motorbiking to the mountains or waterfalls nearby. You can hike, bike, raft, bathe with elephants, and pursue your favorite outdoor Thailand adventure travel up in the north.

Krabi

Seabreezed South like Krabi (Ao Nang), Phuket are where you will find the famous Thai beaches. White sand and bright blue crystal-clear water will meet you in the south. You can snorkel, scuba, kayak, or just swim around in warm and clear waters. Ample of beaches to choose from that you can pick and choose how you spend your day/night/evenings. Do you want loud and busy? Calm and relaxing? Cultured or western? Private Resort or Backpacker style? Get those beach sunset pics wondering what your life saving spent deserve no second thought decision to go down south to Thailand.

2. How much does it cost to do adventure travel in Thailand?

Chiang Mai and its surroundings are any adventure enthusiast’s playground with a huge array of activities on offer- from outstanding mountain biking and trekking to rafting and elephant riding. You can even cycle all the way to Bangkok! If Chiang Mai and the north are associated with adventure, culture, and family friendly activities, then the south is loved for her beaches and sunshine. The islands are split on either side of Thailand’s peninsular, with, amongst many others, Phuket and Koh Lanta off the western Andaman coast, and Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan on the east in the Gulf of Thailand.

 You will have no trouble finding a trekking company in Chiang Mai, or a private guided tour of Bangkok, the options are limitless, with all ages and abilities catered for.

Thailand is still a country that can be easily explored with just a guidebook in hand. Transportation, accommodation is all user friendly and cater for Western clientele.

For visitors seeking a richer experience, the use of a private guide offers a very economical way to fast-track your Thai experience.

3. Should I do a homestay? AirBnB, where should I live?

There are so many fun options of where to stay. If you are going with a group, you will likely have your accommodation all sorted for you; and yes, this can definitely include homestays. But if you are on your own, you can pick from an array of places. Be it bungalow, AIRBNB, hostel, couch surfing, or guesthouse. For cheaper options, look into couch surfing or a hostel. It is a great way to meet new people and stick to a budget. If you are ok with splurging – even though the dollar goes far in Thailand, consider a cute Airbnb or a bungalow. These will be a little pricier, but a little more private if that is what you prefer. 

4. Recommended Thailand adventure tours

Rock Climbing/ Jamooering at Railay Beach

Features: Famous for bolted rock climbing with challenging, overhanging routes and bouldering scaled caves, shorelines, and on sea stacks only reachable by boat (known as “deep water soloing”).

Best time to go: Avoid Thai monsoon by visiting Railay November through April.

Welcome to the towering limestone cliffs of your dreams. While there is established climbing all over the peninsula, the best and greatest concentration of routes is found on Tonsai, a cove just down from Railay West. This is also where you will find the climbing community — both local and foreign

Sailing the Andamans – Phuket to Koh Phi Phi

Features: Relatively calm and shallow seas along with many reliable outfitters makes finding a reputable boat easy. Everywhere you sail will be gorgeous. Two words: Uninhabited islands!

Best time to go: Avoid monsoon by booking your boat rides between November and April.

Just offshore of Phuket lies some of the best cruising in the world. Plenty of boats-for-hire sit waiting in the marinas, ready to whisk you off on the trip of a lifetime. If the sailing bug gets you good, consider signing up for a lesson from Royal Yachting Association-certified captains who will show you the ropes (quite literally) over an afternoon or multi-day lesson.

For those seeking a multi-day adventure, inquire about trips to the rugged and untracked Tarutao National Marine Park. In an area crowded with noisy longtails and fancy motor yachts, there is nothing better than switching off the engine, hoisting sail, and letting Mother Nature do the work

Diving Koh Tao

Features: Wreck dives across sunk U2 Bomber boat from WWII era, corals, tropical fish, warm water, killer visibility, and plenty of post-dive entertainment.

Best time to go: Visibility is best July through September.

You will be hard-pressed to find better diving at a more affordable price than on Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. Instructors and divers come from all over the world for the clear, warm water with an abundance of tropical fish, corals, and wrecks. Koh Tao is small enough to feel intimate and unspoilt, yet has some great beachfront bars, restaurants, and classic Thai bungalow accommodations.

Exploring Bangkok’s Chatuchak Weekend flea Market

Features: Great local food (Fish Pattaya, Somtham, succulent crabs, King sized lobsters and Tomyams) bargain prices for non-authentic goods, and sensory overload.

Best time to go: Every stall is open on Saturdays and Sundays (get there early — 9am or so) but a few may stay open all week long. Most vendors close shop about 6pm.

Get immersed right into the largest outdoor market in Thailand (and probably all of Southeast Asia), which covers 35 acres and contains over 15,000 stalls. The deeper you explore, the deeper you’ll go into a fascinating menagerie of exotic birds, hand-carved teak furniture, fresh-cooked rice dishes, live prawns, puppies, pet squirrels, bolts of brightly colored fabric, massage oils, candles, patent leather goods, sandals…you get the picture. Chatuchak Market — or the more farang-friendly “JJ Market” — has it all and is an adventure to explore, so join the 200,000 other daily visitors navigating the circular market, where a prominent clocktower marks the center.

Pro tip: If you see something you like, buy it straight away because you are unlikely to find your way back to that stall in this tangled web of hyper-commerce. Also, if you are in for beach weddings check out Indian tailor shops which are famous for one day stitched suites of highest quality. Beware of snake oil merchants and Fake Thai massage parlors.

Muay Thai training camp

Features: Learn the combative techniques and build up a physique look worthy of Spartans

Best time to go: Anytime. Though it is great as a late-night sojourn if you plan to catch some action OR stick around and get trained for a few weeks camp. Not for the weak hearted

Though You do not have to be an aspiring professional kickboxer or mixed martial artist to attend Muay Thai kickboxing camp in Thailand. Anyone willing to pay the price both financially and physically will be rewarded with seriously elevated levels of fitness, increased hand-eye coordination, more confidence, and a deep sense of camaraderie.

Many Thai gyms in Phuket, Bangkok, Krabi, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Koh Samui, and Koh Phangan cater to Westerners just learning the sport. There is no long-term commitment required — train for a day or a year. Facilities are clean, modern, and comparable to any martial arts gym in the West. Just be careful you do not get so fit that you become unrecognizable and have trouble passing back through immigration like this poor bloke.

Bangkok Floating Markets, RatchanBuri

Features: Almost every traveller has a visit to at least one on their first trip here. The colours, chaos, flavours and atmosphere make it a unique experience, and the novelty of buying a snack from a passing boat takes some beating. Though It’s popularity comes, in no small part, from its use as a setting in the 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun.

Best Time to Go:  make it a morning trip, have an early seafood lunch on the river banks and get a little longtail boat cruise when the rest of the crowd just starts eating. On the downside, it gets incredibly crowded Past midday, it feels like half the population of Bangkok has moved to Amphawa.

5. What are the downsides of adventure travel in Thailand?

The downside of your adventure in Thailand will be on your last day when you do not want to leave! But for real, you may find the food a bit spicy and get a good ole’ case of food poisoning. For those with sensitive stomachs “mâi pet” (no spicy chilis) will be your new phrase of choice. However, there are pharmacies all over that offer cheap meds in case you find yourself running to the toilet. Also, be cautious of the weather and mosquitos. 

It is a good idea to always wear a lot of sunscreen and mosquito repellent. You can easily find these at every 7-Eleven. Bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitizer to your outings. You may be stuck in a squatter toilet with no tissue regretting what you ate the night before. Overall, Thailand is safe. You may hear of an occasional pickpocket or taxi scams, but it is not as common as you may think. Just be cautious as you should be any time that you travel. 

It’s THAIm to pack your bags and head out on your adventure in Thailand! 

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