Activities in Thailand
-
FEATURED
Bangkok Small-Group Bike Tour
3 hours (Departs Bangkok, Thailand)
by Viator
Get off the beaten track and explore Bangkok as you cycle through lane ways, past markets, traditional houses, canals and temples.
Discover idyllic pockets of …Not LP reviewed
from USD$41.91 - All activities
-
Lotus Diving
This dive centre has top-notch instructors, and owns not one, but two beautiful boats (that's two more vessels than most of the other operations on Ko Pha-Ngan). Trips can be booked at their office in Chalok Lam, or at the Backpackers Information Centre. Recommended.
reviewed
-
Big Blue Diving
If Goldilocks were picking a dive school, she'd probably pick Big Blue – this midsize operation (not too big, not too small) gets props for fostering a sociable vibe while maintaining a high standard of service. Divers of every ilk can score dirt-cheap accommodation at their resort.
reviewed
-
Scubafish
One of the best dive operations on the island is located at Baan Laanta Resort on Ao Kantiang; there's also a small second office at the Narima resort. Unlike some of the large and impersonal operators based in Ban Sala Dan, Scubafish runs personal and personable programs tailored to one's needs, including the Liquid Lense underwater photography program. The three-day dive packages (9975B) are quite popular.
reviewed
-
A
Apple & Noi's Thai Cooking Course
If you don't know your sôm·đam from your đôm yam then Khun Noi can assist. The one-day course starts at the local market and ends, four dishes later, at the dining table.
reviewed
-
Ko Kret
The cheapest and most local way of experiencing riverine Bangkok is by boarding the Chao Phraya Express Boat at any tha (pier) and taking it in either direction to its final stop. Also appealing are the Sunday trips to Ko Kret and back.
reviewed
-
Elephant Nature Park
Khun Lek (Sangduen Chailert) has won numerous awards for her elephant sanctuary in the Mae Taeng valley, 60km (1½-hour drive) from Chiang Mai. The forested area provides a semi-wild environment for the elephants that have been rescued from abusive situations or retired from a lifetime of work. Visitors can help wash the elephants and watch the herd but there is no show or riding. Volunteer work for up to four weeks (that includes helping to wash the elephants and provide their health care) is available – see the website for details.
reviewed
-
B
Sovrana Spa
At first blush it looks like just another local massage salon. Then you’ll notice the gallery is stocked with all-natural aromatic oils, soaps and creams, which seems like reason enough to indulge in a massage, facial or both.
reviewed
-
Adventure Club
Our favourite diving operation on the island runs an excellent assortment of educational, ecofocused diving, hiking and snorkelling tours. You won't mind getting up at 6am for the much-loved shark-watching snorkel trips on which you're guaranteed to cavort with at least one reef shark.
reviewed
-
Thai Adventure Rafting
This French-run outfit leads one- and two-day trips. On the way, rafters visit a waterfall, a fossil reef and hot springs; one night is spent at the company's permanent riverside camp. Thai Adventure has two offices along Th Chaisongkhram.
reviewed
-
Wicked Diving
An exceptionally well-run and environmentally conscious outfit that runs diving and snorkelling overnight trips offering a range of live-aboard options including Whale Sharks & Mantas, Turtle & Reefs and Sharks & Rays conservation trips, run in conjunction with Ecocean. It does all the PADI courses, too.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Koh Chang Thai Cookery School
Slices, dices and sautés in a shady open-air kitchen beside the estuary.
reviewed
-
Time for Lime
On Hat Khlong Dao, this place has a huge, professional kitchen with plenty of room to run amok. It offers cooking courses with a slightly more exciting selection of dishes than most cookery schools in Thailand; five-hour courses cost 1800B with substantial discounts if you take more than one class. Profits from the school help finance Lanta Animal Welfare.
reviewed
-
Krabi Thai Cookery School
About 10km from Ao Nang between Wat Sai Thai and Ao Nam Mao, this school offers one-day Thai-cooking courses from 1000B; transfers are included in the price.
reviewed
-
C
Baan Thai
Has an in-town location where you can select which dishes to prepare; most of their courses include a tour of a local market – very useful for identifying local fruit and veg.
reviewed
-
D
Tony’s Big Bikes
Rents well-maintained 125cc to 400cc motorbikes that all have license plates. Also offers riding lessons, can give touring advice and repairs motorcycles.
reviewed
-
E
Thai Farm Cooking School
Thai Farm Cooking School teaches cooking classes at its organic farm, located 17km outside of Chiang Mai.
reviewed
-
-
Blue View Divers
Focuses on community involvement and beach clean-ups (its latest effort cleared up 700 tonnes of rubbish) and is the only shop to offer dives from a long-tail.
reviewed
-
F
Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School
Offers basic and advanced courses in traditional Thai massage; basic courses offer 30 hours spread out over five days and cover either general massage or foot massage. The advanced level spans 60 hours, requires the basic course as a prerequisite, and covers therapeutic and healing massage. Other advanced courses include oil massage and aromatherapy, and infant and child massage. The school is outside the temple compound in a restored Bangkok shophouse on unmarked Soi Phen Phat – look for Coconut Palm restaurant.
reviewed
-
G
Phuket Scuba Club
This ecologically sensitive outfitter has a shop here and another on Karon. It can arrange day trips to Racha Yai and Racha Noi Shark Point et al, as well as live aboards to the Similan Islands, and it’s the only shop in the area to offer two beach dives from Hat Karon daily (11am and 3pm). The visibility isn’t as magical as more distant reefs, but there are interesting fish around, plus it’s close, so you’ll be able to slip underwater and be back with the family in no time.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
New Way Diving
This tiny school has built its reputation on offering small diving groups in a professional atmosphere. Their early-morning scuba excursions depart before the larger schools, which means less traffic in the water. It’s not too uncommon to go out for a postdive dinner with the entire school. The manager (a native Ko Tao-ist) can organise discounted accommodation nearby, and the free internet access on the dive shop’s ancient computer is an extra bonus.
reviewed
-
Sima Massage
Across from Tropicana Resort, and regarded by locals as the best massage on the island – quite an accolade in a place where a massage is easier to find than a 7-Eleven.
reviewed
-
H
Wat Pho Massage Pavilions
These two air-conditioned săh·lah (pavilions) near the eastern entrance to the temple grounds are run by the school affiliated with Wat Pho, which is the country’s primary training centre for Thai traditional massage. The menu is short but the quality is guaranteed, and after a day of temple sightseeing it’s hard to think of a better way to cool down and chill out.
reviewed
-
Amazing Bike Tours
Phuket’s best new adventure outfitter leads small groups on back-road bicycle tours through incredibly scenic countryside. In addition to its half-day rides through Thalang, which take in the Khao Phra Thaew National Park, it offers terrific day trips through Ko Yao Noi and the overlooked yet gorgeous beaches and waterfalls of Thai Muang in nearby Phang-Nga province.
reviewed
-
I
Akha Hill House
This outfit does one- to seven-day treks. They begin with a long-tail boat up the river, before trekking to and around their Akha Hill House about 23km from Chiang Rai, at a height of 1500m. A portion of the profits from the guest houses and their activities go into a local school. Inquiries can be made at Akha Hill House.
reviewed
