"Bucket List" Thai Family Adventure

Having already explored Europe and America with the kids, I wanted them to experience a new culture and what better location than Asia. As myself and my Hubbie honeymooned in Thailand we were eager to return and explore new adventures with the kids in tow!

The trip totally exceeded all our expectations. Let me give you a brief outline of our amazing itinerary; Flying with Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi, we had a very comfortable and pleasant in-flight experience. On arrival to the island of Phuket we took an hour-long transfer north to the idyllic province of Khao Lak, located on the gorgeous Andaman seaboard. Khao Lak is a very chilled out, peaceful location and we spent a week on the beachfront enjoying the sun, sea and sand. In the evening the town centre was buzzing with restaurants and shops where the kids learnt the art of haggling!

Mid way through the week we decided to do a full day trip to the island of Koh Phi Phi. This was just incredible. Picture postcard location with classic tropical beaches, stunning rock formations and turquoise waters home to colourful marine life. We had the most wonderful day swimming, snorkelling, exploring and the kids experienced jet skiing for the first time which was fab.

After a week of re-charging we were collected from our hotel and transferred to Elephant Hills, Thailand’s first luxury tented camp and a “bucket list” experience for my family and I. Located in the stunningly beautiful Koh Sok National Park, the Elephant Camp comprises tailor-make luxury tents located in the rainforest and a floating rainforest camp situated on Cheow Larn Lake. We got to feed, wash and interact with the Elephants at the elephant nature park. We canoed down the Sok River, visited a local market to experience Thailand’s rural lifestyle and in the evening, we enjoyed a local school dance performances and cookery demonstrations. At the floating lakeside camp, each luxury tent came with a double canoe and we had a guided canoe safari, jungle trekking on foot which was a wonderful experience for the kids as they learnt about the rainforest, exotic plants, wildlife and enjoyed an incredible caving experience. Elephant Hills was a truly amazing and memorable experience.

We headed onto the island of Krabi for our final 4 nights staying at the wonderful Rayavadee Beach Resort, accessible only via speedboat. Krabi is home to white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, coral reefs, caves and waterfalls. We had an adventurous 4 days snorkelling, abseiling, swimming and chilling. We had a bit of rain during our time here, but it did not “dampen” our experience as the accommodation was top notch and we enjoyed movie evenings in our suite. All in all we had the most incredible time and cant thank the Thai people enough for their kindness and hospitality. Thailand is a truly special destination and we will most certainly return in the near future.