Chiang Rai Escape - Local by Smiling Albino

local by smiling albino

chiang rai active escape

4 days

chiang rai, thailand

adventure, local villages, culture

why travel to chiang rai?

all about the trip

The Chiang Rai Northern Escape features a bikes, boats, villages and caves. With an eye to flexibility and fun, this northern adventure offers a great cultural experience with a focus on food, off-the-beaten-path locations and great accommodations and a dazzling array of activities and venues so that you can truly sink your teeth into the magic of Northern Thailand.

why you must go!

the bragging rights

Spend a full day of exploring a large swath of what the scenic countryside surrounding Chiang Rai has to offer. And we’ll do it in the best way we know how: on bicycles with the breeze in our faces!
Trek the tea fields of Doi Mae Salong.
Learn about the history as Mae Salong. The region has a lot of stories regarding the Chinese army. We'll hear personal accounts from locals there.

day 1

bangkok to Chiang Rai

This morning, we’ll catch a flight to Trang in Thailand’s deep south. After checking in, we’ll visit one of Trang’s unique local cave formations, steeped in layers of folklore and intrigue.

Khao Pina Cave is hollow mountain on the mainland that looks like an upside down wok. Located at the foot of the mountain is Wat Pina, a temple where a reclining Buddha image is enshrined at the cave entrance. Concrete stairs allow visitors to explore the cave’s beauty, with options of three trails offering a panoramic view. Lush forests and a tranquil environment make for a perfect place for relaxation.

day 2

Bikes, Bots, Villages & Caves

The day will begin with a drive to a cave temple, Wat Tha Phra, where our mountain bikes will be waiting for us. We’ll spend some time exploring this vernacular temple, get used to our bicycles, and then take off to pedal along the Kok River, through fertile farmland, creaking bamboo stands, and to a hilltribe village surrounded by limestone mountains.

Here we will have a local lunch, and then carry on through small back roads leading out of the village, up and over some medium-grade mountains, passing by further Ahka and Lisu settlements. When we’ve had enough biking, we’ll board a private longtail boat waiting for us on the river and head back down the river to Chiang Rai town. Sit back, relax, and take in the scenery unfolding along the shores as you reflect on this epic day.

day 3

Time at Leisure, Optional Activities

Today, choose to spend your day at leisure enjoying your hotel or exploring on your own. Want a more active day planned by Smiling Albino? Choose from some of the experiences below.

Doi Mae Salong, Hilltribe and Tea Hike
Travel past spectacular jungle-covered mountains enroute to one of the Kingdom’s most stunning destinations – Doi Mae Salong. This dramatic mountain region was settled first by indigenous hilltribe groups. Once opium country, Doi Mae Salong is now home to Thailand’s premier Oolong tea production. We’ll arrive early enough for a nice nature hike through terraced tea and rice plantations, taking in hilltribe villages and rolling mountains around the Doi Mae Salong area.

From the Mountains to Mekong
From the Mountains, today we’ll make our way to the Mekong. Get started with a drive to Doi Tung Royal Project and a visit to this renowned development center for hilltribe groups in northern Thailand. Continued to Doi Chaang Mub, one of the province’s highest mountains along a spectacular road that straddles the Thai-Myanmar border, and we’ll then travel on past the Golden Triangle into the open farmland of eastern Chiang Rai province and the confluence of the Mekong River.

day 4

Back To Bangkok

After breakfast, you will transfer to the airport to catch a flight to Bangkok.

want to know more?

Is this the right itinerary for you? Looking for something different? Let us plan your perfect itinerary!