Northern Thailand Tuk-Tuk Adventure

Please see the section above for trip inclusions and exclusions.

While everybody has different needs, we’d suggest that you budget for around 5,000-7,000THB (£125 - £175) for food, snacks, drinks and so on during your trip. Cash machines are available on most days. You do need to budget for 6 lunches and 5 dinners during the trip. Lunches on the road will be between 50 and 100THB. Dinners can vary widely depending on where you eat. Usually, they range between 100 and 300THB per person (for a real splurge). You also need to budget for drinks throughout the trip. Beers range from 60THB up to 150THB for a large bottle of beer (depending on where you buy them – sometimes even 150THB for a small bottle). Basic spirits are available in most locations (don’t expect any fancy cocktails!). Whisky and soda is Thailand’s staple drink – and wine is available in a few places (although it’s vastly overpriced in Thailand due to our import taxes).

It’s highly recommended that you take out personal travel insurance. Travel cover can protect you in the case of unforeseen circumstances, including cancellations, injuries, equipment loss, flight changes and other events that could negatively impact your trip. Note that standard insurance often doesn't cover adventure activities. We recommend using specialist adventure travel insurers, like [Rise & Shield](https://riseandshield.com/), for your trip. Specialist insurers can cover unique scenarios, like trekking at altitude or emergency evacuation in hard-to-reach places, that ordinary travel insurance doesn’t cover. It's your responsibility to carefully check the details of your policy to ensure that you're covered for the specific activities you'll be carrying out.

For those booking the chauffeur-driven option, each Tuk Tuk can take a maximum of 2 people. For those booking the self-drive option, each Tuk Tuk can take a maximum of 3 people. This experience is perfect for solo travellers, couples or groups of friends (or even adventurous families). If you’re travelling on your own, you’ll be teamed up with a fellow solo traveller to enjoy your time travelling in these wonderful vehicles.

The maximum group size for each trip is 12 people. Each trip will consist of up to 6 Tuk Tuks and a support vehicle carrying bags, spare parts, water, and snacks.

You have the option to be chauffeured or drive the Tuk Tuk yourself. All travellers who wish to drive a Tuk Tuk MUST have a driving license from their own country (manual gear) and an International Driving Permit (IDP). No previous Tuk Tuk driving experience is necessary as you will receive in-depth training on Day 1. Your IDP MUST have a CATEGORY A STAMP to allow you to drive your Tuk Tuk - without this you'll need to choose our CHAUFFEUR DRIVEN option At the end of the training session, all drivers must pass a test. If the guide/training team believes you have not reached the standard to pass the test then unfortunately you will not be able to drive on the roads (More time and training will be given to help you if possible). The decision of the training team is final.

Our Tuk Tuks are specially customized to not only cope perfectly with the twisty and sometimes steep mountain roads but also to give extra comfort and views. There are Bluetooth speakers for you to play your favourite road trip tunes and you can even roll back the roof if you fancy catching some sun! When we drive, your guide will be in the lead Tuk Tuk and everyone travels in convoy with the support vehicle at the rear (the support vehicle takes all your luggage, spare parts for the Tuk Tuks – always best to be prepared! – and huge amounts of water!). And do note that each Tuk Tuk has a walkie talkie so not only can your guide let you know all sorts of information but you can also ask any questions or simply chat to your fellow travellers!

The elephants we meet are at a small elephant sanctuary. The organisation is leading the way in taking elephants away from a life of trekking and instead creating an environment where people can learn about and spend time with elephants on their terms, not ours! On arrival, you’ll learn about the history of the elephants and what the team at the Elephant Home have been doing to continually improve the lives of the elephants. No riding of the elephants is allowed.

The accommodation is intentionally of a high standard throughout the trip to allow you to ‘adventure’ during the day but relax and enjoy great surrounding in the evenings and free days. 'Base Camp'– Nights 1, 2, & 10 are spent in Khum Khun Wang Resort (or similar), Mae Wang. A lovely rural Northern Thailand hotel in peaceful grounds with a laid-back small outdoor meeting area. Run by a very friendly team and perfect for our ‘base camp’. Twin, double, and family rooms are available. Mae Khlang Luang – On nights 3&4 you’ll stay in the Karen Hill Tribe village of Mae Khlang Luang. Whilst this is the ‘simplest’ accommodation of the adventure the rooms are spacious, clean, and in a superb location overlooking the rice terraces. All the rooms have en-suite facilities, hot water and are fan-cooled – there’s no need for air-conditioning this high in the mountains. The fantastic location and the experience of staying in the village far outweighs the simple nature of the rooms! Mae Sariang – Night 5 is in River House Hotel or similar with very pleasant twin / double rooms located right on the river in Mae Sariang. Air-conditioning, en-suite, excellent food and a great location for relaxing beers after a hard day’s driving Mae Hong Son – Nights 6 &7 are in FernResort (or similar) – a well-established rural resort located in the heart of the forest and surrounded by rice fields. If it was good enough for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie then it’s good enough for us! Twin-share rooms, air-conditioning, en-suite bathrooms, swimming pools and stunning sunset bar Pai – Nights 8&9 are in Phu Pai Art Resort (or similar) – around 5km outside the town of Pai and set amongst rice fields and on the edge of a small village, this resort is the perfect location to unwind. All the rooms are individual villa style and a short walk to the restaurant and swimming pool. Laid-back Northern Thailand doesn’t get much better

You can pay extra for a single supplement. Please message us after making your booking to request this. Prices are as follows: November - February (high season) - £330 March - October - £220

Our adventures are open to all travellers with an adventurous spirit, but we do have a minimum age of 5 years old for those travelling with their parents/parents. The minimum age to be able to drive is 18 years! We do offer child rates for those under the age of 18 years. Please drop us a message or email info@skyhookadventure.com for more information.

Whilst most (but not all - please do check with your local Thai Embassy) Nationalities do not require a visa for stays of 30 days or less in Thailand, ALL arrivals do need to complete an online landing card within the three days prior to your arrival in country. The form is free, very easy and takes no more than 5 minutes but it is very important that you complete this prior to your arrival to prevent any issues at Immigration.

All self-drive travellers must bring their driving license and an International Driving Permit (IDP) - and the IDP MUST HAVE a CATEGORY A stamp in order to be able to drive. For UK drivers who passed their driving test prior to 2002 this is automatically granted, but for drivers who passed their test after 2001 or are from other countries this usually means that you must also have a motorbike license. If you aren't able to get a Category A stamp in your IDP then you'll need to take our 'Chauffeur Driven' option - but we do need to know this as close to the time of your booking as possible to ensure we have the correct number of staff in place. If in any doubt please contact us at bookings AT thetuktukclub DOT com for more information