Nature and Culture in the South

Day 1:  Bangkok – Had Yai – Ko Mak   (-/L/D)

Take an early morning flight from Bangkok to Had Yai. Arrive Had Yai and then drive to Ko Mak, taking about 1 ½ hours. On arrival, get a warm welcome from the local people and after checking into your homestay explore the fishing village and join in with the activities of the local people. Learn how to make fishing nets and fish traps. Enjoy dinner with your host and overnight at the homestay. 

Day 2: Koh Mak – Lamnai   (B/L/D)

After breakfast take a boat out onto Songkhla Lake and see the local fishermen at work; time also for a little bird watching. Mid morning,  say goodbye to your host family and drive back towards Phatthalung town and to the community of Lamnai, taking about 1 ½ hours. Stop along the way for lunch at a local restaurant and to visit a workshop where they make traditional shadow puppets. Continue to Lamnai and meet your hosts. Check into the community lodge and after time to relax and settle in, visit the nearby Khao Kram Waterfall to take a swim and try the fish spa. Dinner and overnight at the community lodge.

Day 3: Lamnai – Tale Noi   (B/L/D)

Get up early and take a short drive to a view point and enjoy some local freshly-brewed coffee as you watch the sun rise over the forested hills. At the nearby village learning centre learn about the manufacture of rubber and try your hand at some rubber tapping. Return to the lodge for breakfast and then visit a cave temple and learn about living stone and lost Chinese treasure. See the making of local snacks. Return to the lodge and freshen up before saying goodbye to your hosts and heading to Thale Noi Waterfowl Reserve, one of the largest wetland reserves in south-east Asia. Make stops along the way to see the making of traditional Pons drums, at a local handicraft centre and for lunch at a local restaurant. Arrive at Tale Noi and check into a local resort overlooking the lake.
Note: Clients preferring to stay at a hotel in Phatthalung town may be so. Dinner and overnight at the resort.

Day 4: Tale Noi – Nakhon Sri Thammarat – Baan Laem   (B/L/D)

Get up early and take a short drive to a view point where you can see the sun rise over the stilted fishing platforms, known as yor yak, dotted across the lake.  Afterwards take a boat trip on Thale Noi to explore the Waterfowl Reserve where can be found over 180 species of resident and migratory birds that make their home among the lotus flowers, bulrushes, reeds and grasses of the lake. Watch water buffaloes s they swim in the lake. After the boat trip, enjoy breakfast at a local coffee shop and then look for some souvenirs among the over a dozen workshops carrying on the tradition of krajud: crafting mats, baskets, hats and other products from a type of long and hardy local grass that flourishes in the wetlands. In the late morning, head off along a scenic mountain road to Lake Hua Nam Sai for bamboo rafting and lunch at the Wang Hon Rafting Camp. Continue to Nakhon Sri Thammarat and visit the ancient city wall. The drive will take about 2 hours. Have dinner at Baan Laem Muslim village and overnight at a local resort. 

Day 5: Baan Laem - Baan Kiriwong   (B/L/D)

Get up early at join the local fishermen as they go out on the ocean in their boats. Have breakfast on the boat and then return to the shore for a mud spa treatment. Go back to the resort to take a shower and check out. Drive approximately 2 hours to Kiriwong and check in at the resort. Have time to relax before lunch at the resort. After lunch, set off on bicycles to visit some local handicraft shops where they make mangosteen soap and natural clothes dyes. Have a swim in the river before returning to the resort. Enjoy a starlight Dinner by the river.

Day 6: Baan Kiriwong – Prom Luk National Park – Khao Men Resort   (B/L/D)

After breakfast, drive to Prom Luk Waterfall with a stop along the way to see the manufacture of a traditional medicinal tonic made from mushrooms. Have a bathe in the waterfall and then head to a local noodle shop for lunch. Afterwards visit three temples and learn about the history of the famous monk, Por Tangklai Wachasit and the Buddhist Way of Life. Check in to Khao Men Resort with time to relax before a sunset dinner on the resort terrace.

Day 7: Khao Men Resort – Departure (B/-/-)
After breakfast visit the local market near the station, enjoy coffee and snacks at an old Chinese coffee shop before the onward transfer to your next destination. Options include train or flight from Nakhon Sri Thammarat or alternatively drive to the beaches at Khanom, Don Sak for the ferry to Koh Samui or across the peninsular to Phang-Nga, Phuket and Krabi.

 Services included:

• Accommodation in guesthouse and homestay as mentioned in the programme
• Activities as specified in the programme
• Local  English-speaking guide
• Meals as mentioned in the programme
• All entrance fees for visits included in the programme
• Domestic flight as mentioned

Services excluded:

• Additional soft drinks/alcohol
• Personal expenses
• Tips for guide and driver
• International flights
• Travel insurance

Please be advised:

In some villages you may not be allowed take pictures of people and some places may be out of bounds to visitors. If you wish to take photographs or are unsure whether an action is appropriate, please ask your local guide for advice.

Responsible mind:

The villagers’ income from tourists is to help support the community and preserve its way of life. We have designed our tours to provide them with job opportunities and a sustainable way of maintaining their cultural heritage and to offer an alternative to illegal activities like mineral exploration, deforestation and hunting wildlife.

Back to: South Thailand