Luxury Thailand Vacation Review: Chiang Mai, Phuket, Elephant Sanctuary, Food Tour, Catamaran Ride, 12-Night Tour

Review by traveler

Barbara C.

9.5.2022

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Thailand

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

The score would be above average. There were several minor issues with the operations team and Charles assisted to resolve them toward the end of our trip.

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

The Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai and the Catamaran ride in Phuket.

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

We would be more selective on the activities and request thorough information on each activity.
Examples:
1) The Marine Park excursion - we would like to know the group size, the boat company and that there were no beach chairs on the park. The boat crew was great.
2) Food tour - option to select the types of food and quality and the area. Due to our jet lag conditions, we did not appreciate the flower market tour although our tour guide was very engaging.
3) There were 2 canal rides, and we found 1 ride was adequate. Warning for potential rain and poncho needs. Our umbrellas did not shield us from the rain. More historical information about the canals would be useful.
4) Pick up and drop off times, where, and when.
Lastly, we would hold a final Zoom/Teams conference call a week prior to us leaving for our trip to have a complete understanding of the daily activities and requirements.

Travel Company Comments:

Dear Barbara,
Thank you for traveling with us. We are glad to know that you enjoyed the trip especially the elephant experience and the private catamaran sail.
I also thank you for taking the time to give us your valuable feedback on our service and the activities. The Ang Thong National Marine Park has much fewer tourist facilities compared to the other more touristy beaches and islands in Thailand, this is one of the beauties of the Ang Thong Marine Park. Although this is out of our control, we will bring this point to our trip planning phase to acknowledge the client this point. On our phone call, I thought there were not enough chairs along the stairway to the hilltop observation platform in the park, I've passed our feedback to the park management office to see if they can do any improvements in the future.
Regarding the foodie tour, those selected restaurants were very popular local food stalls/restaurants that usually have a long wait time, that's why the supplier needs to make reservations and pre-select the menu according to what we think is the best and must-try street food for first time Bangkok visitors. Thank you for letting us know you would prefer more flexibility with the menu, we will further discuss this with our product team regarding this point. Glad that you all love the Pad Thai at the end of the foodie tour.
Bangkok is also known the Oriental Venice, while the boat trip on the floating market is a unique way to visit that market. Traveling during the rainy season of Thailand, the boat trip along the city canals will show you the life of the people living along the canal, and avoid too much walking in the heat and high humidity. I think the unexpected rain affects your experience, we will remind the clients for a larger umbrella or a poncho while traveling in the rainy season of Thailand.
Barbara, as your family is among the very first group of visitors after the 2 years lockdown in Thailand, and August is the low season after reopen, the island tour suppliers in Koh Samui and Phuket are not operating regularly, so there are some last minutes changes, e.g. the island tour to the Marine Park, and the unexpected maintenance/repair requirement for the Catamaran, that's why our operation team keeps sending update information to you along the trip.
Lastly, thank you for suggesting the Zoom/Teams conference call before leaving the US, I agree that's a very good way to connect every family in the group to share all information and answer questions, we will provide this as an option in our future service, especially for multi-family groups.
It was nice to talk with you on the phone and get to know more about your family's travel preferences. I appreciate you're willing to book your next Asia trip with us. I am confident that with all your valuable feedback, we will provide better service to your family.
Thank you again for traveling with us.
Best regards,
Charles