05.01.2016, 11:00 Uhr
Kilian & Angela
After extensive research on tripadvisor we decided for the 3 days / 2 nights trip with piroon. The top rating of both, tour and guide is absolutely justified. The program which involves hiking, overnight stay in remote villages and rafting was definitely a great experience even for me beeing a former boyscout and hence having quite some expectations about outdoor activities. Still the trip is perfectly fitted for families.
However, what made the trip really exceptional was our tour guide Mike. He is very competent in answering any kind of questions and likes to sit with you at the fire in the evenings telling stories. And as he grew up in one of those villages he really knows some good ones!
Finally, he did a great job in making this trip an unforgettable experience for everyone.
Thanks a lot
19.12.2015, 08:12 Uhr
Martin, Juraj, Jan
Me & 2 of my friends have recently done the 2-day tour with Jit & Piroon.
First, I need to stress Jit's incredible hospitality. She picked us at the airport on our arrival, adviced on a good place to eat, recommended a massage place, etc. She even drove us to Tiger Kingdom. Thai people are overall nice & friendly, but Jit is truly even beyond that!
The tour itself was awesome. We were seeking some off beaten path experience and it was the right choice!
The start of the tour was a bit rough though - quite a bit of driving to get to the starting point while sitting on a pick-up truck. Not much fun & really tiring. But what follows after pays off! Trekking through the mountains, serene Karen villages, delicisious food prepared by locals, adventurous bamboo rafting, etc. All just great!!
Our guide - Mike, was a great companion. He was very nice, caring & helpful all the time througout the trip. He was born in Karen village, knows all the villagers personally as well as all the area. And he spoke good english!
After we finished the tour, Mike took us for a Thai box match and showed us around a bit. We had real fun & highly appreciate his hospitality.
I have done several private tours in Asia, this one was by far the best!
Martin, Juraj and Jan
(The tour done on December 5-6, 2015)
16.11.2015, 06:03 Uhr
Tanja & Tobi
We went to a 3 day trekking tour. Hiking, waterfall swimming, elephant riding and bamboo rafting. Our guide Mike actually was one of the Karen we visited during our first overnight stay in the Karen village. Thus he had great insight about the life in the village and we actually met his family too. Unlike many other trekking tours in Chiang Mai the elephant riding and bamboo rafting were an integral part of the trip to get to the next destination and not like merry-go-round. The elephants did not have to walk on the streets and were let into the jungle overnight to feed themselves. It really felt like they have a good life and were treated good. The villages we visited felt very authentic, we did feel we were visiting a genuine culture. Mike's cooking was very nice too, he had lots of personal stories to share about living in and outside of the Karen village. Thanks Mike for this great experience, if I come back I will definitely do a tour with you and Chiang Mai Trekking again!
15.11.2015, 08:57 Uhr
Tyler and Brittany
My wife and I just got home from the 3 day 2 night trek with Mike as our tour guide. This tour was a little more expensive than other tours in Chiang Mai but for good reason! Our guild was born and raised in the Karen Village that we stopped at the first night after a 3 hour challenging hike through the jungle (would be suitable for all ages). He was sooo great and gave us alot of insight and knowledge into the daily life and culture or the people from both hilltribes we stayed at! This trek as also alot more authentic than other tours as rather than after doing the trek you just go somewhere else and ride elephants and go bamboo rafting at another place....bother are incorporated into the journey and the elephants live in the jungle rather than a camp and are only rode a couple times a day rather than all day unlike other places. And rather than a short half hour bamboo raft we did 45 mins of bamboo rafting the second day to get to the elephant camp and another 2 and a half hours the last day to finsh off the trek! There was no electricity in either of the villages and the food was cooked fresh over a fire! If you are looking for an Authentic Thai Experience look no further!
20.10.2015, 01:57 Uhr
Alesa
I can only recommend the chiang mai trekking tour. We were very well prepared before our trip, with a list of what we needed and an detailed plan of the stations of the tour. Since our backpacks weren't perfect for the tour, we were given 3 backpacks.
Out two guides were absolutely great. They always notices when we couldn't keep up the pace, and made enough breaks. The Walk on the first day was one of the most exhaustings things I ever did, but so worth it. Beautiful views, amazing plants, interesting facts about the forest and the hilltribes.
Both cabins on the first and seconds nights were great, we had 'normal' toilets, and I enjoyed the shower in the river so much!
The dinner, cooked by our guides, and the springrolls we made together with them were the best (!!) food we had in our 4 week stay in Thailand/Cambodia. The evenings were nice, one of the guides played the guitar for us one night.
On the second day of the tour I fell down and had a little wound on my knee. The guides were prepared for things like that and fixed me up with tons of disinfectant and a bamboo-walking-stick and kept looking out and asking me if I was okay.
Back home I was asked if I wanted to go a hospital. We were taken there and assisted with everything.
All in all, this was one of the most memorable experience during our vacation - we had so much fun!