Give As You Go Tour
When we first started Journeys Within Tour Company we automatically added in experiences where guests could give back to the communities they visited and in return have once-in-a-lifetime experiences by being a part of these communities. Over the years we have been heralded as “pioneers in philanthropic travel,” and we have taken it to heart and continued to find and support projects throughout Southeast Asia.
Living in Cambodia we could see the problems facing the people and we wanted to be able to make travel a positive force for change so we founded Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC), a non profit 501c3 dedicated to bettering the lives of the communities we live and work in.
This tour visits JWOC projects as well as other projects we feel need our help and deserve it, because of the good they are doing. For our guests, this tour is a way to do more than just visit these amazing countries, it's a way to give back and become a part of a better future for them. For us travel is about seeing the highlights and experiencing the culture, but also about making the world a better place. Visiting a World Heritage site one day, and changing someone's life the next, it really doesn't get any better than that.
Day 1 Bangkok - Arrival
Arrive on your flight.
Arrive in Bangkok where you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at Sofitel Silom Hotel - Luxury Room
Day 2 Bangkok - Public Transport Tour
You will be met by your guide at your hotel at 9am and set off on the Skytrain. Enjoy the elevated view of central Bangkok as you speed across town to the river where you will board a river express boat to the Flower Market. Take in the sights and smells as you wander past stalls piled with flowers and then head off on an exciting tuk tuk ride to Wat Pho to see the famous Reclining Buddha. Enjoy a thirty minute massage at the temple's traditional Thai massage school followed by lunch at a local restaurant; then head to the pride of Thailand, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew housing the Emerald Buddha. Take a stroll down the street to a local Buddhist amulet market before boarding a river express boat to the Skytrain station and returning to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Sofitel Silom Hotel - Luxury Room
Day 3 Chiang Mai - Arrival
You will be transferred to Bangkok Airport for your flight.
You will be met at Chiang Mai Airport and transferred to your hotel.
Tonight attend a traditional Khantoke Show dinner and dance.
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Yaang Come Village Hotel - Superior Room
Day 4 Chiang Mai - Doi Inthanon National Park
After breakfast set off for Doi Inthanon National Park where you will reach the summit of the highest mountain in Thailand. Enjoy beautiful scenery on the way and stop to visit a Karen Village before reaching the peak of the mountain, 8,514 feet above sea level. Take a walk out into the jungle and look for bird life before returning back down, stopping at a picturesque waterfall on the way. You will have lunch on the mountain and on the way back you can stop at Baan Ta-Wai, where they make wooden carvings, pottery and imitation antiques. Return to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Yaang Come Village Hotel - Superior Room
Day 5 Chiang Mai - Doi Suthep and City Temple Tour
This afternoon visit Doi Suthep, the most important Wat in Chiang Mai. Perched high above the city, it offers wonderful views of the city and countryside below.
Enjoy lunch with your guide at a local restaurant.
Visit some of the more famous Wats, within the city walls of Chiang Mai. Your guide will discuss Buddhism and the role it plays in everyday life as well as showing you the many details of each temple.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Yaang Come Village Hotel - Superior Room
Day 6 Chiang Mai - Working with the Elephants
Visit the Elephant Nature Park, a wonderful organization dedicated to conserving and promoting elephants. Spend the day learning to bath, feed and command these amazing beasts of burden. Please bring a change of clothes or a swimsuit as you will get wet giving the elephants their daily bath!
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Yaang Come Village Hotel - Superior Room
Day 7 Luang Prabang - Arrival
Transfer to Chiang Mai Airport for your onward flight -
Upon arrival in Luang Prabang you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
Have the afternoon at leisure exploring Luang Prabang and don't miss the night market.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 8 Luang Prabang - Sunrise to Sunset
Wake-up at sunrise to participate in giving the local monks morning alms. You'll be accompanied by your guide who can demonstrate the proper method of alms giving and explain this daily Buddhist ceremony. Return to your hotel for breakfast, after which your guide will take you on a tour of the city, including visits to The National Museum, Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Visun and Wat Sen.
Enjoy lunch in town at a restaurant of your choice. After lunch your guide will meet you and you'll continue your tour, finishing with a hike up Mt. Phou Si in the late afternoon to see a sweeping view of Luang Prabang and watch the sunset.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 9 Luang Prabang - Life on the Mekong
Today you'll escape the tourist hubs in town and see Luang Prabang through local eyes. First, you will drive up the Mekong to the village of Pak Ou. From here board a small boat and take a tour of the local fishing area, checking traps with the fishermen along the way and collecting any fish you might find. You will then cross the Mekong by longtail boat to visit the small village of Ban Mueng Keo, known for its production of local whiskey. Here you will be able to watch a demonstration of the whiskey-making process by a local Lao Lao Whiskey producer and, if you're up for it, sample the finished product for an early morning punch! Continue on travelling downstream to visit the Pak Ou Caves, famous for the thousands of Buddha statues left inside by pilgrims.
Return to Ban Pak Ou, where the former village chief and his family will cook you a Lao-style lunch and you'll learn about dining customs and etiquette. After lunch, board a long tail boat and travel along the Mekong for a scenic ride until you reach the small weaving village of Ban Phone Xay, where you'll enjoy a weaving demonstration and have a chance to purchase handmade items directly from the source. Learn the story behind who really makes the beautiful textiles sold at the night market! At the end of the day you'll be the only tourist in town who knows the real story behind the bottles of Lao Lao, the grilled Mekong fish and the night market.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 10 Laung Prabang - Volunteering in a JWOC Classroom - Laos
This afternoon you will visit a Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC) school to help one of the teachers with their English class. JWOC offers a wide variety of free classes to students who have the desire to learn, but lack the financial means to attend private lessons. Our English program for children and adults welcomes the participation of native English speaking volunteers who play an extremely useful role assisting the teachers with speaking activities, providing a model for students who often have limited opportunity to hear and speak English in their everyday lives. No experience is necessary – your ability to speak English is the only qualification you need to help.
You will arrive at least 10 minutes before the class starts to meet the teacher and find out what you will be doing. This will ensure that you help the class rather than disrupt it!
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 11 Siem Reap - Arrival
Transfer to Luang Prabang airport from your hotel in time for your flight - .
You will be met by a Journeys Within representative and taken to Journeys Within Boutique Hotel.
Head into town to enjoy a traditional buffet dinner and dance show in the evening.
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Journeys Within Boutique Hotel
Day 12 Siem Reap - Angkor Wat
This morning head to Angkor Wat in an air-conditioned car, or if you choose by bike, with your guide. Explore this majestic temple throughout the morning while it is still cool and has fewer tourists. Return to Journeys Within for lunch and a nap or refresh with a swim. In the afternoon head to Angkor Thom, the famous walled city and see the many temples within its borders, including the fascinating Bayon temple with its many magnificent faces smiling out. There are several beautiful spots from which to watch the sunset. Discuss with your guide where you would like to be and then relax and enjoy a memorable end to your day at the temples.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within Boutique Hotel
Day 13 Siem Reap - Banteay Srei & Other Temples
This morning set off with your guide to Banteay Srei, the intricately carved temple just 30 km beyond Angkor Wat. Then head back to the local temples where you will visit Banteay Kdei and Ta Prohm, two of the prettiest temples in the complex.
Today visit the well you have generously donated through Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC). Return to Journeys Within for lunch and relax with a nap or refresh with a swim.
A JWOC representative will take you into the community to meet the villagers benefiting from the well and you will be able to see the clean water they are now using.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within Boutique Hotel
Day 14 Siem Reap - Tonle Sap and Market
In the morning drive through rural Cambodia to the Tonle Sap Lake where you will take a boat ride to visit the floating village and a Cambodian fish farm. Climb Phnom Krom and see the ancient ruins high on the hill. Return to Journeys Within for lunch and relax with a nap or refresh with a swim.
Take a walk around the Old Market where the locals and tourists shop side by side. Then pay a visit to Artisans de Angkor to see their workshop in town. Here you will be taken on a short tour to see the students learning the skills needed to produce works of art in a variety of different materials before visiting their beautifully displayed shop.
Transfer to the airport in time to catch your flight.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Tour Rate: $3,280 per person double with a $1,980 single supplement
Price includes:
- Air tickets Bangkok - Chiang Mai - Luang Prabang - Siem Reap - Bangkok
- Boat tickets as specified above
- Accommodation as specified above
- Air-conditioned car/van with driver
- Licensed English speaking guides
- Tours and admission fees as mentioned above
- Meals as specified in itinerary, including water
- Price excludes:
Price excludes:
- Visa fees
- Airport tax
- Drinks (except water) and meals not mentioned in itinerary
- Tips