Travel is in small groups only so that you can receive personal attention from our guides and hosts. You can share your holiday with friends, old or new, who have similar interests.

By using local people as guides, you mix with the communities themselves and gain an inside knowledge of the places you visit. Also, this puts income directly into local hands.

 

Leave Phu Phiang to do all the arrangements. You can concentrate on making personal contact with local people and experience their hospitality. By doing so, you will develop an understanding of Thai culture, its history and tradition.

Mostly, you will stay in small, comfortable family-run hotels in provincial towns. From time to time during each trip, more basic, local-styled accommodation is offered including staying in village homes. This is another way income generated by your visit will benefit local people directly.

Try the wide selection of succulent tropical fruits. You will love them!
Siamese cuisine has quite rightly a global reputation but it can only be truly savoured in Thailand itself, where the spices are freshly picked and fruit ripens naturally on trees. Phu Phiang makes sure you don't miss out on the extraordinary variety of tastes and textures of the best Thai food, sometimes in surprising settings.
You may find yourself in a romantic restaurant, beside the river or on the river, possibly accompanied by Thai classical music and dancing. On another day, you may find yourself perched on a plastic stool at the best noodle stall in the bustling night market of a provincial town. Or, you may be invited to take part in a simple village family meal half-way up a mountain or beside the sea. You will relish the variety and, as we also know the difficulties chilli-hot dishes can present to many a visitor's palate, we can adapt the food as may be necessary. We can also cater for vegetarians and those with special dietary needs when we know in advance. As much as possible, Phu Phiang directs your custom to the small businesses of local people so they will directly benefit.

Phu Phiang always sets safety and security as a first priority. However, we like to do so in a way that makes sense and which does not inhibit your desire to explore and to try out something new. Being guests of local people with local knowledge is, in itself, a good start and first aid help is always nearby. As for general security, for much of the time our tours visit remoter places which do not fit the profile of those who may wish to cause harm.

All travellers should make sure they have adequate medical insurance cover. Before leaving home, it is also important to take a doctor's advice on vaccinations and prophylactics. For a developing country, Thailand has above-average medical facilities in all provincial centres. Several Bangkok hospitals are of world-class and a fast-growing commercial air network makes communication easier.

Always one of the most enjoyable yet sometimes frustrating aspects of foreign travel, shopping in Thailand is no exception. Thailand is often described as a shopper's paradise but that, in itself can present uncertainties and misgivings. Where does the product come from? Is it genuine? How do I know the right price?

Phu Phiang does not receive commissions from any vendor, so our local guides are free to advise you on your shopping needs as your friends (and maybe helping you bargain!).
Even so, most of our travellers who visit craft villages would like the genuine article direct from an individual craftsperson or a cooperative group. Working closely with ThaiCraft, a fair trade marketing organisation, Phu Phiang makes this possible and many of our tours take in the very popular monthly ThaiCraft Sale, a Fair Trade fair of over 50 village producers held in Bangkok. There, you can be sure that your chosen products are of high-quality, reasonably priced and that the producers, who are well-known to ThaiCraft, get a proper income for their work.
Wherever we go, opportunities are given for you to purchase locally produced products to help support local communities or charitable organizations directly.