Splashing Songkran

📍 Chiang Mai Airport – Chiang Mai Hotel (12 km): 16 min

Upon arrival in Chiang Mai, guests will be greeted by an Exo Travel guide and transferred to their hotel.

Overnight in Chiang Mai.  

Inclusions:

Guests will be picked up from their hotel at 06:00 by a local songthaew truck and taken to the foot of Doi Suthep mountain in time to buy offerings and join the locals during the daily alms-giving ceremony. (Note: Takeaway breakfast box from the hotel.) This is a serene Buddhist procession in which dozens of monks walk barefoot through the streets, collecting food and everyday items from locals. Continue up the mountain to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and climb the 309 steps of the Golden Naga staircase to reach its golden pagodas.

Next, guests will be taken to experience the Songkran cultural activities at Wat Phra Singh, just like the Thai people do. Here, guests can receive a blessing by pouring scented water over images of Buddha. They will also carry sand to the temple’s monastery to build sand chedis. Lunch is then served at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, guests return to the local truck, this time armed with water guns, to spend the rest of the day taking part in the festive water-throwing and water-splashing celebrations.

In the evening, guests are free to explore the nighttime Songkran activities around Tapae Road, where most of the fun takes place.

Overnight in Chiang Mai

Note: Songkran is a wet event that can damage electronic equipment such as cell phones and cameras. Guests should bring a waterproof bag to protect their belongings and be careful with their wallets and purses while participating in Songkran. Water guns and plastic covers for phones and cameras can also be purchased on the streets.  
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

After breakfast at the hotel, guests will have the opportunity to experience authentic Thai Songkran culture with a local family.
Join Mr. Prapat’s family in his car and drive 20 minutes to Hang Dong. Spend the day with the family in true Thai style, slipping into a pair of local ‘fisherman’s pants’ and exploring the architecture of a traditional Thai house and rice barn. The family will also demonstrate their basket-weaving skills, a tradition that has existed in Thailand for centuries. Stroll around the family’s small orchid and select fresh ingredients for the day’s cooking activities. Guests will learn to prepare traditional home-cooked recipes with authentic Northern Thai flavors, different from those offered in commercial cooking classes. Best of all, guests will have the opportunity to get to know a real Thai family and be their house guest for the day. Guests can enjoy a delicious home-cooked lunch, which they will help prepare with the family.
In the afternoon, join a must-do Songkran activity, “Rod Nam Dam Hua” – a water-pouring ceremony to ask for forgiveness and blessings from respected elders. This activity is considered one of the most beautiful Thai traditions. During the festival, people reunite with their families to perform this ceremony with their parents and grandparents. Water is poured reverently over the hands of elders, senior relatives, or respected persons, while the pourer asks for their forgiveness and apologizes for anything they may have done wrong in the past year.
After a full day, guests are free to explore Chiang Mai at their leisure.
 

Overnight in Chiang Mai. 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Chiang Mai Hotel – Chiang Mai Airport (12 km): 16 min

Have breakfast at the hotel and enjoy a free morning at leisure. This is officially the last day of Songkran in the Old Town of Chiang Mai, but the festivities will continue.
In the evening (after 18:00), guests will be transferred to Chiang Mai Airport for their onward flight.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast