Luxury vacations in Thailand

Treepod eating at Soneva Kiri is just one example of Luxury vacations in Thailand's long history of enticing tourists with elegantly built hotels and lavish experiences. Everything will go well, and you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy your time in Thailand without sacrificing luxury. 

In this nation, you won't have to choose between going off the beaten path and staying in a five-star hotel. Beach resorts surround you with nothing but forest, teak riverboats traverse the backwaters near Bangkok, and an elite tented camp provides luxury in the far-flung district of Chiang Rai. Following my recent travels around Thailand, I have compiled a list of the finest moments of my trip. If you're planning your luxurious adventure, check out the Thailand travel guide from My Way Travel for more tips and recommendations.

Four Seasons Tented Camp

Four Seasons Tented Camp

Although I highly doubt any explorers ever had it this well, the tents in the Four Seasons camp are in fashion like an adventurous jungle outpost. A herd of rehabilitated elephants graze the grasslands below your tent, set on a stilted platform in the middle of a jungle-covered ridge.

Inside each tent is a bed with a view of the Ruak River and a variety of polished wooden furniture, brass antiques, and other trinkets. On the balcony, you'll find a wooden hot tub, a rain shower, and a comfortable seating area.

The camp is in northeastern Thailand, along the border with Myanmar to the west and Laos to the east. This area is known as the Golden Triangle. During your visit, you may spend a day traveling across three countries on the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong that passes through Myanmar and Laos.

Despite its seemingly out-of-the-way location, the camp is easily accessible through a one-hour and fifteen-minute drive after taking a domestic aircraft from Bangkok to Chiang Rai.

Spending a day with Elephants

Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation

The camp provides all meals, lodging, and entertainment for campers. The highlight for me was spending a day with the resident elephants.

The Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, which helps abused and neglected elephants find new homes, is a partner organization of Four Seasons. The charity's mission is to free Thailand's last 3,500 working elephants and their mahouts by placing them in sanctuaries and nature preserves where they may again engage in their natural behaviors.

Protected areas in Thailand have been linked to resorts, including enormous swathes of land, to benefit the animals living there. Twenty elephants and their mahouts seek safety in the lowland woods and grassland of the Four Seasons.

For me, an elephant day always starts with a hearty meal. I was having lunch in the open-air pavilion when I heard a rustle in the long grass outside. Then, as the elephant and its mahout approached me through the grass, I caught a glimpse of the soft curve of an elephant's head.

After being introduced, I spent the day studying elephant behavior; I discovered, for example, that my elephant had a strong aversion to insects, a residual reaction to the time some ants had crawled up her trunk. Booking in advance is highly recommended because of the limited availability of this carefully curated event.

Cruising the Chao Phraya River on the Loy Dream

Traditional Thai boat on Bangkok's Chao Phraya River.

For almost seven hundred years, the Chao Phraya River has been (and is now) adorned with gold-lacquered royal boats, earning it the moniker "River of Kings." The canal winds from the heart of Bangkok to the former royal capital of Ayutthaya, passing through some of Thailand's holiest palaces and temples along the route.

No gold is on board the Loy Dream, but the staterooms' ornate teak woodwork and silk accents provide that impression. You may take a houseboat that was once a rice barge and is now more than a century old on a three-day, two-night trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya.

The staff, which includes a personal chef, will see to your every need while at sea, and a knowledgeable guide will show you around Bangkok's Royal Palace (17th century) and many riverbank temples. I was scared I might get exhausted from spending so much time at the temple, but my fears were unfounded. Wat Arun's vibrant porcelain artwork is only one example of the many different styles and time periods represented.

Cooking with a local in Bangkok

Home cooking class, Bangkok

High-rise city hotels in Bangkok have inventive spas, Michelin-starred restaurants, and infinity pools (at The Siam, you'll even be warmly by your private butler). I could easily spend weeks there indulging in such amenities. Finding something to do that allows you to interact with locals is the true pleasure of city life.

Angsana's mother was a successful street seller, and Angsana has carried on the family business by teaching culinary courses out of her house. She went on and on about how her kitchen is much like any other in a city (although very spacious), complete with a big table in the center for meal preparation.

You may make anything from traditional tod man pla (fishcakes) to fakthong sangkhaya (steamed, custard-filled pumpkin)—Angsana's grandmother's guilty pleasure—because courses are private.

Unlike in other restaurant-run classes, where you're more of a spectator, I came away from Angsana's with curry paste specks on my shirt and the aroma of lemongrass on my fingers (though she did give me an apron).

Siam Kempinski, Bangkok

Luxurious Thai beach experience

Hotel complexes now dominate some portions of Thailand's coast, but many undeveloped areas remain to enjoy. Most of the coast, except for the party beaches, is either maintained by high-end hotels or is part of marine reserves.

For sheer luxury: Soneva Kiri

Soneva Kiri

Although Soneva Kiri does not exist on a private island, you may mistake it for one. From Bangkok, Potential Access to Koh Kood by taking a short, scenic journey in a small plane for around 90 minutes. You may get on a speedboat to your accommodation in privacy from here.

The island is one of the biggest in Thailand, yet despite its proximity to the Cambodian border, it has seen the least development. More than one hundred kinds of butterflies call the jungle that surrounds the hotel home.

The villas at this hotel are often bigger than most people's primary residences, and each one has a golf cart for getting about the sprawling property. In addition, you'll enjoy a private pool with a wooden balcony, which my butler will adorn with candles every night.

Everything here aims to wow, from the open-air theater to the free chocolate room and ice cream shop. The hotel has a state-of-the-art observatory where visiting astronomers can teach you about the constellations and help you count Jupiter's moons and a sommelier who can educate you on everything about the hotel's extensive collection of fine wines. The concierge service may also come up with something special for you to do if it seems more fun.

Chefs prepare meals in the outside space using the barbeque, wood-fired oven, and clay tandoor. The Treepod Dining experience was my first choice for breakfast. The waiter took me down the shore to a tree with a large acorn-looking wooden pod hanging from it. The pod was winched into the treetops after I had sat at the table within.