Thailand Family Vacations & Tours

This is a long overdue review. We traveled to different areas of Thailand for 2 weeks at the end of January and beginning of February 2018. After being matched with this travel company, our agent made the process of planning this vacation very simple. He responded quickly to questions, was available through text, email, and phone, and put together a wonderful itinerary for us. We visited Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai, and Koh Lanta, which were all unique and amazing in their own respects. What we were really impressed with is that our agent and his team made sure that someone was always waiting for us at our next stop, whether it was someone to pick us up at the airport or a tour guide waiting for us at our hotel. Unfortunately, there was one issue with our airplane tickets being accidentally booked incorrectly, but after getting on the phone with our agent, we were able to resolve it quickly and were able to continue on to Krabi as planned. I must say my fiancé and I were really impressed with the quality of the tours that were arranged for us by this travel agent. I cannot say enough about how much I absolutely adored our tour guide in Bangkok. Kanchanaburi was beautiful and my most favorite part was waking up to the sound of the flowing river on our jungle raft in the morning. We also loved the cooking class with a local Lanna family and visiting the Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai and the Scuba Dive in Koh Lanta. The hotel was a spectacular treat in Koh Lanta. Our agent booked us a beachfront suite that was literally steps from the hotel's private beach front, and the perfect place to get engaged in Thailand.  This was an amazing unforgettable trip for the both of us and we cannot thank this travel company enough. Our travel agent and his team made this trip stress-free and wonderful. I would use his company again in a heartbeat and encourage anyone who is planning a trip to Thailand to utilize them as well. I promise you will not be disappointed! Thank you so much to our agent and the travel company's team. 

I can’t imagine going to Thailand without this Travel Company: they gave us a beautiful, tailor-made itinerary with no-stress travel from beginning to end. At the outset, our decision to use Zicasso for this trip was based on the following factors: 1) previous amazing experience booking/planning our honeymoon, 2) loved ones’ stories of travel difficulties in Thailand, and 3) our confidence in the travel planner’s (owner and founder, Travel Company) abilities and expertise. Additionally, my husband and I have very demanding careers with very little personal time; thus, planning a Thailand itinerary that incorporated every city and activity we desired seemed like a gargantuan task. 

Of those we spoke to, our travel planner was most exceptional, and his own experiences of once being a newcomer in Thailand shaped his unique perspective on must-see sights and worthwhile adventures. Our planner spent a great deal of time speaking to us one-on-one by phone as he planned the trip, and stayed available to us throughout our time in Thailand by an app. Our trip was 14-days (18 days counting travel), and involved many transfers by air, car, boat, and bus. The planner advised us on what to book, and even helped us decide the cities and length of time spent in each city. Our itinerary incorporated 3 nights in Chiang Mai, 5 nights in Krabi, 4 nights in Bangkok (6 if you count the first and last nights), and 2 nights in Kanchanaburi. Our travel planner booked every single activity, hotel, and car, bus, boat, and flight for us: from in-country domestic flights to making dinner reservations for us. For Krabi, I wanted a jacuzzi villa at a beautiful resort only accessible by boat and he secured it for us! The most difficult hotel to book was the floating villa on the River Kwai; it’s considered one of the most beautiful floating hotels in the world, so it was a high-priority and somewhat difficult but our planner did it! 

Since I am vegetarian, the travel planner went above-and-beyond to book me vegetarian meals on every domestic flight and for every activity. Every guide and/or driver was made aware of the vegetarian issue, and--in the end--it was as if I had more [vegetarian] food than the meat-eaters! I’ve never felt so accepted and included as I did on this trip. I’ve been to countries where these accommodations were not fully provided by guides/agents; thankfully, these struggles have long been “history” since we started booking with Zicasso!

Even if he was out of the office, our planner had us connected with his other team members, and every guide and driver was provided our contact and vice versa. For our time in Kanchanaburi, we were booked an amazing guide who was with us from pick-up to drop-off (3 days!) for all of our Kanchanaburi activities. I had a concerning abrasion after a fall in Krabi, and our guide took us to a hospital, translated for us, and even coordinated with the doctors to expedite our clinic visit.

We can’t imagine our trip without this Travel Company, and the fabulously flawless care provided by the travel planner and his team. Our planner’s dedication to perfectionism and seamlessness shines through how he runs the company, and we are grateful that we were matched up with them. For anyone on the fence, the extra funds required to book a comprehensive package really are worth it for Thailand. Especially if you want to travel outside of the city you fly into, hiring a team like this company is absolutely imperative if you want confidence and trust in those transporting you and guiding you through each city. 

Simply the best travel experience I have ever had! When preparing for my SE Asia venture, I spent a significant amount of time researching each of the destinations I was visiting prior to booking my trip. I knew exactly where I wanted to stay, places I wanted to visit, and activities which I wanted to partake in. I think this was probably the best thing that I could have done in order to maximize my trip, and still allow for plenty of down time. Zicasso and this Southeast Asia tour operator were both amazing to work with, were able to take each of my "wants" and create a beautiful, adventure packed, yet still relaxing and self discovering month long voyage. Each of the individuals whom I worked with (from the planning phase through the execution phase) were exceptional. I was always pleased by the warm & welcoming tour guides, comfortable means of transportation, and fabulous boutique hotels. I am incredibly pleased with the overall work, and service which went into creating such an amazing experience. My only constructive comment, is that I was disappointed in the quality of included lunches while visiting in Bangkok specifically. I chose to embark on a bespoke, solo tour because I am a traveler who enjoys truly experiencing each culture/country I visit, and wish to avoid westernized/tourist laden restaurants. Each of the restaurants which I went to were buffet style, westernized versions of local fare. Personally I would have preferred to go to a local restaurant and given the opportunity to order the meal of my choice (even if for extra $), just as I did when visiting included restaurants in Chiang Mai and Siem Reap. Additionally, there was one more item of constructive feedback: Having greater than 1 week to enjoy Phuket, we built my itinerary to spend the first half of my time in Patong (to have fun) & the second half in Kata (to relax). When leaving my hotel in Patong, I had to wait several hours (past the agreed uoon time on the itinerary) for transportation (sitting in the hotel lobby, as I had already checked out) to bring me to Kata Beach. The manager from the local travel company in Phuket whom was providing my transportation & services while on island was very kind and came to speak with me at my hotel in Kata that evening. However, I was disappointed that he literally just came to "meet" me. He did not offer any type of good will (ie: fruit basket, dinner voucher, discount for activities, etc). With the lunches in Bangkok aside, and the transportation mix-up/inconvenience, I was 200% satisfied with my experience!

Overall, it was a great vacation and we all enjoyed it very much. Thailand is a beautiful country with very friendly people, a deep and rich culture and awesome food!

When we set out to book our family vacation to Thailand, at first we were overwhelmed by the choices and the planning. Which cities to visit ? What are the tours ? Where do we stay ? Flight travel etc. Luckily, I came across Zicasso – a new way to book travel – that connects you with a travel advisor who has local knowledge of the place you want to go. This is how I got referred to our tour planner and travel team.

The travel team really helped us experience Thailand with local guides who know the place well.

First of all, our tour planner is awesome – she and the travel team helped us plan our trip – everything from airline, to hotels to the day by day itinerary and travel insurance. Even before we left on the trip, we felt both prepared and excited by the program. The app is amazing – it feels great to have your complete itinerary including local tips around guides, phone numbers, flight details all available in the app when you need it. Our agent gave us many good choices for local tours and helped us pick the itinerary that best suited our family.

Flights – The tour planner connected us with an airline which did a great job with our flights. We flew from Vancouver and within Thailand. The flights were great, good service and generally on time.

Hotels – the hotel in Bangkok was great. We got rooms on a high floor overlooking the Chao Praya river – amazing views! The best part was seeing the fireworks display on the Chao Praya river for the New Year. The hotel was packed since it is high season for tourists and yet we got good service overall. In Chiang Mai, we stayed at a hotel. It is a quaint, homely place to stay and within walking distance to local markets. A couple downsides – lots of mosquitoes in Chiang Mai – the hotel does a mosquito spray in the evening sometimes and we had to be out of our rooms for an hour in the evening for that. The Wi-Fi also was not great. They serve a great buffet breakfast in the morning.

Local guides – Chatcha in Bangkok and Oil in Chiang Mai – were awesome! They were very flexible with our family needs, knew the local conditions well and really helped us get the most out of each day in Thailand. Having a guide and vehicle exclusively for our family needs each day was amazing! The pickup and drop-offs at the airports were great and both our guides helped us all the way from check in to the point of entry into security. Both guides had extensive knowledge of the history of Thailand and the local tours and this helped us understand things better. Finally, the guides helped us experience the amazing Thai food – including in local places and street food. We felt safe wherever we ate and always had bottled water available for our needs.

Tours – the original tours planned had more temples in the program. After a couple, we decided to improvise and change things up which our local guides helped with a lot. We added an Elephant camp tour at the last minute – this turned out to be the highlight of the entire trip for our kids (and us!). I did not know that Elephants can paint and seeing the Elephants paint some great pictures is an experience we will never forget! For the temples, there is a dress code – our guides helped us buy elephant pants where needed so we could go in. The Doi Suthep temple in Chiang Mai is a must see – you need to climb 300+ steps to get to the top – stunning temple and great views of Chiang Mai city. We loved the boat rides – the long tail boat ride in Thonburi and near the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market were super fun! Lots of history – if you like that, the Ayutthaya day trip is worth it. The Jim Thompson house in Bangkok is a short tour but very interesting and well worth it.

Food - always lots of food choices – a noodle dish restaurant in Chiang Mai is soooo good! Loved the foodie tour with street food in Thonburi, the floating market and Chatuchak market. Tom Kah soup, Mangoes, Coconut pancakes and of course Phad Thai, Fried rice, sticky rice – if you love great food, Thailand is like heaven!

Shopping – lots of great shopping opportunities and we bought many interesting things for the house. Its good to have local currency for small purchases. We loved the shopping at Chatuchak market, floating market and the malls – MBK and Siam Paragon.

This travel agency really impressed us! From meeting us at the airport once we arrived in Thailand to providing tours to us throughout the entire country, our travel agency provided top notch customer service the entire way through. The booking experience was productive and smooth, all of the logistics were a breeze (shuttle pickup to and from airports, private van rides to and from hotel to our daily destinations - with ice cold refreshments), and the local flavor was refreshing (all of the tour guides were local in each city we stopped in with many years of experience). We enjoyed all 3 of our tour guides in each city - Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Krabi. They were very knowledgable and the specific activities that were booked through Trails of Indochina were exactly what we were looking for: 

The guides had everything we needed (waters, snacks, offering to take photos the whole time, etc.)

We would highly recommend this company.