Cruises in Thailand:
What is your ideal holiday destination?
A Bangkok cruise by day or night, experience the old city by river
The Chao Phraya River is Thailand’s most important river, both in terms of size and in terms of importance to the Thai people so a Bangkok cruise is really a ‘must’ for every visitor’s itinerary. Whether taking a trip aboard a Bangkok river boat or one of the city’s dinner cruises it always makes for a memorable trip and offers iconic sights for your camera to catch. Originating at the confluence of the two great northern rivers, the Ping and the Nan rivers approximately 230miles north of Bangkok, the Chao Phraya runs through the central plains irrigating the rice paddies as it flows, then through the great city of Ayutthaya and on to Bangkok where it feeds the city’s famed canals before heading to the sea where the river widens to almost 2miles wide as it enters the Gulf of Thailand at Pom Prachun, Samut Prakan.Known as the River of Kings the Chao Phraya flows through the heart of old Bangkok passing the city’s most important temples and the Grand Palace at Rattankosin Island. A Chao Phraya river cruise through the heart of the city will give you access to all the top sights of Bangkok, Wat Arun (the temple of dawn) located opposite the Secret Retreats hotel Chakrabongse Villas the family home of the Chakrabongse family (members of the Thai royal family) and close also to the Museum of Siam and Wat Pho (the temple of the reclining Buddha). A few steps from here is Wat Phra Kaew or the Grand Palace, this is the most revered of all of Thailand’s temples, the royal temple where kings are crowned and buried, an impressive site of over 234acres with a lot of the buildings open to the public, it is the spiritual heart of Thailand.
At night the river lights up, from the busy river life of boats going to and fro, to the grand old hotels that line the river front and the once-were warehouses and now are restaurants or antique and art shopping arcades, the river at night is a magical place. The Secret Retreats recommendation would be to take a dinner cruise Bangkok style aboard the Supanniga Cruise. The converted Bangkok river boat seats up to 40diners on the dinner cruise with the menu a 6 course dinner of classic traditional and royal Thai cuisine. The Supanniga cruise also offers the best Bangok sunset cruise accompanied by champagne or cocktails while you take in the timeless scene as the sun sets over the Thai capital.
Itineraries in Thailand:
The best river cruises in Thailand
The Chao Phraya is Thailand’s most important river, but another of the world’s great rivers runs almost the length of the border between Thailand the Laos, and this river offers some fantastic opportunities for a Thailand river cruise. The Mekong river runs from the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos’s borders meet, down almost the full length of the border between Laos and Thailand before it turns away towards Cambodia and through to Vietnam and into the South China Sea. This Thailand cruise offers wonderful opportunities to see lifestyles unchanged for centuries as you pass the many ethnic groups and hilltribes that live near to or along the banks of the Mekong. The river carves its way through the mountainous north of Thailand and Laos before reaching the open plains of east Thailand where the river widens creating the famed scenery of the 100s of islands of hard rocky outcrops within the Mekong river which by southern Laos becomes the 4,000islands. Taking a cabin cruise along the southern reaches of the river and on into Laos will get you to see the islands and ancient Khmer architecture that is considered the birthplace of classical Khmer art at Vat Phou. Cruising north through the mountain scenery will take you to the home of several hilltribes including Hmong, Lisu, Akha, Mien and Karen. Visiting a hilltribe village to learn about their way of life or staying in a lodge overnight during a cruise is also possible. The scenery is stunning, steep mountains, covered in forest, a pristine environment rich in flora and fauna this Thailand cruise is not to be missed.A Phuket yacht charter, the ultimate way to island hop
A cruise around Thailand’s islands with family or loved ones aboard your own private yacht is a dream easily realized with Secret Retreats. Sailing from Phuket both the waters of Phang Nga Bay and the Andaman Sea are accessible to you. Thailand’s famous karst (limestone) islands jutting out of the sea make for quite a dramatic sight and also make for great homes for the rich sealife within these tropical waters. Whether scuba-diving or snorkeling there is plenty of sealife to marvel and wonder at, from the big fish including whale sharks and manta rays down to the small such as the ever popular clown fish or anemone fish and sea horses. A Phuket island cruise can be chartered by the day, with a full crew to take care of your every need from diving support and instruction to preparing delicious meals for you the captain will chart the best course to suit you and your preferred activities. Perhaps finding a lonely desert island to relax on and enjoy a seafood barbeque on your own private beach, or finding the best dive or snorkel spots, or maybe kayaking around and through the karst limestone islands discovering bays and pools where it is just you and the surrounding nature. A Phuket yacht charter gives you all this and more…Travel Asia with Secret Retreats
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