My girlfriend and I (late-20s) traveled with her parents (late-60s) on Hilltribe’s 8 day/7night tour of northern Thailand hill tribes. I speak for all of us when I say thank you to Melissa (organizer/co-owner), Winai (guide), and Sun (driver) for all of their hard work in accommodating our trip; it was everything we had imagined and so much more; I think we learned just as much about northern Thailand as we did about ourselves.

Winai was a fantastic guide and his passion for the hill tribes, his people, and the way of life in Northern Thailand was evident at every turn (and there were a lot of them on route 1095!). He was personable and was able to relate to both the older and younger generations in ways that engaged all of us throughout the entire trip. On the last day, after we had spent a week in more remote areas, we were with Winai back in Chiang Mai at the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep; we saw all the other tourist groups and their guides and we were so thankful that we had spent the week with Winai; his sincerity, knowledge, and respect was so above what we saw from the other tour groups. Winai was the perfect guide for us and we developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for Thailand through him.

Sun was a great driver and we kept saying all week how happy we were that we decided not to rent a car and do that trip on our own!! His knowledge of the roads and his ability to drive stick shift straight up the sides of so many mountains was awesome. We also loved the connection between Sun and Winai. It was nice that they had each other and to see them enjoying themselves throughout the week as well.

Finally, thank you to Melissa for all the help in organizing the trip! We had a lot of questions and requests prior to leaving and she kindly navigated us through all of that. Hilltribe Holidays is a fantastic company and worked with us through every step of the way to create a bespoke itinerary that perfectly fit our week in northern Thailand. It was truly enlightening to spend the week with Winai and Sun. We would definitely recommend Melissa and team to anyone looking for a local experience.

We had this trip in the beginning of January (2018) and we must say that it was the best thing of our holiday. The guide (Pat) knew the places where were no tourists. That's why we had an excellent opportunity to observe real local living. We went to see for example poor hmong tribe, local school and hot springs. The best thing of trip was an unforgettable night with karen tribe family, where we lived together with water buffalos, roosters, chickens, pigs etc. Then we ate local food and had sticky rice from a bamboo. If you want to get rid of big tourist groups and experience local living, you should definately have this trip!