Friendly Planet Tours-Thailand
Sep 19th, 2012 | 12:05 PM
#23
Original Poster
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
Im sorry for the late reply...been awhile since i've been on.
I must say,i LOVED Thailand and booking with Friendly Planet was great too. I would go back in a heart beat. There were some Cons to the group tour (of course, nothing is perfect). But honestly, it really was run flawlessly. The staff at Friendly Planet are very friendly and helpful and provide you with alot of info.
Pros:
- China Airlines (the airline assigned to the tour) was superb. The airplanes were brand new, very comfortable, and the staff was very nice.
- Our tour was outsourced with Exotissimo Tours, a local Thai agency. They are one of the top tour agencies in Thailand. Upon arrival at the airport, my tour guide was easy to find, was very nice and not in a fake way. He also spoke excellent English and went above and beyond with anything we asked for. Our bus was brand new and very clean and comfortable. The bus driver was very professional and the luggage boy was also very nice and courteous.
- The best thing i ever did on my trip, was book the Elephant Camp tour they offered in Kanchanaburi. However, for an additional $16USD paid directly to the camp in cash, we opted to add the elephant bathing to our visit. IT WAS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE! There were others in my group who did not add this on and were VERY diasspointed when they saw my pictures. My mother was terrified and i pushed her to do it and now she doesnt stop talking about it. It really is an incredible experience and i HIGHLY recommend it.
- The people of Thailand are VERY nice in general...and they LOVE tourists, especially Americans, which is nice for a change.
-I really wanted to visit Krabi, but FP didnt offer tours there. But for an additional $100/person they let me extend my return flight to the US and i was able to include Krabi into my trip. On the day the entire group returned to the airport for their flights to the US, my guide dropped me off at the domestic terminal and i took my flight to Krabi. This was a major plus for me and I wouldnt have known this had FP not offered the option to me.
Cons:
- China Airlines will not let you pick your own seats, so we were nervous getting stuck in crappy seats and away from each other. Luckily, i arrived at the airport very early and they made every effort to keep my party together.
- Plane food sucks in general, and China Airlines was no exception. Keep this in mind and make sure you buy food/snacks you like before boarding.
- Keep an open mind on the itinerary that Friendly Planet provides. Although we did do everything listed on the itinerary, we found our tour guide would combine two days into one so that we could have an extra day of rest. Some people of our tour liked that, some didnt. And we always took a vote as a group, so if you are outnumbered, you are screwed. For example, we were supposed to do the Elephant Camp the same day as the Hell Pass Memorial...but he split that up and added the Elephant Camp at the end of the train ride on the River Kwai...which made for a VERY long day and we got to our hotel super late (not easy to manage since you are in the jungle and have to take a boat to the hotel).
- All of our hotels were excellent...however, some in our tour were not excited to find out our hotel in Kanchanaburi was in the middle of the jungle and therefore the amenities are not up to par as the ones in the city. I knew this BEFORE i got there because i did my research. I knew the water pressure, hot water would be an issue, i knew there were going to be bugs, and i knew we needed to get into a small boat to get there. I knew this before-hand and actually was looking forward to staying there for the experience and the journey. For me, i found this hotel to be my favorite for these reasons, it was different and in the middle of the jungle, how cool is that? Some others in my group were outraged and upset- i guess it depends if you are into the whole jungle setting.
- Our tour guide would take us to these set-price restaurants with set menus...since we were in a group we were always forced to go. If you are a picky eater (like my sister) you will hate this. She was pissed for having to pay and only eat rice because it was the only thing she liked. I, on the other hand, am not a picky eater and liked being offered dishes i wouldn't typically order. Its all in how you look at it.
- Our tour guide took us to a jewelry factory in Bangkok- major waste of time. This factory was nothing but a tourist trap selling fake jewels at crazy prices. I was upset for wasting an entire afternoon sitting in the lobby until it was time to go. I voiced this to FP, and they agreed and said they'd take care of it.
All in all- i would highly recommend it. I would only recommend it though if you are an open traveler (not picky with food, easy-going personality, and open-minded with the hotels). My husband and I are looking forward to coming back to Thailand in the near future! Let me know if you have other questions...i have pictures on facebook too so i can send you pics if you'd like. let me know.
I must say,i LOVED Thailand and booking with Friendly Planet was great too. I would go back in a heart beat. There were some Cons to the group tour (of course, nothing is perfect). But honestly, it really was run flawlessly. The staff at Friendly Planet are very friendly and helpful and provide you with alot of info.
Pros:
- China Airlines (the airline assigned to the tour) was superb. The airplanes were brand new, very comfortable, and the staff was very nice.
- Our tour was outsourced with Exotissimo Tours, a local Thai agency. They are one of the top tour agencies in Thailand. Upon arrival at the airport, my tour guide was easy to find, was very nice and not in a fake way. He also spoke excellent English and went above and beyond with anything we asked for. Our bus was brand new and very clean and comfortable. The bus driver was very professional and the luggage boy was also very nice and courteous.
- The best thing i ever did on my trip, was book the Elephant Camp tour they offered in Kanchanaburi. However, for an additional $16USD paid directly to the camp in cash, we opted to add the elephant bathing to our visit. IT WAS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE! There were others in my group who did not add this on and were VERY diasspointed when they saw my pictures. My mother was terrified and i pushed her to do it and now she doesnt stop talking about it. It really is an incredible experience and i HIGHLY recommend it.
- The people of Thailand are VERY nice in general...and they LOVE tourists, especially Americans, which is nice for a change.
-I really wanted to visit Krabi, but FP didnt offer tours there. But for an additional $100/person they let me extend my return flight to the US and i was able to include Krabi into my trip. On the day the entire group returned to the airport for their flights to the US, my guide dropped me off at the domestic terminal and i took my flight to Krabi. This was a major plus for me and I wouldnt have known this had FP not offered the option to me.
Cons:
- China Airlines will not let you pick your own seats, so we were nervous getting stuck in crappy seats and away from each other. Luckily, i arrived at the airport very early and they made every effort to keep my party together.
- Plane food sucks in general, and China Airlines was no exception. Keep this in mind and make sure you buy food/snacks you like before boarding.
- Keep an open mind on the itinerary that Friendly Planet provides. Although we did do everything listed on the itinerary, we found our tour guide would combine two days into one so that we could have an extra day of rest. Some people of our tour liked that, some didnt. And we always took a vote as a group, so if you are outnumbered, you are screwed. For example, we were supposed to do the Elephant Camp the same day as the Hell Pass Memorial...but he split that up and added the Elephant Camp at the end of the train ride on the River Kwai...which made for a VERY long day and we got to our hotel super late (not easy to manage since you are in the jungle and have to take a boat to the hotel).
- All of our hotels were excellent...however, some in our tour were not excited to find out our hotel in Kanchanaburi was in the middle of the jungle and therefore the amenities are not up to par as the ones in the city. I knew this BEFORE i got there because i did my research. I knew the water pressure, hot water would be an issue, i knew there were going to be bugs, and i knew we needed to get into a small boat to get there. I knew this before-hand and actually was looking forward to staying there for the experience and the journey. For me, i found this hotel to be my favorite for these reasons, it was different and in the middle of the jungle, how cool is that? Some others in my group were outraged and upset- i guess it depends if you are into the whole jungle setting.
- Our tour guide would take us to these set-price restaurants with set menus...since we were in a group we were always forced to go. If you are a picky eater (like my sister) you will hate this. She was pissed for having to pay and only eat rice because it was the only thing she liked. I, on the other hand, am not a picky eater and liked being offered dishes i wouldn't typically order. Its all in how you look at it.
- Our tour guide took us to a jewelry factory in Bangkok- major waste of time. This factory was nothing but a tourist trap selling fake jewels at crazy prices. I was upset for wasting an entire afternoon sitting in the lobby until it was time to go. I voiced this to FP, and they agreed and said they'd take care of it.
All in all- i would highly recommend it. I would only recommend it though if you are an open traveler (not picky with food, easy-going personality, and open-minded with the hotels). My husband and I are looking forward to coming back to Thailand in the near future! Let me know if you have other questions...i have pictures on facebook too so i can send you pics if you'd like. let me know.
Sep 19th, 2012 | 02:03 PM
#24
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
Glad to hear your experience was fine. We are taking Friendly Planet in February to Vietnam and Cambodia and adding Bangkok in at the end ourselves. We have never done a tour before, however, had a friend who took this trip last year and loved it. We used our miles for travel so seats are not a problem on the airline.
We are debating on taking a day trip out of Bangkok to the Elephant Camp. It is a very very long day and quite expensive but it sounds like it was wonderful. I adored Africa when we went several years ago and loved the elephants and did an elephant ride there so I am sure I would love it. Not so sure about hubby however as he is not as adventerous as I am.
We are debating on taking a day trip out of Bangkok to the Elephant Camp. It is a very very long day and quite expensive but it sounds like it was wonderful. I adored Africa when we went several years ago and loved the elephants and did an elephant ride there so I am sure I would love it. Not so sure about hubby however as he is not as adventerous as I am.
Sep 19th, 2012 | 02:55 PM
#25
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 33,288
Likes: 0
I would not go to an elephant camp outside of Bangkok if you care at all about how the elephants are treated. There are two elephant camps outside of CM that are good: The Thai Elephant Conservation Center at Lampang and the Elephant Nature Park. Ther are also two outposts of the TECC in the Golden Triangle area.
Sep 27th, 2012 | 11:17 AM
#26
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
LGarabito, thank you for sharing your expierence, I am thinking on taking the "taste of Thailand tour" next year with my husband. And I have a question about the flight itinerary, was your flight ok? How many hours do you have in taipei? I tried to ask this questions via e mail to customer service and they have been very rude and ignore the question . I am thinking it twice because if the customer service is so bad before I even booked the tour, what I can expect if I need them during the trip? I am very interested in taking it because it is a dream for us to go to Thailand and the prices of these tour make it possible. But they dont even tell us what time does the flight from LAX. We live in Panama, so we need to know all these to plan ahead our trip. We are also thinking in change our returning flight to do our extention on our own, and they don't tell us how much extra woul it be. she told us that we have to book the tour and then the air department would tell us how much is it, and if we dont like it they would give us a refund, and I dont believe that, because in the web page they said that the deposit is not refundable. Please if you have any information that can help me to make our desition I would really appreciate it.
Sep 27th, 2012 | 04:43 PM
#27
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,340
Likes: 0
I agree totally with Kathie. She knows this area, and I would take her advice. Though everything may appear cheery at these elephant camps, if you delve deeper into what's going on or behind the scenes, and how these creatures are tortured to make money from tourism, it will break your heart.
