does anyone know a good tour company I can talk to to arrange a few day excursion (elephant/raft etc) in the chiang mai area, as well as help plan and book the rest of a 2 week holiday? we are a family of four (2 adults 2 teens) planning to go to thailand in december. we are looking for moderate to higher end- we usually do all our own bookings ourselves, but I think it would save hassle to have someone help plan and organize our thai trip
thanks!

many here like sgt. kai....do a search for his address...he often has computer problems i have read

I am just finishing a wonderful trip in Thailand and nearby countries. You are making a smart move in hiring a driver. I was just on a four day trip with Nipon Khanthathun. I feel that I saw parts of Thailand that few non-Thais ever see. We stopped at great local eating places, visited with many different people, and saw homes and villages that most people do not have a way of knowing about. I also learned about the religion and beliefs of the country. What I liked best is that when we started our tour, I told him that I did not want go to gem stores and silk stores - the next thing I knew I was driving a motorcycle through Loas and visiting with a local person who probably had never met a non-thai and who was showing my how to make rice Whiskey. Nipons number is 09-8553522. email: [email protected]. Make sure you tell him you want a personalized tour so that he can design the tour that you want. If you want photos, send me your e-mail address at [email protected]. No need to bring a camera as I was provided a disk with over 300 photos when the trip finished.

Sergeant Kai can be reached through ChiangMaiTours.com. We've used him twice and he was great. One of the trips included a nice elephant ride and river raft excursion.

I had organised a tour the following day with a company called Chiang Mai Tourist Information Center (www.chiangmaitic.com) that came highly recommended on www.tripadvisor.com. The tour was fantastic! We left the hotel at 8am and headed straight for the Chiang Dao Elephant Camp to ride the elephants and see the show. The tour consisted of the two of us and the guide so we could ask as many questions as we liked. I have to mention our guide here, his name is Pom (Ittiphon Kantanaul : [email protected]) and his knowledge and manners were superb. I can't recommend this guy enough if you are going ask for Pom. These guys will customize a tour to your needs and will stop at a point of interest if you ask them. Definitely worth booking!
Regards,

thanks everyone! I will look into these tours.