Program Reviews

Our 10 day Bali tour was fantastic, and bettered by our super attentive group leader Nelly; he did a great job of keeping us all informed of the activities we’d be doing, timings, things we could do in our down time and also getting involved with us, which was great. He was great fun to be around and really went above and beyond my expectations of a group leader.

I had a great 10 days and made some really great friends on this trip. We were all from the UK so we’ll certainly plan to meet up once everyone is back home from their travels - it’s just a shame that Nelly won’t also be there to join in!

My highlights of the trip were the (optional/additional) volcano hike which was definitely worth the 1am wake up calls, as well as the snorkelling trip in the Gili Islands. Although it’s really hard to single out any specific part as I loved every moment!

It was a long walk to the hotel on Gili so be prepared to be hot and sweaty in the heat, but once you’re checked in you have a bike to explore the island at your leisure. It’s a bit cheeky of TruTravels to advertise a bike ride as an activity as bikes are available to you the whole time you are on the island, however it did mean we had more leisure time in Gili and some of us used this to go paddle boarding and chill by the beautiful beaches the island has to offer - with some amazing sunsets!

I had a fantastic experience and made some great friends on this tour. I’d recommend it to anyone, and already have done upon my return home!

I’d never been on an organised tour like this and am therefore used to organising everything myself. I felt a bit of unease about the lack of pre-departure info from TruTravels (it does come eventually but not before the panic sets in that you don’t know all the details). Some of this could come sooner just to put worriers and organisers (like me) at ease. Once you are there though you realise you don’t need to worry about a thing, I don’t think I’ll ever want to organise it myself again!

This tours itinerary is incredible. I enjoyed that each day was full of things to do but we still had a decent amount of downtime to get some rest or enjoy more of the places that we were in. There were some things that I was certain that I wouldn't be able to do (like zip lining) but it turned out to be one of the best days I had on the trip. Even though I went with a friend I did end up meeting a few amazing people that I actually would like to keep in contact with. The temples and just scenery of Thailand is amazing and beautiful. There were many times that I would just take in where we were and forget to even take a picture.
With that being said, there were some downsides but of course not every trip can be 100% perfect. There is a jungle trek that can be challenging even for the best of us. This trek is to get us to a hill village where we stayed overnight. Honestly, for those days I felt like I just climbed up the mountain, slept, and then went down the mountain. There wasn't really any interaction with the villagers other than some of them saying hello and seeing the bracelets that they made. Fair warning, this tour will make plans with some third party restaurants so be careful about what you're eating. With the exception of 4 people, the entire group got sick. It was not fun worrying about whether to tell the driver to stop or stick my head out of the window because I had to throw up. Also, you can enjoy Thailand through the scenery and some of the temples that we go to but it can get a little "touristy". I mean that in the way that they places we go are so catered to tourism that I would forget that we are even in Thailand, so just be weary of that.
Overall, it was a great and memorable trip that I am glad I went on and can say that I've accomplished.

First off, let me say that this trip and its activities are pretty amazing! The itinerary is solid, packed full with awesome activities and excursions. My favorite days were definitely the visit to the elephant sanctuary as well as the ziplining (which was way more extensive and exhilarating than I expected!). The timing of most of the events were great, plenty of time to relax and explore without too much downtime. The guides did a decent job, aside from once not informing us of an itinerary change or having any strong first aid experience/advice (which a few of us on tour did need, especially when it comes to the trek to the hill tribe, which is certainly challenging and, while definitely not impossible, does come with the risks of injury.)

Those things being said, if you're a person of color, like myself, I wouldn't say this tour is really for you. Luckily I brought a friend who is also a person of color but otherwise, this tour, outside of its great excursions and breathtaking views, is really an exercise in tolerating a lot of white tourism: a lot of people wearing dreads, sporting pointless tribal jewelry or tattoos, or worse, tattoos from your religion that they don't even follow. As a Buddhist as well, it does get a bit frustrating watching people treat your religion more like a commodity and a fleeting trend rather than with the respect it deserves. Especially during the Pai chill day, where we visited a pool bar, was probably the worse offender. If you can find something else to do that day, I highly recommend it.

Even outside of being a minority, I was also hoping to experience more of the rich cultural history and Buddhist traditions that Thailand has to offer and I was left feeling a little empty, especially during the night spent with the hill tribe. We didn't really get to meet any of the people there or see and hear anything about their way of life; which really defeated the point. Many of the places we went to didn't come with a lot of historical information to go with it.

So if you wanted to come on this tour to learn a wealth of history and to have respect for and be around people who have a respect for an ancient culture and religion, this isn't the tour for you. And, while I did luck out with a few choice group members, it mostly likely won't include people who are looking for anything more than nights out clubbing and some choice Instagram pictures.

I had so much fun with the legendary Mickey and Andy in the trip. It was my 3rd TruTravel trip and this 14 day Thailand was even better than the others. The tour provide so much value for the tour. Go on the tour, you will not be disapointed !

Awesome Tour, great activitis mixed with enough time to chill. I had so many good experiences and the tourguides have been soo friendly.
I would count them as new friends and it is sad to leave them because we had so much fun together. From the arrival at the airport till the end of the tour they were so helpful if there have been questions or problems. I felt very safe with them and recommend them to everyone!
After the two weeks it feels like traveling with a family! The activities have been well balanced between culture, action and chilltime. In the action parts sometimes I had to come out of my comfort zone but I’m fine because that was the goal for that journey! My highlights have been the night at the hill tribe, the elephant sanctuary, the ziplining and the canyon water park, which was a great end for the tour! I would do this trip a nother time!

Overall a very organised tour, from pick up at the airport Andy was waiting for me to last day. Couldn’t fault anything , Mickey and Andy were brilliant , very good tour guides. Every activity was great fun and organised well.
I really enjoyed the elephant day and the water park at Grand Canyon the best.
I was very impressed with everything being organised for us , taxi, transport even where to go for dinner!! And we were also allowed to opt out of activities if we wanted to without a fuss.

The trekking was hard as was very mountainous but was worth it , the hill tribe stay brought us al closer together as a group.

Mickey was brilliant , made the tour so fun. He told us where best to go for laundry, massages etc. Which was so helpful.

Andy was great too, especially when Mickey left.

A really awesome experience with heaps of diverse activities and great tour guides, the incredible Mickey and Andy! Got really lucky with a group of brilliant people who were mostly in their early twenties, but a bunch of older people i could relate to.
Just make sure you know that this is an adventure tour! So there is some quite vigorous hiking involved - some of the group werent prepared for the physical exertion. But there is plenty of relaxation on offer, but most of the accomodation arent classy - and the beds can be very hard. So sleeping pills a must.
The night train is very uncomfortable, but if you get into the adventure of everything, then its really great. The drive to Pai has like 700 curves and it will make you sick so make sure to pack nausea medications.
overall, it was fantastic value for money! and ive made some great friends.

I had a great time on the 14 day tour, it was very insightful and cultural. Personally for me, I was bored of seeing temples one after an another. Once I saw one I more or less felt I’d seen them all, I chose to opt out on one day of seeing them to do my own thing. Mickey and Andy were absolutely amazing, so upbeat and well organised - can’t praise them enough. My favourite parts were, the bamboo raft, cooking class, elephant sanctuary and ofcourse the nights out. I’m not a huge lover of outdoorsy activities so I did struggle with the trekking, for the waterfalls and for the hill tribe (although I thought the hill tribe was an amazing experience overall - just getting there was hard). I was really impressed with how much food was included in the tour and thought that was really helpful with a budget.

Mickey and intern Andy were great tour guides around northern Thailand. Mickey was a very positive tour guide who kept the group motivated and happy. The tour itself is good value for money as it is all organised for you and has lots of included activities! The accommodation has been pretty basic but wasn't expecting much more than this. A particular highlight was the elephant Sanctuary, which was a once in a life time experience! I felt safe throughout the trip and everything was well organised by Mickey. There was a lot of walking involved, especially with the temples so you have to have a reasonably good fitness level for the trip! I unfortunately didn't gel brilliantly with the people on my trip and I do think there is quite a mix of characters in the trip so you want to be a very confident person to fit in. Obviously this was no fault of Trutravels though!

Mickey and Andy have made the whole experience amazing. Mickey is so fun and funny and I couldn’t of asked for a better tour guide who made me feel so welcome and safe during my tour. He always made sure everyone was happy and if we was happy then he was happy.Both Mickey and Andy helped with any questions I had to ask and always made sure everyone was having fun. Andy has been amazing aswell. Again any questions or concerns we had he always made sure we was okay. We had Art for 5 days aswell who’s a really nice person and made sure we was all okay and made our short stop in pai fun.
Overall I’ve really enjoyed the experience and how everything has been planned. If you have any of the tour guides I’ve had you will have the most amazing time and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.