Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand: Environmental Conservation, Education & Elephant Trekking

Name: Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand: Environmental Conservation, Education & Elephant Trekking
Brand: GIVE Volunteers
SKU: 97814
Rating: 5 (74 reviews)

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5.00 Rating

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Location

Thailand
- Chiang Mai

Length

2 to 7 weeks

Project Types

Agriculture Climate Change Community Development Service Learning Conservation Environmental Conservation Reforestation Wildlife Conservation Elephant Conservation Education Teaching ESL Health Indigenous Rights Tourism +5

Merit-based funding, General grants/scholarships, Payment plans

Health & Safety

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Program Details

Age Min.

Timeframe

Short Term Summer Winter

Housing

Guesthouse Hostel

Groups

Small Group (1-15) Medium Group (16-30) Large Group (31+)

Travel Type

Solo Women

Pricing

Starting Price

2795

Price Details

What's included:
-All accommodations
-Group and ground transportation, including airport pick up and drop off
-All meals and drinking water
-Epic adventures and cultural immersion activities
-Funding toward volunteer projects

What's Included

Accommodation Activities Meals Transportation

What's Not Included

Airfare Travel Insurance Visa

Last Updated: Nov 05, 2024

Last Reviewed: Jun 16, 2025

Wish List

53 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Travel to the hill tribe villages of Thailand. GIVE's transformative Thailand trip includes elephant trekking, reforestation, English education, permaculture & bamboo rafting. It's the perfect introduction to Thai culture and community.

Our Thailand trip is two weeks but you can extend your trip with 3 unique add-ons in Southeast Asia. These destinations include Thailand, Laos Scuba (in Krabi), and Elephant Experience!

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Video and Photos

Face to face with Thailand's gentle giants

Bamboo Rafting down the mighty Mae Tang River

A little yoga at the GIVE Accommodations with new friends made family

Learning how to make local handicrafts from the community

Group photo at the elephant conservation center in Thailand

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Impact 🌎

Sustainability

GIVE's mission is to inspire growth, empower global citizens, and ignite sustainable change worldwide. To truly inspire growth and achieve sustainable travel internationally, GIVE has adopted the Asset-based community development (ABCD) model, a set of proven best practices in sustainable development that mobilizes a community’s assets and resources as the basis for development. Furthermore, through providing hands-on and eye-opening learning experiences that foster authentic connections between participants and host community members, we can empower global citizens who will continue to spread GIVE’s values and ignite sustainable change worldwide.

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Ethical Impact

Exploring the world with GIVE is all about responsible travel, but what does that really mean?
Mindful Tourism + Community Partnership = Economic Growth & Community Empowerment.

Part of what makes GIVE trips so special is being fully immersed in the cultures and communities we visit. However, we take extra steps to ensure we minimize our influence and always respect local cultures. We prepare all participants before travel and ensure they understand the culture and how to dress appropriately.

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Program Highlights

Plant the seeds of change with reforestation projects
Embark on a bamboo rafting journey
Thai cooking classes
Trek for elephants in the jungle
Be a teaching assist for local schools

Program Reviews

5.00 Rating

based on 74 reviews

Leave a Review

Rating Spread Volunteer

5 rating 100%
4 rating 0%
3 rating 0%
2 rating 0%
1 rating 0%

Impact 5
Support 5
Fun 5
Value 4.9
Safety 5

Good for Adventure travelers, Students, Solo Travelers

Showing 41 - 48 of 74 reviews

GIVE opened my eyes to a community of likeminded individuals who crave adventure, self-growth, knowledge, and human connection. The staff could not have been more encouraging, supportive and accommodating. The Thailand program introduced me to permaculture practices that sped up the production of healthy food for school students, ethical elephant tourism practices, Buddhism practices and so much more. I do not have one bad thing to say about my experience. The bungee jumping was also an amazing experience that I wouldn’t have been able to do without my wonderful group encouraging me.

Pros

Supportive environment
safe way to try new things
food, elephants, caves

Cons

None
Go on the trip
Travel with GIVE!

Traveling to Thailand was GIVE was a positive and impactful experience! I’m thankful for the chance to learn from the locals in Mueang Khong and support/ empower their community. The locals were welcoming, hospitable, and willing to share their knowledge. The guides were clearly passionate about this program and very organized. After this trip, I understand what it means to travel responsibly and sustainably, which is something I’ll continue to practice in the future thanks to GIVE. There was a good balance between volunteering time (English education and permaculture), adventure activities, and free time. This trip was a great way to connect with like-minded people!

Pros

Supportive and kind staff
Meet like-minded people
Learn from the locals

One of my favorite parts was spending time with elephants in the jungle!

Words cannot describe my experience with GIVE in Thailand. I learned what it means to be a global citizen and to travel responsibly and now I never want to do it any other way. The connections I made with people while in Thailand will forever be with me. I made a family out there with other volunteers and staff who will always be in my heart. I found home away from home and I learned so much from every single person I met. Including the beautiful kids and locals. I will 100% be volunteering through GIVE again next year!

Pros

You become more educated about traveling responsibly
The people you meet are people you will never forget.
The lessons you learn from the whole experience will change your life.

Cons

I don’t have one bad thing to say about GIVE. My experience was so beautiful thanks to the amazing guides and staff.

Nothing could prepared me for what I gained from this trip. From the first day I got there I was welcomed with nothing but endless warmth and smiles from the staff, not to mention the rest of the team. This trip pushed me to take on challenges I never could have experienced without Give. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about the people I met, culture I learned, or the beauty of the earth I experienced. I will never not recommend Give to everyone and anyone interested, go on the trip!

Pros

The staff is so knowledgeable
Everyone is there to support you
You help others while helping yourself

Cons

Nothing!!
Go on the trip!!
Do the thing!

Truly the best experience ever. I made amazing friendships and learned SO much. The volunteer work we did was so impactful, and the activities we did outside of volunteering were awesome!! This is a great option for solo travelers, as well as if this is your first time traveling to a new country. GIVE plans the entire trip for you, from start to finish, including flights through their partner company. There is great communication between the leaders and volunteers so everything flows smoothly!!!

Pros

Becoming apart of a new community
Making a positive unforgettable impact
Trying new, crazy, activities like bungee jumping!

Cons

You become addicted!!
Super sad when the trip is over

I can’t even begin to put into words what this trip was like. The people, the culture, the lands, the experience, the staff. It has truly been life changing. I will forever be grateful to give. I would have never thought that this trip would have made me feel the way it has. I have felt every single emotion possible while on this adventure, but in the most beautiful way. You get so emotionally connected with so many wonderful people. The absolute hardest part about this trip is leaving. Serendipity ❤️

Pros

New experience
New people
Food

Cons

Away from family
Meeting different types of people

I've made new amazing friends and experienced an one in a lifetime experience. While in the meantime making a big difference in the world. I never thought this would happen when I applied for it and I'm so grateful for all of it. I would definitely recommend this to the people around me and spread the word about GIVE. I'm really happy I took this leap of faith and for it to turn out this way. I will never forget about this and really hope that other people will take the same leap of faith as I did

Pros

The people I've met
Helping the community
Staff experience en enthusiasm

Cons

Bit earlier some information in the beginning, before the trip

I absolutely fell in love with life again with this program. Remembered what it was like to lead and learn and be overwhelmed with such beauty and love for the world and all of the people inside it. I’m already planning my next Give trip, and I’m only mad that I didn’t know about it when I was in college so I could’ve majored in Environmental Science! I’m taking away so much knowledge that I want to pay forward when I get home, and I look forward to when I get to see these beautiful people again.

Pros

Group Lead experience by local guides
Constantly felt safe and taken cared of
No other trip in the world can come close to experience this

Cons

Wish I had no phone
Wish I found out about it earlier
Wish I could’ve stayed longer

Questions & Answers

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Interview

Why did you choose this program?

I found GIVE Volunteers through my university and was so excited to see they had Thailand trips because my grandmother was from Thailand. I decided to choose Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand: Environmental Conservation, Education & Elephant Trekking for the diverse experience of Thai culture and meaningful efforts for conservation. In other words, I saw this trip as the best opportunity to give back to my heritage and to the country my grandmother loved so much.

What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

GIVE Volunteers was very helpful with assisting me in planning my trip! After I discovered GIVE at my university, I attended an in-person information session explaining the mission and purpose of the non-profit organization. The GIVE ambassadors taught me how to fundraise in order for me to pay for the trip, encouraging me to set up a GoFundMe that I then shared with friends and family. Once my payments were all set they helped me pick flights through my preferred airline and created a travel itinerary for me. Throughout the planning experience, their program coordinators are very responsive through both phone and email and are always incredibly helpful with any questions!

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

This will be one of the most valuable and meaningful experiences of your life. Go into your trip with an open mind and a giving heart to truly soak it all in. And to truly immerse yourself in the experience, set the intention to unplug from social media. You can always update others after you return home!

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

Each daily agenda is different, but once you arrive at the main accommodation in Mueang Khong for 8 nights, most days will start with either Thai boxing or yoga (your choice), followed my breakfast, teaching English at the local school, lunch, working on the permaculture plot, free time to bond with other volunteers, discussion time, dinner, and a session of "good vibes" to celebrate the day. And throughout the week there is always fun field trips and cultural activities to mix it up!

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

As someone who takes a while to trust new people, my biggest fear was connecting with the other volunteers I would be spending 14 days with. The night before the trip I had a moment to set my intentions—this can look like a prayer if you're religious, or simply a positive message to put out in the universe. I intended to go into the trip with an open heart, with the hopes of making new friends and having a fun time. What I didn't know then was that I was about to meet a group of the most amazing, kindhearted people. By the end of the trip, we all agreed we had never clicked with people this quickly or this deeply before. When people from around the world come to this beautiful place with this meaningful purpose of giving, you're bound to find a deep connection.

How did your experience extend beyond the trip dates?

Since I have returned home from Thailand, I have been able to permanently document experience through my photography and through my writing. After taking only a few photos in Thailand, I was able to come home to upload, and share my art with my family and friends. Two months after the trip ended, I finished writing a photo essay about my experience connecting with my heritage through giving back. I have now published the essay to my online portfolio and shared it with everyone who donated to the GoFundMe that helped fund my travel expenses. And since the last day of the trip, my volunteer group chat has continued with a series of updates, loving messages, and funny videos. We all intend to stay connected to each other and to GIVE, despite us all living in different parts of the world.

About GIVE Volunteers

Since 2011, GIVE has led hundreds of all-inclusive, award-winning & life-changing group trips around the world, inspiring more than 8,000 teenagers and young adults to travel with purpose. Our 1-7 weeklong summer programs engage young travelers in meaningful opportunities to learn through doing, such as locally-led volunteer projects, authentic...