Golden Triangle Thai Myanmar Laos Border Khong River Old City

This tour is awesome! Benja, the tour operator, has beautiful personality. She also possess in-depth knowledge of the places to be viewed and is a very, very good organiser. Benja will run this tour even for one person (on my day - there were 2 of us). I enjoyed it tremendously. I even went privately for a second, different tour. --*-*-- Below info needs to be in the description. The listing says THB500 for the boat tour, but there is another THB500 needed for entry to Laos' Special Economic zone (on the spot visa cost). So, all together you need about THB1500 for additional entries, food etc. It is all really, really worth it, but one must have this money in the wallet and listing does not spell it out.

My tour guide, Benja, was wonderful! She was friendly, warm and genuinely kind. Traveling with her felt less like being on a guided tour and more like taking a road trip with a friend. She did a fantastic job making sure everything went smoothly throughout the day. She was very knowledgeable about all the places we visited and shared interesting stories and local insights that gave us a better appreciation of each destination. What impressed me most was how thoughtful and accommodating she was. Even though she wasn't feeling well, she still went above and beyond to make sure her guests had a great experience. She even accommodated a requests, adding a couple of more stops and making the tour even more interesting. We covered A LOT of ground and visited so many places that our day didn't wrap up until 6 PM! Despite the busy schedule, Benja made everything feel relaxed and enjoyable. A great tour isn't just about the places you visit, but also the people who make the journey special. Benja was certainly one of those people. Thank you, Benja, for your kindness, knowledge and for making sure we had such a wonderful and memorable day. I truly appreciated everything you did!

Benja was a wonderful guide. Great English and happy to converse, answer questions and explain history of places. Excellent driver, keeping us to a timeline without being rushed. She took so many photos for us. The temples were amazing! The Karen village was emotional and it’s worth thinking about how this might affect you on an individual level. She could see my emotion and was very caring. It’s not something I’d do again but others may feel differently. China Town in Laos was also somewhat confronting especially after I researched the man who bought the land from the Laos government and developed the area which feels somewhat like a ghost town. Saying that, these experiences are how we learn and understand what might be happening to others around the world. We loved the opium museum and the boat ride along the Mekong and the borders of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. Lunch was simple but delicious. We would certainly do the tour again and I know Benja would accommodate a change, she really was the best!

Benja is a knowledgeable friendly and considerate guide. We had a wonderful time over two days. The White temple and golden triangle were hi lights for us.

Excellent one day experience, with a tour itinerary planned just for us. Crossed the river into Laos via boat. Toured Chiang Rai’s Wat Huay Pla Kang which was stunning. Benja is an excellent guide and will personalize the tour based on your interests. Highly recommended.

Excellent day visiting Long Neck village; Tea Plantation; Mekong River; Golden Triangle; Opium Hall and lunch Benja is a very knowledgable local guide and highly recommended

Benjaa is excellent! 1. Pick up, drop-off and communication before pickup were excellent 2. She customized the tour for me and also suggested a couple of places (example three Skywalk near the Myanmar border), which I really liked 3. She guided and explained all things in details during the tour, which made it very immersive Overall, a very good experience and I would definitely recommend Benjaa.

We booked this activity the night of. It was during the rainy season so it was only my brother and I. Benja was super flexible and planned everything including our crossing into Laos without a visa. The tour itself was very informative and we really appreciated how knowledgeable Benja was about the temples and the golden triangle. We learned a lot! Overall, Benja was super friendly yet professional and very kind. Highly recommend booking with her.

Benja is a fantastic guide. After an easy hotel pick up we had a fun and very informative personal tour of the stunning White and Blue Temples as well as The Golden Triangle, lunch and more. I recommend the optional boat ride on the Mekong River and visit to Laos. Thank you Benja for a great day!

Our Guide Benja is owner operator of Chiang Rai Big Smile Travel Company. She is very knowledgeable and passionate about her local area. We are a group of four and the tour was us only. We thoroughly recommend this tour if your in Chiang Rai.

Benja was early to pick me up, explained the plan for the day. Since I was the only one on the tour, I could customize. Benja explained (in good English) the costs and I decided to add the boat trip into Loas. She was very attentive and informative answering all my questions. She also kept me from overpaying for souvenirs. This was a full day, but I never felt rushed. The boat trip to Loas was interesting, but not at all what I expected. (All the more reason to go.) The temples were magical and the ancient temple was a marvel. I was able to book her for the next afternoon to see some other sites. She was that good!

Private tour with amazing Benja, she is so considered and very good driver. Perfect option if don’t want to organize the bus/tuktuk. She was always keen to share with us info depending on our questions. So, very personalized trip.

It was perfect! My guide was very good, recommend to travel and enjoy this trip! Thank you very much Benja!

Benja was the best. Very patience and happy to help. I was definitely book a tour with her again and again!

This tour was awesome! The guide, Benja was very friendly, knowledgeable and easy to talk to. She did a great job explaining every step of the tour and kept everything going smoothly!

I would rate this trip as a 5 because of the wonderful English speaking guide Benja. She is knowledgeable and knows the area well. She took us to all the main sites most people want to see. Loved the White Temple, visiting the tribal people and seeing how they live. Visiting the Golden Triangle with the tasty meal overlooking the Mekong river and visiting the Opium museum. Loved the long tail boat ride up and down the river and a stopover in Laos without a VisA. Visiting different temples Blue temple and such all in an air conditioned car with a wonderful guide. My wife and I thank you for the day Benja!

My wife and I got a private tour with Ben, she was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable on every site we visited. Catered the tour to what we wanted to do and see, overall incredible experience. 11/10 Highly recommend this tour 🙏

Absolutely amazing day trip with Benja! She was extremely knowledgeable, an excellent driver and lots of fun to spend the day with. She did everything possible to make me comfortable throughout our entire adventurous day to Laos, and was brimming with enthusiasm from start to finish. I highly recommend spending a day with Benja in Northern Thailand - you will have an incredible experience!

Excellently organized ❤️. The tour guide was so patient and understanding. Accommodated to all our request ❤️. A super pleasant experience certainly ❤️. Highly recommended ❤️. 5 star 🌟 performance and service ❤️.

Booked a Chiang Mai Golden Triangle travel via this tour operator ❤️. Amazing two guides attended to Ms Benja and Ms Kalayanat ❤️. Both were so attentive to our needs and so very accommodating to all our requests ❤️. They were god sent ❤️. Strongly recommended tour operators ❤️. 5 star performance ❤️.

Benji spoke really good English and was a joy to be with all day: She changed the tour slightly as I had seen a few of the places that we were going to see. We made it into Laos via the Golden Triangle. I felt like a VIP as I was the only person in the car. Thank you so much 🙏

I had the most wonderful tour exploring and it was all thanks to our incredible guide, Ben. She truly made the entire experience special from beginning to end. Ben is not only extremely knowledgeable, but also warm, kind, and genuinely passionate about what she does. She shared so much fascinating history, culture, and local insight in a way that was engaging and easy to understand. Every place we visited felt more meaningful because of her explanations and storytelling. She was also very attentive, patient, and thoughtful — always making sure everyone was comfortable, answering every question with enthusiasm, and adding little details that made the day feel personal and memorable. If you’re visiting Thailand and want a tour that is informative, smooth, and truly enjoyable, I cannot recommend Ben enough. She is an amazing guide and a beautiful person. This was easily one of the highlights of my trip! Thank you, Ben, for such an unforgettable day!

Very interesting tour that brought us even to Laos for a couple of hours. Temples, Mekong river cruise, more temples, what more can a man ask for. Just don't forget to bring a lot of cash, tickets are not included and in total cost around as much as the tour itself

I’m really glad I chose Big Smile Tour. My guide, Benja Tepin, was extremely helpful and friendly. She picked me up right on time and explained the local culture of Chiang Rai very well, which made the trip more meaningful and enjoyable. Everything was well organized and smooth. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a reliable and informative tour in Chiang Rai.

A must do trip if you are staying in Chiang Rai! We were the only people booked in so had a private tour, and flexibility to choose exactly what we did, which was amazing . Great value and service .

Benja was a great tour guide. We finished our tour with a much better understanding of the area and culture. Even better, we made a new friend!

Benja was the guide. She is personable, caring, and extremely knowledgeable. I could not have asked for a better guide. She made the day / tour so interesting and engaging. I would recommend using her as a tour guide. No one is better.

The tour it’s been incredible!! Well organised with time! The guide Benja absolutely recommended, she knows everything and more about the religion, history, culture! It’s been a pleasure for us having her as a guide! We highly recommend this agency and guide! Thank you so much !

Benja was our tour guide. She is super nice, very knowledgeable about history, very patience and made our tour enjoyable. After the tour she took my husband and I to a local Thai massage place to have a great massage. She not only drive us to the place she stayed and waited for us for 1 hour massage to leave us at our hotel afterwards. We recommend her and definitely when we come back to Chiang Rai we look for her again. Try this tour is very interesting and Benja is a great tour guide. Thank you Benja!! 🙏🏻

Great tour! The temples were extraordinary, absolutely loved it! Rest of the attractions did not live up to that, it was like starting on a rollecoster and ending on the tea cups ride 😅 Still a great experience, and we all enjoyed it, but it'd probably be better to leave the temples for last. But at the same time, it's better to see the temples first before they get too crowded.

Drive to the Golden Triangle with hotel pickup. Ben drove me well from one destination to the next. She's a very good driver. Once there was enough information at the destination. Thanks, always happy

An interesting tour packed from A to Z with a competent, dedicated guide/driver who spoke good English and organized everything perfectly. Individual wishes were taken into account. The fact that the entrance fees had to be paid separately was communicated beforehand. Great tour I would do again and again.

A perfect meeting with Benja everything was well structured from start to finish. We really loved this day Benja really helped us in every way and always manages to make us understand things. We were up to LAOS caught a fast canoe and back the blue temple was perfect. Thank you Benja for this great meeting.

Impressive yet relaxed ride with a full and varied program with Benja, who was very devoted to contributing a lot of interesting information on the individual topics. Thank you very much, we definitely recommend the tour.

I had a great day trip with Benja yesterday. Being alone, I was able to make the process more flexible than indicated in the program. That was great as I had seen some things in advance and wanted to discover something new. Benja took me to the Black House and the Opium Museum at my request and gave me enough time there. We also visited a lesser known temple with a skywalk and great views of the river, the village of the longneck Karen and the golden triangle. I saved the river trip and the trip to Laos. Banja speaks good English, knows the area very well and is always friendly. I really liked the fact that she was so attuned to me and reacted flexibly. If you are planning a day trip with Benja, it is best to call directly. Thank you for the great day, Benja!

Little feedback: I took a tour today to the Golden Triangle and I found myself alone... Result: improvised private tour with Benja an incredible guide! Flexible, kind, pro, she adapted the whole program just for me, added a temple I wanted to see. Really top: human, reliable and with little care. I recommend it 100%!

I had the opportunity to visit a northern circuit, Golden Triangle, White and Blue Temple, Lao all in one day. A busy program but one that is organized by a high-level professional guide. Benja knows the history of northern Thailand well. Helpful, do not hesitate to ask questions about the history of the north. Benja is tjrs available to render you services, it is a top circuit, to do when you move to chiang Rai.

I was joined (as a single group) by two other people who had hired a different tour. I did not make the planned Mekong walk of an hour and a half but it was halved (45 minutes). In short, the tour of the other people was made, except for the 45 minutes they waited, visiting the area, while the guide and I did the boat ride. In addition, the other tour was cheaper and included the food -which I had to pay for apart, there it was respected what was planned in my tour: to pay for the food. In short, I recommend not to book this tour. I'll also file a complaint.

たくさんの観光スポットを１日で回れる中身の濃い充実したツアーでした。ガイドさんがホテルまで車で迎えにきていただき、非常に楽でした。ガイドさんも親切でサービスが行き届いていました。楽しいオプションもありチェンライに来て良かったです。