2024 Key School Thailand Conservation Expedition
| Travel Dates: | March 27, 2024 - April 7, 2024 |
| Group Organizer(s): |
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| WTT Contact: |
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| Program Tuition: |
$2,590 USD
Airfare not included in program tuition
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| Confirmed Airfare: | $1,799 |
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Thailand Conservation Expedition
With world class rood, stunning natural beauty and friendly people, it’s apparent why Thailand is one of the most renowned destinations in all of Asia. It’s impressive geography ranges from thickly forested mountains to towering limestone pinnacles and from white sand beaches to bountiful rice paddies that extend to the horizon. While Thailand has become increasingly modern, many Thais pride themselves on maintaining their traditional culture, values, and lifestyle. Discover for yourself what makes Thailand so unique and experience first-hand all this enchanting country has to teach you!
Conservation Expeditions
Conservation Expeditions bring travelers to the heart of the modern-day conservation movement. Whether building nurseries for sea turtle hatchlings in Costa Rica, monitoring the health of coral reefs off the coast of Belize or helping school children in Thailand to understand the importance of wild elephants to their ecosystem, these adventures make the wonders of our world, and our responsibility to protect them, abundantly apparent.
Program Highlights
Check out some of the featured experiences of your program!
Eat AMAZING Thai food!!
Have the adventure of a lifetime with your friends
Contribute to sustainability efforts on a conservation project
Volunteer at an elephant sanctuary
Stay on a houseboat in Sai Yok National Park
Explore Bangkok, one of the world's great cities
Explore Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok
Tour the Grand Palace of Bangkok
Visit the Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary
The Itinerary
We do everything possible to abide by itineraries as originally planned, but decades of experience teachers that we must flexible in our planning. Changes to a trip’s schedule are uncommon, but Walking Tree reserves the right to make adjustments to programming in the best interest of the group.
| Day | Location | Description | Lodging |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 27 | USA - Bangkok | Fly from USA to Bangkok, Thailand | Airplane |
| March 28 | USA - Bangkok | In transit | Airplane |
| March 29 | Bangkok | At long last we arrive this morning! Sawatdee ka! Sawatdee ka! Welcome toThailand! We will travel from the airport for the welcome breakfast. After filling our stomachs, we will go to the hotel. We will drop our luggages at the hotel and walk over to the Lumpini Park for orientation meeting and cultural introduction. We will get lunch nearby the park and return back to checkin at the hotel in the afternoon. After taking some rest, we will head out for dinner and explore the neighborhood around the hotel, soaking up the new sights, smells, and sounds! | 56 Surawong Hotel |
| March 30 | Bangkok | Today we will spend the day exploring the busy and bustling capital city with a longtail boat ride through the small canals of Chao Phraya River. We will start our sightseeing in the morning with the canal tour, visiting the famous religious temples Wat Pho and Wat Arun. After lunch, we will visit Museum Siam to explore the history, culture, and development of Thailand. Then, we will head to back to rest at hotel before dinner, and prepare for the next portion of our trip. | 56 Surawong Hotel |
| March 31 | Bangkok - Kanchanaburi | Today we will head to Kanchanaburi Province to settle in the Chongsadao community. Here, we will partner with the organization Our Land, and learn about wild elephant conservation, the farmer/elephant conflict in the area, what action is being done to help, and how we can contribute such as helping village leaders and local community. We will float in the river and visit Ourland, a privately owned nature reserve. We will dock near Ourland and take a short hike while learning about nature on our way to Ourland and we will end our day with dinner with our new friends. | OWL HOUSE Community Cabins |
| April 1 | Kanchanaburi | After having a traditional Thai breakfast in our homestay community, we will have a busy day learning about beehive keeping and working in the tree nursery as part of human and elephant co-existence projects. The highlight for today will be building a check dam in the wildlife sanctuary alongside with the locals. These projects are essential to keep healthy ecosystems where both humans and animals can coexist. | OWL HOUSE Community Cabins |
| April 2 | Kanchanaburi | Today we will team up with local community members in a tree planting activity aimed to help sustain both local farmers as well as provide a larger habitat for the wild elephants. After checking in at the hotel for tonight, we will learn about Our Land’s snake rescue and rehabilitation program. | Aurora Resort Kanchanaburi |
| April 3 | Kanchanaburi | Today we will continue learning about conservation efforts with Our Land sustainable agricultural program to help better ecosystems for local commutes and elephants in the area. In the late afternoon, we will pack a day pack and head to Sai Yok National Park, where we will spend the night camped on a houseboat, swimming in the river and sleeping underneath the stars. | Sai Yok House Boat |
| April 4 | Kanchanaburi | After an early morning boat ride, we will make our way to Elephant Haven, elephant sanctuary. Meet the elephant herd, feed them delicious treats, and observe their behaviors while they bathe in the river. After checking in at our hotel, we will head to downtown Kanchanaburi to visit River Kwai Bridge. Then, we will enjoy vegan food dinner at a local restaurant with vegan cooking class. After dinner, we will visit night market for shopping. | Aurora Resort Kanchanaburi |
| April 5 | Kanchanaburi | On our last day in the Western region of Thailand, we will visit Somboon Legacy, a sanctuary where we will learn another approach to elephants conservation that avoids direct physical contact with animals. We will spend time walking in the forest, preparing their food, taking care of them, and helping with an ongoing projects. Today we will have discussion, dinner, and bid farewell to Ourland staff. | Aurora Resort Kanchanaburi |
| April 6 | Kanchanaburi - Bangkok - USA | After breakfast, we will travel back to Bangkok. We will get lunch at the Or Tor Kor fresh market and do the last minute shopping at Chatuchak weekend market before heading to the restaurant near the airport for our farewell dinner. After dinner, we will head to the airport and be on our way back home. | Airplane |
| April 7 | USA | Arrive home | Your own bed! |
Accommodations
In order to provide a safe and memorable experience, we follow strict guidelines when choosing group accommodations. Walking Tree partners with hotels and guest houses which are centrally located, locally operated, clean and safe. We inspect each partner hotel to ensure they meet these standards.
56 Surawong Hotel
56 Surawong Hotel is centrally located as it’s walking distance from Bangkok’s Skytrain, market places, restaurants and other street food vendors. 56 Surawong Hotel can accommodate 2-3 students per room and everyone will have their own bed. Some of the amenities include private bathrooms, air conditioning and hot water.
OWL HOUSE Community Cabins
This community lodge is owned by Mrs. La-or, community leader of the Chongsadao, one of the host communities in the Kanchanaburi Province in Western Thailand. It’s simple and colorful cabins can fit 3 or 4 people each and are surrounded by nature and are only a short walk from a river where the group can freshen up after the service activities. Students will be able to engage with the host family that runs this community lodge. Students will be divided by gender.
Sai Yok House Boat
The entire group will spend one night on their own private house boat in the Sai Yok National Park, a truly unique and Thai experience! Accommodations will be rustic and simple, but comfortable and unforgettable! A sleeping pad, pillow and light blankets will be provided. After floating down the river, the boat docks during the night. The boat also comes with a private bathroom. Life jackets are provided.
Aurora Resort Kanchanaburi
Aurora Resort Kanchanaburi features an outdoor pool and an on-site restaurant. It offers cosy rooms with air conditioning. Free Wi-Fi is provided throughout the entire resort. All rooms are artistically designed and feature a satellite TV and a DVD player. Free toiletries are provided in the en suite bathrooms. Facilities at the resort include bicycle rental, luggage storage and laundry service. Guests can stroll in the garden to relax.
Safety and Support
EASY FUNDRAISING & PAYMENT
24/7 GLOBAL EMERGENCY LINE
HIGHLY VETTED PARTNERS
EXPERT LEADERSHIP
PRIVATE GROUP GUARANTEE
COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM SUPPORT
DEDICATION TO CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT
ALL-INCLUSIVE PRICING
Walking Tree gave us everything we needed to make our vision of the perfect educational trip to China a reality.
Andy
Repeat Group Organizer on programs to China
Your Adventure Includes
Estimated Airfare
In order to give our travelers the best possible price, we break out airfare from the Program Tuition. We will still handle all booking and ticketing via our flight partner who has access to special fares not available to the general public. Once confirmed, you will be invoiced for the flight roughly 75 days prior to travel.
Program Tuition Excludes: Travel insurance, baggage fees, passport/visa fees, laundry, souvenirs, and activities not listed on itinerary.
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Resource Center
Why should high school students travel abroad? What happens if a participant gets sick? How quickly do we need to enroll? We’re sure you have plenty of questions and we’ve got you covered! Visit our Resource Center to discover the answers to your most pressing questions and contact us anytime with additional questions.