2025 SMA Thailand Conservation Expedition
| Travel Dates: |
June 6, 2025 -
June 17, 2025
Dates are tentative until flights are secured.
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| Group Organizer(s): |
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| WTT Contact: |
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| Program Tuition: |
$2,990 USD
Airfare not included in program tuition
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| Estimated Airfare: | $1,700 |
Enrollment will open soon!
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
Volunteer at an elephant sanctuary
Stay on a houseboat in Sai Yok National Park
Explore Bangkok, one of the world's great cities
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 6 | USA - Thailand | Fly from USA to Bangkok, Thailand | Airplane |
| June 7 | Bangkok | Sawatdee ka! Welcome to Bangkok, Thailand! We will hold an orientation meeting and cultural introduction, and then rest after our long day of travel. We'll have some free time in the evening to explore the neighborhood around our guesthouse, soaking up the new sights, smells, and sounds! | Bangkok Guesthouse |
| June 8 | Bangkok | Spend the day exploring the busy and bustling capital city with a longtail boat ride through the small canals of Chao Phraya River, visit the famous religious temples Wat Pho and Wat Arun and colorful flower market. | Bangkok Guesthouse |
| June 9 | Salakpra | Today we will head to Kanchanaburi Province. We will partner with the organization Bring the Elephant Home, 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! This evening we'll stay in cabins located on a local family's property and enjoy dinner with them. | Cabins |
| June 10 | Salakpra | After a yummy Thai breakfast with our classmates and new friends, we will have a busy day working in the tree nursery, helping the park rangers build a check dam in the wildlife sanctuary, and visiting a local school where we'll play games with the littles. | Cabins |
| June 11 | Salakpra - Sai Yok | Team up with local community members and students in a tree planting event, to help sustain both local farmers as well as provide a larger habitat for the wild elephants. In the late afternoon, we will head to Sai Yok National Park, where we will spend the night floating down a river on a houseboat, swimming in the clear water and sleeping underneath the stars. | Houseboat |
| June 12 | Kanchanaburi | After an early morning boat cruise, we will make our way to an elephant sanctuary close by. We'll have an orientation with staff before meeting the elephant herd and playing and hand in preparing their dinner. | Elephant Haven |
| June 13 | Kanchanaburi | Spend time walking with your new friends in the forest, preparing their food, and helping with other tasks dedicated to their care. More specifics will emerge as we get closer to travel. | Elephant Haven |
| June 14 | Kanchanaburi - Kui Buri | We will wake up bright and early and head to Kui Buri National Park. Once we arrive, we will go on a tour of the park and have our first opportunity to see elephants in the wild! | Kui Buri Resort |
| June 15 | Kui Buri | After an early morning observing the elephants, we will spend the morning working alongside park rangers to help construct check dams and watering holes. Later in the day we'll take a tour of the surrounding rice plantations and then relax at our guesthouse. | Kui Buri Resort |
| June 16 | Kui Buri - Bangkok | After a leisurely morning, we will start the drive back to Bangkok. We’ll have time in the evening for last minute shopping before a celebratory final dinner. | Bangkok Guesthouse |
| June 17 | Bangkok - USA | Say your goodbyes to Thailand, we're off to the U.S! | Your own bed, eventually! |
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.
The Bangkok Guesthouse
Bangkok Guesthouse is centrally located as it’s walking distance from Bangkok’s Skytrain, market places, restaurants and other street food vendors. Bangkok Guesthouse can accommodate 2-3 students per room. Some of the amenities include private bathrooms, air conditioning and hot water. Free Wi-Fi access throughout the building keeps everyone feeling connected. Students will be grouped in their rooms according to gender and availability.
Elephant Haven Thailand
Students will stay in a comfortable, air conditioned hotel that is located right next to the Elephant Sanctuary. Staying at the Elephant Haven offers students a once in a lifetime experience to interact with these magnificent creatures. Each room is equipped with a TV, private bathroom and hot shower. Free Wi-Fi access throughout the common areas keeps everyone feeling connected. Students will be grouped in their rooms according to gender and availability.
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.
Yoko River Kwai Resort
Located in Kanchanaburi, Yoko River Kwai Resort is a fun tropical themed hotel located just minutes from Elephant Haven. The three star hotel is very comfortable and all rooms are equipped with air conditioning and Wi-Fi. Students will be grouped by gender and divided between double, triple or quadruple rooms depending on availability. Breakfast will be provided by Elephant Haven each morning.
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
This being my first experience with an international trip for my child I have nothing to compare it to. However I feel Walking Tree did an excellent job from conception to completion with informing me on costs, what to expect, safety concerns, and sharing the experience through their blog. While I was worried about how safe my child would be on a trip… on the other side of the world, she told me that she felt safer than school safe.
Stephanie
Parent of Brigid, traveler on Japan Cultural Journey
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.
Need to Raise Money? We Have You Covered.
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Learn more here.
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.