THAILAND

Depart for Bangkok, Thailand. Meet your expert T1D program leaders at the designated group departure airport, and buckle up for an unforgettable journey ahead! Upon arrival to Bangkok, the group will be joined by our expert local leader, and we’ll catch a connecting flight to Chiang Mai, where the adventure begins!

Sawatdee ka! Welcome to the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thailand! We’ll get settled into our guest house and begin our in-depth program orientation. During orientation, we will cover a variety of topics including cultural norms, useful Thai phrases, health and safety, group dynamic, behavioral expectations, and more. We will also cover important topics like managing your blood sugars in heat and humidity and during high-intensity or water activities. Then we will dive right in to Thailand. 

One of the best ways to learn about a culture is to learn about its food. So we will head over to a cooking school to take a class with a famous Thai TV chef and learn how to make a variety of Thai food favorites. Yui, the chef, will take us to a traditional market, where we can try colorful and exotic fresh fruits and vegetables. You will quickly notice the strong presence of Buddhism, and, in the afternoon, we will visit some of Chiang Mai’s oldest temples to learn more about the life of Buddha, Buddhist traditions, and Thai culture.

Today, we will hike up Doi Suthep mountain, an important and distinct landmark in Thailand, and tour Wat Phra That Temple at the summit. In the afternoon, we’ll head over to another temple to meet with Buddhist monks. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, foster connections, and learn about their ways of life. In the early evening, we’ll try our hands at Muay Thai by taking a class with some of Thailand’s champion athletes.

Enjoy your penultimate day in northern Thailand on an epic rock climbing adventure about 45 minutes outside of Chiang Mai city. We’ll spend today and tomorrow rock climbing, spelunking, and exploring the vast limestone mountains of northern Thailand, showing ourselves that we really can do anything. To top it off, we’ll camp out under the stars and set our intentions to the sky on floating lanterns.

Hyped up from yesterday’s adventure? You’re in luck: today is our second day of rock climbing. We will arrive back to Chiang Mai city in the evening to enjoy our last night in northern Thailand with a group dinner and reflections.

In the morning, we’ll fly back to Bangkok. Don’t forget your passport! Upon arrival, we’ll settle into the guesthouse, head to a nearby street food market for lunch, and check out a variety of local attractions, including the largest open-air market in the world.

Spend the day exploring the busy and bustling capital city with a longtail boat ride through the small canals of Chao Phraya River which will take us to a variety of floating markets. Visit the impressive Grand Palace and the famous religious temples Wat Pho and Wat Arun and top the day off with a group dinner at the Night Bazaar.

Today’s the day: elephants! We’ll travel to Kanchanaburi where we’ll spend the next few days learning all about elephant and wildlife management and the ethical elephant tourism movement in Thailand.

Experience being a mahout (elephant caretaker) for the day. Walk with the elephants through the forest, prepare their treats, create enrichment activities to stimulate their brains, help bathe them in the evening, and revel in the presence of these majestic creatures.

Grab your swimsuit and waterproof pump gear! We’re floating down the river. Arrive in style to a local land conservancy to learn about habitat preservation initiatives, sustainable food sourcing, and all-things-snakes!

Still got that swimsuit? You’ll need it. Today we’re heading to Sai Yok National Park, where we’ll swim in the river, jump off waterfalls, and sleep in a houseboat beneath the stars.

Today is an exciting travel day. We’ll wake up early to head back to Bangkok, where we’ll catch a flight to the southern province of Surat Thani. From there, we will take a ferry to Koh Tao (Tao Island), where we will embark on the adventure of becoming certified SCUBA divers! Tonight, we will have an in-depth orientation to underwater diabetes management to prepare for tomorrow.

Today is the day! Open Water course day one!

In the morning, you’ll meet your instructor who will go through what your course will comprise of over the next few days, show you the equipment you will be using, and teach you the fundamental concepts of SCUBA diving.

The afternoon will be spent in the swimming pool, where you will do your confined water session to learn and practice basic SCUBA skills. This is the moment when most people doing this course will put a regulator in their mouth for the first time! Your instructor will demonstrate skills for you and you will  repeat the skills back to them. We will start the session in water deep enough to stand up in so if there is any problems or the student needs to ask a question all they have to do is stand up. As the afternoon progresses and the student gains their confidence we will reach a maximum depth in the pool of no more than 10 feet/3 meters.

Note: all expert T1D program leaders will support travelers’ T1D management while diving. At all times, one expert T1D leader will be underwater with the group and one will be on-shore/on the boat. 

On the morning of diving day 2, you’ll again meet up with your group in the dive classroom. You’ll have a bit more “academics” to cover with your instructor before you sit your final exam. Don’t worry this is a straight-forward multiple choice exam designed to remind you of the basics you’ve already covered.

The afternoon of day 2 will be a super exciting part of the course. This is when you’ll head out on a dive boat and do your first dives in the open ocean. The instructors will take you to two shallow and sandy dive sites around the island so that you can easily and safely practice the skills you learned in the pool the day before. The maximum depth for these first two dives is 12 meters (36 feet).

Note: all expert T1D program leaders will support travelers’ T1D management while diving. At all times, one expert T1D leader will be underwater with the group and one will be on-shore/on the boat. 

This is it! The final 2 dives of your Open Water Diver certification. Today you’ll dive down to 60 feet/18 meters. After the dives, it’s back to land to log your dives and officially become certified as Open Water Divers!

In the evening, we’ll celebrate our massive accomplishments with a sunset hike and beach bonfire.

Say goodbye to one gorgeous part of southern Thailand and hello to another. In the morning, we’ll take the ferry back to Surat Thani and drive to Krabi. From there, we’ll hop on another quick boat ride to the gorgeous Railay Beach, where we’ll spend the last days of our program soaking up the sunshine, island hopping, and cliff jumping. 

Take in the beautiful views of southern Thailand and hike to the top of a limestone mountain in the morning. We will spend our final full day as a group enjoying each others’ company and reflecting on all you have experienced–and how you’ve stretched and grown. 

We’ll have one last morning on the beach before departing to fly back to Bangkok. We’ll have our closing ceremony and prepare to catch our late night flight back home. Hopefully this won’t be the last time you come visit Thailand!