Wear swimwear under quick-dry clothes from the moment you’re picked up — you’ll be in the water twice, morning and afternoon.

The day starts at Bua Tong, the “Sticky” Waterfall, where you climb the rock in the water, and continues with about an hour on the river after lunch. Swimwear goes on before pickup. Quick-dry clothing in darker colours works best: in the rainy season the river can turn brown, and white or very light clothes may stain and not wash out. Cotton t-shirts and jeans soak through and stay cold — leave them at the hotel.

Ordinary flip-flops or sandals are all you need, for the waterfall and the river. You do not need to buy special water shoes.

There is no trekking, ATV or zipline on this tour, so there’s nothing to buy. When you get on the tubes, our staff check whether any flip-flops look like they’d slip off; if so, they tie them together and keep them floating with the team, and the guide hands them back before you walk into the elephant area.

Your own towel, a dry change of clothes, sunscreen and insect repellent, something to cover up with at the elephant stop if you’d like to, a little cash, and a padlock if you have one.

• A towel of your own for after the Sticky Waterfall — the towel we lend you comes later, after the river
• A full dry set of clothes for the end of the day
• Sunscreen and insect repellent · sunglasses · a hat if you like one — there are hats to borrow at base camp too
• A light rain jacket in the rainy season
• If you’d like to cover up over your swimwear for the elephant visit, a sarong, t-shirt or light cover-up — see below for why it has to come on the float
• Cash for drinks on the water — water and snacks are free; soft drinks and beer are sold on the tube and paid for at the end
• A small padlock for the free locker, or rent one at base camp for a small fee

The elephant visit happens straight after the float — we don’t stop back at base camp first — so whatever you want for the elephant stop has to come with you on the river.

Our team carries a dry bag on the float and keeps your cover-up dry until the elephant stop. Take your insect repellent with you too and put it on before you walk in: mosquitoes tend to gather around the elephants. The free waterproof pouch works well for carrying it.

Yes, for the waterfall. At base camp we provide a life jacket, a waterproof phone pouch, a glasses strap, a hat and a towel, free to borrow; Thai lunch, water and snacks are included.

The towel at base camp is for after the river, when there are four hot-water showers with shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Bua Tong comes before camp, which is why you need one of your own for the morning. Lunch is a Thai meal at base camp — normally Pad Thai and fried chicken, prepared non-spicy, with chilli and other seasonings on the table. Tell us about any allergies in advance and we can usually prepare a special meal — message us before you book if you have a specific dietary requirement and we’ll tell you honestly what our kitchen can do.

Jewellery, watches and big bags — anything you’d hate to lose in a river.

The lockers at base camp are free, but valuables are safest back in your room. Your phone in the free pouch is the one electronic thing worth bringing; anything you take on the water is at your own risk, so use a strap and clip it to your tube. Note that the Sticky Waterfall is a national park with its own lockers and shops — you’ll be there before base camp, so keep the morning’s things in a small bag.

Pickup in Chiang Mai in the morning, the Sticky Waterfall at your own pace until 11:15, lunch at base camp, tubing and the elephants in the afternoon, back in the city around 18:30.

• 07:30 pickup from Chiang Mai city, roughly a 5 km radius from the Old City (some days 08:00 if there’s a single group) — about an hour to the waterfall. This tour runs with transfer only; there is no self-drive option
• Bua Tong (Sticky) Waterfall — a national park with rangers, a first-aid post, lockers and shops. You explore it yourself at your own pace: rock that grips your feet, and signs explaining how to climb. Your driver brings you there and waits; there’s no guide at the waterfall. Back at the vehicle by 11:15
• About 50 minutes’ drive to base camp → Thai lunch
• Briefing, change, lock your bag → 2-minute truck ride to the put-in (the stretch of river beside camp is white-water, so we drive past it) → 50 minutes to 1 hour 15 on the tube depending on the water level, with the guide floating beside you, a waterproof speaker and a cooler of cold drinks
• About 200 m before the end, you leave the river and walk into the riverside area with your guide for around 30 minutes with the elephants
• Back on the tubes for the last ~200 m to the usual take-out, then about 10 minutes by truck to camp
• Hot shower, a snack (fried banana and cold watermelon), then the drive back — about 18:30 in the city, earlier with a small group and clear roads, later in heavy traffic. Times are a guide, not a guarantee

This tour does not include the SaGee waterfall slide. This one runs with hotel transfer for everyone, and the drive back to the city after the elephants leaves no time for it.

Observe-only. You walk into the riverside area with your guide and watch the elephants going about their day — no riding, no bathing with them, no feeding. The keepers put the food out themselves and the elephants pick it up in their own time.

The elephants are free to move around their own area, so what they are doing changes from day to day — foraging, dust-bathing, heading into the river — and we never promise a particular scene or guarantee a sighting. The guide explains the history of elephants in Thailand and the move away from riding. You may also see the elephants in the river during the float itself; if they’re in the water we stop and wait for them to move on, but sightings on the float are never guaranteed.

Yes — everyone wears a life jacket fitted at base camp, the tubes are tied together, and the guide is in the water with you the whole time.

We float the calm stretch of the Mae Taeng: under grade 1 in low water, grade 1–2 at most in the rainy season. It isn’t rafting — the grade 3–4 rapids are elsewhere on the same river, run by rafting companies. At the Sticky Waterfall you decide how far up to go; nobody has to climb the whole thing.

The river takes children from age 1 with an adult, depending on the water that day; pregnant guests can join up to six months.

In the calm low-water months even toddlers float; in the rainy season the guide checks the river and may set a higher minimum. If a child can’t go in on the day but the adults can, they can wait at our base camp office. Travelling with younger kids, or not sure about your own situation? Message us before you book and we’ll tell you honestly what works.

Rain doesn’t spoil the Sticky Waterfall — it’s fed by an underground spring, so it stays clear and climbable even in heavy rain. For the river, normal rain doesn’t stop us; only a serious storm cancels, and the guide decides that on the day, on safety alone.

If the river level is too high to float we’ll tell you in advance and offer another day free of charge, or a full refund if it stays unsafe.

Yes — accident insurance is included for every guest, up to THB 500,000 of medical cover per incident and THB 1,000,000 of cover. The guide films the tubing and the elephant part on an Insta360; if you booked on our website, the highlight video and your tour photos are included and sent to you after the tour.

The cover comes with your booking — it isn’t an optional extra. We still strongly recommend having your own travel insurance as well. For photos: with a small group you’ll usually have them before you leave camp (AirDrop for iPhone); on busy days we send a Google Drive link afterwards. Booking details are on the tour page.