Wear swimwear under clothes you can move in, and ordinary trainers for the morning.

The morning is on land, so you get changed at base camp before the ATV and put river gear on only after lunch. Swimwear goes on under your clothes before pickup so there’s nothing to sort out later. Quick-dry fabrics are best, ideally in darker colours — in the rainy season the river can run brown and very light clothes may stain. Cotton t-shirts and jeans soak through and stay cold on the water.

Ordinary trainers or any closed shoes for the ATV ride — no special boots. Flip-flops or sandals are all you need for the river in the afternoon.

Our ATV partner provides all the riding gear; your own feet just need closing in. After lunch you switch to flip-flops for the tube. You do not need to buy special water shoes. If your flip-flops look like they might float off, our staff tie them together and keep them with the guide on the river.

A dry change of clothes, sunscreen, insect repellent, a little cash for drinks, and a padlock if you have one.

• A full dry set of clothes for after the river (we give you a towel)
• Sunscreen and insect repellent — sunglasses help on the trail; we lend hats at base camp
• A light rain jacket in rainy season (June–October); a warm layer in the cooler months
• 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
• Elephant version only: the elephant stop comes straight after the float, without going back to camp first. If you’d like to cover up over your swimwear for it, bring a sarong, t-shirt or light cover-up — our team carries a dry bag on the float and keeps it dry for you. Carry your insect repellent on the river too (the free phone pouch works well for this) and apply it before the elephant stop, as mosquitoes gather around the elephants.

We provide a life jacket, a waterproof phone pouch, a glasses strap, a hat and a towel, free to borrow; the ATV gear, Thai lunch, water and snacks are included.

At the ATV base your helmet, chest and back protector and elbow pads are waiting. Back at camp after lunch you’re given a waterproof pouch for your phone, a strap for your glasses and a life jacket. After the river there’s a towel for everyone and four hot-water showers with shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Lunch is a Thai meal at base camp between the ATV and the tubing — tell us in advance about any allergies and we can prepare something separate. Accident insurance is included for every guest — up to THB 500,000 of medical treatment per incident and THB 1,000,000 of cover.

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

Rings and watches come off easily in the water. The lockers are free, but valuables are safest back in your room; a large suitcase that won’t fit a locker can sit in our office. You don’t need to carry anything on the water — a phone in the free pouch is usually all anyone takes. You can bring your own GoPro or camera if you want to, but personal devices are at your own risk. Drones usually can’t be flown over the river or near the elephants — ask the guide on the day.

A 200 cc quad on a 3–4 km trail that is 95% off-road and twists the whole way — with a water stop, the ride fills about an hour to an hour and a quarter.

It’s run by our local partner, five minutes from camp. You get a briefing and a practice lap first, then ride with a lead rider in front and a tail rider behind. Helmet, chest and back protector and elbow pads are provided. You need to be 16 or over to drive an ATV yourself; guests aged 3–15 ride as a passenger with an adult driver. The weight limit is 150 kg per rider. The trail runs through small jungle and along the Mae Taeng river, so you may see elephants — never guaranteed. If you’re pregnant, the river is fine up to six months but we don’t recommend the ATV.

Pickup in Chiang Mai at 07:30, ATV in the morning, lunch at camp, tubing in the afternoon, then the waterfall slide, the elephants, or both, 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 1 h 15 – 1 h 30 to base camp. Driving yourself? Arrive about 10 minutes before your start time for check-in and the safety briefing.
• Change, lock your bag — river gear comes later — then a 5-minute drive to the ATV base
• Briefing, practice lap, then the ride, about an hour to an hour and a quarter (ATV runs mornings only)
• Thai lunch at base camp, then the river briefing and your life jacket
• 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
• If the elephants are in the river, we stop and wait for them — sightings on the float are never guaranteed
• Slide version: ride back to camp and a 5-minute walk to the SaGee waterfall slide
• Elephant version: about 200 m before the end you land at the elephant camp and walk into the riverside area with the guide for around 30 minutes, then float the last 200 m to the pickup point
• 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.

On the standard tour everyone gets the SaGee slide. On the elephant version, guests who drive themselves still get the slide free; if you booked hotel pickup you don’t — there isn’t time before the drive back.

SaGee is a natural rock slide a five-minute walk behind camp where you cool off and wade — it’s too shallow to swim. There are two sections, a children’s one with no minimum age and an adults’ one. Nobody is made to slide; the guide demonstrates first and you choose a section or just watch. The elephant stop is observation only: you walk into the riverside area and watch the elephants go about their day — foraging, dust bathing, going into the water. No riding, no bathing, nothing hands-on.

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. This is not rafting; the grade 3–4 rapids are on another part of the same river, run by rafting companies. There’s no strict weight limit on the tube, and we have larger tubes for bigger guests.

The minimum age for this tour is 3 — children aged 3–15 ride the ATV as a passenger with an adult driver, and everyone from age 1 can join the river part.

Whether the youngest can float depends on the water that day. In the calm low-water months even the youngest float; when the water is high the guide may set a higher minimum, and a child who can’t go in can wait at our base camp office while the adults finish. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Travelling with younger kids? Message us before you book and we’ll tell you honestly what works.

Normal rain doesn’t stop us. A serious storm — or a river running too high — is what stops a tour. We check the water level before your day and the guide has the final call on safety.

We check the river against the community water-level marker at the bridge before the tour. If the level is too high we tell you in advance and offer another day free of charge, or a full refund if it stays unsafe. If the river itself can’t be floated, the rest of the day still runs and we drive that stretch instead.

The guide films the tubing — and the elephant stop on that version — 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.

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. We don’t film the waterfall slide.