Thailand’s jungle-clad mountains and palm-fringed islands make for brilliant backdrops for a camping adventure. And while many of its national parks offer campgrounds and basic bathroom facilities, roughing it in the jungle isn’t everyone’s idea of a holiday. Glamping — which combines the thrill of sleeping under canvas with five-star creature comforts such as air-conditioning, plush mattresses, and bathrooms with all the bells and whistles — is the answer. Clearly.From bubble tents pitched inside elephant grazing grounds to hilltop camps with views over one of Thailand’s most dazzling ocean scenes, we’ve rounded up Thailand’s best luxury camps.
Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp
Nosy neighbors are the last thing you’d want scurrying around your tent after midnight, but for Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort that’s exactly the point. This luxurious lodge in northern Thailand’s wild border region with Laos and Myanmar has pitched a set of transparent ‘bubble tents’ near the grazing grounds of its resident elephants and allows guests to spend the night observing the after-dark affairs of these gentle giants. But there’s plenty going on during the day, too: activities range from trips around the countryside in a Royal Enfield sidecar, to guided jungle walks and mud-bathing sessions with the elephants — all of whom have been rescued from abusive owners and unethical camps around Thailand.
Getting there: Fly into Chiang Rai International Airport, then travel by land to the resort.
Soneva Kiri
The journey to this dreamy island retreat on Southern Thailand’s Koh Kut is an adventure in itself: guests arrive via the resort’s eight-seater turboprop from Bangkok to an uninhabited island in the Gulf of Thailand, from where a speedboat whisks them to Soneva Kiri’s talcum-white private beach. Overnight options range from breezy, canvas-roofed villas with walls from bamboo and reclaimed wood, to five-bedroom estates with a treehouse bedroom for kids, open-air bathrooms, and a private pool with water slides. And despite the modern mod-cons, the resort keeps its environmental footprint admirably small: menus in the restaurants draw on local produce, the kids club has an extensive program of eco-educational activities, and 2% of room revenue goes to offsetting the carbon emissions of guests’ plane travel.
Getting there: Fly into Suvarnabhumi International Airport, then travel by the resort’s private plane.
Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle
Opened more than a decade ago, the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle was hotshot hotel designer Bill Bensley’s first foray into tented camps and has served as a blueprint for some of his most iconic projects – including Shinta Mani Wild in Cambodia and Capella Ubud in Bali. But this rustic camp, built on a jungled ridge overlooking the chocolate milk-brown Ruak river snaking between Myanmar and northern Thailand, remains an all-time classic. Reached via a longtail boat, the camp is a copper-hued mixture of tropical Thai with a pinch of African safari: expect headboards adorned with faux elephant tusks alongside deer-antler chandeliers and elephant statues carved from teak. Come sunset, make your way to the hilltop Burma Bar, where the lemongrass martinis are as dazzling as the views over the Golden Triangle’s undulating hinterland.
Getting there: Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle is approximately 60kms from Chiang Rai International Airport.
9 Hornbills
Overlooking the dramatic karst formations of Phang Nga Bay, go-slow Koh Yao Noi has no shortage of mesmerizing vantage points. But 9 Hornbills, cascading down a former rubber plantation on one of the island’s highest hills, has pitched up on its plummest spot. This luxurious camp comprises 10 tents, each one a safari-chic bolthole with furnishing from rattan and teak, and private infinity pools flanked by fanning Traveler’s Palms. A buggy whisks guests to a private beach and Thai restaurant at a sister resort down the hill, and a small army of linen-clad butlers can arrange everything from island-hopping tours in a longtail boat to candlelit BBQ dinners and floating breakfasts and sunrise.
Getting there: Fly into Phuket International Airport, then travel by land to Bangrong Pier where the resort’s private longtail boat will take you to the camp.
