Local Thailand Experience

From one destination to the next, you won’t need to worry about a thing. All in-country transport and accommodation are arranged by our local teams, ensuring that your gap year Thailand experience abroad is as smooth as possible. Our team will arrange numerous activities for you to enjoy and engage in during your trip. For any spare time, our local experts will be able to help you discover the impressive range of activities you can get involved in during your time in Thailand. A portion of your time will also be dedicated to making a difference within a community in Thailand, allowing you to put your skills and enthusiasm into practice to make a meaningful difference to local communities overseas.

The trip’s group set-up makes this gap year Thailand experience an exceptional social occasion, offering you the chance to meet individuals from across the globe, and form friendships that will last a lifetime. You will stay together for your entire adventure, sharing moments and memories that will stay with you forever. You will also have the chance to immerse yourself with members of the local community, making your gap year programs in Thailand even more special.

Our gap year Thailand experience starts in Bangkok, Thailand’s bustling capital for an eye-opening and action-packed for the first few days. We then travel to Chiang Mai, a city that holds a strong claim to be Thailand’s top destination, but a place often bypassed on most group trips to Thailand. We couldn’t take you to Thailand without a few days in Chiang Mai! 

We then spend a week engaging in community education projects, supporting the children in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok. This is an incredible opportunity to really integrate into the culture and see a side of Thailand your average tourist will never ever see! Volunteers have the opportunity to put their leadership skills into practice, making a profound impact across schools in Thailand.

After a productive week of volunteering, we’ll head to Khao Sok National Park – the world’s oldest evergreen rainforest. We’ll spend a couple of days in the jungle, exploring caves, kayaking and trekking. In the evening, you’ll have the unique experience to chill in raft houses above the stunningly beautiful Cheow Larn Lake, under a starlit sky - like a dream!

The final leg of this gap year Thailand experience takes us to the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan in the South of Thailand. Water sports, island tours, a Full Moon Party will all ensure we have an epic final week before heading back to Bangkok for the end of the tour.

You will spend one week on the volunteer program in Thailand during your gap year Thailand experience. Here you will be engaging in community volunteer work in Pathum Thani – a quiet suburb of Bangkok around one hour’s drive from the main tourist areas such as Koh San Road. During your time in Pathum Thani, international volunteers will get involved in English language teaching projects in a local school, where you will be teaching English to students for a total of 5 days. The work will be pretty full-on, so be prepared to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in! You will really become part of the community – you will find the locals will always greet you with a friendly hello and smile!

Working hours on this volunteer project in Thailand will depend on the specific project assigned to a PMGY volunteer teaching in Thailand. However, typical working hours are 9:30am to 11:30am and then 12:30pm up to 2/3pm, totally an average of 2-4 hours of volunteering per day, Monday to Friday. During the interval, the children usually finish lunch and this is free time for volunteers to head into town for lunch, return to the volunteer accommodation or stay at the school.

The distance to the project is dependent on the specific project you are allocated during your time. Projects close to the Volunteer House will usually be up to a 20 minute walk away. For projects further afield, the local team will arrange any necessary transport. This cost is included in your Program Fee.

A member of our local team will assist you in the projects, so you can really make a difference. This is the perfect way to experience a completely different side of Thailand and learn about traditional life there. We highly recommend that as a volunteer in Thailand, you use time outside of the project to prepare lessons in advance. This will help make your classes as fun, engaging and relevant as possible.

If you are new to teaching, you’ll find that your confidence grows massively once you have taught a couple of lessons! Additionally, the more time spent planning, the easier classes will be to run. Late afternoons can be used to prepare lessons or take the time to explore Pathum Thani, Bangkok and surrounding areas.