The North & Wellness
Chiang Mai's hills, private retreats and the slow rituals of the Lanna north. A private, tailored journey of 5-7 days in Thailand, designed end to end by a Forest Travel advisor — with Virtuoso privileges at the finest luxury hotels, from US$10,000 per traveler.
- Wellness · Calm
- Ideal length: 5-7 days
- Best time: November through February brings dry, temperate days across the country, ideal for the beaches of the south and the cool mornings of the north.
- Private guiding, access and transfers throughout
- From US$10,000 per traveler — a starting point, tailored to you
- Designed one-to-one by a Forest Travel advisor
- Virtuoso privileges at the finest luxury hotels
Chiang Mai's hills, private retreats and the slow rituals of the Lanna north. A private, tailored journey of 5-7 days in Thailand, designed end to end by a Forest Travel advisor — with Virtuoso privileges at the finest luxury hotels, from US$10,000 per traveler.
Thailand rewards you with a rare ease, where the finest luxury hotels, warm seas and centuries of ritual meet quiet, effortless hospitality.
When to go
November through February brings dry, temperate days across the country, ideal for the beaches of the south and the cool mornings of the north. Your advisor times it to the light, the crowds and your own calendar.
The experiences
A sense of what this journey can hold — each one arranged privately and shaped to you:
- A private retreat set in the hills above Chiang Mai, given over entirely to rest and slow ritual.
- A dawn alms offering and quiet meditation with a monk in a mountain temple.
- A private wellness programme of Lanna massage, herbal steam and unhurried mornings.
- A private table of northern Thai cooking, prepared and shared in a garden pavilion.
A sense of the rhythm
The north asks little of you but presence. Mornings are cool and mist-wrapped, given to the spa, the temple or the garden; afternoons drift between treatments and long, quiet lunches; and evenings settle early under the hills. The pace is deliberately slow, and it is the point.
How to do it well
The counsel our advisors give travelers planning this journey:
- Give your programme room to breathe; the north works best when nothing is over-scheduled.
- Ask us to arrange a private temple visit at dawn, before the day's warmth arrives.
- Pack for cool mornings and evenings, especially between November and February.
- Set aside one full day with no plans at all, and let the retreat shape it.
What only your advisor can open
The difference between a good trip and an unrepeatable one is access — and access is a relationship, not a booking. Every guide, room and moment is chosen and sequenced for you.
Who it's for
Travelers who value privacy, time and doing it once — beautifully — and who would rather have one trusted advisor orchestrate every detail than assemble it themselves.
Estimated investment
From US$10,000 per traveler, based on double occupancy — scaled to your dates, party size and level of privacy. A starting point, not a final quote; confirmed once your advisor tailors the itinerary.
Designed entirely around you
Nothing here is a package. A Forest Travel advisor shapes the whole journey and stays one message away before and throughout your trip.
Your Virtuoso privileges
As a Virtuoso member, Forest Travel includes benefits reserved for Virtuoso guests at the finest luxury hotels, at no added cost: a room upgrade on arrival when available, daily breakfast for two, a property credit toward dining or spa, and early check-in with late check-out when the hotel allows.
Continue exploring Thailand
Part of our Thailand travel guide. Related private journeys:
Begin the conversation
Tell a Forest Travel advisor how you like to travel and they will design The North & Wellness around you — privately, every Virtuoso privilege included. Request your private consultation →
Questions, answered.
Staying in Chiang Mai keeps you close to its temples, markets and old walls, while a retreat in the surrounding hills offers deep quiet, forest air and true seclusion. For a wellness-led stay, the hills reward you; for a fuller sense of the Lanna north, the city holds more within reach.
Yes. This journey can include a dawn alms offering and quiet meditation with a monk in a mountain temple, arranged privately for you. Our advisors suggest asking for a private temple visit at dawn, before the day's warmth arrives, when mornings in the north are cool and mist-wrapped. It is one of the slow rituals of the Lanna north that give this journey its character.
It is private and unhurried: Lanna massage, herbal steam and slow mornings, set within a retreat in the hills above Chiang Mai given over entirely to rest and ritual. Mornings go to the spa, the temple or the garden; afternoons drift between treatments and long, quiet lunches. Our advisors recommend giving the programme room to breathe, since the north works best when nothing is over-scheduled.
Pack for cool mornings and evenings, especially between November and February. Mornings in the north are cool and mist-wrapped, and evenings settle early under the hills, so layers matter more than you might expect in Thailand. A retreat in the surrounding hills also brings forest air and deep quiet, and the dawn temple visits our advisors recommend take place before the day's warmth arrives.
Plan on 5-7 days. That gives the north the slow pace it asks for: cool, mist-wrapped mornings at the spa, the temple or the garden; afternoons between Lanna massage, herbal steam and long, quiet lunches; evenings that settle early under the hills. There is room for a dawn alms offering with a monk and a private table of northern Thai cooking in a garden pavilion. Our advisors suggest keeping one full day with no plans at all, letting the retreat shape it.
As a private, tailored journey it starts from roughly US$10,000 per traveler (double occupancy) and scales with your dates, party and level of privacy — a starting point, never a fixed package price. Your advisor confirms the figure once the itinerary is tailored.
November through February is the best time. These months bring dry, temperate days across Thailand and the cool mornings of the north, which suit this journey's rhythm: mist-wrapped mornings at the spa or temple, a dawn alms offering in a mountain temple, and unhurried hours in the hills above Chiang Mai. Pack for cool mornings and evenings in this season. Your advisor times the journey to the light, the crowds and your own calendar.
Yes. The North & Wellness journey can include a private table of northern Thai cooking, prepared and shared in a garden pavilion. Like every experience on this Chiang Mai journey, it is arranged privately and shaped to you. It sits naturally within the slow rhythm of the Lanna north, where afternoons drift between treatments and long, quiet lunches, and evenings settle early under the hills.
The pace in the Lanna north is deliberately slow, and that is the point. Mornings are cool and mist-wrapped, given to the spa, the temple or the garden. Afternoons drift between treatments and long, quiet lunches, and evenings settle early under the hills. The north asks little of you but presence, so this journey suits travelers who want rest and slow ritual rather than a full schedule of sightseeing.
Yes. Forest Travel advisors suggest setting aside one full day with no plans at all at your retreat in the hills above Chiang Mai, and letting the retreat shape it. The north works best when nothing is over-scheduled, so the programme of Lanna massage, herbal steam, temple visits and garden time should have room to breathe rather than fill every hour.
Thailand
See the collection →Tell a private advisor how you like to travel — no quotes, no obligation.
Begin Your Private Consultation
