Tad Kwan Village Park & Waterfall, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand

4ArmenInSeattle 5:00 PM Dec 26, 2017

A great adventure, but not for everyone
We chose the all-day experience, which consisted of being picked up from our hotel in a nice SUV, a ~45 minute ride to the hill-top house, quick intros to our dune buggies, drive to the farm and corn barn, back to the house for lunch, and then the drive to the waterfall. The whole adventure was really fun, but you should know a few things: - The dune buggies are beat up and temperamental. Sing and his assistant were constantly adjusting the idle, and a couple of the buggies had other mechanical problems during the run, resulting in some waiting. - There's really no "village" experience, other than roaring through a village on a concrete road and nodding to the folks living there. We thought there was going to be some kind of cultural education aspect. Nope. There is a stop at a farm where there were puppies and piglets to see, and rubber trees being tapped for sap. But really not much in the way of explanation. - The dune buggies are very fun, but not easy to drive. They take upper body strength to control, and there are some steep drop-offs along the road, so it isn't just academic. Compared to a quad/ATV, these dune buggies are much more challenging. - As others have mentioned, the lunch break is really long - a couple of hours, of which actually eating lunch only takes 15-30 minutes. The lunch was a simple and delicious chicken curry, rice and fruit. There's a pool to swim in, but otherwise the lunch break is kind of boring. Take games or something to read. - You're basically hanging out at their house. There was a cute toddler running around, and a few other people, but the adults didn't interact with us. - You may get very wet and dirty. Even during the dry season, you'll drive through mud and streams. We were covered in mud. If you have a camera, make sure it's protected. Wear a bathing suit for the run to the waterfall, and take an extra change of clothing for the ride back to town. - The engine exhaust and dust can be challenging if you have breathing problems. You could wear a mask, goggles and/or bandanna - none of which are provided. - The waterfall hike and swim is beautiful and not too strenuous. I suggest water shoes to help with the rocks in the water. - In case you are short on sugar intake, at the waterfall Sing will build a fire and make hot chocolate, roasted marshmallows, then roasted bananas coated in roasted marshmallow and drizzled with honey. Overall, we really enjoyed this activity and recommend it to adventurous travelers, but the owners could be more clear about what to expect, and the lunch break could be shorter.

4Patrice H 5:00 PM Jan 27, 2017

Dusty, rusty, stinky, funny
It was a great day overall. The activity is probably quite unique in South East Asia. Our children enjoyed every moment as they probably did not live the experience as parents do. To balance the 5 star ratings, I think it's fair to highlight some issues that are rarely mentioned: - the buggies are nothing close to the pictures. Think Mad Max. All the marketing around the quality of the vehicles is outdated. They are clearly not taken care of. My buggy would stop functioning, sometimes when climbing steep roads. I had to abandon it at some point. The steering direction of the second one was damaged, the front wheels were no longer aligned. - the consequence is you cannot trust your vehicle. All the difficulties on the road remain a pleasure but become a source of stress. - the price is quite expensive in consideration of the above. - the awful part is the moment at the "villa". There are many dogs with an awful smell. The whole place smells piss. Difficult for our standards. If the overall mark is a four, it tells you that we had some good fun. But it was far from perfection.