As one of the most dynamic cities in the world, Bangkok is an excellent introduction to Southeast Asia. After arriving on a connecting flight from the United States, your English-speaking guide (arranged by the Travel Office) will meet you at the airport and escort you to one of the city’s luxury hotels along the Chao Phraya River. In a resortlike setting, the legendary Mandarin Oriental is one of our top-rated Bangkok properties, with outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts and a diverse range of dining options, including the one-star Le Normandie by Alain Roux for gourmet French cuisine. For a more discreet lodging option, The Siam is cool and contemporary, with an art gallery, a screening room and Pool Villas surrounded by lush tropical greenery.

Spend two full days discovering this fascinating city’s attractions, from bustling markets to majestic temples. Take a private guided cruise along the Chao Phraya River to admire the golden palaces and temples dotting the city skyline. The highlight of this journey is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), the most revered shrine in the kingdom. Other stops include a visit to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho), one of Bangkok’s oldest and largest temples. Continue your tour through the heart of the city, past towering skyscrapers and the elegant Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun).

Along the way, stop for lunch at Baan Khanitha, an excellent traditional restaurant serving superb curries and seafood dishes made with ingredients sourced from the restaurant’s own organic farm.

Sample a quieter side of the city in Koh Kret, a picturesque island community in the northern suburbs. Explore the island by bicycle or on foot; visit Koh Kret’s temples, the Tha-it mosque, pottery shops and colorful neighborhoods; and try local snacks and refreshments along the way. The rural island is well known for its variety of special Thai sweets.

While Bangkok may be famous for its night markets and street food stalls, it’s also home to incredible contemporary Thai restaurants like the Michelin-starred Nahm, where you can dine on dishes such as grilled banana leaf filled with red curry-marinated blue swimmer crab, prawn and red grouper.

Back at your hotel, book a traditional Thai massage to help recover from any jet lag.

From Bangkok, it’s an easy one-hour direct flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia, where you’ll spend two days exploring Angkor Wat, the largest temple complex in the world.

Siem Reap teems with luxurious hideaways, including Amansara, built on the grounds of a former royal guesthouse. Other favorites in the city include the Park Hyatt Siem Reap, a luxurious art deco landmark designed by Bill Bensley, and Zannier Hotels Phum Baitang, a distinctive 20-acre property designed to look like a traditional Cambodian village.

Before sunrise each day, your guide will pick you up for the short ride to the ruins, where you’ll spend the early morning touring the UNESCO-recognized archaeological complex, with an air-conditioned car to shuttle you between sites. Among the highlights are the faces carved into Bayon Temple and the trees growing from the ruins of Ta Prohm temple. During the hottest part of the day, you’ll return to your hotel to rest and relax. In the evening, the Travel Office can arrange a visit to Angkor Wat or a culinary tour of Siem Reap, where a guide will take you in a tuk-tuk to visit produce markets and street-food stalls to sample local delicacies like Muscovy duck soup, made with a rich broth and fresh vegetables, or durian, the coveted and famously smelly fruit.

After exploring this bucket-list destination, consider exploring deeper into Cambodia with stays at Shinta Mani Wild, a whimsical glamping retreat in the jungle near Kirirom National Park, and/or Song Saa, a spectacular private island resort off of Koh Rong.

After a one-and-a-half-hour flight from Siem Reap, you’ll arrive in Luang Prabang. The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the spiritual heart of Laos, filled with Buddhist monasteries and temples in addition to 19th-century French townhouses.

An English-speaking guide arranged by the Travel Office will meet you at the airport and bring you to your luxurious accommodations at Amantaka, housed in a collection of French colonial mansions just a short walk from the historic district.

You’ll spend two days exploring the city with your guide, visiting sites such as Wat Xieng Thong, an ornate 16th-century Buddhist temple, and the opulent Royal Palace Museum, filled with paintings and furniture from pre-Communist Laos. In the evenings, don’t miss the bustling Luang Prabang night market, with stalls selling traditional crafts and street food.

For dinner, the romantic L’Eléphant serves French and Lao dishes such as wild-boar terrine or kranab pa (fish stuffed with ground pork and local herbs and grilled in a banana leaf).

If time allows, spend a few more days exploring the waterfalls and jungle hikes beyond Luang Prabang, or set out for a cruise along the Mekong River in the hotel’s private boat.

Transfer from Amantaka to the airport for the hourlong flight to Thailand’s famous Golden Triangle, named for its location at the confluence of the Thai, Lao and Myanmar borders. From the Chiang Rai airport, it’s an hour-and-a-half drive to our recommended hotels along the Ruak River — either the safari-style Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle or the comfortably chic Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort.

During your days here, you can bathe elephants and explore the jungle on guided treks.

At the Four Seasons, the Burma Bar serves sunset cocktails. Follow them with wine and canapés in the Wine Cellar before a memorable dinner at the resort’s Nong Yao restaurant, set in a thatched-roof pavilion.

It’s a four-and-a-half-hour drive from the Golden Triangle to Chiang Mai. Along the way, you’ll stop at Chiang Rai’s White Temple (Wat Rong Khun), a surreal creation by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. The Travel Office can also plan a detour to the village of Baan Mae Kampong, set amid mountainous jungle. A nearby attraction is a small waterfall with seven levels that offers stupendous views of the mountain range from the top.

In Chiang Mai, you’ll check into the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, an enchanting oasis that’s 20 minutes from the city center.

On your first full day in Chiang Mai, you’ll meet your English-speaking guide for an in-depth exploration of the city. Begin the day with a visit to the Chiang Mai Gate Market, a traditional food market, to sample typical Thai snacks. Then proceed to the riverfront Warorot Market, with stalls full of colorful flowers and pungent spices.

Next, you’ll visit some of Chiang Mai’s most famous and important temples, including Wat Chiang Man, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang, with the opportunity to meet and speak with a local monk about Buddhism and his experiences in the monastery. End the day with Chiang Mai’s most famous landmark: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Climb the 300-step staircase or take the cable car.

Spend a day relaxing at the hotel and taking advantage of the holistic wellness experiences at the open-air spa. Or enjoy a leisurely bicycle journey along the Ping River over quiet, narrow roads and through local fruit orchards, rice paddies and small villages to the seldom-visited ruins of Wiang Khum Kaam. Some consider it to be the ancient city on which Chiang Mai was built.

For the evening, the Travel Office can arrange a cooking class at the traditional teak house of a local family, where you’ll enjoy a delicious home-cooked dinner of northern Thai specialties made with ingredients from their garden.

Depart Chiang Mai on a short flight to Phuket, where you’ll be greeted at the airport by your driver and transferred by private car or boat to your resort. Choose from the stunning Amanpuri, on a private peninsula on Phuket’s west coast, or the contemporary COMO Point Yamu, set on a cliff overlooking the sea on the east coast. Smaller islands nearby also offer tempting resorts, like Six Senses Yao Noi on Koh Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay.

Spend your days luxuriating in your villa’s private pool, or have the Travel Office arrange an island-hopping adventure through Phang Nga Bay, with stops at picturesque uninhabited islands and colorful coral reefs.

Those curious about the history of Phuket can embark on a walking tour through the streets of Old Phuket with an expert guide. Visit local shrines as well as traditional herbal medicine shops and pharmacies. Enjoy a lunch or dinner of Chinese street noodles, a dish brought here by Hokkien immigrants in the 19th century.

Depart on your flight home from the Phuket airport, which has direct flights to hubs in Asia and the Middle East.