Wander Women Thailand:
Post-Retreat Islands Extensions
Koh Phangan + Koh Samui
April 16-19, 2022
Not ready to head home yet? Join us for a two-day or four-day post-retreat extension to Koh Tao’s neighboring islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Samui!
First, we’ll don our best glow paint for a UV aerial yoga class before heading out for a night you’ll never forget at one of the worlds most well-known parties on Koh Phangan — yup, the Full Moon Party! Next, we’ll hit the ultimate Thailand bucket list moment of meeting elephants, Thailand’s national animal, and slip into ultimate bliss for an afternoon at the trendiest Koh Samui beach club to toast to the trip of a lifetime!
Join us for either the two-day option to Koh Phangan or the four-day option continuing on to Koh Samui. We can’t think of a better way to round out an adventure to the Gulf of Thailand!
The Details
The Islands Extension takes place immediately following both Wander Women Koh Tao: Dive + Yoga and Wander Women Thailand: Aerial + Adventure from April 16-17th, 2022, or April 16-19th, 2022, depending on the package chosen. The cost, including just about everything, starts at $300 for the 2-day option and $800 for the four-day option.
What’s Included
• Up to three nights accommodation at luxury hotels
• Up to three breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners
• Full Moon Party
• Elephant Sanctuary tour, if choosing full extension experience
• Samui Beach Club, if choosing full extension experience
• Daily yoga
• All local transportation, including ferry transfers between islands
• Professional photos
What’s Not Included
• Alcohol
• Meals not included in the itinerary
• Transport back to Bangkok
• Mandatory travel insurance
The Itinerary
Subject to change, and expect surprises, but here’s the general idea.
Day 1: Time to combine forces! Those on Wander Women Koh Tao: A Dive + Yoga Retreat will bid farewell to their new dive buddies before heading down to the pier and hopping a boat to the next island, Koh Phangan. Those on Wander Women Thailand: An Aerial + Adventure Retreat will hug goodbye to their new fellow flyers, and extension travelers of both groups will reconnect for a day exploring and enjoying lunch on a new hidden beach on Koh Phangan.
At sunset, we’ll cheers to an epic final few days in Thailand and head to dinner. And then the party really gets started! We’ll don neon paint and head to a UV party and get in the mood for the evening ahead with an aerial yoga glow class before we head off to the Full Moon Party and dance into the night. Alex is a Full Moon Party princess, with this being her fifth lunar celebration on Koh Phangan — and she can’t wait to share it with you!
Day 2: After a late night drenched in neon and moonlight, a coconut for breakfast might be just what the doctor ordered. If you’re continuing onto Koh Samui, it’s time for a change of scenery and a little bit of down time as we hop a quick speed boat to our next island. We’ll indulge in the most Instagrammable lunch of the trip before heading to our next hotel to spend the afternoon in recovery mode poolside — or indulging in an optional onsite spa treatment, or a nap! Later, we’ll gather for a relaxing hangover yoga class at sunset — an Alex and Shannon original! Once we’re feeling like ourselves again, we’ll head off to dinner in charming Fisherman’s Village in Bophut, a great place to do any last minute shopping before heading home.
Day 3: Start today with an animal-themed yoga class and delicious breakfast before we spend the morning at a sanctuary for elephants rescued from the logging industry! This is a cruelty-free experience where no riding will take place — but we promise, it’s so much more meaningful to connect face-to-trunk! We’ll have the opportunity to see these gentle giants in their natural habitat, hear about the amazing work the sanctuary is doing and even feed them their lunch. After we have had our lunch, it’s time to hit the beach in style. Spend your last afternoon sipping cocktails at a chic beach club and topping up that tan. Our final stop is dinner and a fire show on our favorite beach on the island.
Day 4: Farewell breakfast and pool-time before checkout — and planning the next adventure.
Where We’ll Stay and What We’ll Eat
In both Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, we’ll stay in stylish boutique hotels with pools and plenty of places to luxuriate at the end of an active trip! Shared rooms have a large queen or king sized bed for sharing.
For meals, we’ll mix it up. Our first night, we’ll toast with buckets and enjoy some tasty street food — did someone say Pad Thai? The final two, we’ll be treated to a trendy fusion meals in the Fisherman’s Village in Bophut. For lunches, you’ll dine with elephants and enjoy the cutest custom smoothie bowls you could ever imagine. Breakfast will be daily at our hotels. All diets can be accommodated.
Meet Your Hosts
For this retreat you will get to experience the perfect trifecta of hostesses! You’ll be joined by yoga teachers, travel enthusiasts and hostess with the mostesses Alexandra Baackes, Shannon Stevens, and Jessica Lubin.
Alexandra Baackes, founder of Wander Women Retreats, called Thailand home for the better part of seven years — it’s where she met Shannon Stevens, Wander Women Retreats coordinator, who runs retreats with us in Thailand, Egypt, the Maldives, and beyond! Jess Lubin is the founder of Good Karma Studio in Upstate New York and a frequent host at Wander Women Retreats, working with Alex on aerial trips to St. Pete Florida, the Dominican Republic, and now Thailand.
You’re in for a treat with a trio of unique and original yoga classes with these ladies at the helm.
Join Us
There are two options for this extension. For those tight on time, the two-day extension allows you to experience the world famous Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan. For those who wish to complete the trifecta of islands in the Gulf of Thailand, the full four-day extension continues on to Koh Samui for a morning at an Elephant Sanctuary and an afternoon at a chic beach club.
A $150 deposit is required upon booking and final invoices will be sent 60 days before departure. Don’t hesitate to email us at retreats@alexinwanderland.com with any and all questions regarding this extension!
Wander Women Thailand: Elephant Extension
$800.00 – $900.00
F.A.Q.
How do I get home from Koh Phangan?
If you choose the two-day extension, we will be happy to help you find the appropriate ferry + flight, bus or train combo to get you back to Bangkok to catch your international flight!
How do I get home from Koh Samui?
If you choose the four-day extension, you’re in luck! There’s an airport right on Koh Samui with several daily flights back to Bangkok, making it seamless to reach your international flight.
What if I’m not really a party person? Will I hate the Full Moon Party?
The Full Moon Party is what you make of it! You are more than welcome to join the aerial glow party in Sri Thanu and then hang back from the actual event, or go check it out and take a taxi back to the hotel anytime you’ve had your fill. On the other hand, if you decide to dance on the beach ’til sunrise, we support that decision too!
I’ve heard warnings about elephant experiences in Thailand. Is this one really ethical?
The park we are visiting is a partner to Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, largely regarded as the gold standard for elephant rescues worldwide. It does not offer elephant rides or elephant bathing, both of which are understood to be disruptive or harmful to the creatures we are so honored to meet! Instead, we will feed, observe and walk with these beautiful animals up close.
The elephants we will visit have previously endured a hard life working for tourist’s entertainment or in the logging industry; a stark contrast to the dignified, peaceful lives they now enjoy. The goal of the sanctuary is to provide a happy home in nature for the herd where they are free to express their natural instincts and receive the care and respect they deserve. Visits like ours are what fund the care these elephants receive to live out their life in peace.
The concept of elephant care and welfare at this rescue was created by Lek Chailert, world renowned elephant conservationist, founder of Save Elephant Foundation and the world famous Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai. Lek is at the forefront of ethical elephant tourism in Thailand and throughout Asia, was named one of Time Magazine’s Heroes of Asia for her work in conservation in 2005, and was invited to Washington DC in 2010 by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to be honored as one of six Women Heroes of Global Conservation. Alex was lucky enough to meet Lek personally in 2015 — a true Wander Women if we ever met one!
Who exactly will be traveling on this extension? How large will the group be?
This extension will be available to guests from both Wander Women Koh Tao: A Dive + Yoga Retreat, and Wander Women Thailand: An Aerial + Adventure Retreat. If every single guest from both groups joins this extension, there will be 24 of you — party! After spending Songkran and some special dinners together in Koh Tao, we’ll all be besties! However, we expect it will be a more intimate crew than that.
Is it possible to have a private room?
Depending on how many guests book the extension, this may be possible! We will offer it as an upgrade opportunity closer to the time, if available with the limited nature of accommodation on both islands.