A chance to see & photograph many stunning butterflies!

We’re delighted to be returning to Thailand in 2026! It is sure to be popular, read on to find out why…

November is the perfect time to escape the cold dull days and long nights of winter and visit northern Thailand. The summer rains will have ended, and days will be warm and sunny. The butterflies of Thailand are generally large, colourful and easy to approach, and it’s perfectly possible to see and photograph over 200 species on this tour.

We expect to see at least 20 different kinds of swallowtail alone, including mud-puddling Troides birdwings, Graphium swordtails and jays, Papilio helens and peacocks, Byasa windmills and lovely little Lamproptera dragontails. Pieridae should include at least 5 very colourful species of Delias jezebel, Cepora gulls, several species of Appias puffin, plus Ixias yellow orange tips, and Prioneris sawtooths.

Among the Nymphalidae we should see several species of Polyura nawabs – huge and very attractive members of the Charaxinae. There will also be Elymnias palmflies, Cethosia lacewings, Cyrestis map butterflies, Vindula cruisers, Parthenos clippers, Athyma sergeants, Neptis sailors, Euthalia barons, Lethe foresters, Euploea crows, Lexias archdukes, Mimathyma purple emperors, Moduza commanders, Sephisa courtiers, Symbrenthia jesters, Junonia pansies and Kallima dead-leaf butterflies – all stunningly beautiful.

Thailand is especially rich in hairstreaks, including the long-tailed Cheritra and Ticherra imperials, Hypolycaena fluffy tits and Loxura yamflies. We should also see Catapaecilma tinsels, Pseudotajuria royals, Spindasis silverlines and numerous Arhopala oakblue species. Muddy patches often attract swarms of Nacaduba lineblues, Caleta and Castalius pierrots, Catochrysops forget-me-nots and various ciliate blues. If that isn’t enough, we’ll also see lovely bright orange Curetis sunbeams and Heliophorus sapphires.

We use good quality accommodation throughout, almost always with air conditioning, hot showers and wi-fi. Thailand is justifiably famous for its delicious food, and in the evenings we’ll also sample Mexican, Chinese and Indian restaurants, to provide plenty of variety. But we don’t waste valuable field time by visiting restaurants in the middle of the day – instead we stop briefly en route to the butterfly sites, to choose snacks, drinks and fruit at 7-eleven stores, and have our lunches in the field, surrounded by butterflies.

But Thailand is about much more than butterflies – we should also see exotic lantern bugs, stick insects, giant katydids, beautiful damselflies, and much more.

This is a small group tour with a strict maximum of 6 guests. We believe that by keeping the group small you’ll get a higher quality tour, and will be able to study and photograph the butterflies more easily. We don’t herd you together – you are encouraged to split up and explore the habitats at your own pace, thereby greatly increasing your chances of photographing the butterflies with minimal disturbance. However at least one of the guides will always be within earshot, and we’ll be constantly on the lookout to show you any exciting species that you may have overlooked.

Our popular Greenwings guide is Adrian Hoskins, an expert on tropical butterflies who has visited Thailand and many other Asian countries numerous times, and will take time to assist with identifying your photographs in the evenings, and even by email after the tour. Throughout the tour our local guide will also be with us. He probably knows more about the butterflies of Thailand and than anyone else alive so you’ll be in good hands!

We’ll have comfortable and spacious 4×4 vehicles throughout the tour. Journey times between our accommodations and the butterfly sites is typically between 60-90 minutes, and almost always on good quality tarmac roads. The sites we visit will mainly consist of long dirt tracks through the forests, but we’ll also visit waterfalls, streams and mud-puddling areas.

We aim to make booking and travelling with us as easy as possible, but we understand you may wish to ask us about certain elements of the tour or about your travel to get to the tour destination. To help we’ve enabled a direct email service to our tour leader, so please feel free to contact him by clicking the button below.