What is tipsy tubing?
To put it simply, you float down a river in a tyre tube with 300-500 other young travellers. Tipsy tubing is run in Pai, Thailand and its a great way to meet new people. Floating down a river with a big group of young travellers who are all there for a good time, who can say no? You can view it as quite a unique bar hop.
You’ll start at a bar that is not far from Pai and along the river. After everyone gets their drinks you will float down the river together for about 30 minutes. There is a halfway stop for a big jungle party. Then after a few hours you float down a bit further, finish your drinks and that’s tipsy tubing!
A breakdown on how it works
Here you’ll find a list of what tipsy tubing looks like, based on what we did in June 2023.
- Pickup from tipsy tubing shop or hostel (if you booked the activity through your hostel)
- Taxi to little store to buy drinks
- Taxi to first bar, which is also place where you’ll get on the tube
- Organisers will give housekeeping speech and directions/instructions for the afternoon
- Hop in your tube and start floating down the river. You’ll go for around 30mins
- Stop at second bar (halfway party). You’ll be here for around 2-3 hours. There’s a DJ and a bar. But there are also options to buy snacks
- Hop back in your tube and float the rest of the way. They will announce when to leave. You’ll come to a large bridge where you’ll finish.
- Find your taxi/clothes/shoes and you’ll be dropped back to wherever you were picked up from.
How do I take part in tipsy tubing?
It is easy to join tipsy tubing and there is no need to worry about pre-booking. There are a number of stalls you can just book at on the day itself, most are located down the main street of Pai. Keep an eye out for the advertisements. They say they can take up to 500 people so don’t worry about missing out. We booked about 10 mins before they left and they were happy to squeeze us in.
When is the best time to go?
We think the best time to do tipsy tubing in Pai is between wet and dry season. We went at the start of rain season but the river was very low as there had been no recent rain. As a result, floating through the river was harder as the tube (or back) would hit the rocks on the bottom. Therefore, the organisation had people pushing the tubes to the deepest parts of the river so they wouldn’t drag along the bottom. This didn’t phase us too much, but it would be a bit nicer if we were floating down in a bit higher water.
Note: do keep in mind that after a lot of rain the river will be a lot higher and could be dangerous due to strong stronger currents. In these situations the tipsy tubing activity will be cancelled.
There are some large rocks, trees and other obstacles down the river which could become tough to navigate, especially after a few drinks. Luckily the organisation does a great job at making everything run smoothly but please be cautious.
When does it run?
Tipsy tubing in Pai is scheduled to run every Tuesday and Friday afternoon, starting around 1PM. However it is subject to weather. On bad weather days they may cancel and instead run the activity a day later so make sure to check at the stalls on the day to confirm. As we said earlier, if there has been a lot of recent rain we would avoid going as it could be dangerous. The activity normally starts around 1PM and goes until sundown.
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Is it banned? August 2023 update
There has been some rumours that tipsy tubing in Pai was banned but this is not the case. Tipsy tubing has been in the spotlight as there have been many accidents happening in neighbouring country Laos, where it has since been banned. What we did hear is that it has become much stricter in Pai (and safer) than it was before. Even though we felt like the organisation was managing everything very well, the group of tipsy tubers can be very big and accidents can happen. So try to be cautious.
How much does it cost?
The overall costs ultimately depend on how much you drink. We paid 250 baht each for the tubing tickets and about 500 baht on drinks throughout the afternoon. The drinks were quite cheap at the bars so bring some spare cash in a little zip lock bag for them. Other than that, you shouldn’t have to buy anything else. Taxi to and from the start and finish of the tubing are included in your ticket. So in total we spent around 750 Baht each for the afternoon.
Things to know before you go tipsy tubing
Bring cash
None of the bars take card, so bring enough cash to last you the afternoon + some extra just in case. We’d recommend having it in a zip lock bag or, even better, a small waterproof bag with a lanyard to store your money in.
Be cautious
The companies running tipsy tubing don’t take any responsibility for injuries. They do their best to manage the group but you’ll need to have your wits about you still.
No cans or glass bottles
You can’t bring any glass bottles or cans on the river, but only plastic bottles. They still sell cans at the bars but you just can’t bring them on your tube.
Dress respectfully before and after
Keep in mind that there are many temples in Pai and that walking around with open shoulders and knees is considered very disrespectful. So to avoid this, bring a shirt for the taxi to and from the river.
Jungle party
Something that we didn’t expect before we jumped in the tube was how good the halfway party was. You’ll spend a lot of time here, but it’s a lot of fun and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. They play good music, you can get body paint, there’s a foam gun, and there are cheap drinks and food. If partying is not really your thing, then do keep in mind that the jungle party is a big part of tipsy tubing.
What to bring
There is not much you need to bring at all. And in all honesty its best to leave as much as you can at your accommodation. You’ll be floating down through rapids so if you drop anything you’ll definitely loose it. The organisation doesn’t take responsibility for lost items so this is why you should only bring the bare minimum. ALL you need is;
- Ziplock bag/phone dry bag – to hold money for drinks
- Swimmers – clothes to float down the river in
- Clothes to cover up – there are temples in the area so respect the local religion and cover yourself up when driving to and from the river
- Sandals/flip flops/wet shoes – easy shoes to wear before and after the activity
Whatever you bring can be left in the back of the taxis, but this is a bit risky. It is okay for your shirt and shoes but we wouldn’t recommend leaving anything of value in there. It is also best to not bring a phone as many get lost or fall in the river. However, if you really want to, buy a little dry case with a lanyard to attach it around your neck.
Tips for during Tipsy Tubing
In the beginning of this post we discussed a breakdown of the tipsy tubing activity. Here we’ll go through some tips of what to get or what to do.
- It is handy to buy a big 1.5L plastic bottle of soft drink and a bottle of liquor and mix them together for the tube. You can get this from the little store you’ll be dropped at by the taxi before the first bar.
- At the first bar next to the river (the place where you’ll get on the tube) you can buy some last drinks. Save your 1.5L bottle for when you’re floating. Buy some beers from the bar and get to meet some people, play some beer pong and get yourself ready to float down the river.
- In the tube. Make sure that what you’re drinking from has a lid. Plastic bottles are perfect. This helps you not to spill your drink in the river but more importantly makes sure the dirty river water doesn’t get in your drink.
- Make sure you have enough money at the halfway stop and party so that you can buy more drinks and snacks if you want to. There’s no ATMs once you get there so don’t get caught out.
- Remember what your taxi looks like that dropped you off if your clothes and shoes are in it. There are a lot of taxis so can be confusing. And make sure you grab your own gear. You’ll be amazed at the amount of brown Birkenstocks or Nike slides in the back of the taxis.
So, will you do it?
Before we did the tipsy tubing in Pai we didn’t really know what to expect. But we joined last-minute to check it out. We are really happy that we did it because it was a very unique and very fun afternoon activity. We especially enjoyed the jungle party but this was something we didn’t expect to come across. If you are a traveller who likes to party and meet others, then this is the perfect activity for you!
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