You will be met at the airport, driven to the centre, assessed by a doctor within hours of arriving, and shown to a room. Your belongings are checked. Phone access is limited at the start. Medical detox usually runs five to seven days, and the first three of those are the hardest part of the stay.
Most pages about rehab in Thailand describe gardens and swimming pools. Almost none describe the first seventy two hours, which is the part people are frightened of.
Before you fly: tell us exactly what you take
Do not try to stop drinking or stop your medication before you travel. If you are physically dependent on alcohol, stopping suddenly on your own can be dangerous. The NHS puts it plainly: it can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly if you are dependent on alcohol, and withdrawal symptoms including seizures can begin within hours of the last drink. The World Health Organization notes that alcohol withdrawal can be life threatening and require emergency medical intervention.
The same applies to benzodiazepines such as diazepam, Xanax or Valium. NHS medicines guidance is not to stop or reduce the dose suddenly, but to have a doctor reduce it gradually. More detail: the benzodiazepine withdrawal timeline.
So the instruction is not “arrive clean”. It is:
- Tell the admissions team exactly what you take, how much, and when you last had it.
- Tell them about every prescription, including ones unrelated to addiction.
- Follow the clinical advice you are given, which may well be to continue as you are until you are under medical supervision.
Nobody at a good centre will be shocked by your answer. Understating it is what makes detox unsafe.
Bring your medication, the prescription and the packaging. Some medicines routine at home, including controlled drugs and psychotropic medicines, are controlled differently in Thailand, so disclose before you fly.
That disclosure conversation is the enquiry. There is no form to complete before it and nothing is committed by having it. You tell us what you take, and we tell you whether flying is safe and what your first week would actually look like. Four weeks with us starts at USD 10,900, detox and two months of aftercare included. Phone or WhatsApp +66 985 245 093, or email admissions@orchidrecoverythailand.com.
The flight, and the airport pickup
From London expect one connection and around fifteen to eighteen hours door to door. From eastern Australia, similar.
People ask whether they can drink on the plane. It deserves a straight answer rather than a lecture. If you are alcohol dependent, ask the admissions team first and do what the clinician says. Some people are advised to maintain their intake rather than go into withdrawal at thirty five thousand feet, where there is no medical support. If you are not physically dependent, travel sober so your assessment on arrival is accurate.
Tell someone at home your flight number and arrival time.
You will be met at the other end. Transfer is arranged in advance and the driver will have your name. For The Orchid Recovery that is Chiang Mai International Airport, which is small and easy to walk through, then roughly half an hour southwest to Hang Dong District, the last of it farmland and foothills.
You will probably not want to talk. Nobody expects conversation at that point.
The first few hours: assessment, paperwork, your room
The first medical assessment happens on arrival, not the next morning. This is the point of the whole day.
Expect a doctor or nurse to ask you, again and in detail:
- What you use or drink, how much, and how recently.
- Your withdrawal history, including any past seizures or hallucinations.
- Prescribed medication, physical health conditions and allergies.
- Mental health history, including anything you have not told a doctor before.
Vital signs are taken and bloods may be taken. From that, a detox plan is written for you specifically. At The Orchid Recovery, medical detox is overseen by a full time on site psychiatrist, Dr Suttipan Takkapaijit, with an arrangement with Chiang Mai Ram Hospital if hospital care is needed.
Answer honestly. Understating your intake leads to an under dosed detox, and that is the one that hurts.
Then paperwork, then your room. Most people sleep.
What gets checked in, and why
Every residential centre checks belongings on arrival. This is not about trust. Up to twenty people are detoxing under one roof.
Expect alcohol, non prescribed drugs and anything containing alcohol to be removed. Medication is normally held and dispensed by staff. Some centres also hold passports and laptops in the first week.
The specifics differ, so ask before you book what exactly is held and for how long, who keeps your passport and how you get it back, and how your medication will be dispensed. A centre that answers clearly is telling you something useful about how it runs.
Phones and contact with home
Nearly all residential programmes restrict phone and internet access at the start. The reasoning is not punitive. In the first week people are exhausted, ashamed and impulsive, and one phone call can end a treatment episode. Restrictions loosen as the programme goes on.
Ask when you get your phone, how often, and how your family reaches you in an emergency before then. Then tell your family, so silence in week one is not mistaken for something being wrong.
The first night
It is usually the worst night of the stay, and it is worth saying so.
You are jet lagged, in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar country, and you have just told a stranger the truth about your drinking or your using, possibly for the first time. Sleep is poor and anxiety is high.
Staff are awake. In medical detox, observations continue overnight. If you feel unwell at three in the morning, you say so and someone comes.
The first night is not evidence that you have made a mistake. It is what the first night is like.
Days one to seven: detox, and what it honestly feels like
Medical detox at The Orchid Recovery runs five to seven days, which is typical for alcohol and for most drugs.
| Period | What is common |
|---|---|
| First 24 hours | Sweating, tremor, nausea, racing heart, anxiety, very poor sleep. Medication is given to manage this. |
| Days 2 to 3 | Usually the peak. Symptoms are physically hard and emotions are raw. |
| Days 4 to 5 | Physical symptoms begin to settle. Sleep is still broken. Appetite starts to return. |
| Days 6 to 7 | Most people are stable enough to begin therapy. Tiredness and low mood are normal and can persist for weeks. |
Withdrawal is medically managed, which makes it safer and more bearable. It does not make it comfortable. Anyone who tells you detox in Thailand is pleasant because there is a pool is not being straight with you.
The timeline is typical rather than guaranteed, and varies by substance, dose and history. Alcohol withdrawal and opioid withdrawal feel quite different from one another.
Detox is also not treatment. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is explicit that detoxification is not the same as treatment and is not sufficient to help a person recover. The week you are dreading is the shortest part of the programme.
What a normal programme day looks like
Once detox is finished, the days become structured and, for most people, unexpectedly ordinary. A typical day: morning movement or meditation, group therapy, individual sessions several times a week, a psycho education group, and free time later on. Meals are at set times. There is a lot of tea and a lot of talking.
At The Orchid Recovery this is residential treatment for a maximum of twenty people, combining CBT, DBT, EMDR and trauma therapy with holistic sessions including yoga, meditation, Thai massage and Thai boxing. A mental health condition alongside the addiction is treated at the same time as dual diagnosis.
Structure is the point. Most people find week two easier than they expected.
Family contact during your stay
Families often struggle with the first week more than clients do, because they hear nothing and imagine everything.
Most centres open family contact once the person is through detox, and many run family therapy by video. Visits are usually possible later in a stay, arranged in advance. Ask each centre its visitor policy, when family calls begin, and whether family therapy is included. If you are the family member reading this, our page on family support may help in the meantime.
What happens if you want to leave
Residential treatment in Thailand is usually voluntary, and in most cases you can discharge yourself.
What normally happens is that staff ask you to wait twenty four hours and talk it through first, because withdrawal symptoms can contribute to wanting to leave.
Ask before you book what a centre’s self discharge process is, what happens to your fees, and whether staff help arrange a flight home.
What arriving at The Orchid Recovery involves
The Orchid Recovery is a private residential addiction and mental health treatment centre in Hang Dong District, Chiang Mai, for international English speaking adults. One site, a maximum of twenty clients, a full time on site psychiatrist and an arrangement with Chiang Mai Ram Hospital.
Programmes run four, eight or twelve weeks: five to seven days of medical detox where the substance requires it, then residential therapy, then two months of complimentary aftercare once you are home.
Fees start at USD 10,900 for four weeks including that aftercare. We are not the cheapest centre in Thailand and do not claim to be, but we publish the number, which several centres do not. Fuller detail: what rehab in Thailand costs and the Thailand rehab visa.
We admit adults only, and we do not offer outpatient programmes or detox only stays.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I stop drinking before I fly to rehab in Thailand?
Not without clinical advice. If you are physically dependent on alcohol, stopping suddenly on your own can be dangerous and the NHS says so directly. Tell the admissions team exactly what you drink and how much, then follow the instruction you are given. The same applies to benzodiazepines and prescribed opioids.
How long does detox take at a rehab in Thailand?
At The Orchid Recovery, medical detox runs five to seven days. Days two and three are usually the hardest. Tiredness and disrupted sleep can continue for several weeks afterwards, which is normal.
Will someone meet me at the airport?
Yes. Transfer from Chiang Mai International Airport is arranged in advance and the driver will have your name. The drive to Hang Dong District takes about half an hour.
Can I keep my phone in rehab?
Access is restricted at the start at almost every residential centre, and eases as the programme goes on. Ask when phone access begins, how long sessions last, and how your family can reach you in an emergency before then.
What happens to my belongings when I arrive?
Belongings are checked, and alcohol, non prescribed drugs and some other items are removed or held. Medication is normally dispensed by staff. Ask each centre for its list before you travel, so there are no surprises on the day.
Can I leave rehab in Thailand if I want to?
In most cases, yes. Treatment is usually voluntary and you can normally discharge yourself. Staff will usually ask you to wait twenty four hours and talk it through first, because withdrawal symptoms in the first days can contribute to wanting to leave.
When can my family contact me?
Most centres open family contact once detox is complete, and many offer family therapy by video. Confirm timings with the centre and tell your family in advance, so a quiet first week is not misread as a problem.
What does a four week stay cost?
Fees start at USD 10,900 for four weeks. That includes five to seven days of medical detox where the substance requires it, the residential programme at a single site capped at 20 clients, and two months of aftercare once you are home. Flights are separate. Eight and twelve week programmes cost more and are quoted on enquiry.
How do I actually book a place?
You do not book first. You talk to us first, and that conversation is clinical: what you drink or use, how much, when you last had it, what you are prescribed, and how any previous withdrawal went. From that we agree whether to admit you and on what date. Flights are booked last, for the reasons set out above.
