An alternative private tour to explore bustling Bangkok the fun way using a variety of local transports (tuk-tuk, sky train, subway, water-taxi). First you go to the city's largest fresh market located in Khlong Toey district. You will find all kinds of raw materials for cooking (fruits, vegetables, spices, meat, seafood, live chickens, etc) at this 24-hour market. Its busiest time is usually early morning when sellers from all over the city flock here to acquire goods for their shops that open in the morning.
Then, we visit Jim Thompson House, a Traditional Thai style teak house that is now a museum showing the production of silk and the development of silk business in Thailand. The house was once owned by an American who promoted Thai silk business to the international level. Nearby we will take you to a rarely visited old silk factory that has been producing and selling silk products until today.
Before lunch, the tour takes you up the 344 steps of the Golden Mount to Wat Saket where you will be rewarded with a panoramic view of old Bangkok.
We then enjoy a delicious freshly cooked Thai lunch at a good local restaurant.
Later on, we take you to Wat Traimit, a prominent temple in the Chinatown area. Its image hall houses the world's largest Buddha image made of pure gold. This solid sitting Buddha is approximately 3 meters tall and weighs 5.5 tons. The Buddha is estimated to be more than 700 years old and it has the features used by the Sukhothai school of art.
We then explore Chinatown where you can stroll down the streets and small alleys lined with local markets, shop houses, colonial buildings, and several temples.
You can personalize your tour on the booking form, you can select to replace Khlong Toey market with:
- The colorful Flower & Vegetable market.
- Wat Arun (temple of dawn), one of Bangkok's best know landmarks on the riverside.
- Wat Pho (reclining Buddha temple), one of the most impressive temples in Thailand.
This tour can be organised with luxury minivan if more comfort is required, a tuktuk ride can still be done. Minivan is also recommended for families with small children, and groups of 5 or more participants. Please contact us via the question form to request a personalized tour by minivan.
This private tour in Bangkok is organised exclusively for you, no others will join. You will be in trusted hands with our professional English speaking licensed tour guide.
Sam & Neale –
Our guide, Air was fantastic. She was really knowledgeable about all the locations we visited and was so easy to chat to throughout the day. The Bangkok Explorer tour was just the right amount of time for us (8:30am – 3:30pm). Air collected us at the hotel and made sure we got back on time. We found the tour invaluable, a lot of the extra things experienced we simply would have missed out on when visiting the locations alone, especially the temples.
1st timer from Hawaii –
The whole tour on our first day was just amazing. Miss Air was a pleasant guide. She was very active with us, which made the whole first timer experience so great. She was so informative about every destination we had. We had such a great time with her as much as the tour.
Brenda & Bill –
Ms. Air did a fantastic job as our tour guide! She was friendly, patient (we had a ton of questions), knowledgeable and a delight to spend the day with while touring Bangkok! I would highly recommend using her for future visitors to Bangkok.
JC –
Our tour was great. Air was amazing and took us through the back streets of Chinatown to see how people actually live, and away from the tourist areas. We got a feel for the culture and everyday life. We visited several temples, the market, the Jim Thompson house, and learned so much. It was fun interacting with locals. We never felt rushed and Air was so accommodating and helpful for my mother who had mobility issues. We will absolutely use BKK on future tours and recommend them to all our friends.
Mathias –
Awesome and super interesting tour. Loved the refreshments and the lunch place we ate. Wonderful! Ms. Raht was a gem. She explained so many things with detail, took time for our needs, showed and let us taste so many delicious things. Great and fun tour guide.
Brett –
Excellent tour for the price. Tour guide Petch was outstanding.
D & B –
Marisa met us promptly as scheduled, and went over the plan for the day. She really wanted to know what we were interested in and what mattered to us. She was very knowledgeable and very personable. We loved her from the beginning! We wanted a tour that would take us off the beaten path, as we were good with the Bangkok travel system, and could make our own way to the major sites and spend as much time there as we wanted. So, off we went to the Klong Toei Market and spent a good amount of time there. Marisa will extremely knowledgeable about all the food on offer, and we tried a crazy number of things. Our day was busy and filled with non-stop adventures as we travelled via taxi, tuk tuk, boat and subway. We were feeling a little ‘templed out’ so Marisa suggested another market for us. Narrow, winding back streets filled with a whole new array of unknown food, and again, we tried a good amount of it. Some delicious and some not so much, but all part of a very authentic experience! Our lunch break was again off the beaten path and not something we would have had the opportunity to try unless we were with a local. And it was fabulous. Grilled chicken wrapped in pandan leaves was fantastic! Then onto the next set of adventure in the afternoon, and by the time we said goodbye around 4PM, we were thoroughly and utterly exhausted, but elated. It was a brilliant day, and BKK and Marisa delivered on everything they promised, and more. It was absolutely perfect. Thank you so much Marisa for helping make our time in Bangkok as fabulous as it was! And thank you for the tips on some other local restaurants to try and things to do. And you know that the next time we’re in Bangkok we’ll be calling BKK Tours and booking you again for another amazing experience.
Rob –
Great tour and Air was just the best. Very friendly and knowledgeable. More like a friend than tour guide. Great mix of transport, excellent insight in the streets of Bangkok, good food.
Brad J –
Best way to see Bangkok! Ms Oi was an awesome guide. Her English was excellent and she felt like a friend from the very beginning. I travel a lot, and have taken many tours in my life. She is quite literally the best tour guide I have ever had. Bangkok is a difficult city for people who do not speak Thai. This tour should be required to help foreigners navigate the best sites in the city. I would strongly recommend this tour for anyone who likes Bangkok, but needs to see more. Even if you have been to these sites before, go with a local guide. They will tell you so much more than you can read about in a guide book.