Country(ies): Thailand
Tour type: Private
Group size: Min: 1 | Max: 0
Accommodation: 4-star hotels
Meals:
Transport: A/C minibus/car
Highlights: Temples & palaces of Bangkok, Bridge on the River Kwai, Erawan National Park, Temples at Ayutthaya, Damnoen Saduak floating market & Thai cooking
This short holiday offers a mouth-watering taste of central Thailand and will leave you looking forward to your next visit. Enjoy Bangkok's many temples and palaces and explore the canals of its western suburbs on a long-tail boat. Then tour to the bridge on the River Kwai, take a journey on the Death Railway to Hellfire Pass and visit a local Mon village. Experience the natural wonders of Erawan National Park and Thailand's historic capital, Ayutthaya, and of course let's not forget the real taste of Thailand with a floating market and Thai cookery tour!
We start in Bangkok with a morning tour to the stunning temples and architecture in the Grand Palace complex, followed by a visit to the huge reclining golden Buddha at Wat Po. After a tasty Thai lunch by the Chao Phraya river, we board a private longtail boat and cross the river to head into Thonburi, Bangkok's surprisingly green and rural western suburb. Here we watch and learn about the daily life of people who live by the canals, and can enjoy various stops including an orchid farm, temple school, and the boat-house where the Royal Barges are stored and maintained.
From Bangkok we head west to historic Kanchanaburi and visit the Allied War Cemetery and war museum, as well as the famous POW built bridge on the River Kwai. The next day takes us into the jungle of Erawan National Park, and a beautiful 7 tiered waterfall, with refreshing pools to dip in, and the afternoon is free for you to enjoy the riverside town of Kanchanaburi.
Our next main stop is at Ayutthaya, Thailand's capital for around 400 years and for many years one of the world's great cities. The city was ravaged by the Burmese in 1767 and abandoned, but is now a World Heritage Site and is home to numerous ruined temples in a very different style of architecture to that you'll have seen in Thailand so far.
We return to Bangkok from Ayutthaya and our last full day gives us a real taste of Thailand, with a morning boat trip to the Damnoen Saduak floating market, one of the most colourful in the kingdom, and an afternoon introduction to Thai cookery.
We offer extensions to this tour to visit Ankhor Wat in Cambodia, or to head south to the beach.
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We can run the tour privately for you on any dates or customise it to make a tailor-made tour to fit your personal requirements. Please contact our knowledgeable sales staff for more help on creating the right tour for you.
The hotels and accommodations listed below are the ones we most often on this tour. From time to time we may exchange these for similar properties at the same level. In general, specific hotels cannot be guaranteed on our group tours, but you may select your preferred options if you are booking a tailor-made trip.
Our tours are designed to include all that you need to enjoy a really special time in the destination youre visiting. However, we do also offer some extra options to complement the tour and add some additional sightseeing or activities, or some extra time at either end of the tour.
All accommodation based options (e.g. Single supplements, extra nights, cruise upgrades) should be booked and paid for in advance so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. Other options may either be booked and paid for in advance or while you are on the tour, though we recommend booking in advance to ensure there are no issues with availability.
Many options are priced the same throughout the year, but some may incur single or high season supplements - full details are given on the tour reservation form or on request.
The detailed Tour Notes below have been written to give you some more detailed information about how the tour runs, what to expect, and how to prepare for your holiday. We recommend downloading an up to date copy of these shortly before you travel in case of any changes.
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