Bangkok Private Tour and Charter: Temples, Floating Markets and the Gulf Coast

Bangkok is a city where a vehicle matters little inside the centre and enormously outside it. The Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun sit within a couple of kilometres of each other, which the Skytrain and river boats cover well. Ayutthaya, the floating markets, Kanchanaburi and the gulf coast do not. That is where a private car and driver changes the trip. We plan the route first and then drive it — one party, one vehicle, with measured driving times before you commit.

Getting there

Suvarnabhumi Airport is about 38 minutes from the Siam area by road outside peak hours, and Don Mueang about 30. Both stretch badly in the evening rush. Measured from the city: Ayutthaya about 65 minutes, the Maeklong Railway Market about 58, Amphawa floating market about 66, Damnoen Saduak about 77, Pattaya about 105, Hua Hin about 142, Kanchanaburi about 180 and Khao Yai about 200.

Private tour — the route planned too

A private tour starts before the vehicle does. We ask for three things — dates, number of nights and who is travelling — and send back a route outline: which airport to use, how many nights each place deserves, and the measured driving time between stops rather than an estimate. Only when the shape is agreed do we quote, and nothing is booked before that.

Bangkok rewards a split base. Two or three nights in the city for the river and the temples, then one or two nights west in Kanchanaburi or south in Hua Hin.

Charter — car and driver

A charter is a vehicle and a driver, by the day or by the week. You decide the stops; the driver handles the roads, the parking and the timing. It suits the days the Skytrain cannot reach: the ruins at Ayutthaya, the railway market at Maeklong, the floating markets of Ratchaburi and Samut Songkhram, the bridge and waterfalls at Kanchanaburi, and the coast at Pattaya or Hua Hin.

Private tour cost: how it is calculated

A private tour is quoted as one figure for the route, not a daily rate with extras added afterwards. Four things move it: the number of nights and the standard of hotel; any internal flights, bought as part of the route; how many days carry a guide rather than only a driver; and the vehicle class, which follows the party and the luggage. Meals are quoted only where we book them, and anything you pay directly is listed so it is not counted twice.

Charter cost: what drives the price

A charter is charged by the day, and the day is priced on the vehicle, the driver's hours and the distance. Expressway tolls and parking sit inside the vehicle cost we quote rather than arriving as a surprise at the end. Long legs change the arithmetic: Ayutthaya is a half day each way with the ruins in between, Kanchanaburi is a full day, and Khao Yai is a long day rather than a morning. A day that runs past midnight counts as a second day.

Guide cost: private guide versus driver

The driver is included in the charter. A guide is a separate person and charged by the day. In Bangkok a guide earns the fee at the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun, where the history is the point and the dress code catches people out; on the road to Kanchanaburi the driver is usually enough. Most parties book two or three guided days rather than a guide for the whole route.

Do you need a private guide?

Not every day, and not for the driving. A guide turns a walk through the Grand Palace compound or a morning at Wat Pho from looking into understanding, and handles tickets and timing at sites where the queues are longest. Where a guide is not needed is the beach day or a long drive. If the party includes older guests or young children, a guide on the first full day usually pays for itself by setting a pace that survives the heat.

Routes that work

Five days: three nights in Bangkok for the river, the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun, then out to Ayutthaya and a night in Kanchanaburi, returning past the bridge on the River Kwai.

Seven days: the same start, then two nights in Hua Hin for the coast, with the Maeklong railway market and Amphawa on the way down, and a slow last day back to the airport.

Ten days: Bangkok and the west, then a short flight north to Chiang Mai for three or four nights of temples and mountains, which is the only leg on that route we would not drive.

When to come

November to February is the cool, dry season and the most comfortable weather of the year. March to May is hot, and Songkran closes the middle of April in a citywide water fight. June to October is the green season: rain usually arrives in the afternoon and clears, and hotel rates soften.

Corporate group tours

Bangkok works for company groups because the infrastructure already exists: hotels with meeting space, one vehicle per team so a large party can split into streams, and a fixed daily schedule with room for a session and a site visit. We handle the vehicles, the meeting room, the group dinners and the airport arrivals, and invoice transport, guide and hotels together.

Incentive travel

Incentive trips are built around fixed points: a private dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya, a rooftop reception, a Muay Thai evening, or a long lunch before the group flies home. We build the award night first and plan the driving around it, so the schedule holds.

Family private tours

Children do better in Bangkok with a car for the days outside the centre, because the alternative is a bus timetable in thirty-degree heat. A private vehicle means leaving when the day is finished, carrying the bags and the pushchairs, and stopping when someone needs to. We keep driving days moderate, put the pool or the hotel room in the middle of the afternoon, and supply child seats when the ages are declared.

Bangkok hotels: city hotels, five-star hotels and hot-spring hotels

City hotels

On Sukhumvit or around Siam, walkable to the Skytrain — the right base when the route moves every day.

Five-star hotels

Riverside rooms with the Chao Phraya in the window and a boat pier downstairs. On longer routes we use one or two nights at this level, not every night.

Hot-spring hotels

Bangkok has no natural hot springs and no onsen tradition. What exists is Japanese-style bath facilities inside a few hotels and spa houses, and we book them when a bath at the end of a hot day is what the party actually wants.

Compare Bangkok hotels on Trip.com · or send your dates and we quote hotels inside the tour price.

Frequently asked questions

How many days do you need in Bangkok?

Three full days for the river, the palaces and the markets, five to add Ayutthaya and Kanchanaburi, seven or more to reach the coast. Two days is the usual mistake.

Do we need a car in the city?

No. The Skytrain, the metro and the river boats cover the centre better than a car does, and the traffic is the reason. The car earns its place the morning you leave the city.

Is Ayutthaya worth a day trip?

Yes — about 65 minutes each way — and it is a full day rather than a morning. Going early beats the heat and the coach parties, which is one reason a night in Kanchanaburi works better than returning to Bangkok.

Which floating market should we choose?

Damnoen Saduak is the largest and busiest, about 77 minutes out and best in the morning. Amphawa is smaller and runs mainly late afternoon into the evening at weekends.

Do your drivers speak English?

Yes, and we match the driver to the party. Tell us which language you need when you ask for the route.