Bangkok Temples and Floating Markets

This four-day, three-night programme is built around two guided days in Bangkok: one for the royal city and its great temples, one for the railway and floating markets southwest of the capital. The arrival and departure days are left free. It runs privately for your own group, with an air-conditioned car, entrance fees and daily breakfast, and it sits at the short end of our Thailand tours and holidays — enough for a first visit to the capital without a long overland circuit.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The Grand Palace And The Great Temples

The full day of city sightseeing starts after breakfast at the Grand Royal Palace, the compound dedicated to the ceremonies of the Thai royal family. Within the same walls stands Wat Phra Kaew, known for the statue of the Emerald Buddha. From there the visit continues to Wat Pho, the giant house of the lying Buddha, and then to Wat Traimit, well known as the Golden Buddha. All entrance fees at these sites are covered. If you have only a long weekend, the same royal core anchors our shorter three-day Bangkok Highlights break.

Along The Chao Phraya By Long-Tail Boat

The afternoon changes the angle completely. You board a long-tail boat, private to your party, for an excursion along the Chao Phraya River and the many bustling interior canals branching off it, which give close views of local life beside the water. The boat calls at Wat Arun, the temple of the dawn, and you then return to the hotel with free time for relaxation. Travellers with the same four days who would rather trade one market morning for a former royal capital tend to weigh this against our Bangkok and Ayutthaya itinerary.

Maeklong, Damnoen Saduak And Patom Organic Village

The third day begins early with the drive southwest of Bangkok to the Maeklong railway market, with time for photographs and a local snack, then on to Damnoen Saduak, a rural floating market. A motor boat trip carries you along the waterway to the market itself. Lunch that day is by your own account and is not part of the package. In the afternoon you transfer back to Bangkok, stopping at Patom Organic Village, which is open on Saturday and Sunday only. There you follow organic raw materials through an open bakery, supplement and body care factory, with selective hands-on workshops to join.

Arrival, Free Time And Departure

A guide meets you at Bangkok airport on arrival and transfers you to your hotel; standard check-in is after 2pm, and the rest of that first day is yours to rest or wander out into the city. Three nights in all are spent in Bangkok. The final morning stays free until the transfer to the airport for your onward flight, with check-out at noon, and the service ends there. If you plan to carry on beyond the capital afterwards, our ten-day Truly Northern Thailand journey covers the opposite end of the country.

GOOD TO KNOW

The tour is private to your group. Included: accommodation on a double or twin sharing basis with daily breakfast, all transfers by private air-conditioned car, the private long-tail boat and the private motor boat at the floating market, all entrance fees, water and cool towels, government taxes and service charges, and an English-speaking guide for the guided time rather than throughout. Excluded are international airfares, early check-in or late check-out, meals not indicated, drinks, tips and gratuities, personal expenses and personal travel insurance, which is compulsory. Surcharges apply for festivals such as Loy Krathong and Songkran and over Christmas and New Year. Compare more of our holiday packages.