Bangkok & Ayutthaya

Three nights in Bangkok with a full day out among the ruins of Thailand's former capital. This private tour sets the city's ceremonial heart — the Grand Royal Palace, the Emerald Buddha and the lying Buddha of Wat Pho — alongside a long-tail boat run on the Chao Phraya and a day in Ayutthaya. It suits travellers who want Bangkok's headline sights at a steady pace plus one excursion beyond the city, and it is among the shorter trips in our Thailand tour programme.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Onto The Chao Phraya By Long-Tail Boat

You arrive in Bangkok in the morning and are transferred to your hotel; standard check-in is after 2pm. The afternoon is spent on the water: a private long-tail boat carries you along the Chao Phraya River and into the many bustling interior canals that run off it, with close views of local life at the water's edge. The boat stops at Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, and the evening is free. If a floating market appeals more, there is a separate four-day Bangkok temples and floating markets itinerary.

The Grand Palace And The Jim Thompson House

The second day begins after breakfast at the Grand Royal Palace, the compound dedicated to the ceremonies of the Thai royal family. Inside the same walls stands Wat Phra Kaew, known for the statue of the Emerald Buddha, and from there you continue to Wat Pho, a giant house of the lying Buddha. The afternoon turns to the Jim Thompson House in the heart of the city centre: the story of the American businessman who made it his life's work to bring Thai silks to the world's fashion houses, the historic teak houses he had shipped to Bangkok from around the country and assembled into one remarkable home, the art he gathered over 25 years in Thailand, and the mystery of his 1967 disappearance in the Malaysian jungle.

A Full Day Among The Ruins Of Ayutthaya

On the third morning you leave for Ayutthaya, a little over an hour from Bangkok, for the temple and palace ruins of the former Thai capital. You visit Wat Phu Khao Thong, the Monastery of the Golden Mount, just outside Ayutthaya, and Wat Mahathat, where a Buddha face emerges from a tree, then the ancient palace, Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Viharn Phra Mongkol Bopit, with one of the largest bronze Buddhas in Thailand. Lunch that day is by your own account. The afternoon covers Wat Lokaya Sutha and its large reclining Buddha before Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, built in the Ayutthaya era, which blends European, Khmer, Thai and Chinese architecture and is the King's favourite summer palace. For more days around the capital, compare the five-day Bangkok and surroundings itinerary.

GOOD TO KNOW

This is a private tour, including accommodation on a twin or double sharing basis with daily breakfast, all transfers in a private air-conditioned car, the long-tail boat cruise, all entrance fees, water and cool towels and government taxes. An English-speaking guide accompanies the guided sightseeing time rather than the whole stay. Only the meals listed are provided: day three's lunch is by your own account, and drinks are extra. International airfares, tips and gratuities and early check-in or late check-out are excluded, and personal travel insurance is compulsory. Loy Krathong, Songkran, Christmas and New Year carry surcharges, and a compulsory gala dinner may apply. Check-out on the last morning is at noon.

If four days is more than you have, there is a three-day Bangkok Highlights break; with longer, see the ten-day Truly Northern Thailand itinerary.