Does anyone know of any reliable tour operators in bangkok and Chaing mai.We were thinking of going for a day's trip to Ayutthaya and then taking the river cruise down on the way back.Since we hardly have 3 days in BK we don't want to lose a lot of time fumbling around and not knowing where to go.Also in CM, is it better to go along with tours to say the national park?Any suggestions on what all one can see there in 4 days and how.Will be raelly grateful if u can actually tell us how to get to these places as well.

You would be doing yourselves a big favour if you got a guide book from somewhere. The local library perhaps,

The Lonely Planet has tons of information on how to get from A to B.
It's maybe not so good on tours - but, hey, it'll be a start and would add to your fund of knowledge.

If you only have three days in Bangkok I would skip Ayutthaya unless you have some very particular interest in it. You do not need a tour guide. If you want you can hire a driver. Definitely do not take a group tour in chiang mai.

i'm with gloria .... there is way too much to do to be tooling off to AYT for a day unless you have some reason to particularily go there....your hotel will have info on tours and will have drivers available to hire....it can easily be arranged the nite before---same holds true for CM.....at CM there usually are drivers at the airport who are looking for your business as you arrive...

Dear Jungli,

There are two major tour operators in Bangkok, and they operate in EVERY hotel, so your hotel concierge should be able to assist you, complete with displayed photos and descriptions. If you wish to arrange yourself, you can book via Contact Dietehlm (tel. 2255-9150) or World Travel (tel. 025900). However, you will have to travel to head office from where the tours depart. If you book through your hotel, they will come and pick you up and transfer you to their head office for the right tour.

You can go to the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaeo, Wat Po, The National Museum, and Wat Arun. Another day you can visit the ancient 12th century capital of Ayutthaya. Or you can go to the original site of Bridge over River Kwai, the death railway built by Allied PoWs from Thailand to Burma. Also, don't forget to take a tour down the Chao Phraya, and the floating markets at Domdansaduak (sp ? ) is another must.

If you've been to Siem Reap, you can skip Ayutthaya altogether, Angkor Wat is way more fascinating.

If you only have three days I would definately not go to River Kwai - very disappointing unless you have some connection to someone who was a POW there. Even then, the display at the site of the POW barracks is very disappointing with very little to see, poorly displayed. And the trip there is not scenic or interesting. For so little time, I would spend it all in BKK.

thank you all so much for all the tips!!