Bangkok - Ko Kret/Ko Kred
 

We're going to go to Ko Kret/Kred, outside of Bangkok, up river. We're planning on a Sunday, as that's the "busy" day when most shops and eateries are open.

Found that you can take a tour with or without bicycles for around $50.00 per person. Tours don't interest us, nor does $50.00 per person.

You can get there on your own via a complicated soudning combo of water taxi, regular taxi and 2 baht ferry...interesting sounding, but perhaps more hassle than we are willing to endure with an 8 year old.

I'm thinking we could hire a long tail boat to take us there, and then another to bring us back, maybe on the return trip down river going through the klongs at Bangkok Noi.

So, if we did that, how much do you thing the boat would cost us...meaning how much should I negotiate down to?

I also read somewhere that there was a Chao Praya express boat that goes only on Sundays from Taksin, but it was also listed as a tour...anyone know anything about that option?

you are correct about the chao payra express tour on sundays....at least in may it was running...it is 300 B i think and leaves about 9 and returns about 3....it is from taskim pier...in fact i have the flier...let me look...yes here it is...9-3:30...300 B adults, 250 children...includes boat cruise, english speaking tour guide, drinking water, insurance and VAT...you are actually at ko kret from 10:30 to noon and then you make a couple of other stops...from 12:15 to 1 you are at a restaurant: house of thai sweets....you go to a floating market as well for 20 minutes...
tel: 02-623-6001...website: www.chaophrayaboat.com...
hope this helps

Thank you...that helps! Because it's definitely a tour, it's not for us.

I think what we want to do is get there, wander on our own, eat when and where we like, and leave when we want...without minimal transportation hassle. Maybe hiring a boat for the trip, or taking a taxi to the nearby temple where the 2 baht ferry goes from, are our best options.

gpanda did it on his own so he may comment soon...

ratt has also taken people there i have read in the past...

i did not go for the same reason---no tours!!!

I saw Gpanda's comments from his trip last year. What I want is to get there hassle free for a reasonable price, and not be on a tour. Doing an small off the main river klong tour on the way back is another want...so hiring a boat really seems the best way, at least for the return.

What's the going rate for a boat/hour?

for the klong tour it is 400-500 per hour i think....so this should be the same....you could take any boat up to Maharaj pier which is the jumping off point to kret....at least that is what c.p. express map shows...it also shows a car park there so i guess you could take a taxi there...it shows the ride on the boat from this pier to kret is 1 hour....the pier is just above the grand palace 1 stop i think....

or you could go to wat arun and hail a long tail boat there....you are at penn. i think so it is easy to get to arun from there...via taxi

This trip, the Penn is WAAAAY out of our budget, and we were really spoiled getting it before for $185.00 nett grande deluxe suite. Can't take getting only a deluxe room for significantly more money.

So, we're trying out the Majestic Grande. The Marriott was also coming in at $200.00 and up for our time, even from booking sites like r24 (which I did use for Chiang Mai - first for me, we'll see how it goes). The MG negotiated a great rate with me online, beating booking sites as well as their own website, and were great to correspond with. Hope the place is as nice.

So, I think we'll taxi/boat it...the day we actually go we'll work out how we get there. I think I've got enough of an idea now to get there without too much stress.

KJ-we got to Ko Kred by taking the river ferry to the last stop. At the pier, I encountered a man who arranged a long-tail boat to the island and return for 700 Baht. We spent several hours on the island. You don't need a guide. We took a motorcycle circuit of the island that I bet your 8 year old would love. I don't remember the price, but it was relatively cheap.

From http://wikitravel.org/en/Ko_Kret


The easiest way to reach Ko Kret is to take the Chao Phraya Express Boat's once-weekly Koh Kred tour (http://www.chaophrayaboat.com/TouristBoat_KohKred.php), which leaves the Central pier (BTS Saphan Taksin) at 9 AM on Sundays and returns at 3:30 PM, visiting a number of attractions along the way. The cost of the cruise and guided tour is 300 baht (no lunch). Many other companies also offer similar tours, often just as a stop on a longer upriver trip to Ayutthaya.

Independent travel to Ko Kret is a little more challenging. Most people start by traveling to Nonthaburi pier, the last stop (pier N30) of the normal Chao Phraya Express Boat; the trip from Central takes close to an hour but costs all of 10 baht. From here, you have the following options:

The cheapest option is to take the aircon van service (10 baht) or public bus 32/506 to Pak Kret, then head to the ferry pier serving the island. The catch is, there is no signage in English, so finding your way can be tricky.
An option that many touts will try to convince you into is hiring a river taxi, quoting prices like 500 baht. With enough haggling this may be a reasonable option for a group.
If you can't get a return trip for less than 200 baht (and you probably can't), it'll be cheaper to take a taxi to the temple of Wat Sanam Neua (80-90 baht) in the neighboring district of Pak Kret, from where ferries shuttle across the river to the island pretty much non-stop for the princely sum of 2 baht (return). Just tell the cabbie "Ko Kret", they will understand.
Getting back is more interesting still, the easy way out again being the river taxi, plenty of which lounge about near the pier. If not, take the ferry back to Wat Sanam Neua, then take a moto or samlor out of the soi (5 baht) to the main street. From here you can easily grab a taxi back to pier, or try your luck with the many buses, minibuses and songthaews heading back to central Nonthaburi and Bangkok. The pier you want to return to is Tha Nam Nonburi or simply Tha Nam Chao Phya ("Chao Phraya pier") in Thai.

Note that the green flag express boats going up the river from Nonthaburi pier directly to Ko Kret, mentioned in some guidebooks, stopped running in 1998 after the economic crash. There have been plans to restart operations, but at time of writing they remain only plans.

anxious to hear your impressions of MG...it looked very nice from the road...it is directly behind the jw marriott...great location...

I'll do a full report when we get back. Of course, it won't come close to being as in depth as yours. :) But a report, it will be. We've always stayed at the Peninsula when in Bangkok, so the MG will be a whole new world for us. The location did seem great, and their correspondence has been excellent.

I'm sure we'll make it to Ko Kret without trouble. It sounds like it will be a nice last day for us in Bangkok.