heymo

Can anyone give me an idea of the entrance fees, parking fees, etc. as well as a rough idea of gas prices for Bangkok, Tiger Temple, Ayutthaya? I know tongs rates do not include these and want to have a better understanding of how much money we need.

Thanks!

SirHalberd

Just so you will know, most, if not all, of your tour choices are pretty routine.

In Bangkok you can go into most any travel agent, select a tour and the tour company will pick you up at your hotel and return you there at the end of the tour.

Travel agencies act as tour brokers and have a menu selection of popular tours.

When you use a tour from a travel agency you do not have to worry about gas prices, entrance fees, parking fees, etc.

The price you pay at a local travel agency (hundreds of them all over Bangkok) pays for everything!

Thailand has 2 tier pricing. This is so the poorest Thai can see his own country's attractions and heritage.

Tourists pay a higher fee and Thai's pay something really cheap. Bangkok tour companies usually get the tourists in at the Thai prices.

But you don't have to worry about individual pricing - you see what is offered - you pay or say thanks you will "think it over" and compare the same tour at another travel agency.

Good luck.

Hanuman

"Thailand has 2 tier pricing. This is so the poorest Thai can see his own country's attractions and heritage." That's totally wrong! You don't know what you're talking about. Thais pay all sort of taxes and part of the tax money goes to the national park and such. It is quite common around the world for visiting guest to pay higher fees than a local tax payer.

"Tourists pay a higher fee and Thais pay something really cheap. Bangkok tour companies usually get the tourists in at the Thai prices." If there is such a company who tries to save a few baht by corrupting park officials and such, I highly recommend everybody to stay away from those tour companies.

rhkkmk

i think this is bad advice...not wrong in that you should not use a travel agency, but wrong to suggest that travel agency tours are a substitute for personal tours which tong, cherry, ratt and the others provide...

the personal guides provide a wonderful service at a very reasonable price....its totally custom to fit your needs....in fact if there are 4 f you on such a trip i bet it is cheaper than 4 people going on a canned tour from an agency...

if you tell us the trip you are proposing we can estimate the costs for you but it would not be fair for us to list every cost in bkk and surrounding areas when you can do this research yourself....

plan on 400-800 B for gas/mileage if taking a trip ourside town...

parking is realy not an issue..

as suggested earlier please ask tong directly for her actual costs and then you will know for sure...

Gpanda

Just went with Tong to the floating market, Tiger Temple and forest orphanage. The gas surcharge was about 1350 Baht. Also, note that if your tour lasts longer than 10 hours, there may be an overtime charge. The basic 3000 Baht charge is for 10 hours. Having said that, you will enjoy your time with her so much that the cost will seem very small. It is really a special day. Time with her is much better than normal tour guides. It's so much more personal. It's worth twice the money. Easily.

For proof, note that the ultimate cheapskate, i.e., RhkKmk-Bob, is going to be with Tong for a second time in the spring.

laurieco

While I understand that many countries have 2 tier pricing and I don't have a problem with it, I don't buy the argument it's because Thais pay taxes that go to the national parks and such. In the United States, part of our taxes go to support the Smithsonian, a fabulous collection of museums. As a result, admission is free. But it's free for everybody, not just Americans who pay the taxes that go toward it.

Hanuman

Laurie,

There are several places in Thailand that are funded or upkeep by Thai tax payer money and are FREE or has the same entrance fee for everybody as well. If some of these places have more than one fee like for Thais, foreigner, children, elderly, handicapped, civil servant, armed forces personal etc I have no qualms with that and I don't see the issue at all. Why do you think it's an issue that there are more than one fee?

I am also a US citizen and there are several places in the US that has resident and non resident fee which I consider the same as citizen and non-citizen for this example. I just google and here's an example:

http://www.riparks.com/RI%20Park%20Fees.htm

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/fees/

Do citizens of a country have rights and privileges non-citizens don't have? Around the world, yes!

rhkkmk

pook---don't argue with laurie, she always wins...

Hanuman

good advice and I shall heed...

heymo

I had no idea when I asked this I was going to set off such a firestorm...

I agree with Hanuman- I have been to several parks, museums, etc that local residents get a discounted ticket price, and would consider it the same thing. I only asked here because I had tried to contact tong several times to ask her this very thing and got no response. I think the info I've been given by GPanda and Bob was just what I needed, gas prices and entrance fees for a few of the places so we'd have a rough idea of what we've booked.

Thanks for all your help.

laurieco

I'm going to give this one to Hanuman--he wins. Bob, maybe YOU never win an argument with me!!

I don't have an issue with different pricing for locals and foreigners, it doesn't bother me at all. I thought I said that in my original post but I guess I wasn't clear. I just figured that when I came across hotels and flights that charge less for residents and/or locals, it was because they couldn't afford the prices charged to foreigners. I've actually read that in guidebooks. I don't actually believe I've run into that in Thailand but I have in other countries. It never bothered me though. I suppose I just extended that logic to the example given by SirHalberd. My mistake.

The examples of lower pricing for local residents in the U.S. is a bit different. It's not based on citizenship but on where one lives and is much more localized. If you live in some townships your taxes go to some local parks and you will pay less or get in for free. But I have not heard of this in any FEDERALLY run park or museum. State run places may also have the same thing. But not anything run by the federal government as far as I know. If FEDERAL taxes pay for something and it's free, it's free for everyone. Perhaps that's the same thing in Thailand?

shanek

I would expect that places like the Grand Palace would be federally funded and I know this still has a 2 tier price policy. The other difference between the Thailand and USA pricing policies are the scale of the difference. When we recently went to the Emerald Lake near Krabi, they charged 200 baht per adult and 100 baht per child for foreigners. From what I could make out, there was a second line of pricing written in Thai which looked like 20baht and free for children. I realise that it is still not a lot of money,but,when you are a family on a restricted budget, it still makes you think twice to outlay 600 baht compared to 40 baht for a local family.
Also, there were organised tours that went to this as well as a few other sites that could not have been paying the full amount when you did the math based on the charge of a day trip.This gives some credance to Sir Halberts point about tour companies being charged local prices for tourist's.
While I am on the theme of entrance fees, on our recent Phi Phi trip, we organised a long tail boat to take us for a 3 hour trip including a visit to Maya Bay. I must say that Maya Bay was stunning, but we were surprised that when we got to the beach, we had to pay 200 baht per adult, just to step on the beach and have a quick swim. The guy that took our money did'nt offer a receipt, nor did he make any attempt to record the transaction. The first we knew of this "national park entry fee" was when our long tail boat driver informed us of it as we were 20m from the shore. I didn't think it was a scam, but I would be interested to find out how much of this money ends up in the approriate channels. I would also like to know if anyone who has been there on an organised tour has been charged this fee or is that also included in the tour price, maybe also at a discounted rate.
I think the main point here is that we should not be penalised for using an independant guide,be that Tong or my long-tail boat guy, or choosing to explore on our own rather than go with an organised tour group.

rhkkmk

some resort places in the usa have prices for locals during high season....they may call them discounts to stay clear of the law...

rhkkmk

laurie---i was trying to make a joke...i was thinking of certain airline counter persons and a certain red motorbike....haha

bob

Hanuman

First of all, Thailand does not have a state and federal government system like in the US. If you would like to study how it's different from the US government then click on the following link:

http://www.eppo.go.th/index_thaigov.html

Secondly, I'm not sure what happen with your trip to the national park in Southern Thailand. Before travelling any where you can search the web and obtain a lot of information before you get to your destination. If the entrance fee is that high, which is possible as the more pristine or protected the area the higher the fee then you should be aware before you visit a certain place. If the fee is not to you liking then don't visit. Here's a link to the Thai national park and it's entrance fee:

http://www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve/np_rate.asp?lg=2

To help further explain how revenue from the park fee collection is use try:

http://www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve/e-b...Th_Tsunami.pdf

Lastly, tour companies getting foreigner's into national parks or other Thai government controlled places. There is NO official special rates for tour companies to circumvent the Thai non-Thai fees. If you do see this happening I suggest you report them or if you want to go along with it then you should know that it's not legal.

Hanuman

Shanek,

While there are entrance fess for the places you've mentioned it sounds like you got con since all Thai national park official are in uniform and do issue official receipts.

On your next trip to Thailand perhaps you should study the web link I've posted to be better informed.

SirHalberd

"Tourists pay a higher fee and Thais pay something really cheap. Bangkok tour companies usually get the tourists in at the Thai prices." If there is such a company who tries to save a few baht by corrupting park officials and such, I highly recommend everybody to stay away from those tour companies."

*

Well if you plan on staying away from these tour companies because they have lower prices, that means not using just about EVERYONE of the travel agencies in Bangkok! Travel agencies are the brokers for tour companies!

The ordinary traveler rarely deals directly with a tour company unless it is from overseas. Tour companies do get their customers into various tourist destinations at a reduced group rate legally! There must be hundreds and hundreds of travel agent/tour brokers in Bangkok!

Getting a tour from a travel agency/tour broker is easy, often the price of tours and pick up times are listed on some sort of sign on their windows or doors. You can sign up the night before for a tour leaving in the morning.

There are many posts about Tong and some other independent tour companies on the Virtual Tourist and TripAdvisor travel message boards too!

Some people want to sign up for tours on their own at a cheaper rate and other tourists need a lot of individual guidance and someone else to make decisions for them.

Lots of tourists like Tong, but usually these tourists are not backpackers or thrift travelers.

Hanuman

You are very misinformed as there is no such thing as a "group" rate for tourist to enter a national park, national monuments etc that require a foreigner to pay a different entrance fee and will permit them to enter at the same fee as a Thai national. Perhaps only for a privately run park or other private enterprises. I suggest you call the park services before you print any more misleading information. I've provided a link in an earlier post so do call first and then come back and post the correct information.

Hanuman

FYI - the Government is listenning so good news for the tourist.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/07Dec2007_news15.php