We want to go to Kanchanburi and the River Kwai over 2 days (staying one night in Kanchburi).
The problem is we would need to be at the airport the second day for our planes departure at 19.50 (so I guess be at the airport at aroundd 6pm) This is is why a tour doesnt work as the 2 day organised tours all return to the hotel at 6pm which wont work for us.
So to do it independently -
If anyone can help me with suggestions on best way to see the following in this time I would really appreciate it.
My first thought was to find out the cost of a driver for the 2 days but then I need the logistics on how we get the train and how we get up to Hell Fire Pass. We hope to cover the following over the 2 days -
Kanchanaburi, visit to War Museum; Cemetery Of Allied Prisoners of War and Bridge On The River Kwai including taking a ride on the Death Railway Train.
Boat ride downstream to Resotel Pier and continue to visit to the Hell Fire Pass Memorial before returning to Bangkok -
HELP!
thanks for anyone with the knowledge that will make this possible for us and for sharing!

Just take the Train, express a/c bus or a taxi from Bangkok ( Taxi about US$35). Choose hotel ( I will give you a link later ). ALL the hotels have masses of brochures maps and information, they all have frequent tours, you will get masses of information, all well organised. Just ask reception to organise a car for you direct to BKK Airport, they will sort it all out for you, don't worry, it's real easy.
Don't take a car+driver from BKK to show you around, the local tours and local independent car+drivers know the area well.
So just sort accommodation and then decide how you want to travel from BKK.

http://www.freewebs.com/hua_hin_hotels/riverkwai.htm

or direct to hotels

http://www.r24.org/huahin.20m.com/kanchanaburi/hotels/

Felix is a standard one if you want to make a quick easy choice.

For drivers who speak good English and are pretty good with some broad information you can look at www.julietaxi.com. Julie is very helpful and may be able to even organize your trip.

Thanks James for such a quick and reassuring reply. We usually do everything indenpendently but this one has me unsure because I cant visualise timelines or distances to cover the things we want to see.
Can you help me a little with this also please?
So time by train or car to a hotel in Kanchanburi?
You then say to get a tour or driver from the hotel - which do you think would work best for our plan? and if we used a driver then I guess he could also take us back to Bangkok. Keeping traffic in mind can you make a guess at approx time we would need to leave the area by to ensure we make it to the airport by 6pm (sorry James - its that time/distance perception, or lack of! problem again.)
thanks again, you're a gem.

Another hotel suggestion we enjoyed was Kasem Island Resort. To reach there u have to take a 10 min boat ride. Is on an sialnd in the middle of the water. Distance to K'buri depends somewhat on the time of day. Sat morning we made it in 2.5 hours but Sun afternoon we were home in under 2. JamesA can corroborate but think the route passes the airport which is time efficient for u. I can also suggest an independent guide who will accopnay u from Bkk if u like - we took her to Ayyuthya and were very happy with her. She will make her own overnight arrangements.

Thanks Sameera, interesting that you say the best route will pass the airport as this would help in regards to our luggage problem (we could put it in storage at the airport for the day on the way out to save taking it and then just book it in when we return - great!)
Could you please give me the details of the driver and I will contact him/her for a quote as this sounds like a stressfree easy option.
Can you remember the approx cost it was for you when you kept the same driver for the whole period? (overnight)
thanks again

Sorry - my post was not clear. I went to K'buri with my own driver but know people who have gone with Julie and are very happy. Her website is www.julietaxi.com and her e-mail id is [email protected]. Another option is someone called Ratt - do a search for her name on the forum and posts for her will come up. I can also provide you with the name of an independent Eng speaking guide if you are interested.