river tours in Bangkok
 

Wondered if anyone knows any good river tours or trips? We will be there in April & see several listed but don't know which ones are best, or should we just ride the water taxis?

There are a couple of tours you may be thinking of. <BR><BR>The most popular is a trip to the floating markets. The two best locations are at least an hour out of town, and one must wake up & depart very early in the morning to get there in time. The tour companies arrange to get you there in time, take the tour, & return you to your hotel.<BR><BR>The alternate is a tour of the canals within Bangkok, which is the one many people who are only in Bangkok for a day or so opt for. It's interesting, and well worth doing if you can't manage one of the others, but the two out of town sites are the "real" river tours.<BR><BR>For these trips, I think most of the companies are pretty much the same - I imagine that there are some that offer something beyond people's expectations, and some that really push stops at overpriced souvenier shops along the way, but for the most part, all of the companies will take you on the exact same tour with little variation in price & quality. <BR><BR>In neither case is it really necessary to book before you leave. Unless you are looking for a very upscale tour or get a recommendation from someone on this board for a specific company, it will be just as easy (and far cheaper) simply to book your tour upon arrival.<BR><BR>The water taxis are primarily just to get you from point A to point B in town - again, they are worth taking, but not at all the same thing as a tour to one of the real water markets.<BR><BR>Finally, there are river tours to ancient cities outside of Bangkok that can be done in a day or longer. For these types of tours, company selection may be more important since you will be spending more time on the boat & will probably want a knowledgeable guide.

Andrea, Thanks so much for the reply to my question. It was very helpful & answered my questions. Thanks again.

We done the canal tour in Bangkok and thought it was brilliant and excellent value for money. The main advantage (apart from having the boat to ourselves) was it was not an early start nor an hours drive out of town. It lasted about 2 hours and we saw so much from the river houses to cat fish being fed (amazing!) and a temple. <BR>Definately recommend it!

Hello Donna, We were in BKK last year. Decided to take a water taxi to get off at a certain spot and go to Siam Center. What an experience we had. We ended up getting the wrong one and went the wrong way on the river. got off, never did find the skytrain to get to the siam Center. But, we had an interesting experience. Finally decided to go back to our hotel area and shop there. Have a yummy coconut for me when you go. It was the only "street" thing I bought that could be eaten. It was very cold and just delicious!