Tour guide in BKK
 

We will be staying at the BKK Oriental. If we decided to hire a guide, is it necessary to pre-arrange via the internet with a private tour guide or are we safe to wait till we arrive and have the hotel make the arrangements? We are still undecided whether or not we can see everything on our own or to pay the extra cost for convenience.

Bangkok is very easily navigated on your own, so a guide/driver is not "necessary"... however, I found that our guide was invaluable in our experiences. Many people like to just have a driver so that they can see the sights in a more convenient fashion (and stay in air conditioning between sights).

You can hire a guide through your hotel upon arrival, however, the hotel will charge much more than if you book a guide on your own before you arrive.

If you search this board, you will find many recommendations for good guides/drivers... among them are Tong, Ratt (who is a driver, not a guide, but very knowledgable), Cherry and a few others.

I have no experience with others, but I thought Tong was amazing - her english is great, she is funny, personable, and is a treasure trove of knowledge on Bangkok, her country, and Buddhism as well. And, if you have any desire to sample local or street food, then she is a perfect guide since she loves to eat, and knows the best places to go for local food that are not only tasty, but clean and safe. You can contact her at [email protected]

I'm one of those people who prefers to travel on my own. Staying by the river makes it very easy to get to many of the major sites via water taxi. Some people like to use a driver or guide in Bangkok, but it certainly isn't necessary.

If you get there and decide you want a driver for a day or a guide, your hotel can arrange it for you or you could send an email to one of the many guides/drivers people here on teh board have used. There are phone numbers listed for some of the drivers/guides.

cherry is getting very good marks along with tong and ratt has long been a favorite...

cherry: [email protected]

Bkk is not a problem to navigate yourself and the people are so friendly and helpful. If for some reason you decide you want a guide your hotel can arrange one for you.