We have two full days with Tong in mid-October. Can anyone give me a good sample itinerary? How much should it cost for four of us? How much do we "tip" her?
Thanks in advance!

For a first time BKK visitor, here is a suggested 2 day plan:

Day-1 Grand Palace, Way Pho, Chinatown, lunch at Jim Thompson House, Suan Packard House and shopping/gawking at MBK and Siam Square.

Day-2 Making merit/observing Monk procession, Marble Wat, Viranamek Palace,Wat Prayoon (Turtle Wat in Thonburi), Wat Arun, Klong Tour.

Gpanda's suggestions hit all the top spots.

I'm sure if you email Tong she will send you some suggested itineraries.

I would tip her according to what you usually tip someone if good service is rendered. If you are pleased I would tip 20% or more, tipping is a personal thing though.

Aloha!

i agree with the above...the price is the same for 1 as for 4....probably about $100 per day all in....maybe less..

i agree to contact her first and ask what she suggests and then i would take gpanda's list and apply it to her list and choose what you prefer to do most...

why should you need a guide to go to MBK / Siam center ???

You don't need a guide for MBK but with the heat you will find a driver waiting for you is best. Also Ratt and Tong offer a flat rate for 10 hours. Ratt will give you 10-11 hours for 5000 Baht for 2 days. we gave 20% and Ratt was most appreciative. At 37 Baht to the US ollar be generous if service is good and A/C is working well. Ratts Carolla had excellent A/C. Tong's probably does as well. Grandpa's suggestion is a good one. If you are there on Sat. or Sun. the weekend market is fun but 50% of the vendors did not open until about 10AM while others I hear are there at 7-8 AM.It is worh 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

"You don't need a guide for MBK but with the heat you will find a driver waiting for you is best".

A taxi with A/C or the Skytrain will do just fine as well. For $12/hour, the guide should also give you a massage when you get in the car!

One does not need a guide for MBK or Siam Square, however, the OP stated that she had engaged Tong for two days. It seemed that if they were in the area of MBK and SS anyway that they should pop in to take a gander. Also, many have posted that one of the benefits of having Tong was her ability to interface with the Thai people. This may enhance the experience.

I agree that you don't need a guide for MBK (or any mall for that matter) - BUT, Tong is a great value there cause she is a relentless bargainer... so, if you see something you like, she can get it closer to the price Thai people pay, as opposed to tourist prices...

I do agree with the above though, both about the main sights, and just to email Tong for her ideas - she's got tons of them... the best way to do it is to tell her what your interests are, and she will tailor your time with her accordingly...

Mary, we discussed this before (my wife and I are patients of yours from NYC), but I think having Tong show you some really good local food is well worth it... She knows tons of places for good local food, and I'm sure she won't get you sick! My wife and I are more adventurous than most, and like I said before, we never felt better than when we were there...

And please please please, when you see her, tell her we say "Hi!" and give her a big hug from both Ken and Cathrine!!!

A guide to go to MBK and Siam square area when the skytrain dumps one off RIGHT at both of them? Totally not necessary. Happy Travels!

When we were there in August, Tong's charges were 3,000B per day. This included petrol if you were in the bangkok area but if you were going outside, then she will estimate how much petrol will cost. This doesn't include the entrance fees into the temples etc but as I remember, these were not very much, 50 or 100B.

I say estimate for petrol because Thailand's petrol prices are seeing the same fluctations as in the rest of the world. If the difference in price from what she quotes is not much, she covers it but if there is a greater increase, she will advise you. As Bob said, it is the same price for one as for four. Have a lovely time - she is such a lovely lady!

about petrol:
1. the prices had a big drop in recent days.
2. i think that going thru trafic in BKK spends a lot of gas, so charging for all gas for outside trips is not right, in my opinion.

may...they all do it so i don't really see it as an issue....their overall price is very reasonable

IMO you dont need a guide in Bangkok! we took taxis ALL over bangkok... never spent more than 100 bht on any one taxi ride in the city.
why hire a guide in the city when you can make a list of places you want to go and just hop in a cab from place to place? waste of money for tour guide.

however, you can hire a guide to take you OUT of the city, like to floating market, tiger conservatory, river kawi.. thats definitely something you cant do on your own.

have a great time!

A guide is not necessary, but may enhance your experience if you have a good one. We've only had a guide once in BKK and she was horrible...good thing it was only a half day wasted.

But, from all of the great reports about Tong, we are seriously considering going with her for one or two days on our next trip. Not because we need one, but because we think it would be great to make merit in some of the ways offwego posted about, because Tong loves food and so do we and we think she'll be able to introduce us to some things in the food department we'd likely miss on our own, and because it just might be nice to have someone cool to go around BKK with.

A guide is no more needed outside of the city than in the city. There is no reason you can't go to the floating market, Ayuthaya, Kanchaburi...on your own. We've done Ayuthaya and the floating market with a car and driver but no guide. It's also possible by bus and Ayuthaya is simple by train as well.

A guide is never "necessary" but it can certainly be nice if you get the right one who will work with you to take you to places that you'd otherwise miss and to teach you things you'd otherwise not know. All a matter of personal preference in the end.