Bangkok's Grand Palace Complex and Wat Phra Kaew Tour

Bangkok, Thailand

Ask anyone who has been to Bangkok what their 'must see' list of the city entails, and without fail they'll include The Grand Palace. This half-day sightseeing tour in Bangkok can be taken in the morning or afternoon and will allow you the opportunity to explore the complex, accompanied by a local guide. The Grand Palace Complex is home to a number of attractions including Wat Phra Keow (Temple of the Emerald Buddha).

Built in traditional Thai architecture mixed with European designs, The Grand Palace complex, once the official home for the Kings of Siam, is unquestionably one of the Thailand's major tourist highlights. The King still uses the Grand Palace for certain ceremonial occasions and the regal flavor within its enormous royal grounds is still evident. During the tour you will visit the Royal Funeral Hall and the Royal Coronation Hall.

The main centerpiece of the complex however is the 45 centimeter Emerald Buddha. Carved from just one piece of Jade it is the holiest and most revered religious object in Thailand. The Emerald Buddha is housed within Wat Phra Keow, which is a very ornately decorated building whose roof tiles reach up into the sky.

USD $33.89

Review by: Gareth J	April 2012
Really enjoyed the trip. The guide gave us not only good information about the palace but also information about the culture and an insight into Buddhist beliefs. The palace itself was stunning and a must to visit when in Bangkok.

Review by: Larry F	April 2012
Our guide was outstanding. So knowledgeable and helpful.

Review by: Olga T	February 2012
We had small group of 8 people. Guide was ok, but might do his job better. They were able to pick up us from hotel, which wasn't in the list. So big thank you for that as we were with the small child. Also on the way back there is an additional stop at gem centre, which we didn't expect to have. Any way our guide was able to provide transportation for us to the hotel when we declined to visit the centre.

Review by: Sonja S	January 2012
Lots to see. Interesting and informative

Review by: Nigel D	January 2012
The Grand Palace Complex was excellent. However the tour guide was a little impatient. The tour finished in 1.5 hours when it was meant to be a 3.00 hr tour. All things considered I would rate this expereience as 6 out of 10.

Review by: Holly F	January 2012
My guide was prompt, meeting me in my hotel lobby and very informative about the palace and temple. He was more than willing to take photos of me and answer my questions, it was a lovely time.

Review by: Caroline C	December 2011
We liked it. Definitely worth seeing

Review by: Michael G	December 2011
I asked the tour guide where she was taking us after the Palace tour and she would not tell me. Like I really wanted to end up at a jewelry store so you could make a commission.....I told her to take us back so we could see the laying buda. That is why I don't like tours and would not recommend you. I have a limited time to see what I WANT and not what you want for profit. I have to add that you were late 2 hours to pick me up.

Review by: Raymond M	December 2011
great tour, temples ate amazing

Review by: Lynn H	December 2011
sub standard, taken to gem store on way back to hotel not impressed

Review by: Chrisstine H	December 2011
Emerald Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Kaew) was just amazing. Take a camera. Architecture and decoration out of this world. Grand Palace was just as amazing. The gardens were wonderful and architecture superb. Not alowed inside because this is a residence of the King. Get your picture taken with a guard and be respectful, and you will have a wonderful experience. Guide was knowledgable and very willing to help with photographs and a very friendly person. Language was not a problem.

Review by: Jill	November 2011
We visited the Grand Palace on our last (and hottest!) day. Our guide was great and the temples were beautiful. It really is a must see when visitng Bangkok.

Review by: Kimberly K	November 2011
Amazing, great guide and very easy transport etc. A must see at a great value.

Review by: Krassimira I	October 2011
The trip was OK; the guide told us interesting stories and didn't rush us through the Grand Palace.

Review by: Cindy H	September 2011
Amazing grounds and tour guide was helpful to reschedule my Wat Pho booking for the afternoon as opposed to the next day. There is a stop at a gem gallery/touristy sales place in the end. But they aren't pushy and I actually bought some nice jade. Also, there you get a ride back to your destination with other tour groups since Bangkok traffic is so bad they consolidate people. Overall, I recommend the trip.

Review by: UKKiwi	September 2011
Very good service the only down side was the guide was a little hard to understand in parts which made it so I had to concentrate all the time and not look at the sights whilst he was talking but all in all a very good tour.

Review by: Michael E	September 2011
This was amazing to see and i would not have missed it for the world. It was incredible and breath taking.

Review by: Cory A	September 2011
Really enjoyed the tour , unbelievable sights to be seen at the Grand Palace .It's definately a "must see" when in Bangkok. There was only the 3 of us on the tour which made it so much better. The guide was informative but was a bit pushy towards the other couple trying to persuade them to do another tour the next morning. The only real negative in my opinion was the gemstone factory visit at the end of the tour. They weren't pushy though and was able to leave immediately after telling them I wasnt interested in purchasing. The complimentary drink there was appreciated though.....cheers :-)

Review by: Kat	September 2011
This was a waste of money, I suggest you do this on your own. It's easy enough to find and buy the tickets. Our tour co. was 45 min late picking us up and there was no apology given. Then, without any hellos/introduction they said to us, "Get on the bus." Once we arrived our tour guide was quite slow and we didn't cover much ground. He also had a very soft voice so I didn't hear anything he said (Grand Palace is very crowded). Of all the tours I did in Bangkok, this is the one the regret the most.

Review by: Jason H	August 2011
The palace is beautiful but the guide rushed us around and barely gave us the information we wanted.

Review by: Neddy	August 2011
wow! As with all the other tours I crammed into my short break post work trip - wonderful Guide (Tiny), full of wonderful information, so enthusiastic still for her cause and brought the place to life for me. awesome.

Review by: Kathy H	July 2011
This was a good tour, but the original tour info said women's shoulders and knees should be covered. We assumed that a pashmina shawl would suffice for shoulders, since that is accepted in every other country's buddhist temples. It was not acceptable in Bangkok, so this should have been specified in the tour booking information.

Review by: Debra E	July 2011
Supurb but very busy.

Review by: canaderyn	June 2011
We were lucky and had the guide to ourselves. So before the palace we went to markets etc. The Palace itself is amazing. One visit is not enough to do it justice.

Review by: John B	June 2011
Great outing with great guide. This met our expectations. Knowledgeable and friendly guide. He also showed us through the nearby flower and fruit markets which were really an added bonus.

Review by: Mark B	June 2011
The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew are great places to visit and well worth the effort. Our guide was very informative and friendly. The visit to the Gem factory after the tour was interesting, but is really just aimed at selling Jewelery.

Review by: elaine r	May 2011
Our guide Chai was amazing with his knowledge of this location. Loved each aspect of this tour.

Review by: Hugh C	April 2011
We were disappointed with the tour because the tour guide deviated from the tour and took us to a jewelry outlet which wasn't on the tour. None of the group went into the outlet and we just waited until a different bus was ready to take us to the Hotel. The Temple part of the tour was rushed but the guide was informative. A tropical storm spoiled the first half hour of the tour but we felt that when the sun came out there was time to back-track and look more closely at the temples we missed because of the rain.

Review by: Fran L	March 2011
Apart from a bit of shuffling between vehicles due to a non show by at least one booking it all went very smoothly.

Review by: Susan S	March 2011
fantastic!!

Review by: Jennifer L	March 2011
Amazing, amazing, amazing. I loved This tour. Our guide was funny and sweet. The Grand Palace is very grand. You definitely get enough time to see everything. We also got to see the town of Bangkok on the way there and the guide explained a lot about the architecture and history. I would definitely recommend this tour.

Review by: Angela G	March 2011
Both really enjoyed. Good guide.

Review by: Tracey R	February 2011
Tour was informative and well organized.

Review by: Hayley P	February 2011
Very beautiful and impressive to see

Review by: Margaret D	February 2011
Enjoyed the content of the tour immensely with an absolutely splendid guide however did not like the dropping off at the "Gem Scam" at the end - marred the Tour. Would have preferred to be dropped off at our hotel directly as was indicated in the itinerary

Review by: Wendy S	January 2011
Excellent tour but I did not need to be taken to a gem shop afterwards. I could have done that on my own. Bangkok is a beautiful city with horrific traffic, so going on a tour was ideal.

Review by: Joan B	January 2011
The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew were beautiful, but our guide was terrible. We had to wait an hour in a broken bus with no ac for the rest of the group and the guide. We didn't even know where we were since we were picked up from our hotel and dropped off in a parking lot with non English speaker drivers. The guide did not spend much time explaining the area once we arrived. It seemed as though he was sick because he had to stop often to rest and we were left on our own to explore.

Review by: Cathleen C	January 2011
****

Review by: Elizabeth W	December 2010
Our tour was excellent as only 4 of us to one guide (Mac) who was really informative on history and culture.

Review by: MARY P	December 2010
Tour of Grand Palace and Wat was excellent and the guide was both knowledgeable about the relevant history and happy to discuss life in modern Thailand, which was a great bonus.The downside of this trip was that the visit to the headline Palace and Wat took less than half of the time of the tour. What was not listed on the Viator itinerary was the visit to a Gem Centre and which we would most certainly have avoided, having on a previous visit been hijacked into a visit to the same centre for the 'hard sell'. What was also extremely frustrating was the length of the drive through Bangkok afternoon traffic first of all to get to the Gem Centre and then back across the city to the hotel in a minibus provided at and by the centre and which waited for a full load before setting of and making numerous drops. We felt that 2.5 hours of our holiday had been hijacked and I would hope that Viator will either have this part of the visit publicized in its web site itinerary to give people the choice of booking it, or have it removed by the local providers. The local providers were in all other aspects highy organized on our several encounters with them.

Review by: Natalie M, United Kingdom	May 2010
Brilliant guide and info! Picked up and dropped off on time. Highly recommend this tour.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	April 2010
amazing architecture

Review by: David L, United Kingdom	April 2010
Very good afternoon trip - truly wonderful sights

Review by: Anonymous, South Africa	February 2010
Excellent guide for this tour.

Review by: Elaine K, Australia	February 2010
Our tour guide was very good and explained a lot about Buddhism and the Thai culture. The tour was comprehensive even though very crowded at the venue.

Review by: Roger Alan H, United Kingdom	January 2010
Fabulous!

Review by: Geoff A, Canada	December 2009
Has to be seen to believed! If you take in no other site in Bangkok, this has to be the one. The guide was extremely knowledgeable but even more so, knew exactly where to stand to take perfect pictures! As commented on by others, the trip to the Jewelry Shop at the end came as a surprise to many. For me, its just what I needed to pick up two specific souvenirs. If you don't want to do the shop, they will simply take you right to your drop off point.

Review by: Shaun K, Australia	November 2009
Fantastic tour, the guide was fantastic and made this tour even more interesting. It was very hot and we spent a lot of time seeking out the shade, bring water! We did see a orchid farm before the tour, and then a gem factory afterwards which was not mentioned in the tour. This was a bit frustrating epecially as a taxi driver has previously taken me to the gem factory against my will to get petrol vouchers. Despite this, the grand palace was amazing enough and the guide was so good that I still think this is a must do for anyone visiting bangkok

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	November 2009
An unmissable tour with knowledgeable guide, so much history and beauty - everyone should see it. Only one point was very disappointing and that was being dropped off at a jewellery factory without opportunity of being told before to refuse, it spoilt the ending.

Review by: Lyndsey F, United Kingdom	September 2009
A definate must of you have time in Bangkok. So much colour and beauty. Our guide was really good and very knowledgeable. We really enjoyed our trip. The palace complex is of course very touristy but does not take away from the experience. as not too impressed with the emerald buddha, very small and up high but it was nice to see it all the same.