Thai Burma Death Railway Bridge on the River Kwai Tour from Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

Kanchanaburi's famous Bridge on the River Kwai and the beginning of the Death Railway is a poignant reminder of the thousands of POW's and forced laborers who lost their lives in the Second World War. This full day guided tour from Bangkok also includes a visit to the war museum and the opportunity to ride a local train.

Fascinating, nostalgic and memorable sums up this full day tour to Kanchanaburi, 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Bangkok. The province itself is an agricultural area with sugar cane, rice paddies and pineapple plantations all forming significant portions of the stunning Thai rural landscape. Whether a war buff or rail enthusiast, everyone has a different reason to see this symbolic bridge.

The famous bridge and the beginning of the 'Death Railway', which lies 1 mile outside the town of Kanchanaburi, is a poignant reminder of the thousands of POW's and forced laborers who lost their lives in the Second World War. The building of the bridge in 1943 was one part of a huge Japanese wartime project to link existing Thai and Burmese railway lines to create a direct route from Bangkok, Thailand to Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) in an effort to support the Japanese occupation of Burma. Thousands of POW's and laborers died in the process. During your tour a visit will be made to one of the Allied War Grave cemeteries (often an emotional experience) before visiting the JEATH war museum, which houses pictures and paintings from this period.

An exhilarating long tailed speed boat ride will then take you down river to the famous bridge itself where you have ample time to explore at your own leisure. A ride on a local train is also included before returning to Bangkok city.

USD $66.38

Review by: Gareth J	April 2012
I am pleased I did this trip as it is somewhere I have wanted to visit due to having an interest in history. There is a fair bit of travelling involved if you are going from Bangkok. We were fortunate and were the only people on the trip. The weather was bad and it took us _br/_ 2.5 hours to get to the first stop and when returning it took us due to traffic over 3 hours. The train ride is good and they have introduced that for 300 Baht each you can travel in a Tourist Only carriage. You get coffee, water and a snack box and most importantly are guaranteed a seat. I recommend you do this as the journey can take about 2 hours and if the train is full and you are not in the tourist carriage you may have to stand all the way and I would think the enjoyment would be reduced. The guide was very informative and freindly and we enjoyed the day. Be prepared for a fair bit of time travelling though.

Review by: Simon S	March 2012
An extremely interesting and well organised tour

Review by: Beryl T	February 2012
Absolutely loved this trip although was a little hurried at times by the guide which was a bit irritating, when there was no need to be rushed. The sites we saw were amazing and it was very sad to see how people suffered esp in the Dearth Museum. We enjoyed the train ride esp when it went along the narrowest part of the mountain. Wonderful trip thank you.

Review by: Sonja S	January 2012
Trip was good and interesting, Saw many sites and enjoyed the long boat ride and train trip.

Review by: Chrisstine H	December 2011
Experience was wonderful and moving. Guide was very knowledgable, friendly and willing to help in any way. Language was not a problem. Train journey was good, country side was a joy, and food was relatively good. I had seconds. Journey back to Bangkok was around 5 5 and half hours, traffic was busy, so make provision by taking a book or music, or just sleep the journey back. Would definitely go again. Take lots of pictures.

Review by: J Stephen K	October 2011
Good value - interesting trip; the trainride was terrific!!!!

Review by: Susan P	September 2011
The organisation of the day was excellent for such a long tour (12 hours). We were given ample time to soak in the grim history of the railway and experience the reality of it all. We needed however more information from our tour guide rather than just mothering.

Review by: Patricia A	August 2011
The driver of our mini van, had a "death" wish, travelling at speeds up to 140 kph, darting in and out of traffic, both to and from Bangkok._br/_ We have never been so scared in our lives!!

Review by: CAROL T	August 2011
The tour was disappointing and function like a catered bus service The guide hardly share any details of the incident or history of Thailand. _br/_ The international buffet was horrible. I could not stomach the food. My hubby who ate a small portion of the food was left food poisoning. His diarrhoea was so bad that we had to cancel the itinerary of the next few days. _br/_ I would not recommend the trip at all.

Review by: Neddy	August 2011
What a mix of emotions and experiences today. From seeing the thousand commemorated to travelling over the bridge through the landscape that killed and made so so many suffer. To wanting to make the 5 spaniards who talked so loudly, ignorantly and irreverantly ALL the way on the train suffer. Shame on you all for your forgetfulness.

Review by: brenda j k	July 2011
thai burma railway was good, long boat ride was excellent would have liked it to go a bit longer, train was long would have liked a commentary on the train so you knew what you were looking at but regardless the day was good and our guide was very informative about thailand and the politics, would have liked a bit more info on the cemetery as it is looked after by aust and england

Review by: Shaun W	July 2011
We were verydisapointed with this trip for several reasons;_br/_ Local guide was very rude and arrogant, he wouldn't stop when asked for toilet stops. He didn't know that the day we did the trip was a public holiday and train tickets weren't pre-booked and we had to wait 1hr 15min for trian to arriveand when it did we had to stand on train due to overcrowding and totally missed the second crossing which he stated we would see and he refused to drive back in van to let us take photo's. Also lunch was cold when we finally got to resturant to eat it.

Review by: Ian M	June 2011
A great experience.

Review by: Julie P	April 2011
Great tour guide (retired School Teacher), informative and told it how it was!! Really enjoyed this boat ride, walked over the Bridge, train ride back, and tasty lunch - well done.

Review by: Margaret F	April 2011
We had a lovely day with our tour guide Teewan. The driver was also the best that we had experienced in Thailand! Our trip was interesting and informative,we wouldn't hesitate to recommend Viator to other travelers!

Review by: Susan S	March 2011
fantastic!!

Review by: Cathleen C	January 2011
*****

Review by: Wayne M	December 2010
I enjoyed it a lot. Very informative and the guide June, was fun. Sobering experience.

Review by: Gwendoline Z	November 2010
Love this trip, a great day!

Review by: Valerie O	November 2010
The guide was very helpful, we were picked up in a nice car and were driven in comfort to our locations. The tour took you to the war museum, cemetry and on the train. the train trip was very uncomfortable it lasted for over two hours.

Review by: Nick V	November 2010
Was lucky enough to book a tour on a day when no one else booked and got a private tour. The tour is a bit out of the city, starts early has a few stops along the way and the train ride takes up majority of it. It's close one, but the train ride was bordering on being a bit too long, by being well over an hour and half. After the train ride its a late lunch and the drive back to Bangkok.

Review by: John L	November 2010
We found the tour very informative. A full day but well worth the early start. Many thanks to our guides.

Review by: Marie W	October 2010
Pick up from Hotel was prompt. We felt that our guide was constantly rushing us. Not enough time allowed at War . War Museum was interesting with adequete time to see it. We had an elderly couple on our tour and the Lady took a little longer than normal in the bathroom but guide seemed agitated about this ! Train trip was great. Lunch left a lot to be desired. More salads could be a good idea as it was so humid and hot we couldn't eat much hot food ! Driver of our mini van could definately do with more driving lessons.

Review by: Alex G	July 2010
THE GUIDE JUNE WAS EXCELLANT AND SO WAS DRIVER THIS TOUR WAS EXCELLANT AND GREAT VALUE I REALLY ENJOYED TOUR WAS EXCELLANT THANK YOU ALEX GRAHAM

Review by: Kim R, Australia	May 2010
Great tour and loved the long tail boat ride. Unfortunately, the train was packed and we had to stand all the way. The cemetery was very moving.

Review by: Helene A, Australia	May 2010
This was a great day out and highly recommended.

Review by: Rhodi P, United Kingdom	May 2010
Very well organised, full schedule and excellent value for money.

Review by: David L, United Kingdom	April 2010
Excellent value for money - truly brilliant day out - highly recommended.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	March 2010
A great day. You could really feel what the POWs must have felt walking across the bridge and taking the train ride.

Review by: John A, United Kingdom	March 2010
Excellent trip, well worth going on this excursion. Only problem was when we returned from Cambodia on 20 Feb, we expected a messagae informing us of hotel pickup time for Rice Barge cruise on 21 Feb. Luckily the local rep who met us at the airport kindly phoned you for the details of pickup times.

Review by: Jane W, United Kingdom	February 2010
Excellent tour, the guide was brilliant, really passionate and a wealth of experience. A trip not to be missed. The day was planned out very well, we did think it was going to be a very long day but it was well worth it and the day went very quickly.

Review by: John B, United Kingdom	January 2010
An excellent, well organised trip. Very moving experience. Our guide was very pleasant and extremely knowledgeable. The food was excellent and plentiful. It really is a full day trip. Highly recommended.

Review by: Anonymous	January 2010
A very interesting trip, made even better by a very learned guide, a retired history prof who gave us loads of background. My only reservation is that it was a lot of driving and the museumbridgecemetryrailway were packed into a short time to fit with the train timetable. Perhaps better to do a version that misses the 2 hr train ride and allows time intead to add in some other activities.

Review by: Glenys R	January 2010
An iconic trip for most who know somthing about the Pacific WW2 theatre. The tour arrangements went like clockwork. The Kwai Bridge is a disconcertingly commercial site now, considering the war crime it was.

Review by: Geoff A, Canada	December 2009
After seeing the movie numerous times, I wanted to take the opportunity to see the bridge for real. Also, I just needed to get out of the city for a day. The trip was great! A small tour van with 8 of us in it plus the driver and the tour guide. The guide gave us just enough local info and lore for the 2 hour drive out to keep us entertained, but sensed when we just wanted to nap. The tour itself will dispel many myths and more importantly open you eyes to many new facts. The train ride was fun, especially the persistent beer girl, and lunch was pretty good too. The only draw back was the almost 3 hour ride back as we went about an hour west on the train, but by then we all needed a good nap for the nights activities.

Review by: Dean R, United States of America	December 2009
It's a long way from Bangkok but the ride was interesting of itself. The cemetery museum, boat ride to the bridge were all well done and rewarding. After touring the bridge we were on the train and on another 100 miles north thru the countryside, stopping for lunch in a small village. All most interesting. All went off without a hitch including the hotel pickup and dropoff. Tour Guide was good couldn't have asked for more.

Review by: Jack F	December 2009
An interesting trip but we felt that we would rather have spent more time at the Museum.

Review by: Anonymous, United Kingdom	November 2009
Really interesting trip that covered a lot of ground in one day. Very enthusiastic guide, and the lunch provided was excellent. This trip is also an excellent value for money!

Review by: Ronnie B, Australia	November 2009
Our first tour. Gobsmacked and amazed at how well run and operated it was. Don't hesitate, just do it.

Review by: Colin D, Australia	September 2009
It was very good!

Review by: Anonymous	September 2009
It was very good!

Review by: Mark C, United Kingdom	August 2009
Excellent day trip and very knowledgeable guide, well worth doing if you have a spare day in Bangkok.

Review by: Anonymous	August 2009
Excellent day trip and very knowledgeable guide, well worth doing if you have a spare day in Bangkok.

Review by: Janice N, United Kingdom	May 2009
This is a must, loved it but also very sad to learn about the way they were treated building the bridge. We had a lovely lunch, and the trip up the river was amazing.