Home > Bangkok > Private Tour: Bangkok's Grand Palace Complex and Wat Phra Kaew
USD $53.00
Private Tour: Bangkok's Grand Palace Complex and Wat Phra Kaew
Bangkok, Thailand
This half-day private sightseeing tour in Bangkok is a must for anyone visiting Thailand's capital city. On this private tour you will have the opportunity to explore the complex, which houses a number of attractions including Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) in the company of a local Thai guide.
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. Enjoy a 90-minute visit here.
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 Kaew, which is a very ornately decorated building whose roof tiles reach up into the sky.
The tour concludes at Gems Gallery and a return shuttle can be provided by the Gallery to selected hotels.
Great fun. Travelled with son and his friend and the never stopped taking photos.
Review by: Vikram S., March 2018
Great tour and excellent guide! Tiny was extremely knowledgeable about Bangkok and of course the Grand Palace. Efficient tour guide, knows all the shortcuts and picture spots. She is friendly, professional and funny!
Review by: Harold L, February 2018
The tour of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra was absolutely amazing. Our guide was knowledgeable and accommodating. A must do tour.
Review by: virgo2319, January 2018
Tour Guide was wonderful, informative and very helpful. Unfortunately my sister and I went with my mother who travels with a wheelchair and there are too many places that weren't wheelchair friendly with proper ramps so it was a workout.
Review by: Peggy W, December 2017
The Grand Palace is every crowded- but it is a national site. Our guide was so knowledgeable with the sites and Thailand history and culture. She was very patient while we took pictures. We had some time so she took us to the gem gallery. Just to see the amazing artwork at the temple is worth the tour!,
Review by: Michael D, December 2017
Was a nice tour - we went early in the morning to avoid the heat, obviously everyone else had the same idea so it was very busy!
Review by: Nadia D, October 2017
This was a terrible tour that you could easily do on your own. Just take a taxi to the site it is one site and get your tickets - it will cost you less. The tour includes travel time - so for our hotel Intercontinental it was 40 minutes each way. The actual tour itself took less than one hour though VIATOR explained that it is a 90 minute tour. Our guide basically got our tickets, spoke to us briefly his accent was so bad we could not understand anything anyway and we were left on our own watching other people with real tour guides getting explanations that were understandable. For those of you who did not know, the king died and for one year he is being exposed - which means that the palace part of the tour was closed I believe they cremated him or will be doing so in October. The tour company never advised us of this. As with the other tours we did in Asia, they will try to bring you to a jewelry place in order to eat up some of the time that this tour is supposed to take we declined. Lastly - the part that ticked us off the most - our tour guide decided to start arguing with the police and it started to escalate - all because he felt that they weren't smiling enough when they checked his back for weapons. Really? We actually almost left him there to take a taxi the hell out of there. Overall - VIATOR was a waste. We complained when we were literally on the ride back to the hotel and they did nothing to resolve. Really do not waste your money. This is really the tour you can do on your own.
Review by: pjauth, September 2017
Excellent !!!
Review by: rui.bolas, July 2017
.....................
Review by: dennis, May 2017
bad not even pick up from hotel changed pick up hotel from
Review by: Herni, March 2017
I highly recommend this tour if you do not have enough time in Bangkok. Our guide was on time at the hotels lobby and a private car too. We did this tour in the morning and the Bangkok Temples including Reclining Buddha in the afternoon. Doing both tour with our guide save time and contributed with each temple and thai cultures knowledges.
Review by: a-malcolm, March 2017
OK, tour completed in 2 hours
Review by: Brian.leith, March 2017
Well worthwhile visit, with a good guide.
Review by: Srikanth V, January 2017
Good. Crew knew the history of the place well.
Review by: JERRY C, January 2017
The palace are was beautiful, but we didn't really get to see as much as we wanted, which is understandable. The funeral ceremony for the late King is still ongoing, with the mourning period lasting all year. From what we saw, the grounds were immaculate and very awe inspiring. From there we went to a Gem Factory. Prices were outrageous, so buyer beware. We were there for about 45 min before the drive back to our hotel.
Review by: Ilze S, December 2016
Nice! An interesting guide. The only pity is that the tour ended three hours earlier than was promised.
Review by: mvjf_ramesh, December 2016
The guide didn't not mention his name which was not a great way to start - however he was quite knowledgeable and experienced.
Review by: dianne, December 2016
This trip was good but there were so many tourists and the guides were shouting so loud to get themselves heard
Review by: Liesl V, December 2016
We booked a private tour due to limited time in Bangkok. We were picked up by car at the hotel and battled traffic to the Grand Palace. Luckily we left early and missed the queues at the Palace. Due to the King's recent passing thousands of mourners are making their way to the Palace to pay respect to his body. Needless to say this impacted our ability to move around the grounds and see the buildings. Some parts of the Palace was also closed. Our guide shared some usefull information and stories which I found very interesting. He could have shared more detail as we are interested in history. We enjoyed the tour but felt that it was expensive given the fact that the actual visit to the Palace was less than 90 min and the rest of the time was traveling time by car. So in essence the tour is very short.
Review by: JOHN M, December 2016
The Palace was only partially open due to the recent passing of the King. However, it was certainly very interesting to see what was open to the public and it was a historic time to be at the Palace and in Bangkok and Thailand, in general. I would definitely recommend a visit while in Bangkok.
Review by: Bernie, December 2016
My wife and I were picked-up at our hotel on schedule and rode through parts of Bangkok before going to the Grand Palace. Our guide told us much about the early history of Siam/Thailand and how Bangkok became the capital city. He took care of getting all tickets to enter the palace and led us through it providing many explanations of the various buildings, statues and other points of interest which we saw. Unfortunately, we were not able to see all the buildings intended because the King having died in October, his body was on view in the Funeral Hall and there were thousands of Thais lined-up to see his last remains.
Review by: Roni L, November 2016
My husband and I were able to combine this tour with the tour of the Temples, which took approximately 4.5 hrs. total. It was wonderful! Suki is an excellent tour guide - he explained the history and significance of the sites we were seeing and pointed out many interesting things which we might have otherwise missed, while we were driving gave us an overview of the history of Thailand as well as indicating points of interest as we passed them, and gave us a crash course in Buddhism. He even took photos of us at the various sites! He is one of the best tour guides we've ever had, we learned so much from him and he also has a wonderful sense of humour which made our time with him a lot of fun. Our driver sorry, didn't get his name was also very good - waited patientlly for us at every stop and navigated Bangkok traffic expertly. Thank you Suki, you made our brief visit to Bangkok extra special!!
Review by: Maree, October 2016
The size of the Grand Palace Complex is mind blowing - very impressive. Would recommend this tour.
Review by: ivirene_57, October 2016
Although we thought we would see more of the Grand Palace and not just look through gates the rest of the tour was very good. The tour guides seem to expect tips, so be prepared.
Review by: Roberta B, September 2016
The tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable, got me through security quickly, and made sure to stop at a shop so I could have water before entering the complex. He allowed me to take pictures when and where I wanted, but also stopped at particular locations along the way to explain the significance of particular buildings. The only problem was that he walked ahead of me in and we got separated many times because of the huge crowds. At one point it took almost 10 minutes before we found each other. Afterwards, though, he stayed close by. A worthwhile trip and I came away knowing so much more than I did before.
Review by: Beth P, September 2016
Not completely as advertised! While we enjoyed the private tour and visit to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, we would have preferred to spend more time there rather than to have rushed our way out and then been taken to a factory and jewelry store which we we had absolutely no interest in. This was not part of the tour description and we felt a bit scammed! We probably would have enjoyed this site more if done on our own and at our own pace - especially when our private tour guide sent us back to our hotel after the visit to the jewelry store alone with our driver while claiming that she had another tour coming up in an hour. Perhaps this was for the best though. While driving to the site, our guide told us of her divorce and how embarrassing it was for a woman in her country. Interesting - except that she showed particular interest in my husband and continued to tell us how western men of his age would be sought after by women in her country. Not what we expected!
Review by: Dianne W, August 2016
Very good guide. Very knowledgable and he knew how to get us in to the complex ahead of hordes and hordes of Chinese tourists. We would not have enjoyed the tour anywhere as much without him.
Review by: Viator, August 2016
Definitely worth it!
Review by: Jane, August 2016
My friend and I booked this tour and Bangkok Temples Including Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, one for the morning and one for the afternoon of the same day. At the time of booking we asked if they could be combined so the tours ran into one another instead of having the 'lunch time' back at the hotel. The reply said no, they are best kept separate so we went with the recommendation even though other reviews had also suggested combining. When the guide picked us up, he asked if we'd be ok to combine these tours as logistically it would be better to go from one to the other. This may have been because of our hotel location in comparison, but even so, once we were shown the places on the map and already having experience of the nightmare traffic jams in Bangkok, it definitely made sense to combine the trips. This meant we were back at the hotel after both tours much earlier than we would have been other wise. Both these tours worked out very well, and allowed us to more easily find our way into and round the temple complex's having our own private guide. These are both well worth the visit
Review by: Scylla C, July 2016
We really enjoyed this trip. We were picked up on time and our guide was very knowledgeable. The palace was stunning - a must do for everyone.
Review by: ddavidsontx, July 2016
Well worth seeing.
Review by: J W, July 2016
The lady was nice and cheerful at first but was getting tired as it was her fourth tour for the day, so I can and #39;t really blame her. Do it in the morning so it and #39;s not so hot .
Review by: Mrs s C, June 2016
Amazing tour - all booked before we left uk, not used viator before. _br/_ We were collected from hotel - great that we had own car, driver and seperate guide, guide stayed with us all the time and explained all facts about the place we were visiting. Guide spoke good english. Definitely worth the money._br/_ Will definitely be using this company again.
Review by: CLINT S, June 2016
Really good informative tour. The one on one tour guide makes it so much more of a better experience. We really liked the private car that chauffeurs you around to all the different locations.
Review by: YASUO-TOM, April 2016
The grand palace complex was huge and interesting. It required a lot of walking outside. The tour information should include a warning about the amount of walk.
Review by: Roger C, April 2016
The Grand Palace was an impressive place and the Emerald Buddha was also impressive. The tour guide was excellent and made sure we saw everything. However, be prepared for crushes as the whole of China appears to visit daily. Watch out for short Asian ladies with umbrellas!
Review by: ANNA P, April 2016
Wonderful tour.
Review by: Rositsa M, April 2016
Very nice trip with knowledgeable guide. The palace is amazing as well as the temple. Definitely worth seeing!
Review by: Mohamed M, April 2016
Tour guide was very nice and very informative however the 2 locations visited were too little for a whole morning. Recommend to include the reclining Buda in the same tour.
Review by: Carol B, March 2016
This was our first trip on our 4 day visit to Bangkok and we were very impressed by the lovely tour guide. She enjoyed telling us the history of the Grand Palace and we would definitely recommend doing the private tour as you get round at your own pace and without standing in long queues.
Review by: Melanie P, February 2016
Extremely disappointed with this tour. The guide hurried through the tour without any real opportunity to look around or to ask questions, photo opportunities were few. The guide also stopped at a jewellery factory where we were told to look around allowing more time for this than tour we had booked
Review by: Janet P, February 2016
Terrible experience with a not so good guide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review by: Steve C, February 2016
Outstanding - On time pick up. Knowledgable and informative guide. Excellent
Review by: Susan G, January 2016
Wonderful guide. Very helpful in managing a very crowded but incredible palace complex.
Review by: Arnab M, January 2016
But where was the emerald Buddha?
Review by: David H, December 2015
the tour guide was knowledgable at least knew more than me, but he didn't get us an English brochure from the place though it was free and we saw it too late, plus he rushed us through the 2 locations, only to bring us to some jewelry factory for an hour. Did not appreciate that the jewelry factory was on the tour when i paid for private tour and expected 3 hours at the site. Not happy with this.
Review by: RoRuDaCH, December 2015
Total ok. / friendly and competent Guide / we would book viator again.
Review by: Jonathan T, November 2015
Pah, rubbish! Not the Grand Palace or Wat Phra Kaew, but the value of the tour. Although the guide was well informed and well spoken, again we were not always accompanied into the buildings so we could ask questions once in there.
Review by: Alison B, November 2015
Firstly, let me say, I have used Viator a number of times while staying in Thailand and Australia_br/_ and have found the tours to be well organised and good value for money. That is until now._br/_ What an awful tour. If I had booked this with I UK site I would report to trading standards. _br/_ Advertised at 3 hrs - 1/2 day I thought that , considering the size of the palace grounds, it should be _br/_ a extensive tour. However the actual area of the palace that is open to the public is quiet small._br/_ For your information the Wat Phra Kaew is also in this small area ._br/_ The guide was pleasant and personable however his accent was fairly impenetrable. We sped through _br/_ the site at a fair speed, and were back in the transport within 1 hour. _br/_ We were then driven to a Gem Factory where we spent the best part of 3/4 hr trying to escape back_br/_ to our hotel. I do not think it unfair to call this , at over 75 , a complete rip off. Unfortunately the site_br/_ does not allow a minus star. This will certainly be the last time that I use Viator .
Review by: Tammie N, November 2015
A private tour is the only way to go to see this very busy tourist site. Our driver and guide were so nice and professional and took care of everything so we could just enjoy the palace and grounds. While other people were waiting in line we were escorted to each building. Even my ten year old enjoyed this tour.
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