Private Tour: Floating Markets and Bridge on River Kwai Day Trip from Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

This privately guided, full-day excursion out of Bangkok is a wonderful way to maximize your time to experience the amazing floating markets of Thailand as well as Kanchanaburi, home to the bridge made even more famous by the Hollywood movie starring Alec Guiness, The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Your journey commences with a leisurely drive from Bangkok, passing through salt fields and rice paddies before embarking aboard your long tail speed-boat on your journey to the Damnern Saduak floating markets. The floating markets are a fascinating experience, a complete contrast to how we shop for food in the west, and are made up of Thai style canoes laden with colorful and succulent fruits, vegetables, sweets and meats - gently plying their way through the canal, selling as they go. It is one of most popular Thai sightseeing experiences and not to be missed. If you want to take a closer look your local Thai guide will help you organize a local boat ride through the markets (optional extra).

You will then board your coach for the journey west to Kanchanaburi, home to the River Kwai and it's infamous bridge. The building of the bridge in 1943 was part of a 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. Over 100,000 conscripted laborers and 12,000 prisoners of war died during the whole project.

Lunch will be taken at a local restaurant before visiting the bridge after which a visit is made to the new Thailand - Burma War Museum which is adjacent to the War Grave Cemetery. Combining the two attractions unfortunately means there is not enough time to take a train ride, before your journey back to Bangkok and your hotel.

USD $93.00

Review by:   dwfcheung,    April 2018
Dont bother with this tour, just take a taxi instead!

Review by:   aheathwood,    March 2018
This tour was amazing. Our tour guide and driver were so professional, helpful and we cant recommend them highly enough.

Review by:   carbow,    February 2018
Way too crowded with tourists trying to experience the floating markets. More like bumper boats. Literally went down the canal a short ways and then went backwards up the same canal. Werent told that there was an extra charge for the paddle boats needed to float down the canal. Disappointing for the amount of time taken to reach the market area. Thought there would be some advantage to having a private tour but there wasnt any.

Review by:   Edwin C,    February 2018
The tour guide and driver were on time and very nice and accommodating. We had a good time at the floating market and River Kwai, although the floating market we went to the most touristy one was very congested and after awhile we got tired of being stuck in traffic in the canal. The guide was knowledgeable and we had a good time. The trip really does take all day. My only complaint was that we had to pay full price for my 1.5 year old daughter, which in Asia usually kids under 2 are free.

Review by:   Nigel S,    June 2017
The floating markets were full of sights, sounds and smells and so interesting to just sit by the river drinking a coffee and watch everything going on around us. The visit to both the POW Cemetery and Bridge makes one feel very lucky and humble. A long day at 11 hours, but worth the experience. The guide and driver were very helpful.

Review by:   bapallesen,    January 2017
Long day, but fascinating glimpse to past. Get a private tour, avoid the crowds!

Review by:   KBP,    January 2017
Long day, but fascinating glimpse to past. Get a private tour, avoid the crowds!

Review by:   Anthony W,    September 2016
Local agent came to hotel and announced she had only booking for two people, so despite having a voucher one of our party had to stay behind and lose trip he had paid for. Trip itself was heavily focussed on taking us to tourist shops where we assume commissions paid to guides

Review by:   David N,    June 2016
Our tour guide Peter and driver Mallee were just wonderful, they made our 330km round trip a great experience. They were both very professional, friendly and full of great information and advice. We will highly recommend this tour to our friends and also on TripAdvisor.

Review by:   Norman N,    April 2016
The guide did not show up at the hotel!

Review by:   Pamala S,    January 2016
Yes..you must do this. Amazing. The floating markets was fun and amazing .The River Kwai bridge_br/_ was also interesting in how this was put together.

Review by:   ROHAN C,    January 2016
Our guides were not genuinely concerned about you having a good experience. Felt as if they wanted to check all the boxes of what you were supposed to see on the tour. We were the only ones in the tour but was not able to have any leniency to what we could do. We have done so many tours through viator and this was our only tour we felt let down.

Review by:   Ricardo P,    October 2015
This tour was amazing!

Review by:   Grant G,    September 2015
What a great day the tour the driver and the guide were fantastic ._br/_ It was like a family day out it was like we had know them for years._br/_ They were so knowledgable and friendly._br/_ Would recommend this trip to everyone.

Review by:   Lorraine W,    July 2015
Loved this tour and so glad we choose the private tour as our guide was great. Full of useful information. Took us to see the railway markets which was a bonus. The bridge and cemetery was spin chilling to think what these people went through. Definitely pay the extra 150 THB to do the boat which takes you up past all the market stalls. Very unique experience.

Review by:   Cris Rimar Taoy T,    April 2015
tour guide who pick us up was rude. he never informed us of our pick-up time a night before and early in the morning around 7 AM he called us in the room that he is downstairs already. I asked for a 15 minutes from him so that we could change clothes from sleeping he said no only 10 minutes to think of this is a PRIVATE TOUR!

Review by:   William S,    March 2015
Guide Chris excellent - very knowledgeable and gave his information at the right time.

Review by:   Josefina R,    February 2015
Itenirary is ok but food included is extremely disappointing; we should have been given option to choose and we were willing to pay for it

Review by:   Elmer T,    December 2014
Had to take a taxi from my hotel to pick up point because my hotel was not on list. I did the private tour alone but had to pay for two. Didn't see that coming until I went to checkout but I understand.

Review by:   Karen R,    March 2014
Great to see = not sure if the locals actually use it as it did seem to be mainly tourists but fun to do.

Review by:   John B,    March 2014
A very enjoyable day. but long and tiring. Our guide was excellent and she ensured we got the most from our trip. Because we booked the private tour we were able to alter the itinery to include a ride on an elephant and offer support to the Thai elephants in a positive way. The floating market was a great experience and we highly recommend taking the boat around the market. It's very busy and the first time we have seen a 'boat jam' but this just added to the fun. Well worth a visit. The journey to visit the River Kwai is about 3 hours from Bangkok but we wouldn't have missed it or changed anything. Having a private tour was definitely a bonus for this trip. The museum and cemetery visit were thought provoking and the Thai people encourage a respectful approach from their visitors. The area around the bridge is commercialised but this is to be expected at a tourist destination that draws so may visitors. Be prepared for the increased heat and humidity at these destinations. Driving around Bangkok and surrounding areas is definitely an experience in itself and not for the faint hearted.

Review by:   Danny P,    January 2013
That it was in a private car, it really was better en nicer to do._br/_ A good chauffeur en guide led us around.

Review by:   Jody Z,    May 2009
We were in Bangkok for a short time and tried to plan our activities wisely which is why we selected the private tour. We were very disappointed. The tour guide did not speak English very well nor was he very professional or knowledgeable. He didn't engage in conversation and he gave us a few facts but nothing substantial. The floating market was basically a tourist trap and we would have learned more about the Bridge on River Kwai if we found our own transportation and hired a tour guide on the premises.

Review by:   Jody Z,   United States of America, April 2009
We were in Bangkok for a short time and tried to plan our activities wisely which is why we selected the private tour. We were very disappointed. The tour guide did not speak English very well nor was he very professional or knowledgeable. He didn't engage in conversation and he gave us a few facts but nothing substantial. The floating market was basically a tourist trap and we would have learned more about the Bridge on River Kwai if we found our own transportation and hired a tour guide on the premises.

Review by:   Christine W,    August 2008
Having a private tour is well worth doing. The tour guide allowed us to do things in our own time, explained things fully, and gave us time alone to explore afterwards. He was very friendly and knowledgeable. You should be aware that the bridge is a little scary and dangerous as there are no sides. That might just be me worrying too much!

Review by:   Andrew C,    August 2008
Our trip was perfect. The guide was great with the children and her English was near perfect. We were given cold scented towels after each stop, to cool us down and had a great day. I would recommend this tour to anyone who is interested in the bridge and its history, but be warned: the bridge is very very hot. It's well worth taking the private trip to make it a more personal day out, which allows you to take longer or shorter at the attractions you are interested in, rather than hanging around for others all the time.

Review by:   Christine W,   United Kingdom, August 2007
Having a private tour is well worth doing. The tour guide allowed us to do things in our own time, explained things fully, and gave us time alone to explore afterwards. He was very friendly and knowledgeable. You should be aware that the bridge is a little scary and dangerous as there are no sides. That might just be me worrying too much!

Review by:   Andrew C,   United Kingdom, June 2007
Our trip was perfect. The guide was great with the children and her English was near perfect. We were given cold scented towels after each stop, to cool us down and had a great day. I would recommend this tour to anyone who is interested in the bridge and its history, but be warned: the bridge is very very hot. It's well worth taking the private trip to make it a more personal day out, which allows you to take longer or shorter at the attractions you are interested in, rather than hanging around for others all the time.