Bangkok is bursting at the seams with cultural traditions, impressive historical landmarks, thriving nightlife, and delicious cuisine. Those factors, along with many others, make it one of the top destinations in Southeast Asia.
If it’s your first time in the city, or you’d like to get to know it well in a relatively short amount of time, you’ll be best off taking one of these top Bangkok city tours.
You’ll have a local, professional guide lead the way through all the top tourist sites and hidden wonders to show you a world full of passion and excitement. These tours get booked up fast, so let’s jump right in!
Best Guided Bangkok City Tours
| Private Bangkok City Tour Full Day | Private Bangkok City Tour Full Day With The Grand Palace | Private Three Temples Bangkok City Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
Best Private Tour | Best Combination Tour | Best Budget Tour | |
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| Departure: | Hotel pickup and drop-off included | Hotel pickup and drop-off included | Hotel pickup and drop-off included |
| Start: | 9:00 AM | 9:00 AM | 9:00 AM & 2:00 PM |
| Duration: | 8 hours | 8 hours | 3 to 4 hours |
| Includes: | Entrance fees, bottled water, lunch, professional guides | Private tour, tour guides, lunch at local restaurant | Air-conditioned vehicle, professional guide, all entrance fees |
Quick Answer: The 5 Best Ranked Bangkok City Tours For 2024
- Private Bangkok City Tour Full Day
- Private Bangkok City Tour Full Day With The Grand Palace
- Private Three Temples Bangkok City Tour
- Private Half-Day Bangkok City Tour with The Grand Palace
- Private Full Day Bangkok City Tour
Bangkok City Tour Reviews
1. Private Bangkok City Tour Full Day
- Duration: 8 hours
- Departure: Hotel pickup and drop-off included
- Departure Time: 9:00 AM
- Includes: Entrance fees, bottled water, lunch, professional guides
Picture this: you’ve just landed in Bangkok and you’re overwhelmed by all of the business and interesting sites of the city. You figure you’ll head to your hotel, but where do you even start to come up with a plan after that?
Well, the Private Bangkok City Tour Full Day will answer all those questions for you. Make sure you have on some comfortable clothing and shoes, and meet your tour guide in the lobby.
Your first stop of the day is at the legendary Temple of the Golden Buddha (Wat Traimit), which houses a nearly 6-ton golden, 700-year-old sculpture of Buddha. Learn about the story behind it, and how it’s become incredibly famous around the world.
Afterward, take a leisurely stroll around Bangkok’s Chinatown, with colorful alleyways leading past amazing Chinese temples, the famous Yaowarat Road, and of course, the scent of tasty street food wafting through the air.
If you want to grab some unique souvenirs, you’ll find plenty of cool choices here – from collectible musical instruments to tech toys. Stop by and smell the roses as the Pak KhlongTalat (Flower Market), where you’ll see more flowers than you thought possible.
Be prepared to visit the most sacred Buddhist temple in the country next: the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Your guide will tell you how it was started in 1782, and why it’s currently the city’s biggest tourist attraction and a must-see from Buddhists around the world.
We hope you aren’t tired of temples yet, because you still have to see the Temple of Dawn and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
2. Private Bangkok City Tour Full Day With The Grand Palace
- Duration: 8 hours
- Departure: Hotel pickup and drop-off available
- Departure Time: 9:00 AM
- Includes: Private tour, tour guides, lunch at local restaurant
This next tour draws quite a few similarities to the first one, both in time and content. However, we appreciated that this tour seemed to focus a bit more on the “local” side of things, seamlessly combining top tourist sites with local hangouts.
If you’d like to get a better idea of what it’s like for locals, check out the Private Bangkok City Tour Full Day with The Grand Palace!
Start off by being picked up from your hotel or other accommodations, and head out first thing to the Temple of the Golden Buddha. As the largest golden Buddha in the world, you can imagine that this place gets packed pretty early so it’s important to arrive before the crowds start to form.
Follow the impressive visit up with Bangkok’s Chinatown, which is full of its own set of wonders: unique electronics, antiques, clothing, home items, and so much more.
Even if you aren’t into flowers, you’re sure to find the Pak Khlong Talat (Flower Market) as interesting as we did. You’ll find everything from the most common flowers like roses and orchids, to some rarities that are new to you.
You can purchase most in packs of either 50 or 100, but at such a relatively affordable price, why not? If you have time, you may also luck out and snag a boat ride through the canals!
You’ll be doing a lot of walking around, but you’ll have the chance to refuel at a local restaurant with the rest of your group. We found the guides to be foodies themselves, with tons of knowledge and enthusiasm over local dishes!
They’ll even tailor the experience if you decide you’d like to experience more than just the included lunch at a local restaurant – perhaps dessert or drinks to follow it up?
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
3. Private Three Temples Bangkok City Tour
- Duration: 3 to 4 hours
- Departure: Hotel pickup and drop-off available
- Departure Time: 9:00 AM & 2:00 PM
- Includes: Air-conditioned vehicle, professional guide, all entrance fees
We get that not everyone has the availability to take on an 8-hour tour. If you’re on a rather tight schedule but would still like to see some of the most incredible Thai temples, this next tour is perfect for you.
The Private Three Temples Bangkok City Tour (SHA Plus) is perfect for first-time visitors, taking you through local markets and neighborhoods to incredibly popular tourist attractions.
We felt that this tour wasn’t simply a transaction in which you pay someone to lead you around. Rather, it felt like an old friend who was glad to see us, was taking us to their favorite spots and sharing all of the beauty and history behind each one.
Oh, and we really appreciated how the guides were so helpful, always offering to take photos for us at each site and offering recommendations we can try later on in our trip.
Just like with the other two tours, you’ll first arrive at the Wat Trimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha) and learn how it was at one point covered with a layer of stucco and colored glass to try and conceal its true identity (for almost 200 years!).
When relocated in 1955, during the move, the plaster chipped a bit, one of the people helping out spotted a glimmer of gold and the rest is history. Then, take an educational drive through Chinatown and Indian town as your guide offers interesting historical and cultural commentary throughout.
Arrive at the Flower Market and take some time to explore before heading over to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, which holds an absolutely enormous gold Buddha!
One of the highlights was crossing the Chao Phraya River by boat to experience the Temple of Dawn, sitting right on the west bank and overlooking the water. It’s easily one of the most visually striking landmarks in the city, and that’s saying a lot!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
4. Private Half-Day Bangkok City Tour with The Grand Palace
- Duration: 5 hours
- Departure: Hotel pickup and drop-off included
- Departure Time: 9:00 AM
- Includes: English speaking guide at the time of sightseeing, Transport by air-conditioned private car
With a private, air-conditioned vehicle to drive you around, it’s one of the most efficient and comfortable ways to explore!
After being picked up from your hotel by your guide, you’ll head first to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha: a bastion of the Buddhist faith. This is a pretty enormous site, but it still gets busy so arriving early will let you escape most (if not all) of the crowds.
Continue to The Grand Palace, where King Rama I to King Rama V of the Rattanokosin Kingdom actually resided at one place.
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is up next (inside the temple still), which is said to give legitimacy to the king and protection to the entirety of Thailand. The picture sits in an ordination hall, which is quite impressive in itself, with paintings everywhere!
Afterward, you’ll go a more low-key route to the Amulet Market, where you’ll be able to browse through tons of different amulets and Buddha statues (with many souvenirs made carefully by hand).
We can’t leave out the Temple of Dawn, as it’s simply one of the most fascinating landmarks in the entire continent and featured on innumerable postcards, in movies, etcetera. Rising up over 80 meters over the river, it’s one of just a few with a view like this.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
5. Private Full Day Bangkok City Tour
- Duration: 9 hours
- Departure: Hotel pickup and drop-off included
- Departure Time: 9:00 AM, 9:30 AM, 10:00 AM, 10:30 AM
- Includes: Entrance fees, bottled water, private transportation, professional guides
Maybe you have all the time in the world, and you’re on the hunt for a more comprehensive tour that will really take you through all the ins-and-outs of Bangkok.
The Private Full Day Bangkok City Tour is an excellent choice, with a personal driver and guide who will take you by private vehicle around to some of the most enthralling locations in the city.
As this is a VIP-style experience, it’ll be designed around just what you and your group want to do and your specific interests!
Just like with all the others, you’ll be picked up in the morning from your hotel (start time is a bit flexible, depending on your group and availability) and head out to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, first.
The opulent temple is phenomenal, and make sure you learn about how it was reestablished in the late 1700s by King Rama 1 and some seriously interesting stories and anecdotes along the way!
The Grand Palace is next, which truly lives up to its name, seeing as it was home to the Thai King and Royal Court! Next, make your way to the Golden Buddha, dating back over 700 years to the Sukhothai kingdom.
Learn all about how they managed to disguise it in a way to protect it from an opposing military force before heading to the gorgeous Temple of Dawn. It’s probably the most notable of all in terms of visual aesthetics, transforming Bangkok’s skyline into something out of a movie.
After, enjoy a relaxing and beautiful lunch along the Chao Phraya River and Canal, where you’ll cruise along leisurely as you take in the amazing structures along the banks.
It’s the perfect way to continue the tour, displaying the city’s diversity and how it really does have everything to offer!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
Why You Should do a Guided Tour of Bangkok
- A guide will navigate the city: Bangkok can be overwhelming, especially if you’re not used to big cities. A guide will know their way around and can help you get your bearings. They will also help you figure out the best way to get from point A to point B. In Bangkok, that’s not always an easy thing! There are several ways to get around, like tuk-tuks, taxis or public transportation.
- A guide will give you insider info: A guide can give you all sorts of interesting facts and stories about the city that you might not know otherwise. For example, did you know that Bangkok has a network of canals, or khlongs, that were once used for transportation? Or that the city’s official name is one of the longest in the world, with 169 characters? A guide can also help you understand the local customs and culture. This especially helpful if you’re visiting for the first time.
- A guide can take you off the beaten path: While there are plenty of must-see sights in Bangkok, there are also lots of hidden gems that many tourists don’t know about. A good guide can show you some of the city’s lesser-known sights. Be that a hidden temple, a street food market that’s popular with locals, or an unusual museum. They will also help you avoid the crowds and find the best times to visit popular attractions.
- A guide can help you communicate with the locals: One my favorite things about traveling is meeting new people and learning about their customs. A guide will help you by introducing you to local artisans, shopkeepers or families. They will also help you learn a few words of Thai, which can go a long way in making connections with locals.
- A guide can help you stay safe: Bangkok is generally a safe city, however there are a few things you need to watch out for. Pickpockets are very common and you need to be on the watch for them. A tour guide will help you stay aware of your surroundings and avoid any problems. They can also help you navigate cultural norms like, when it’s appropriate to remove your shoes or cover your shoulders.
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The Private Bangkok City Tour Full Day is our Editors Choice for the best guided tour of Bangkok.
