Bangkok city tour with a private car and driver

What the Bangkok private tour includes

You get a private car with driver for about 8 to 10 hours. The driver picks you up at your hotel, drops you at each sight, waits, and takes you back at the end. Pickup from Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang can be arranged if you land in the morning and want to start straight away.

There is no tour guide, and entry tickets are not included. You buy tickets at each gate and explore at your own pace. If you would like more time, agree extra hours when you book.

Bangkok city tour prices

A one-day route that works

• 08:00 hotel pickup. The early start matters more than anything else.
• 08:30 Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, before the tour groups fill the courtyards.
• 11:00 Wat Pho, a short walk or drive south, for the Reclining Buddha and some shade.
• 12:00 cross the river by the short ferry from Tha Tien to Wat Arun. The driver can meet you on the Thonburi side or wait at Wat Pho.
• 13:30 lunch and a rest in the car or a cafe.
• 14:30 Jim Thompson House, a teak house and garden with a calmer pace.
• 16:30 Chinatown on Yaowarat Road as the street food comes out.
• 18:30 Asiatique on the river for dinner and the night market, then back to the hotel.

Tickets and opening hours

Dress code for Bangkok temples

The Grand Palace is the strictest place in the city. Shoulders and knees must be covered, no see-through tops, no ripped trousers, and sometimes no sandals without a back strap. Long trousers or a long skirt and a T-shirt with sleeves is the safe choice. Wat Pho and Wat Arun are a little more relaxed but still expect covered shoulders and knees, and you remove shoes inside the halls.

Ignore anyone near the palace who tells you it is closed today and offers to take you somewhere else. That is an old scam. Walk to the main gate and check yourself.

Traffic tips from Bangkok drivers

• The old town around the palace is calmest before 09:00 and on Sunday mornings.
• Avoid crossing Sukhumvit or Silom between about 17:00 and 19:30 if you can. Plan Chinatown and Asiatique for after that rush.
• Use the river ferry for Wat Arun. It takes minutes, while driving round by bridge can take much longer.
• Rain in the wet season (roughly June to October) slows everything. Keep the afternoon flexible.
• Parking near Chinatown is tight, so the driver will drop you and wait nearby.

Mixing the city with a day trip

If you have already seen the palace and temples, the floating market tour or an Ayutthaya day trip may be a better use of a car for the day. All our options are compared in day trips from Bangkok, and the private driver guide explains hourly hire.