Bangkok Hidden Khlongs & Village Life Tour

Rudy picked us up at our hotel on time and we walked to the Skytrain, transferring once to reach the Chao Phraya River (known as the River of Kings) that runs through Bangkok. We caught a pedestrian ferry that serves as a water taxi with multiple stops and took us up-lake past a million things you will want to see, including the Royal Palace, Royal yacht, the Wan Arun Pagoda, Chinatown, the condemned Parliament building and numerous ruined homes caused by recent major flooding. It was a beautiful and comfortable ride filled with information from Rudy along the way, about all the things we were seeing and about the Thai people and the city. At the end of the Ferry trip, we took a long boat through the numerous canals to get a sense of how the people live and how they have dealt with the flooding that has destroyed a large number of their homes, spying two alligators sunning themselves along the way. It was fascinating. We also visited a large market removed from the chaos of Bangkok where vendors were friendly (even though we didn't buy anything), prices were low, and Rudy explained all the unfamiliar food and clothing items we passed. Next we visited an enormous beautiful Buddhist temple that shares part of its immense space with local Hindus and we went on to a lunch of chicken and rice at a nearby street vendor that had seating beside the river. The food was very good and the ambience was fun. Rudy is very engaging and paid for everything from Sky train, ferry, and longboat tickets to lunch. It was billed as a half day tour, but we two spent most of the day with Rudy (7.5 hours) and not only had the best time ever, but learned more during that time than we ever thought possible.

Excellent experience. A lot of fun. The guide was informative. We all definitely had a great time. We would recommend. We were lucky enough to be the only 4 on this trip. Definitely off the beaten path. The speed boat ride was a blast!

Jill is friendly and professional. We loved the experience. Only thing we dislike is the lunch experience. The place Jill took us is very poorly settled and has no wash room. I would say it’s not a restaurant, we feel like it is a local family ( not sure if it’s a poor family or dirty place. We did pay good money for the experience. The lunch is a big disappointment. We were being polite at the time, but afraid to eat.( think of not being sick).

Absolutely brilliant trip from start to finish. Pet was a wonderful informative guide and exceptionally well organised. Fantastic off the beaten track tour, which gives a real insight of traditional Thai life. The Thai people are so friendly and as tourists we were so politely welcomed into their country. Along the Khlongs strangers smiled and waved as though you were a long lost friend. We would thoroughly recommend this trip to everyone.

Gill was amazing! Very informative and could tell you anything you needed to know about the history to the current life of the Thai's. Great to good to places that tourists do not get to see and experience lots of forms of transport. The speedy long boat was great fun, the food at lunch was really tasty and this day was one of highlights of the trip. Gill looked after us very well and would recommend her and the trip to anyone.

This experience should not be missed!!! Most definitely the highlight of our stay in Bangkok! Since it was off season, the canals were almost serene as we navigated through the village, in our long boat. The rocket boat, or as Jill calls it the 007 boat, was a blast!!! You must slow down, if you see villagers out on their dock areas, as the elders could be resting…. Jill, our guide, made our day very special, with her care and attention to detail, and with her knowledgeable and passionate understanding of the rural village. I wish I could give 100 stars!

Our tour guide Patchara was oustanding. A lovely person with a vast local knowledge and a great sense of humour. We were picked up on time and taken to the River Chao Phraya where we boarded the express boat. After this we boarded two smaller boats a Long Tail boat and a rocket boat to navigate through the smaller canals. This gave us a fantastic insight into the rural waterways and lives of the local population. We also visited a market and a temple along the way and had a lovely meal beside the river. A great excursion which we'd thoroughly recommend, you won't regret it!

This was one of the very best tours that we did having spent nearly 3 weeks in Asia. First thing after breakfast 3 of us were met at our hotel on Sukhumvit 15 by Jill our guide. We then spent until late in to the afternoon doing a fascinating tour of the canal system around Bangkok. We travelled on 3 types of boats and really saw rural life well away from the masses of tourists. Jill took us to a local market where we got to sample various sweet snacks before we got to ride in motorised boats along the Khlong which was terrific fun. A delicious Thai lunch was taken on the river at a local restaurant where we got to meet the delightful owners and some other equally nice Thai guests. We also got to see some amazing buildings and learn their history so we rated this tour as really good value. Jill deserves a special mention, she was a wonderful guide who really knew her history of the places we visited. She took photos of us and offered advice on pretty much anything we wanted to ask relating to our holiday. A great ambassador for her company and a delightful person to spend the day with.

Excellent tour guide! A cool view into the daily life of Thais living on the small canals. We went from a big public long boat, to a private long boat, to a small wooden speed boat. We saw no other tourists until we got back to Bangkok. Highlight of our two week trip!

A fabulous tour with Jill who was super knowledgeable, attentive and funny. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this tour which included taste testing food at a local market - no other tourists anywhere so we got the real deal, enjoying traditional lunch at a small cafe on the river and the highlight for us was visiting the Buddhist Temple and learning so much about the Buddhas. Most of the sightseeing was on the Long Boat, passing many villages which was definitely a different experience. The tour took about 6 hours. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting something a bit different …. Worth every cent