Full Day Kanchanaburi River Kwai & Death Railway Private Tour
Description
Travel west from Bangkok into historic heart of Kanchanaburi, where memories of World War II echo along banks of River Kwai. This full-day private tour brings you face to face with one of darkest chapters in Asia's history, building of infamous Death Railway by Allied prisoners of war. Guide and driver welcome you early morning for 3-hour journey westwards where city skyline disappears for rural Thailand. First pay respect at Allied Cemetery, final resting place of close to 7000 prisoners-of-war who perished during construction. Visit Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, interactive museum with eight themed galleries. Short boat trip follows bringing guests to foot of famous Bridge over River Kwai, immortalized in film. Board local train over original parts of Death Railway offering scenic experiences. Journey traces original tracks, museums, and war memorials. Local Thai lunch served before return to Bangkok around 5pm, arriving with moving memories of incredible resilience and loss.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Customers are warmly welcomed by our guide and driver at your hotel lobby early in the morning. The road westwards to downtown Kanchanaburi will take approximately 3 hours where the city skyline slowly disappears and makes way for the more suburban and rural side of Thailand. Upon arrival in downtown Kanchanaburi, we first pay respect to the Prisoners-of-War at the Allied Cemetery who perished during the construction. The well-maintained cemetery is the final resting place of close to 7000 prisoners-of-war who perished during the construction of the "Death Railway.
Right next to the cemetery lies the Thailand - Burma Railway Centre, an interactive museum with information and research facility dedicated to presenting the history of the Thailand-Burma Railway trough eight themed galleries.
A short boat trip follows right after leaving the museum and brings guests right up to the foot of the famous Bridge over the River Kwai. Still in use today, the bridge was the target of frequent Allied bombing raids during 1945, and was rebuilt after the war ended. Here, we board a local train over original parts of the famous Death Railway. Train rides over the Death Railway offer both scenic and surreal experiences of what once was a region of war camps, controlled by the Japanese. Upon disembarkation, a local Thai set lunch is served at a local restaurant before we make our way back to Bangkok. The journey follows the fastest route possible to make a scheduled arrival at approximately 5pm, depending on traffic conditions. Guests are of course brought back to their booked accommodation in downtown Bangkok after ending this interesting day on and around the River Kwai.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
• Transfers from / to hotels are only operated within the downtown Bangkok areas and restricted to main hotels only. Regions outside the central business district such as Khao San Road, Rattanakosin, Nonthaburi, Thonburi, Minburi, both International Airports, Ratchadapisek and upper Sukhumvit (Soi 55 and further) are excluded and supplementary charges apply.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- This tour is operated on full private basis with English-speaking guide. Other languages are on request / subject to availability and supplementary charges may apply.
- Transfers are only operated within the downtown Bangkok areas and restricted to main hotels only. Regions outside the central business district such as Khao San Road, Rattanakosin, Nonthaburi, Thonburi, Minburi, both International Airports, Ratchadapisek and upper Sukhumvit (Soi 55 and further) are excluded and supplementary charges apply
- We regret that are unable to provide pick-up and drop-off transfer services from and to apartment complexes, local guest houses or private apartments. We advise you kindly to head on your own arrangement to the nearest hotel inside the downtown Bangkok area.
- We will do all possible to comply with any dietary requirements during this excursion; it may not always be possible to confirm your wishes in advance based on the choice of local restaurant; • Due to the nature of this tour, we regret to inform you that this excursion is not suitable for wheelchair users.
- We always will make efforts to confirm the exact pick-up time upon reservation. For any operational issues in which are not able to confirm the exact pick-up time in advance, we reserve the right to inform you the day before the departure of the tour.
- Natural elements of any kind have a destructive effect on electronic equipment. It the customer’s own responsibility to ensure that any camera, mobile telephone or other device is properly wrapped and protected against these elements. We cannot be held responsible in any way for negligence and/or not following suggestions for any damage related to this.
- Please ensure that you bring sunglasses, a hat /cap and sunblock with a high SPF factor when traveling with us on this tour – even when it is cloudy, the sunrays still have an immense power.
- The protection of the country’s flora and fauna is of immense importance for us. We will not pursue any activities for guests that are not in line with our animal, wildlife and environment protection principles.
- It is the responsibility of the customer to provide us with the correct hotel information, should pick-up and drop-off services be included in the package. Any changes in accommodation outside 24 hours will be handled accordingly: changes within 24 hours may be on request.
- In the event of no-show or change of accommodation without prior consent and confirmation from us within 24 hours may result in the applicable cancellation charges as outlined in the terms and conditions.
Reviews(35)
We were not able to see the bridge over river Kwai because the guide didn’t speak good English and she’s hard to understand. She just made a lot of pointing, didn’t give us our ticket to the museum and we totally missed going to the bridge. We were taken to a public waterfalls. We hated this tour. On our way back to Bangkok it took us 5 hours because the driver didn’t use the highway!
Dear Reginah We thank you for your honest opinion on our River Kwai tour. We do apologize that the tour did not meet your expectations by spending more time at the bridge. With ample other natural and historical elements in and around Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai, the choices made are based on providing a complete overview in a day's tour. As you may have outlined, and we described, the options to see more, go deeper in the province's history can also be captured with spending a night in Kanchanaburi itself, giving you and your fellow travelers more time to focus on those things where you may want to spend more time. We hope you still cherish the great moments of this outing and looking forward welcoming you again to the Land of Smiles. With kind regards Asian Trails Thailand
This tour is very good! The guide is knowledgeable and kept us all on track so we didn't run over time. The short train ride is beautiful, and the lunch was excellent.
Dear Loralees It has been a sincere pleasure reading about your Kanchanaburi and River Kwai experience on our TripAdvisor page. Such reviews, flowing with positivity on how we are operating such tours, certainly are making our day! By reading this, we are confident that this Thailand experience remains with you and with your travel companion(s) forever and may stimulate more wanderlust wishes in the Land of Smiles. With kind regards Asian Trails Thailand
Only spent three quarters of an hour at the bridge. The rest of the day spent on train and waterfall. As the tour was for the bridge I was very disappointed. There was nearly one and a half hours at some waterfall when we could have spent the day at the bridge, had a meal etc. Total waste.
Dear Holiday We thank you for your honest opinion on our River Kwai tour. We do apologize that the tour did not meet your expectations by spending more time at the bridge. With ample other natural and historical elements in and around Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai, the choices made are based on providing a complete overview in a day's tour. As you may have outlined, and we described, the options to see more, go deeper in the province's history can also be captured with spending a night in Kanchanaburi itself, giving you and your fellow travelers more time to focus on those things where you may want to spend more time. We hope you still cherish the great moments of this outing and looking forward welcoming you again to the Land of Smiles. With kind regards Asian Trails Thailand
We found this trip to be really fascinating and very moving. However, whilst our guide was excellent it is a very long day - over 12 hours from our pick up to return into Bangkok. Might have been better to avoid a Friday as the afternoon traffic in BKK is even worse than usual.
Dear Candc2 Many thanks for sharing your experience with us after your Kanchanaburi explorations. Your positive view on this long yet interesting and moving day has been a welcoming start of our day. Indeed, the drive from and to Kanchanaburi can take a part of the travels due to the location but it is always forgotten when reflecting on the fascinating day. Rest assure that we will share your experience with all concerned, and we do look forward welcoming you and your travel companions soon again to the Land of Smiles! With kind regards Asian Trails Thailand
really enjoyed the trip as we had the car to ourselves which made it very relaxing. guide was very good and new a lot about what we were seeing.
Dear Flyer68 Many thanks for reviewing our version of this full day Kanchanaburi and the Bridge over the River Kwai with lots of positivity! We really appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences with the world. The stories and landmarks of the construction of this railway connection certainly makes it a must-see when in Thailand. Looking forward welcoming you again soon to the Land of Smiles with lots more travel options that include a lot of fun, relaxation and value for money. With kind regards Asian Trails Thailand
Asian tours organised our collections to join the main large bus ( lrg busses not allowed in city center). It is a long trip so be prepared with water. There is a stop about half way for toilet and a coffee. Have small notes on you for food. Our hotel provides a pack breakfast and we found this very handy as we would other miss out. The bridge is very poniont as well as the museum. Great educational history. Lunch is rustic but good local food and toilets adiquate. Mobility can be accomodated at all loctions. not much to buy if you want surveniers except at the museum. Good coffee and snacks at museum and as it is a long trip do not go hungry especially if you are unsure of eating Thai food. Train ride is an experience not to be missed as well as water buffello stopping our bus. Our guide was a laugh but informative and friendly. We enjoyed the day out but be prepared for a long day
Dear John It has been a sincere pleasure reading your constructive, informative and positive review of your River Kwai excursion. All points are very valuable as each client notices certain matters differently, giving us a more complete overview of how our Bridge over the River Kwai is experienced. The educational value and the fun side blended together seem to be the outstanding points of your experience, alongside the food and beverage options. We are looking forward welcoming you and your travel companions again in not-too-long-a-future in the Land of Smiles. With kind regards Asian Trails Thailand
Tour is very interesting, good organized. Guide is professional but his English hard to understand ——————————————————————————————————
Trip was well organised and was full packed. Please be prepared for it being a very long day. Food was wonderful. Overall a very pleasing trip.
Visiting the bridge was on my bucket list and I wasn't disappointed. I stayed on the river and arranged my own "tour" which was very easy, simple to do. A great trip, nice, helpful folks everywhere I went.
This trip packs in a lot for just one day and is excellent value for what you get. Hotel pick up and drop off. Lunch. Entry fees, train trip and boat ride! And lots of extra nice touches. Wow we were very happy! When you get to the museum, don’t muck about reading everything - buy the big red book. 250baht. Have a good look at the displays and leave yourself about 20 mins to walk around the cemetery across the road. Wear your life jacket on the long boat - for comfortable padding on the wooden seats. Sam, our guide was a darling. Very knowledgeable, organised and caring. Lunch was amazing- far exceeded our expectations and was all ready for us when we arrived. For 150baht we upgraded our carriage on the train. Comfortable, spacious and free water. The alternative will give you the local experience which would be good too. There is no mucking about on this trip and the ride back to Bangkok in the luxury coach was very relaxing after a fairly big day.
