Bangkok: The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun Walking Tour

Grand Palace Tour

Today was something else. Tony might have been the most introspective and intelligent tour guide I've ever had the pleasure of learning from! He explained everything we saw in each temple with patience and and excitement; he made the tour SO enjoyable! Tony has seen and done a LOT in his life so his worldly perspective is vast. As foreigners to this nation, we TRULY appreciated Tony's ability explain everything we were seeing in any level of detail we desired. Bravo Tony, I will never forget this tour!

via Tripadvisor

A personalized family overview of important Thai landmarks

This is a delayed review. I had intended to send it right after our trip in June but realized I had not taken the time to appropriately reflect on all of the time Tony spent with us on our day with him in Bangkok. For this tour, it was just our family of four, and it was exceedingly hot, and he took good care to keep us in the shade, make sure that we had plenty of pictures taken of our family, and even showed us how to properly order our lunch and drinks at the end of the tour. Tony provides a lot of the history of these places that you might not otherwise understand if you tour on your own. Additionally, he took copious pictures of our family, one of which will almost certainly be on the cover of our holiday card this year. A few hiccups in the beginning included actually trying to find him -which was eventually remedied on WhatsApp when he sent us his location and photo -and not reading that both men and women need to cover properly before going into the Palace. Fortunately, there is a shop close by where you can buy the necessary items, and they do not gouge you for these in any way. Because of this small mishap, I’m now the proud owner of a little elephant wraparound top and skirt, and my husband got elephant patterned pants (both of which we actually really ended up liking, even though they are very thin and not particularly high-quality. We wear them at home even today!) and our kids chose plain cotton pants, as all of us were in some version of shorts and I did not have my shoulders covered. That was no fault of the tour company but rather my own miss of those instructions. So unless you too want to add these items to your wardrobe, I recommend that you make sure that you are appropriately covered out of respect. I would definitely recommend this tour. It is often very hot in Thailand, so be careful to be adequately hydrated. There’s a fair amount of walking on this tour as well; however, it seemed to be the appropriate amount of walking and stopping, and resting in the shade when needed. I think that the tour was so interesting that I honestly didn’t mind the heat. Our whole family did very well, including two older teenage sons. We appreciate the time that Tony took to get to know our family a little bit and to both taken and send all of these great photos to us.

Response from the operator: Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful review. We are so glad your family had a great day exploring Bangkok with Tony, and it is wonderful to hear that his care, local insights, and family photos made the tour special Thank you as well for sharing your experience with the temple dress code and the heat. Your advice will be super helpful for future travelers. We will be sure to pass along your kind words to Tony. We hope to welcome you and your family back to Thailand again

via Tripadvisor

Khop Khun Khrab Tony!

Tony understands Thailands rich history past and present. He has passion on explaining intricacies of building structures restoration and use of a very special materials such as gold and Italian marble.Greatly appreciate the effort given my engineering profession. Despite the sweltering heat, he’s able to show us around with patience and kindness. However, there are some areas he can improve on which we hope he can take steps to change in the next tour that he is assigned. Tony needs to improve on his punctuality. we arrived early on the venue at 8:40am as we don’t want to be late at 9am. As a tourist and everyone I believe can understand the anxiety of going to a new place and meeting people for a first time. We waited as per instructed as stated in the confirmation document.We spent 20 minutes in the hot sun but with no efforts in finding him as he arrived late way past 9am which is the confirmed meet up time. Once he arrived, he looked disheveled like he just woke up or having difficulty waking up for the day. He also looked unprepared. It took him few minutes to settle down as he’s perspiring a lot due to him rushing for time. For tourist, first impressions is very important and we feel it’s a bit of let down. This is our opinion on the matter and we hope that Tony can take appropriate action to improve on himself. Over all ratings is 4 star ⭐ !

via Tripadvisor

Tony (Tae) Bangkok Palace and Canal Tour

Tony (Tae) was excellent at navigating our needs and explaining various sites/food to us. We tasted a unique array of interesting Thai snacks. Thank you. The temples and palace were amazing, but more enjoyable because of Tony. The Tuk-Tuk rides were a fun addition, but the canal boat ride was unforgettable. An addition which seems like an afterthought when booking, but very exciting once there. Tony has an interesting past which added flavor to the tour. All in all... an unforgettable experience amplified by an amazing guide.

Response from the operator: Thank you for sharing your experience. We are delighted to hear that Tony made the temples, food, and canal boat ride so special for you. WE will pass your feedback to Tony. Finally, we hope to welcome you back to Bangkok again soon

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Most Amazing Guide!

A very late report on our wonderful tour of these beautiful temples with a superb, fun knowledgeable and all round good person Jazzy Siam. After a brief mix up at start due to our eSim issues we had an absolutely brilliant tour. Jazzy was extremely knowledgeable and told us the history of the palaces, their location, their purposes, their restoration, the Royal Family, as well as an introduction to Thai history and culture. Yes, it was long, and hot, and humid, but that's the season, and Jazzy gave us water breaks in shade, and provided further information in these respite interludes. We honestly cannot recommend this tour, especially with this special guide, enough.

via Tripadvisor