Bangkok tours

[patatie]

Can anyone recommend a tour group in Bangkok? We are going over on Costa Classica in early Jan, and our ship (apparently) docks around an hour-an hour and a half from Bangkok itself. We need a tour group that is willing to pick us up from the ship...would love to hear some recommendations!

 

Oh, I contacted Tour with Tong with the docking address my TA gave me for Bangkok, Tong said that it was most likely a wrong address, and, after responding I never heard from her again. So don't really want to continue bookings with them...

 

Thanks in advance!

[Earl Rosebery]

Can anyone recommend a tour group in Bangkok? We are going over on Costa Classica in early Jan, and our ship (apparently) docks around an hour-an hour and a half from Bangkok itself. We need a tour group that is willing to pick us up from the ship...would love to hear some recommendations!

 

Oh, I contacted Tour with Tong with the docking address my TA gave me for Bangkok, Tong said that it was most likely a wrong address, and, after responding I never heard from her again. So don't really want to continue bookings with them...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

http://www.bangkokdaytours.com/tourcat.asp?cid=45

 

This company runs tours designed for your port. (Laem Chabang)

 

Note, the 2 day tours do not return to the ship the first night- you book a Bangkok hotel separately. There is a 1 day Bangkok tour as well. I haven't used them yet but am booked with them for 2 days from the other bangkok port. (Klong Toey) Communication seems efficient. You will be there before we are.

[patatie]

Thanks very much for the link Earl Rosebery - interestingly though, the address on that website is a different address for the Port in Bangkok than the one my TA gave me. :S

[bundydi]

Hi Patatie, I have sent an email to Tong re tours and have had no reply at all. I have been communicating with Rob Scarr from Image Limos and he is very prompt in replying and has been very helpful. I havn't yet booked anything at this stage. Are you staying in Bangkok for the night or are you going back to the ship? We are staying in Bangkok. I got a price from him for a tour the same as the Best of Bangkok tour with Costa (but it would only be back to the hotel and not back to the ship). 10 people in a minibus is 3980 baht each.

Di

[patatie]

Hi Di,

Sorry for the late reply - had a bit of a work situation and have been busy with that all week - now theres just under a week til we leave Melbourne and am still running around trying to organize tours - eeep!!!!!

 

I tried emailing Tong again as I thought that the above prices were a bit steep (I'm not personally paying for any part of our holiday so I want to keep costs as low as possible). When I pressed about the urgency of the situation she quoted me overall just over 13000 baht all up for a whole day. This figure was arrived at after she gave us the base cost and a list of admission fees for a number of places. We will be returning to the ship that night, I believe.

 

I have not yet booked with Tong - I only just got the email before looking on these boards again...still have to relay this info to my parents (the ones who will be paying).

 

It seems the biggest cost involved is getting to and from the port/city, which is a bit annoying! I thinks also,given this info, the prices from Costa start looking more reasonable as they include a 1.5-2 hr drive each way!!

 

By the way, which port have you told your operator we're docking at? I'm a bit concerned as information I got from my TA suggested one port (she got this list from Cost), but info on the web seems to suggest otherwise. Im starting to feel like I'll only get te 'real' info onboard and may have to ammend bookings then..

 

Anyway, thanks for sharing the info, hope your booking goes well and if we don't speak on here again...Merry Christmas and see you onboard!!

[bundydi]

Hi

I rang Costa after I booked and they told me the ship docks at Laem Chabang. I am now trying to find out what night markets there Dusk to Dawn excursion goes to but they have not replied to my email I sent last week. I will give them a ring tomorrow to see if I can find out.

Merry Christmas to you too. Hope to catch up with you onboard.

Di

[kipper8]

Hi

I rang Costa after I booked and they told me the ship docks at Laem Chabang. I am now trying to find out what night markets there Dusk to Dawn excursion goes to but they have not replied to my email I sent last week. I will give them a ring tomorrow to see if I can find out.

Merry Christmas to you too. Hope to catch up with you onboard.

Di

Hi we are going on this cruise in April and were thinking of doing dusk to dawn tour ,if you do this tour please will you review it when you return thanks:):)

[bundydi]

By the way, which port have you told your operator we're docking at? I'm a bit concerned as information I got from my TA suggested one port (she got this list from Cost), but info on the web seems to suggest otherwise. Im starting to feel like I'll only get te 'real' info onboard and may have to ammend bookings then..

 

Hi

If you have a look at Costa Classica webcam now it is heading into Laem Chabang for it's Bangkok stop.

Di

[EmsMom]

We have tried booking with Tong and have written to her via email several times now. We received a few intermittent replies but recently no replies. It's pretty frustrating. At any rate, we are looking at Image Limos....Does anyone else have experience with this company? Our flight arrives in Bangkok at midnight so we need a pick up. Also, may consider using a limo for touring during the day. We thought we could more done with a guide rather than trying to do it ourselves as we only have 3 days in Bangkok....any ideas?

[foxyh]

We are sailing on the Diamond Princess in April and have booked a large group with ZOOM: DUNGZOOM@GMAIL.COM.....he has been wonderful to work with and answers all questions immediately. There are some very good comments about him on another thread about tours in Bangkok.....He has been communicating with each person in the tour group. He sends pictures, information and more to keep in touch. Give him a try.

 

Helen

[Albert Ross]

We are sailing on the Diamond Princess in April and have booked a large group with ZOOM: DUNGZOOM@GMAIL.COM.....he has been wonderful to work with and answers all questions immediately. There are some very good comments about him on another thread about tours in Bangkok.....He has been communicating with each person in the tour group. He sends pictures, information and more to keep in touch. Give him a try.

 

Helen

Zoom is in Saigon?:confused:

[Musicgirlcruiser]

I had problems communicating with Tong back in 2009 too. Got one reply saying she'll reply and never got any again. Anyway, we went with a guide named Sirin Burusnan. You can check her out on Facebook. I'm not sure how she would compare with Tong, but we were very satisfied with her. She was recommended by a friend who worked in an embassy who said they use her often. She was very prompt with emails and very accommodating. She had a driver and a van. We were not on a cruise though, so I'm not sure if she's done those. You can check with her.

[EmsMom]

We finally heard back from Tong.....not sure why the lapse in communication but we emailed her once again and we received a response that she had us in her schedule. She had rave reviews on Trip Advisor....many from December and January so we knew she was still around. I used her website "Contact Us" in order to recontact her and she responded. The smaller ships like Seabourn Pride can dock in the city close to the city center. The larger ships must use a port that is about an hour and a half from Bangkok.

[patatie]

Just to let you all know...we had to push and push to get Tong to reply and confirm, and press the urgency of our situation. We also told her that we hoped she lived up to all the rave reviews, and if we didn't hear back we'd be going elsewhere. In the end she replied and confirmed (though this did take a while). We were VERY happy with the tour, and would highly recommend the company to anyone - just keep pushing with the booking, it is worth it in the end.

[sailaway5]

Just to let you all know...we had to push and push to get Tong to reply and confirm, and press the urgency of our situation. We also told her that we hoped she lived up to all the rave reviews, and if we didn't hear back we'd be going elsewhere. In the end she replied and confirmed (though this did take a while). We were VERY happy with the tour, and would highly recommend the company to anyone - just keep pushing with the booking, it is worth it in the end.

 

Glad to hear you had a good experience. Our reservation with her is not until April, but she is slow on responding to any follow-ups. Maybe I'll try to contact her once we get closer to our sail date just to confirm she still is touring with us.....