My aunt will be traveling to Thailand with a female friend.

She asked me how, if one wants to do it on their own, to best, but (semi-)budget, travel from

Bangkok to Chiang Mai, but on the way stop for a few days of sightseeing in Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi/River Kwai.

Is it necessary to book tours, complete or separate, for this, or can one just take public transport

and book hotel rooms upon arrival at each destination?

I would think one can take a bus or minivan from each mentioned destination to each destination

and find a hotel upon arrival.

But if budget tours can be booked, where?

Note that my aunt and her friend have never traveled to Thailand and are over 50 years old.

Also, are there good quality budget tours from Bangkok to Cambodia, specifically Angkor Wat?

Any advice appreciated!

When will they be here? Advance reservations are some times a good idea. Especially if you have a particular hotel in mind or it is the high season.

Bangkok to Kanchanaburi is an easy trip to setup. Many tour agencies can do this. Or, get a taxi and head out! It can either be an over night trip or just a day trip.

Ayutthaya could be part of the trip to Chiang Mai, same with Sukhothai, which is a great place to visit. As long as these places are not flooded.

I would recommend a government bus as opposed to a mini bus. The buses are relatively easy to catch and run all the time. Also recommend avoiding night buses.

As for Cambodia, schedule a flight, book a hotel, and let the hotel sort out the tour guide. I have had good luck doing this.

Do a 1-2 day tour to Kanchanaburi by train from Bangkok. Then back to Bangkok, train to Ayutthaya, stay a night or two, then train on to Chiang Mai. From there fly to Siem Reap and see Angkor Wat. No need to book tours as it's all easy to do on your own. You can book a short tour at each destination if you really want. You can do this any age, so being over 50 is irrelevant. Plenty of people over 50 do these trips.

Here's the trips that someone else did...

http://www.renegadetravels.com/bangkok-to-kanchanaburi-river-kwai-bridge-and-death-railway/

http://www.renegadetravels.com/category/thailand/ayutthaya/

http://www.renegadetravels.com/category/thailand/chiang-mai/

http://www.renegadetravels.com/category/cambodia/siem-reap/

Seems similar to what your aunt wants to do.

Also, these guys have done the same...

http://magictravelblog.com/2012/08/getting-from-bangkok-to-siem-reap/

http://magictravelblog.com/2012/04/how-to-get-from-bangkok-to-ayutthaya-easily/

http://magictravelblog.com/category/places/thailand/chiang-mai/

Hope these help.

Lots of good ideas here however I would add that booking tours through hotel foyer agencies is not the best way to do it. By all means plan your tours based on brochures you find in hotel lobbies but make your booking in a local high street travel agent. This is what I did some time ago in Chiang Mai and, although the tours were the same, the savings were significant.

Hope your Aunt and her friend have a great time.....

Lots of good ideas here however I would add that booking tours through hotel foyer agencies is not the best way to do it. By all means plan your tours based on brochures you find in hotel lobbies but make your booking in a local high street travel agent. This is what I did some time ago in Chiang Mai and, although the tours were the same, the savings were significant.

Hope your Aunt and her friend have a great time.....

Definitely good advice. Hotels almost always add a hefty charge on top. I suppose that's the price you pay for convenience. Some are happy to pay this though, especially if they're on vacation and not really worried about saving money.

Edited October 16, 201312 yr by davejones

Do a 1-2 day tour to Kanchanaburi by train from Bangkok. Then back to Bangkok, train to Ayutthaya, stay a night or two, then train on to Chiang Mai. From there fly to Siem Reap and see Angkor Wat. No need to book tours as it's all easy to do on your own. You can book a short tour at each destination if you really want. You can do this any age, so being over 50 is irrelevant. Plenty of people over 50 do these trips.

Is the train open to CM now? Sooooo many problems lately.

As for tours, the higher end hotels do have big markups, but sometimes have better transport, no visits to shops, etc. I've gotten some great deals from my (cheaper) hotel, and have gotten some bad ones. Kinda hit and miss. Though the one I booked from my friends expensive hotel was first class. Beautiful minibus, great English speaking guide and driver...who didn't drive like a mad man! 55555

I also got a great guide in Siam Reap via my cheap hotel. Had a blast for 3 days on the back of his scooter!

Do a 1-2 day tour to Kanchanaburi by train from Bangkok. Then back to Bangkok, train to Ayutthaya, stay a night or two, then train on to Chiang Mai. From there fly to Siem Reap and see Angkor Wat. No need to book tours as it's all easy to do on your own. You can book a short tour at each destination if you really want. You can do this any age, so being over 50 is irrelevant. Plenty of people over 50 do these trips.

Is the train open to CM now? Sooooo many problems lately.

As for tours, the higher end hotels do have big markups, but sometimes have better transport, no visits to shops, etc. I've gotten some great deals from my (cheaper) hotel, and have gotten some bad ones. Kinda hit and miss. Though the one I booked from my friends expensive hotel was first class. Beautiful minibus, great English speaking guide and driver...who didn't drive like a mad man! 55555

I also got a great guide in Siam Reap via my cheap hotel. Had a blast for 3 days on the back of his scooter!

I forgot about the train problem towards Chiang Mai. No idea if they've been sorted out or not.

It's true that you often get what you pay for, and sometimes booking a more expensive tour means you have a better time. Finding those tours is the hard part though. As you say, a bit hit and miss.

I have had varying results going to the high street agent. None of them were less than enjoyable. One was in the reps. private car with just three passengers. We had an itinerary but between the official stops we could just about call in any place on route that looked good. Very much the party atmosphere. The hotel I stayed in was The Chiang Mai Gate Hotel. I can very much recommend it. Why not consider going by plane from Bangkok to Chiang Mai then after a few days go by overnight sleeper bus to the next port of call.

By the way, please can somebody explain the hidden (to me) meaning of 55555?

Ayutthaya is easily reached in the day from BKK and back, so no need to book hotels there!

Sukothai and Chiang Mai are different. I advise booking at least one day ahead via the Internet, such as through Agoda, in order to get the best prices. It is always possible to get one's hotel or a person in BKK to do this for them. Just turning up at a hotel is not a good or economical way of going about finding a reasonable rate ! Don't forget to include the incredible White Temple at Chiang Rai in the itinerary!

I have had varying results going to the high street agent. None of them were less than enjoyable. One was in the reps. private car with just three passengers. We had an itinerary but between the official stops we could just about call in any place on route that looked good. Very much the party atmosphere. The hotel I stayed in was The Chiang Mai Gate Hotel. I can very much recommend it. Why not consider going by plane from Bangkok to Chiang Mai then after a few days go by overnight sleeper bus to the next port of call.

By the way, please can somebody explain the hidden (to me) meaning of 55555?

The Thai word for 5 is "ha", so 555 means ha ha ha. Just like LOL in English.

Many thanks for 555 (๕๕๕)

last year we had a great trip from bankok to Kanchanaburi.

first we did the usual sights flower market, grand palace and long tail boat through the klongs.

for our trip to kanchanaburi we found a driver and he took us to the floating market which is in the same direction as Kanchanaburi.the floating market is a tourist trap so dont get caught for a lot of money hireing a boat make sure to go into the center i don't think the driver will be happy but if you don't you will pay too much.

below are the two hotels that we stayed at the pool at the swiss otel is fantastic.

the river raft hotel is a great experience and i highly recommend it.

it is location is good for the erawan falls and hell fire pass and an added bonus it's very close to the train station so you can return to kanchanaburi by the Death railway

http://www.swissotel.com/hotels/bangkok-nai-lert-park/?cmpid=gglobnlpbrand02eng&gclid=CL_mt8azm7oCFbLHtAodoAQAvA

http://www.boutiqueraft-riverkwai.com/main.html

Great replies, thanks!!!

I will check out all the links and see if I can prepare some advice for them.

Thanks again!