Terisa Tribble, 127 YinD

If you’re looking for a travel idea for a group of friends or family, Ayutthaya Boat & Bike Travel has twelve tours to choose from. The great thing is that the tour groups are small, starting from two people and up—ideally smaller groups are best for accountability.

The Ayutthaya Boat & Bike Tour is a must see and do. Starting the morning in Bangkok at the River City Shopping Complex Pier, we met our personal tour guide, Ninja, on the pier and were welcomed on board a luxury cruiser. In these comfortable surroundings, we were able to relax and enjoy the scenery along the Chao Phraya River.
The cruiser also services other tour groups on the same trip.  We easily shared the large cruiser with a couple of tour groups that were seated separately. There was coffee and other beverages available while we opted to sit outside the cabin for a while, mingling with other tour groups and enjoying the sights along the river banks such as the Temple Of Dawn, the Royal Grand Palace, and the Royal Barges.

Our tour guide, Ninja, was very personable and informative, pointing out landmarks as they came into view.  He had a great sense of humor and regaled us with the history of each landmark as well as stories of his other job/life as a farmer—this being a part-time job.

A great buffet lunch was provided, which included both Asian and western cuisines. In the meantime, the boat passed through Nonthaburi province before reaching Wat Chong Lom Pier.

At 12:00, the boat arrived at Wat Chong Lom Pier outside the city of Ayutthaya. A private vehicle awaited to escort us in air conditioning to Ayutthaya, by road.

Arriving at the main tour office before 13:00, we strapped on our helmets and test rode our designated bicycles before we headed out (with our bottled waters) single file to start exploring the ancient city’s historical parks and see the highlights of the former capital of Thailand.

We visited two ancient (from the 12-13th century), restored wats. In one we received a water blessing from a monk and in the other, we used sticks to tell our fortunes. Ninja explained how the early wats were built without windows—modern renovations included carving narrow openings into the structures for light and air.

The great thing about this tour is that entrance fees for the parks were included, so we didn’t have to stress over paying the inflated “tourist entrance fee.”  We were able to ride through and visit several archeological sites/parks and take gorgeous photos.  One site included the oldest reclining Buddha image.

Great boat tour, great bike ride. All in all, an amazing trip and well worth the time. Click here to book your next trip.