Bridge on the River Kwai and Thailand-Burma Railway Tour

based on 202 reviews

Duration:9 hours (approx.)
Location: Bangkok, Thailand

From $77.85

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Kanchanaburi's famous Bridge on the River Kwai is a poignant reminder of the thousands of POW's and forced labourers who lost their lives in the Second World War. This full day guided tour from Bangkok includes touching visits to a small war museum and a POW cemetery. The day will also consist of an exhilarating long-tailed speedboat ride, Thai Local Lunch, a walk across the Bridge and a ride along the tracks of the Death Railway on a local train for 90 minutes. This is great value for money with no hidden costs.

This tour can be taken joined with fellow customers OR private with your own vehicle and guide

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

1. River Kwai
The Khwae Yai River, also known as the Si Sawat, is a river in western Thailand. It has its source in the Tenasserim Hills and flows for about 380 kilometres through Sangkhla Buri, Si Sawat, and Mueang Districts of Kanchanaburi Province, where it merges with the Khwae Noi to form the Mae Klong River at Pak Phraek.
2. Bridge Over the River Kwai
The bridge on the river Kwai, that many people know from the 1957 movie with the same name or from the book by Pierre Boulle is part of the infamous Death Railway, built during World War II from 1942 to 1943. The railway connected Kanchanaburi in Western Thailand with Rangoon in Myanmar, called Burma back then, and was about 415 kilometers long. On both ends construction began in June 1942 working towards each other. In October 1943 the two sides met, finishing the railway.
3. Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery is the main prisoner of war cemetery for victims of Japanese imprisonment while building the Burma Railway. It is on the main road, Saeng Chuto Road, through the town of Kanchanaburi, Thailand, adjacent to an older Chinese cemetery.
4. JEATH War Museum
This small museum, opened in 1977, mostly focuses on the terrible ordeals of the POWs who built the Death Railway. Their harsh living conditions are shown in many original photos, letters and drawings from that time as well as personal effects and war relics, including an unexploded Allied bomb dropped to destroy the bridge. One of the three galleries is built from bamboo in the style of the shelters (called attap) the POWs lived in.
5. Burma-Thai Railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, the Siam–Burma Railway, the Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, was a 415-kilometre railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma, built by the Empire of Japan in 1943 to support its forces in the Burma campaign of World War II. The train is approx 75 minutes long

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CANCELLATION POLICY

Posted By : Julie_A
The trip is certainly worth it and the train ride is a must. The history is very interesting behind the building of the railway and bridge. The only downside was our guide. There were only two of us on the trip and you felt like he was uninterested in engaging and would rather be on his Ipad. You could follow the history without him though so still worth the visit.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-18 00:32:32

Posted By : Martina_H
The landscape and history of the bridge are fantastic. The guide however was very boated, slept the whole time and did only provide infos for about 20 minutes in the car and another 20 minutes in the museum- on a 10 hour private tour for 270 Euros. He seemed very distracted with his I-pad all the time. Slept several hours in the car. No infos on culture, actual situation in Thailand or anything. Very disappointing! The tour itself (train, boat, car) was nice.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-13 04:12:48

Posted By : Anne_p
Excellent tour.Om our tour guide was so good . Lunch was also very good . Would highly recommend this trip
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-25 21:57:14

Posted By : R_S
The tour was great only the air conditioning in de bus was not working properly so it was very hot during the ride
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-15 19:29:41

Posted By : Glen_M
We had a truly incredible day. Rack, our guide was amazing. He looked after us and was so informative.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-09 08:05:53

Posted By : Andrew_M
Although a early start and a 3 hour road trip the experience was great. Our tour guide gave a indept account of what why and how before we got there. The day included a war cemetery, museum, river Kwai bridge, train ride and lunch before heading back to Bangkok. Thanks to our guide and driver.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-06 23:31:44

Posted By : Scott_S
We had a great trip with a fantastic tour guide. The.history was extremely interesting though sad. There were also some very scenic views and all around a great experience.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-03 02:52:24

Posted By : Lydia_O
Seeing the bridge, and riding on the train was exceptional. The communication of the company prior was also good.
The trip itself had flaws though unfortunately and we finished feeling frustrated by these.
Firstly. The minibus was extremely uncomfortable in size, temperature and basically spending 7 + hours travelling on it. The air con wasn’t great, the seats were tiny and had no leg room and it was very uncomfortable.

Secondly. We were surprised to discover that the company had booked our tickets in the economy section of the train - which we would have been happy to travel in until we learnt that didn’t actually guarantee a seat - during our journey we were encouraged to “upgrade” our tickets for 300 baht PP to a section of the train that enabled us to have an actual seat. We all felt this should have been included as standard - we paid £60+ pp for this trip, for goodness sake can’t they book us a seat on the train?!
Thirdly- we were exceptionally disappointed to not have a return journey on the train when it basically left the lunch stop at the same time our uncomfortable minibus did. And arrived at the bridge of Kwai at the same time we left it on our minivan. Our guide failed to mention to our group about the arriving train- in fact he told us there was only one train a day! - we only saw it by accident and I think that was poor as it was a great photo opportunity to see the train on the bridge of Kwai . This made us question how well our guide Oom knew the train schedule.
Lunch stop was 1.5 hours - far too long. If it had been 45 mins shorter we may have gotten back earlier.
Since the minibus schedule was the same as the train we see no reason why we couldn’t have had a return journey on the train. Some of our group missed the best shots of the train passing over the gauge on arrival to lunch stop because they were seated in the wrong side and we all were told it was a return journey so weren’t fussed about making an effort to see it. So it was a surprise when it then changed to it’s only one way.
Our guide Oom was pleasant enough but didn’t give any commentary on way home. Or on train. We weren't convinced by him I’m afraid. Having said all of this- it’s a must see for history enthusiasts and the sites themselves did not disappoint.

We were picked up at 0600hrs and are still not back at 1830hrs. It’s a long day.

Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-01 07:20:09

Posted By : FloydSarahH
I’ll admit I ummed & ahhed a bit about this booking but we couldn’t have had a better day, it was perfect from start to finish. My hesitation came from some of the previous reviews, so hopefully ours will help alay any worries others might have.
We only booked this less than 24 hrs before, so comms for confirmation and pick up was great. They came out their way to pick us up from our hotel which saved a whole lot of traffic planning on our part. Few more pick ups and we were on our way. Regular stops for drinks and toilet at large clean service stations. FOC bottles of water were provided at two points of the trip and there were numerous opportunities to buy your own food and drink too.
The visits and boat / train ride all as described and executed brilliantly by our tour guide Rach.
Lunch was in a beautiful spot and plenty enough buffet choice. Rach took photos of the group throughout the day and gave us copies FOC.
Basically I don’t think the tour company could have done any more. I mislaid my phone and they went out their way to find it for me. Also a fellow guest was looking for a family war grave at a different cemetery and they accommodated his request at the end of the planned visits.
Finally to any other guests reading, we enjoyed all your company, so thank you to you also for making this quite a special day.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-03-28 08:11:08

Posted By : lindasL9817SA
Tour with Racha our guide was brilliant - absolutely covered everything you could want in a trip to Kwai (hence 3 stars). Definitely recommend a trip to the area but maybe not with IAsia Its a pity the Company (IAsia) was not as good as their guide!.

Company communication poor - trip starts 6.30am despite being advertised as 7.00am. When questioned, abruptly told, you can change but likely to miss Death Railway! No communication day prior to trip - I had to contact them.
The vehicle they provided for a private tour @ a premium price was barely fit for purpose. No full seatbelts, damaged and rusty paintwork, dirty and torn upholstery noisy, uncomfortable and not appropriate for 2 people (old shabby mini bus. Need to reinvest some of their profits into a saloon car or SUV!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-03-25 21:23:26