Most bookedBangkok · Ayutthaya · Chiang Mai · Phuket
The Classic Thailand Journey
4★ hotels · same guide throughout · domestic flight
from$2,480 / pp
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Private tours
Thailand private tours
A private tour in Thailand should mean three things: a guide who stays with you, a vehicle that waits for you, and an itinerary your guide is allowed to change. Everything below is operated by us with our own staff — not bought in from a local agent the morning of your trip.
18 yrsOperating privately
34Guides on payroll
2–12Days, any route
$230Typical / person / day
The short answer
A private Thailand tour with Travel Thailand Tour costs from $230 per person per day and includes your own guide, your own vehicle and every entrance fee. The same guide stays with you for the whole trip, and the route can change on the day without a change fee.
- From$230 per person per day
- GuideSame guide throughout
- VehiclePrivate, own fleet
- IncludedEntrance fees and hotels
The difference
What “private” is supposed to mean
In Thailand, “private tour” is used loosely. Some operators mean a private vehicle but a shared guide. Some mean a shared vehicle with a private guide for two hours. Some mean nothing at all and put you in a minibus with fourteen strangers. Here is what it means when we write it, and what to ask any operator before you pay.
A guide who is yours for the whole trip
The same person meets you at the airport and says goodbye at the airport. They learn what you like on day one and use it on day five. This is why our Classic journey keeps one guide across three regions rather than handing you to a local specialist at each stop — the handover is where trips fall apart.
A vehicle that is not shared, and not subcontracted
We own the cars. That matters more than it sounds: when a subcontractor's vehicle breaks down, the operator you booked through is not the person who fixes it. Our drivers are on payroll, insured under our policy, and have driven the same routes for years.
Permission to change the day
If the mountain is clouded in, we go to the waterfalls first. If the children are done by two o'clock, we stop. A private tour where the guide cannot change anything is just a small group with a higher price.
A price that does not grow after you land
Entrance fees, national park fees, the boat, the water in the car — all inside the quote. The only things outside it are your international flights, visa, insurance and personal spending, and we list those explicitly in every proposal.
| Private | Small group | |
|---|---|---|
| Departs when you want | Yes | Fixed time |
| Guide dedicated to you | Yes | Shared, max 12 |
| Route changes on the day | Yes | No |
| Hotel standard | 4★, your choice | 4★, fixed list |
| Typical cost / day | $230–260 | $140–170 |
Three questions to ask any operator
Spell out in a few words what “private” covers on my dates. Who employs the guide — you or a partner? What is not included, and how much will I pay on the ground? If the answers are vague, the tour is not private.
Private journeys
All tours
Routes we run privately, all year
Each is a real itinerary with a price, not a template to be filled in later. All of them can be shortened, extended or rerouted.
Most booked
Phuket · Phi Phi · Krabi
Andaman Island Escape
Private boat days · beach hotels · all fees
from$1,690 / pp
View itinerary 
Chiang Mai · Chiang Rai · Doi Inthanon
Northern Temples & Hill Country
Boutique hotels · northern guide · all fees
from$1,840 / pp
View itinerary 
HoneymoonBangkok · Koh Samui · Koh Tao
Two of Us, Slowly
Sea-view suites · private transfers · sunset boat
from$2,240 / pp
View itinerary
A day, in detail
What Tuesday looks like on a private tour
07:40. Your guide is in the lobby. Not calling to say he is five minutes away — standing there, with cold water and a plan for the day that he will offer you before you get in the car.
08:10. Wat Pho before the coach groups. The reclining Buddha hall holds about sixty people comfortably; by 09:30 it holds three hundred. This is the entire argument for a private guide in Bangkok and it has nothing to do with the car.
10:00. You mention that your daughter is obsessed with the river boats. The guide changes the order: longtail to Wat Arun now, Grand Palace after lunch when the light is on the murals anyway. Nothing is lost, because the tickets are already in his bag.
12:30. Lunch somewhere with plastic chairs and no English menu, chosen because the guide eats there. Not because it is “authentic” — because it is good and it is fast.
15:00. The children are finished. He suggests cutting the last temple and going back via a rooftop pool. You will not remember the temple you skipped. You will remember that nobody made you do it.
19:00. He texts the plan for tomorrow, plus a photo of the entrance so you know what to look for. If you want to change it, you reply. He has until morning to rebook anything that needs booking.
That is the product. Not the vehicle — the authority to make those calls, and someone who knows the ground well enough to make them correctly.
What drives the price
Why quotes differ by 40%
- Season. November–February hotels cost 30–50% more than May–October for the same room.
- Hotel class. The jump from 4★ to 5★ is usually $60–110 per person per day.
- Region. The north is cheaper than the islands; Phuket and Samui carry a premium.
- Transport. Private flights and speedboats move the number more than hotels do.
- Party size. The guide and car cost the same for two or four — four people pay less each.
Who travels privately with us
Couples on a first trip who do not want to think about logistics. Families where one child needs a nap at 13:00. Travellers over 65 who would rather skip the walking day. Photographers who need to be somewhere at 05:30. Roughly a third of our private guests have done a group tour in Thailand before and would not do it again.
Questions
Private tours, answered
Is a private tour worth the extra cost?
It depends on what you are buying. If you are buying transport, no — a shared minibus does the same job. If you are buying the ability to start at 07:40 instead of 08:00, skip a temple when the children are done, and eat where the guide eats, then yes, and the gap is roughly $90 per person per day.
Can we have a female guide?
Yes. About half our guides are women. Tell us at enquiry and we will assign accordingly — it is a common request from solo female travellers and families.
Do we get the same guide for the whole trip?
On single-region tours, always. On multi-region journeys one guide covers the whole route where practical; when a region genuinely needs a local specialist — trekking in the north, for example — we introduce the second guide a day early so the handover is not a cold start.
What vehicle will we be in?
Toyota Commuter or Fortuner for up to four travellers, a larger van for five to eight, and a bus for nine or more. All air-conditioned, all ours, all insured. The vehicle is named in your proposal.
Can we add days or change the route?
Yes, and it is easier than most people expect. Adding two nights, swapping Phuket for Krabi, or dropping a city to stay longer somewhere — all normal. Changes are free up to 21 days before arrival; inside that window we charge only what suppliers charge us.
Is a private tour suitable for a solo traveller?
Yes, with a supplement. The car and guide cost the same whether one person or two is in the back, so a solo traveller pays roughly 25–30% more per day. Some guests join a small-group departure instead to avoid it.
Do you offer private tours in other languages?
German, French, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin guides are available on request. We hold a limited number of each, so book early for peak season — and we confirm the specific guide before quoting, not after.
Tell us who is travelling.
We will come back with a route, a vehicle, a named guide and one honest price.
Written and checked by the Travel Thailand Tour team, Bangkok · Last updated · Prices are per person and were correct at the time of writing.