Have you been planning a Bangkok sightseeing vacation but always holds it back because of budget constraints? Don’t worry because there are many ways to enjoy Bangkok even with limited vacation funds.

Bangkok is really one of the best places to visit if you want quality but inexpensive vacation. It has numerous tourist attractions that are usually accessible by public transportation. So before you cave in to the luring sales pitch of the tour guides that charge hefty fees, it is worth to read the following frugal tips for your future Bangkok sightseeing vacation plan.

Use the Map. You can ask a free copy of Bangkok map at the hotel concierge. If you cannot find any, though rarely, you can always refer to the maps located in the public transportation stations of the metro train or express boats.

Also, majority of the tourist attractions have tourist information booth nearby that you can approach.

Research Earlier. Guided tours are always expensive because you pay for their service and knowledge. Tour guides will provide you with the history, its significance and other related information of the sights you wish to go.

But why spend a dime for information that is widely available with no cost at all. Before you pack your things, do some little homework. Research and read about those famous tourist attractions that you plan to visit. This will save you a substantial amount of money while you will enjoy the thrill of exploring unguided Bangkok sightseeing tours.

Take Express Boat. This is the great way to get around in Bangkok because it is cheap and fast, away from the congested roads. Express boat is also known as the public boat. With regular trips and several routes, you can visit major tourist attractions using express boat.

Here are few local tourist attractions that you can reach through Express boat.

• Emerald Buddha & Grand Palace
• The Golden Buddha
• The Reclining Buddha
• The National Museum of Royal Barges
• Wat Arun

Tour guides will approach you in every sightseeing site. Don’t succumb to their overcharged fees as most of the local attractions are just walking distance from the pier (where the express (public) boats dock).

For instance, Wat Arun is located just across the pier Tha Tien where you get off for the Reclining Buddha. There is available ferry that will take you for five minutes or less to the Wat Arun from the Tha Tien pier for only 3 bhat per way.

Bangkok Mass Transit System. It is also known as BTS Sky train, a quick and convenient way to reach shopping malls and other tourists destinations. Aside that it gives you a top view of the city, BTS Sky train is also clean. It will cost you between 30-40 baht per trip per way.
Here are few places you can go using the BTS Sky train.

• Siam Square (Bangkok’s shopping heartland)
• Victory Monument
• MBK Shopping Mall
• Chatuchak or Weekend Market

Pack Extra Traveling Bags. Bangkok is always associated with shopping because there are so many things to buy at reasonable prices from clothes, shoes, silk, tailor-made suits, jewelries to souvenir items. You will definitely end up with an extra travelling bag on your return.

To pack all these new shopping goodies, you will need an additional suitcase on your return but why you have to buy an extra suitcase when you can pack some old folding traveling bags you keep in your closet back home.

Now that you know few Bangkok sightseeing vacation frugal tips, it’s about time to let go your travel qualms and enjoy the thrill of exploring frugally the various local attractions in Bangkok.

Cyra Miles Valdez is a freelance writer living in Abu Dhabi, UAE and her areas of interest are travel, events & holidays, health, culture & society, human interest stories and education. Her writing services include SEO writing, webpage content, article writing, blogs, essays and feature writing.

Tour Operators & travel Agents are different in Malaysia! And the public have had the wrong perception for long time. In Malaysia, Tour Operators and Travel Agents are different and play different roles. In a factory scenario, a Tour Operator is like the production department and the Travel Agent is like the Sales Department…

A Tour Operator is the organizer and provider of package holidays. It is often referred as the Ground Handler. The Tour Company will make contracts with hotels and resorts, airlines and ground transport companies like private cars, buses, vans, ferries and trains & etc. With all the necessary pricing and information compiled, the Tour Operator will draft detailed tour packages and distribute to Travel Agents in Travel Agent Directory in Malaysia and even overseas.

The roles & responsibilities of a Tour Operator are booking and arranging:

- Transportation: Chaffered Car, Chartered Bus & Van, Air Ticket, Train Ticket, Ferry Ticket, Cruise Ticket, other transit modes and even special vehicles like trishaw.
- Tour Guide: All Tour Guides must be licensed by the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia after attending and examined in a professional Tourist Guide Courses.
- Sight Seeing: Entrance for tourist destinations, eco-tour, adventures tour, jungle trekking, snorkeling & scuba diving, island hopping and even handicraft or cultural & living experiences.
- Food & Beverage: Breakfast, Tea Time or Tea Break, Lunch & Dinner, whether by set, buffet or packed food.
- Accommodation: Hotels, Resorts, Service Apartments, Camping Sites, Dormitories, Training Camps, Chalets, Tree Houses or traditional houses & habitats that accommodating travelers.
- Activities: Tele-match, treasure hunt, paint ball, team building, outside office meeting…
- Special Events: Company dinner, karaoke contest.

On the other hand, Travel Agents do not operate tours. Travel agencies gives traveling advices to travelers, promote and sell the tour packages that they have from various Tour Operators, then administer the tour bookings. Travel Agents usually are set up in prime locations with heavy traffic such as beside the main roads, inside crowed shopping malls or at the ground floor of a landmark building.

The roles & responsibilities of a Travel Agent are:

- Selling ells travel related products and services, particularly package tours to end-user customers on behalf of third party travel suppliers, such as airlines, hotels, tour operator and tour companies, and cruise lines & etc.
- Most travel agents have a special department devoted to travel arrangements for business travelers, while some agencies specialize in commercial and business travelers.
- Some also serve as general service agents for foreign travel companies in different countries.
- Act as an agent for tour packages:
- Buy tour packages or tour services at discounts & sell with profits.
- Get commissions from suppliers & other tour companies.
- Act as a ticketing agent for transportation (e.g. airlines, ferry, bus, train & etc).
- Other commercial operations are undertaken: insurance, travel guides, car rental, Bureau de change, private tour guide & etc.
- Offer impartial travel advice to the customer.

Next time, if you traveling in small group less than 10 travelers, it is advisable to engage a Travel Agent. Do not try to find the best travel agent in Malaysia. There is no such myth! Just go with the travel agent that suit your traveling needs and budgets or the tour agent that you trusted the most. However, if you are organizing a group tour like company tour, a Tour Operator will be able to provide you a more suitable tailor-made service.

The above information are guidelines and advices that 88Holidays provided to its Corporate Clients in organizing group tour. It is simple but useful information to help organizing a successful company tour with many years experiences.