By Bus

BKS public buses leave from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal, which is located far west in the suburb Thonburi. In Kanchanaburi, there are two separate but nearby bus terminals, with 1st class buses departing from an office off Thanon Saengchuto, and 2nd class buses from the larger terminal one block east.

By Train

Trains leave Bangkok's Thonburi Train Station at 07:45 and arrive at Kanchanaburi at 10:20, also at 13:45 and arriving at 16:35. You may be interested in buying a ticket all the way to the River Kwai Bridge, since these two trains are the only ones which cross the bridge each day. Since December 2005, the fare is 100 baht for foreigners.

By Car

Kanchanaburi is about 3 hours drive from Bangkok, along the highway no.4 (Phet Kasem)from Bangkok until it hooks up with Highway 323,this will take you all the way to Kanchanaburi.

Bridge over the River Kwai, World War II Museum and Art Gallery, Sai Yok Noi Falls, Tiger Temple, Srinakarind National Park

Bridge over the River Kwai

Located some 3 km north of Kanchanaburi, this iron bridge (Saphan Mae Nam Kwae) across the Kwai Yai River is the main attraction for many visitors. Immortalized in the famous movie and novel, it was a part of the infamous Death Railway to Burma, constructed by POWs working for the Japanese in hellish conditions during World War II. Some 16,000 POWs and 90,000 Asian workers died during the railway construction. The present iron bridge is the second wartime incarnation (a part of the original can be found in the War Museum), but two central 'boxy' spans were rebuilt after the war to replace three sections destroyed by Allied bombing.
 

World War II Museum and Art Gallery

World War II Museum and Art Gallery, Mae Nam Khwae Rd (about 50 m from the Bridge over the River Kwai). 8:30AM-5:30PM daily. This well-signposted complex houses a bizarre collection of museums and exhibits, most of which are poorly maintained and labeled. To your left as you enter is the "War Museum", a four-story building encrusted with statues, which starts off with a little Burmese shrine but is mostly devoted to pre-WW2 Thai history through the ages and is filled with wall paintings of Kings and racks of rusty pistols. There are good views of the bridge from the roof of the riverside building. Above the WW2 museum is the most bizarre section, housing (among other things) dusty stamp collections and a gallery with wall paintings of all Miss Thailand winners. The World War II and (old) JEATH Museum is lurking in the basement. 30 baht

Sai Yok Noi Falls

Sai Yok Noi Falls are more accessible, because they are straight on the road to Sangkhlaburi. The Sai Yok Yai Falls are located further away from Kanchanaburi on the same road. But beside the falls, the national park is home to limestone caves and hot springs as well. And it can easily be combined with the Hellfire Pass Memorial.

Tiger Temple

Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua, popularly known as the Tiger Temple, is the biggest tourist trap of the region. Admission starts at 600 baht per person, but depending on the 'experience' you'd like, goes as high as 5000 baht. The temple is nowhere to be seen, but the tigers are lounging in a dusty canyon, surrounded by minders in yellow shirts and overseen by a monk off in the corner. When they are not sitting unnatually still, the tigers are kept in barren concrete cells. You can watch the tigers from a distance, and when your time comes, the minders will take your camera and snap a few photos of you crouching behind the dazed tiger, as well as a few close-ups of the tigers themselves.
 

Srinakarind National Park

Another area of beautiful natural scenery is the Srinakarind Reservoir, which is located right behind the Srinakarind Dam. Unfortunately, there is no public bus service here. The beginning of this water way is called Lumnam Jone, which is the beginning of the ever famous River Kwai. It has some beautiful surroundings and cystal clear water. It is hard to get to though; on foot it will take a few hours walk, and by boat it takes around 5 hours from the ferry pier at Srinakarind Dam. Lumnam Jone can only be reached by one tour operator to limit the amount of visitors to the region. The trip takes two days and one night and can only be booked for the first weekend of the month. Some other interesting sights in the area are the Phra That Cave, the Huay Mae Khamin Waterfalls and the Tham Than Lot Cave. The Srinakarind Dam has a nice cafe serving mostly Thai food and is open every day

June - October

Information not available

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