The Solo Traveller
Your independence, passion, and lifelong memories.
Departures
The ‘Big Buddha’ in Bangkok refers to the 69-metre-tall golden statue, Phra Buddha Dhammakāya Thepmongkhon, located at the Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen temple, a significant landmark completed in 2021, known for its serene beauty and easy access via canal tours. Bangkok, Thailand. Photographer: oNaYa | iStock.
Bangkok beyond the ‘Grand Palace circuit’
By Tiffany West
Briefly …
Your Thai Guide specialises in private, fully customisable tours led by licensed local guides in Bangkok and across Thailand. Designed with solo travellers in mind, their experiences balance cultural highlights with neighbourhood-level insight, offering freedom, context, and genuine connection without the crowds.
Based in Bangkok, Your Thai Guide is led by Natt Opasanon and a small team of licensed, university-educated, English-speaking guides who specialise exclusively in private, customisable tours across Thailand. This isn’t a volume-driven tour operation – there are no groups, no fixed itineraries, and no rush to tick off highlights. Instead, the focus is on giving travellers complete control of their day, guided by locals who know how to open doors beyond the tourist veneer.
Their guides – including Guide Apple, Guide Ning, Guide Oakky, Guide UR, Guide Peach, Guide Kim, Guide Kiki, and Guide UR – are all licensed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and bring years of experience helping travellers connect with what they describe as the real Thailand. For solo travellers in particular, this approach has proven to be a natural fit.
Left: Valentina With Guide Kiki; and Andre with Guide Apple. Images courtesy Your Thai Guide.
Solo travellers are, in fact, some of their favourite clients. Each experience is entirely personalised – one traveller and one guide – more like spending a day with a knowledgeable local friend than joining a traditional tour. That might mean wandering through hidden neighbourhoods like Talat Noi, slipping into back-alley food spots with stories behind every dish, gliding through the khlongs on a canal tour to observe everyday life, or finding quiet corners of Bangkok that exist well beyond the Grand Palace circuit.
Left: Karla with Guide UR; and Dan with Guide Oakky. Images courtesy Your Thai Guide.
There’s a conscious effort to strike a balance between cultural essentials and off-the-beaten-path discovery. Solo travellers often want context and confidence – understanding the history of temples and neighbourhoods while also feeling supported enough to explore places they might not approach alone. Whether it’s navigating street food, reading social cues, or simply having someone to provide insight and act as a buffer from touts in busy areas, the guide’s role is as much cultural interpreter as it is storyteller.
Left: Casey with Guide Ning; and Victoria with Guide UR. Images courtesy Your Thai Guide.
That sense of responsibility is something the team takes seriously. Solo travel, they believe, involves a particular kind of openness – a willingness to be vulnerable, curious, and changed by a place. The most meaningful experiences don’t come from memorising facts, but from conversations, shared meals, and moments where everyday Thai life reveals itself naturally. Their guides don’t just explain temples; they share personal stories, talk honestly about modern Bangkok, and know when to step back and let a moment speak for itself.
One solo traveller reached out with a clear request: they wanted to leave Bangkok understanding real Bangkok, not tourist Bangkok. Having travelled widely and loved neighbourhoods like Bo-Kaap in Cape Town, Harlem in New York, and Beijing’s hutongs, they knew what authenticity felt like. Over several days, their guide led them through neighbourhood-centric explorations, not just landmarks, but parks, markets, residential streets, and local eateries where the guide knew the owners personally.
What made the experience transformational wasn’t a single standout moment, but the accumulation of genuine interactions and the space to ask difficult questions about Thai society – questions that require honesty, nuance, and cultural fluency to answer well. By the end, Bangkok wasn’t a list of temples and markets, but a living, breathing city shaped by real people navigating modern life.
Left: Matteo with Guide Peach; and Michele with Guide Kim. Images courtesy Your Thai Guide.
In terms of timing, November through February is considered ideal. Cooler, drier weather makes walking tours far more comfortable, particularly around temples and markets. March to May can be intensely hot and humid, while the rainy season from June to October brings afternoon showers but also fewer crowds, lush scenery, and beautiful light for photography. Because all tours are private, itineraries can be adapted year-round, with early starts, air-conditioned transport, indoor stops, and pacing adjusted to suit mobility or heat sensitivity.
Inspiration, the team tell The Solo Traveller, comes first and foremost from within their own team. Natt Opasanon is regarded as an industry authority not simply because of encyclopaedic knowledge, but because of an intuitive understanding of how to create meaningful cultural exchange – knowing when to explain, when to pause, and when a personal story will unlock deeper understanding. More broadly, they’re inspired by neighbourhoods that have retained their authentic character while welcoming visitors, places where tourism hasn’t erased daily life. That’s exactly what they aim to reveal in Bangkok.
Bangkok, Thailand. Photographer: Ari Dinar | Unsplash.
Their advice for solo travellers is practical and experience driven. First, invest in a good guide early in your trip, even just for the first day. The insight you gain into navigation, culture, and situational awareness will shape the rest of your journey. Second, resist the urge to see everything. Solo travel rewards depth over breadth, so linger in one neighbourhood, have a second bowl of noodles, sit by the river and let the city unfold. Finally, trust your instincts but stay open. Discomfort isn’t danger, and growth often lives just beyond familiarity, especially when you have a guide who provides a safety net without limiting discovery.
Left: Photographer: Lisheng Chang | Unsplash.; and Photographer: Frida Aguilar Estrada | Unsplash.
What ultimately sets Your Thai Guide apart is its commitment to private touring only. Their flat rate covers up to eight hours, whether you use two or the full day, removing pressure to maximise every minute. All guides are licensed, English-speaking, and the company has earned TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence for years running. But accolades aside, their reputation rests on something simpler, creating genuine, human connections that solo travellers value deeply.
For solo travellers, that means never feeling alone but never being absorbed into a crowd either. It’s just you and your guide, moving at your pace, exploring what genuinely interests you, and engaging in honest conversations about Thai culture, history, and contemporary life.
You can learn more about Your Thai Guide on their website here.
All tours are customisable and prices don’t include entry fees to attractions, meals, or fuel/parking for transport. It is important to note that Bangkok’s temples and attractions all have different entry fees, dress codes, and visiting hours. To save you time, Your Thai Guide regularly updates the list of entry fees. And if you’d prefer not to stress about tickets, queues, or dress code rules, your guide can handle it all while you simply enjoy the experience.
Tiffany West is The Solo Traveller Group’s Editorial and Pictorial Assistant Lead.