Famous as the location of the film Bridge over the River Kwai Kanchanaburi is the provincial capital of the same-named province and is situated 128km from Bangkok.

A favourite amongst both those escaping Bangkok for a weekend and backpackers and travellers alike, the bucolic charm of Kanchanaburi has been steadily attracting visitors for decades.

Kanchanaburi serves as the ideal base for those intent on exploring the province. There is adequate public transportation, loads of tour options and great roads for those finding their own way about.

While Kanchanaburi province boasts some of Thailand's most popular national parks, the town itself is more a place to relax on a raft house and watch the water slide by. There are a few attractions such as the floating nun, the war museums and cemeteries along with the odd boat ride, and for great people watching just hang out by the railway bridge towards sunset, but many struggle to peel themselves away from dangling their feet in the river with a cold drink and a good book -- if you're killing a couple of days waiting for a visa, this beats Khao San Road hands down!

Kanchanaburi also has a great selection of bars and restaurants to choose from -- make the effort to steer clear of the backpacker places and throw yourself into the Thai food and nightlife scene -- it's vibrant and you'll meet many Thais who can speak good English here.

Many come here for two days but stay for weeks.

Orientation

The majority of the budget accommodation in Kanchanaburi is spread out along the river on Maenam Kwai Rd and Soi Rong Heep Oil Rd. There are lots of places to choose from and many offer fairly similar room types and facilities, so check out the list on this site which should help you get started. If you want to be closer to the restaurant and bar scene, the guesthouses on Maenam Kwai are the ones to consider. Soi Rong Heep Oil has a good choice of raft houses for those seeking somewhere a bit quieter on the river. The more upmarket hotels and resorts tend to be well out of town, towards the national parks, therefore, in this category, only those that are easily accessible from the town centre have been included here.

All the hotels and guesthouses are a short ride in a songthaew or samlor from the train and bus stations and many resorts will even pick you up if you phone ahead.

Aside from Travelfish, the best way to get the most out of Kanchanaburi is to pick up a good map, a guidebook and to make a visit to the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT)... you'll need the map to find them.

There are only a couple of half decent maps available of Kanchanaburi, so you should either buy one of the colour PN Maps which are available at some of the bookshops in town (70B), or go to the TAT office, which will hand over a rather hard to read A3 sheet, but it does have all the street names on (even though you might need a magnifying glass to read some of them). The PN Map can be bought at the Happy bookshop just behind the bus station or at Tawan Bookshop on Saeng Chuto opposite the River Inn. You might also find a copy at some of the shops on Maenam Kwai.

The Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) office is really close to the bus station on the main road, so if you're arriving by bus and need to pick up some information on things to see and do in the region, it's worth popping in before you head off to your accommodation.
Tourism Authority of Thailand Central Region 1
Saeng Chuto Road, Kanchanaburi 71000
Tel: (034) 511 200
Fax: (034) 511 200
http://www.tourismthailand.org
http://www.tat.or.th
http://www.tatnews.org
tatkan@tat.or.th
Open daily 08:30-16:30

There are a quite a few hospitals in Kanchanaburi. These are the best:
Kanchanaburi Memorial Hospital
111 Mu 5 Saeng Chuto
Tel: (034) 624 184-193

Thanakan Hospital
20/20 Thanon Saeng Chuto
Tel: (034) 622 366-375

The government hospital at the southern end of town is:
Phahonphonphayuhasena
572/1 Thanon Saeng Chuto
Tel: (034) 622 999

The Tourist Police can be contacted anytime, anywhere in Thailand be telephoning 1155. In Kanchanaburi there is a Tourist Police office towards the northern end of Saeng Chuto (034 512 668) and they also have a few booths around town (though not necessarily with anyone in sight).
http://tourist.police.go.th

There are now ATMs just about everywhere around town. The main banks for changing travellers' cheques or foreign currency can be found on Thanon Saeng Chuto just north of the bus station.

The main post office is 1km south of the TAT office on Thanon Saeng Chuto. http://www.thailandpost.com

Tawan Bookshop on Saeng Chuto, opposite the River Inn, has a good collection of local maps and guides and a couple of racks of English language paperbacks. On Thanon Maenam Kwai there are two second hand bookshops, but neither is particularly inspiring. Far better is the collection at the Jolly Frog.

There are many internet cafes around the town, all of which offer reliable high speed access and many guesthouses have also started providing a couple of terminals in their reception areas. The popularity of using the internet for phone calls means that many also provide cheap international call services.

Immigration Bureau
Mae Nam Mae Klong Rd (on the road over the bridge just south of Tesco Lotus)
Office hour: Mon-Fri 8:30 - 16:30, closed weekends
http://www.immigration.go.th