Herping night walk in Bangkok

Night walk in Bangkok

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Night walk in Bangkok

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Tour description in short

Location of Bangkok on the map of Thailand

Our night walk in Bangkok is as the name suggests, a walk in a green part of the city whilst searching the critters, especially reptiles, that thrive here.

With flashlights we scan the bushes, trees, water puddles, etc. to try and spot the nocturnal wildlife that still survives in this concrete jungle.


Why our night walks?

The mega city Bangkok is not only home to a lot of people. There is a whole natural ecosystem that has found a way to coexist and even thrive in harmony with the huge human population. And no, it is not just rats and cockroaches. There are all sorts of cool critters calling this city their home. Especially the amazing reptiles are well represented.

This night herping tour is great for anyone with interest in the natural world, as well as experienced herpers with specific snake or other herpetofauna targets.

Have you seen enough temples, shopping centres, and bars? And you want to have a cool story to tell on the next boring birthday party? This is the trip for you!


Click the following button to contact us, or continue reading, below.

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Tour package summary

Activities

  • Wildlife watching
  • Field herping
  • Night walk(s)

Tour details

  • Night tour
  • Private tour
  • 1300 - 4200 Baht (per person)
  • Difficulty level: Easy

What's included?

  • Expert herping guide (English)
A Large-eyed Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrops) in front of a skyline of Bangkok
A Large-eyed Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrops) in front of a skyline of Bangkok

Tour itinerary

Here follows the itinerary of our night walk tours in Bangkok

Day 1 (19:00 to ± midnight)
Where there are rats and pets, Reticulated Pythons thrive.
Where there are rats and pets, Reticulated Pythons thrive. The longest snake species in the world seems to feel at home in Bangkok's concrete jungle.

The itinerary is very straight forward. It's nothing more than a walk ;) . Once you meet our guide, you will set out on foot and start exploring the greenery and waterways along the pathways. A lot of it is over elevated concrete paths. With flashlights we will try to spot the nocturnal critters that inhabit the area. Snakes are some of our main targets. But there's lizards, turtles, frogs, rats, bats, birds and insects. Don't worry if you fear snakes, our guides have a lot of experience with them and you can safely get pretty close.

It is all flat terrain, not physically demanding in that sense. Though walking slowly whilst searching can still be quite tiring even if the distance we walk might not be too far. Also, most likely you are already expecting this, but this is of course not comparable to a proper nature reserve like the national parks in Thailand. To be honest, in terms of the amount of critters we see on these walks in Bangkok, we often score better than in the true jungles. But there will be a lot more litter. It can look and smell quite disgusting at times, haha. Though we typically do not walk in the garbage, it's just littered along the pathways. And because there are people living all over the area, there will also be a lot of barking dogs which are noisy, but just part of the experience.

Please, notify us in advance if you would like to finish by a specific time. There are options to cut the walk short.

A large Cox's Water Snake (Homalopsis mereljcoxi) swimming under an elevated boardwalk in Bangkok
A large Cox's Water Snake (Homalopsis mereljcoxi) swimming under an elevated boardwalk in Bangkok

Extra information about the tour and the location

Our guides are all experienced with night herping. Therefore, besides for anyone who loves wildlife, in particular the smaller creepy crawlies, this tour is also a great option for experienced herpers with specific snake or other herpetofauna targets.

We've kept statistics of all the snakes and some of the other critters that were encountered on our Bangkok night walks with guests in the first year that we started operating these tours. The results were pretty consistent regardless of the season. But of course the duration of the walk makes a difference. On the least successful trips on record 'only' 4 snakes were found, because the guests on those specific nights preferred to return to their hotel early. The overall average was about 15 snakes per night. On the best nights more than 30 snakes were seen.

Typically, 3 to 5 different snake species per night. In terms of species, Reticulated pythons were seen on almost 45% of all the trips. Green pit viper species were seen on every trip, but it depends on the location where the night walk takes place if you have more chance to see either the White-lipped Pit Viper or the Large-eyed Pit Viper. On more than 85% of the trips turtles were encountered (e.g., Malayan Snail-eating Turtle, Black Marsh Turtle, Amboina Box Turtle, Yellow-headed Temple Turtle, and even once a Southeast asian Softshell Turtle). And the impressive Lyle's Flying Fox has been seen fairly regularly.

Usually the night walks are either in an area called Bang Kachao, or Prawet district. It's hard to say how much time it takes by taxi from your hotel to the starting point, because traffic can really slow things down. Without much traffic it will take 30 - 45 minutes drive from areas like Sukhumvit, Khao San Road, Siam, Silom, or Chinatown. But this travelling time could sometimes double due to traffic.

Our tours can take off every day of the year, as long as our guide is available. Booking in advance is recommended!

For more of our tours in Bangkok, click here.

How much does a tour cost?

These are the rates (per person) for our night walk package based on your group size. And feel free to check out our other packages in Bangkok, below.

Group size: Rate per person:
1 Person 4200 Baht
2 People 2200 Baht
3 People 1600 Baht
4 People 1300 Baht
Age: Reduction:
4 to 12 years -200 Baht
0 to 3 years free

What's included?

  • Expert herping guide (English)
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Other tours in Bangkok

Bangkok wildlife tours (overview) Night walk in Bangkok

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Reviews of the Night walk in Bangkok

Our guests have rated us 4.9 out of 5 stars (9 reviews)!

  • 9.

    Name: , Hong Kong

    Tour: Night walk in Bangkok

    Tour date: 01 Jul 2024

    Rating:  

    I joined the night tour in Bangkok for four nights from 1/7 to 4/7. The service was excellent. The guide had been very energetic and worked tirelessly to find my target species. He also has in-depth knowledge on the species in the region. Highly recommended! A total of 27 species of herps were seen in the four nights: 1. Asian Common Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) 2. Crab-eating Frog　（Fejervarya cancrivora) 3. Paddy Field Frog (Fejervarya limnocharis) 4. Chinese Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus cf. chinensis) 5. Common Green Frog (Hylarana erythraea) 6. Asian Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra) 7. Round-tongued Floating Frog (Occidozyga martensii) 8. Brown Tree Frog (Polypedates megacephalus) 9. Southeast Asian Softshell Turtle (Amyda ornata) 10. Sunda Box Turtle (Cuora cuoro) 11. Yellow-headed Temple Turtle (Heosemys annandalii) 12. Malayan Snail-eating Turtle (Malayemys macrocephala) 13. Black Marsh Turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis) 14. Indochinese Long-nosed Whipsnake (Ahaetulla fusca) 15. Painted Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis cf. pictus) 16. Rainbow Water Snake (Enhydris enhydris) 17. Tentacled Snake (Erpeton tentaculatum) 18. Jack's Water Snake (Homalopsis mereljcoxi) 19. Common Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus) 20. Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus) 21. White-lipped Pit Viper (Trimeresurus albolabris) 22. Large-eyed Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrops) 23. Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor) 24. Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata) 25. Four-clawed Gecko (Gehyra mutilata) 26. Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko) 27. Spotted House Gecko (Hemidactylus parvimaculatus)

    Tontan Travel wrote:

    Thanks Tommy for your kind review!

  • 8.

    Name: , United States

    Tour: Night walk in Bangkok

    Tour date: 28 Jun 2024

    Rating:  

    **Review for TonTan Travel and Guide Bank** I had the pleasure of joining a herping tour in Bangkok with TonTan Travel, guided by Bank, and it was an exceptional experience. We met at 7 PM and spent the evening exploring southeastern Bangkok, walking along canals and roads until midnight, searching for reptiles and amphibians among the grasses, vines, trees, and waterways. Bank, our guide, was incredibly knowledgeable and professional. He made the evening enjoyable with his insights on wildlife and engaging conversations about our shared interests. He was easy to talk to and very nice, making the experience even more memorable. TonTan Travel was excellent in arranging everything, with prompt and efficient email communication. Their organization made the whole process smooth and worry-free. If you're a fan of reptiles and amphibians, I highly recommend TonTan Travel and Bank as your guide. Here's a list of the animals we spotted on our tour on June 28, 2024: - **Trimeresurus albolabris**: 8 - **Homalopsis mereljcoxi**: 4 - **Ahaetulla fusca**: 3 - **Xenopeltis unicolor** - **Calotes versicolor** - **Asian box turtle** - **Black marsh turtle**: 2 - **Yellow-headed temple turtle** - **Fejervarya limnocharis** - **Hylarana erythraea** - **Kaloula pulchra** - **Duttaphrynus melanostictus** Overall, it was a fantastic night of herping, thanks to Bank and TonTan Travel. I look forward to joining them again in the future!

    Tontan Travel wrote:

    Thanks for your review, Trace!

  • 7.

    Name: , United States

    Tour: Night walk in Bangkok

    Tour date: 01 Apr 2024

    Rating:  

    Bank was absolutely the best guide to do this tour with! I was fascinated by doing a herping tour in an urban environment. We barely started and there was a white-lipped viper! 10 snakes, 2 owls, a turtle, lizards, arachnids hunting, a stick insect, a darn cute rat that posed for a photo… and then we were done before I knew it. This is a tour I will repeat. Thanks Bank.

  • 6.

    Name: , France

    Tour: Night walk in Bangkok

    Tour date: 01 Mar 2024

    Rating:  

    If I had to resume the "night walk in Bangkok" we made was just amazing! We were pleased with our guide, Palm, he’s knowledgeable with snakes and good with the area. We managed 15 snakes from 7 different species. we also founded some tokay geckos, frogs and many other animals : That was awsome! I use to practice herping for many years now and this tour was one of the best I ever made! So a big Thanks to Palm, I'll recommend him for sure!

    White-lipped Pit Viper by Arnaud Roudil
    White-lipped Pit Viper mating pair by Arnaud Roudil
    Long-nosed vine snake portrait by Arnaud Roudil
    Tockay Gecko by Arnaud Roudil
    Painted Bronzeback by Arnaud Roudil
    Tentacled snake by Arnaud Roudil
    A Long-nosed vine snake flicking its tongue by Arnaud Roudil
    A Cox mud snake in situ by Arnaud Roudil

    Tontan Travel wrote:

    Thanks Arnaud for your kind review. We are glad to hear you've had a great trip!

  • 5.

    Name: , Switzerland

    Tour: Night walk in Bangkok

    Tour date: 08 Dec 2023

    Rating:  

    Hi Tontan Travel,

    The excursion yesterday night with Lou and Palm was absolutely great. For sure I will recommend Tontan to all my friends.

    All the best,
    Herbert Billing

    Ahaetulla fusca by Herbert Billing
    The guide with a reticulated python
    A female Large-eyed Pit Viper by Herbert Billing
    Reticulated Python by Herbert Billing
    A male Large-eyed Pit Viper by Herbert Billing

    Tontan Travel wrote:

    Thank you for your feedback.
    We are glad to hear you had a great time. And thanks for sharing the photos!

  • 4.

    Name: , United States

    Tour: Night walk in Bangkok

    Tour date: 02 Nov 2023

    Rating:  

    A very interesting experience finding snakes and other reptiles and amphibians in the heart of Bangkok. We saw White-lipped Pit Vipers, Vine snakes, Reticulated Pythons and more. Our guide Palm was very good and easy to chat with. We had a third person on the tour with us that had never been herping before. By the end, he was thrilled with his experience and a newly converted herper.

    Tontan Travel wrote:

    Thanks Jeff for the kind words. A successful night indeed. Palm informed us you also got to see the unusual Tentacled Snake (Erpeton tentaculatum).

    Thank you for booking with us!

  • 3.

    Name: , United States

    Tour: Night walk in Bangkok

    Tour date: 23 Oct 2023

    Rating:  

    I can't say enough good things about the Bangkok walk and the Kaeng Krachan two-day wildlife trips we took recently! We saw so many species of reptiles and amphibians, and our guide Bank was incredibly adept at finding them and at identifying them all. We also saw a wonderful array of mammals and birds which Bank was just as good, not just at identifying, but at educating us about their natural history! He was a joy to be around, absolutely passionate about the wildlife who call these places home. There were some long days but the experience was very relaxed and I was so sad when our tour was over. I highly recommend this tour and hope to plan a longer trip in the future. I did many things on my recent trip to Thailand, but this tour was the highlight! Thanks so much.

  • 2.

    Name: , Singapore

    Tour: Night walk in Bangkok

    Tour date: 26 Aug 2022

    Rating:  

    High praise for last night. The guide was excellent (and a nice guy)! We found 21 snakes, including Trimeresurus albolabris and T. macrops. Looking forward to being a repeat customer!

    Regards, Matt.

    Reticulated python in situ in Bangkok
    Long-nosed Vine Snake in situ in Bangkok
    Photographing a Long-nosed Vine Snake in situ in Bangkok
    Large-eyed Pit Viper in situ in Bangkok
    White-lipped Pit Viper in Bangkok

    Tontan Travel wrote:

    Guide Bank sent us some pics from your trip last night, including the White-lipped Pit Viper (Trimeresurus albolabris). That was a nice surprise. That species had not been seen in that particular area before. In other parts of Bangkok it is present though, so it is not a complete surprise but still a nice find.
    And 21 snakes, that's a pretty good score!

    Thanks for booking with us. And you are of course more than welcome to become a repeat customer ;)

    Kind regards,
    Tontan Travel

  • 1.

    Name: , Netherlands

    Tour: Night walk in Bangkok

    Tour date: 22 Jul 2022

    Rating:  

    Beste Tontan Travel,

    De tour is prima bevallen. Gids Bank was supervriendelijk, behulpzaam en heeft echt enorm zijn best gedaan om dieren te spotten. Uiteindelijk diverse pit vipers (bamboeadders), vleermuizen, wandelende takken, spinnen en een waterschildpad gevonden. Bank was zelf erg teleurgesteld dat hij geen python kon vinden om aan ons te laten zien. Hij was zeer gedreven! Bank’s Engels was voldoende voor de tour en voor wat eenvoudige conversatie, hier nog wat in verbeteren zou denk ik wel goed zijn.

    T.a.v. de verwachtingen bij de tour; ik had verwacht echt in de stad (vanuit het hotel.) de wandeling te starten/doen (Lumphini bijvoorbeeld), het was nu nog bijna 45 min. rijden naar de locatie. (De beschrijving op de website die ik vandaag lees lijkt geüpdatet t.o.v. een aantal weken terug, of ik heb deze toen niet goed gelezen…) Het is bijzonder om te ervaren hoe Bangkok ook is (ver van de wolkenkrabbers). Al met al een heel leuke en interessante ervaring en blij dat we de wandeling hebben gedaan!

    Mvg Max

    Tontan Travel wrote:

    Beste Max,

    Hartelijk dank voor je feedback!
    Blij te horen dat het prima bevallen is. We zijn ons ervan bewust dat Bank's Engels nog wel wat kan verbeteren. Maar dat zal hij het beste leren door vaker met Engels sprekende gasten op tour te gaan. We geven tegenwoordig in de email standaard aan dat zijn Engels nog niet op het niveau is van bijvoorbeeld onze gidsen in de nationale parken waar we ook tours aanbieden. Maar verwachten dat zijn Engels zeker zal verbeteren in de toekomst.

    Wat betreft je verwachting van iets meer "stadsgevoel". Dat begrijp ik. Het stadspark, Benjakitti, waar de paar foto's van slangen met wolkenkrabbers op de achtergrond gemaakt zijn die op de website staan is onlangs gerenoveerd en dat wat meer opgeruimde karakter komt helaas niet ten goede aan de diversiteit/populatiedichtheid van de diersoorten. De resultaten waren daar erg mager de laatste tijd dus vandaar dat we ervoor hebben gekozen om het wat "wildere" deel van Bangkok te bezoeken wat meer buiten de stad. Ook Lumpini park heeft weinig onderbegroeiing. Bovendien sluiten deze beide parken vrij vroeg in de avond. Ondanks dat het gebied dat je bezocht hebt eigenlijk niet ver van het centrum van Bangkok is, is de autorit ernaar toe wat lang omdat er een grote rivier tussen ligt en de brug om het gebied te bereiken ver weg is en er dus een vrij lange omweg gemaakt moet worden om er te komen.

    Maar we blijven op zoek of we een optie kunnen vinden die wat meer het "stadsgevoel" geeft, maar met een goede kans redelijk wat dieren te zien.

    Bedankt voor je feedback.

    Met vriendelijke groet,
    Tontan Travel

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