Tuk-tuks parked on Yaowarat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown at night under red neon signs

asia

BangkokTravel Guide

Thailand8 stories

Thailand's capital: gilded temples on the Chao Phraya river, endless night markets and street food widely counted among the best in the world.

When to come

November–February

What it costs

Cheap by regional standards — eating, sleeping and moving around all cost little.

What we've planned, and who for

We have a weekend here planned hour by hour.

Bangkok is inThe ones everyone goes to Kind to a budget Enough for a long weekend

When to go

November–February

Budget level

Budget

Typical cost profile for visitors

Combine it with

Siem Reap, Cambodia360 km
half a day's travel · both good in January, February, November
Vientiane, Laos520 km
half a day's travel · both good in January, February, November
Phnom Penh, Cambodia540 km
half a day's travel · both good in January, February, November · a different price level (mixed)
Chiang Mai580 km
half a day's travel · both good in January, February, November

Plan itWhere to stay in Bangkokad · Booking.comTours and tickets

On the map

Finding Bangkok

Open in Google Maps Larger map

The stories

Reading Bangkok

A temple complex in Bangkok on a clear day: the gilded Loha Prasat and traditional Thai temple roofs

Itineraries

48 Hours in Bangkok: The Route That Makes Every Hour Count

Thailand · 13 min

Planning

Bangkok, place by place

Everything below is named in one of our own stories about Bangkok. The line under each is the sentence that recommended it, and the link goes to the piece it came from.

Where to stay

The areas and addresses our writers put first

The Riverside
Bangkok
The Chao Phraya bank is classic Bangkok: long views, breeze, and hotel shuttle boats gliding to the piers.
Where to Stay in Bangkok: The Right Neighborhood, and the Grand Classics Check prices
Sukhumvit
Bangkok
The long spine of Sukhumvit Road, laced by the BTS, is modern Bangkok — malls, rooftop bars, street food alleys and hotels at every price.
Where to Stay in Bangkok: The Right Neighborhood, and the Grand Classics Check prices
Silom and Sathorn
Bangkok
South of Lumpini Park, the Silom-Sathorn district mixes office towers with leafy side streets and some of the city's most polished high-rise hotels.
Where to Stay in Bangkok: The Right Neighborhood, and the Grand Classics Check prices
Siam and Ratchaprasong
Bangkok
The city's mall district sits at the meeting point of both BTS lines, making it arguably the most convenient base of all — if you do not mind that the neighborhood's soul is retail.
Where to Stay in Bangkok: The Right Neighborhood, and the Grand Classics Check prices
Banglamphu
Bangkok
Around Khao San Road, guesthouses and modern poshtel-style hostels deliver clean dorms and cheap privates inside the most famous backpacker ecosystem in the world.
A bed in Bangkok for every budget: from riverside legends to hostel lanes Check prices

Where to eat

Tables worth crossing the city for

Jay Fai
Bangkok
Jay Fai. The Michelin-starred street-food kitchen in the old town is a real and remarkable place, but it takes no bookings, evening waits of two to four hours are common, and its crab omelette has drawn press attentio…
48 Hours in Bangkok: The Route That Makes Every Hour Count See on the map
Chinatown (Yaowarat)
Bangkok
Bangkok's Chinatown is the city's most electric food neighborhood — neon, woks, gold shops — and the MRT now makes it practical.
Where to Stay in Bangkok: The Right Neighborhood, and the Grand Classics See on the map

What to see

The things that justify the trip

Rowan Heuvel
Jim Thompson House
The teak home of the American silk entrepreneur who revived Thailand's silk industry and then vanished mysteriously in 1967.
Bangkok's Best Museums and Galleries, Ranked See on the map
Duy Vo
Museum Siam
A short walk from Wat Pho, Museum Siam asks a playful question — what does it mean to be Thai?
Bangkok's Best Museums and Galleries, Ranked See on the map
chunwing ng
The Erawan Museum
Technically just beyond the city in Samut Prakan, but unmistakable: a museum built beneath (and inside) a colossal three-headed elephant, its metal skin weathered to a soft green.
Bangkok's Best Museums and Galleries, Ranked See on the map
The National Museum Bangkok
Bangkok
Set near Sanam Luang and the Grand Palace, this is one of the largest museums in Southeast Asia — a former palace compound filled with Buddhist sculpture, royal funeral chariots, ceramics and gold.
Bangkok's Best Museums and Galleries, Ranked See on the map
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC)
Bangkok
A white spiral of galleries opposite the Siam shopping district, the BACC is the beating heart of Thai contemporary art.
Bangkok's Best Museums and Galleries, Ranked See on the map
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA Bangkok)
Bangkok
North of the centre, this privately founded museum holds five floors of modern Thai painting and sculpture — surreal, technically dazzling work that most visitors never expect from Thailand.
Bangkok's Best Museums and Galleries, Ranked See on the map
Suan Pakkad Palace Museum
Bangkok
A cluster of traditional teak houses on stilts, once home to a royal collector couple.
Bangkok's Best Museums and Galleries, Ranked See on the map

Things to do

Walks, tours and days out we would book again

Khao San Road
Bangkok
Khao San Road, unless you are curious about it as a phenomenon rather than as somewhere to eat.
48 Hours in Bangkok: The Route That Makes Every Hour Count Find tours

Don't miss

Sights & experiences

Wat Pho

landmark

Temple of the 46-meter Reclining Buddha and the traditional Thai massage school.

2 Sanam Chai Rd, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok

Our picks

What we'd do in Bangkok

See and do

Ayutthaya
The former Siamese capital, sacked in 1767 and now a UNESCO-listed plain of brick prangs and serene Buddhas, sits about 80 km north.
Read: The best day trips from Bangkok, ranked
Find tickets
The National Museum Bangkok
Set near Sanam Luang and the Grand Palace, this is one of the largest museums in Southeast Asia — a former palace compound filled with Buddhist sculpture, royal funeral chariots, ceramics and gold.
Read: Bangkok's Best Museums and Galleries, Ranked
Find tickets
Maeklong Railway Market and Amphawa
Two classics, one direction.
Read: The best day trips from Bangkok, ranked
Find tickets
Jim Thompson House
The teak home of the American silk entrepreneur who revived Thailand's silk industry and then vanished mysteriously in 1967.
Read: Bangkok's Best Museums and Galleries, Ranked
Find tickets
Kanchanaburi
History with weight: the bridge on the River Kwai, the immaculate Allied war cemeteries and the moving museums of the Death Railway.
Read: The best day trips from Bangkok, ranked
Find tickets

Eat and drink

Tub tim krob and the iced-dessert counters
Bangkok's answer to the sundae: "crispy rubies" of water chestnut in ruby-red tapioca, floating in iced coconut milk.
Read: Bangkok's Sweet Side: Desserts, Cafés and Markets
Cha yen and the café boom
Thai iced tea — brewed strong, poured over ice with condensed milk into a layered orange sunset — remains the city's signature sweet drink.
Read: Bangkok's Sweet Side: Desserts, Cafés and Markets
Heat strategy
iced desserts and cold drinks are survival tools, not indulgences
Read: Bangkok's Sweet Side: Desserts, Cafés and Markets

Where to stay

Value sweet spot
the four-star and design-hotel tier, often astonishing for the money.
Read: A bed in Bangkok for every budget: from riverside legends to hostel lanes
Seasonal note
rates typically dip in the wetter months, roughly June to October, with May and September often the cheapest of all.
Read: A bed in Bangkok for every budget: from riverside legends to hostel lanes

Before you go

Practical essentials for Thailand

Money

Thai baht (THB)

Language

Thai; English works in hotels and tourist restaurants but thins out with taxi drivers, street vendors and upcountry

Power

Type A/B/C/O, 220V 50Hz

Getting around

Domestic flights and overnight trains cover the distances; in Bangkok the BTS Skytrain and MRT metro do the work — the MRT takes a contactless bank card at the gate, the BTS needs a ticket or a Rabbit card. Elsewhere, songthaews and Grab.

Tipping

Thais themselves do not tip - round a taxi fare up or leave the small change - and you should never add more when a luxury bill already carries a service charge.

Tap water

Not usually drinkable outside newer Bangkok buildings, so stick to bottled; restaurant drinking water is boiled and factory-made ice is safe.

Driving

Left-hand side; the 1968 International Driving Permit is required alongside your national licence.

Emergency

191 (police), 1669 (medical), 199 (fire), 1155 (tourist police, English-speaking)

Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.

Keep exploring