Thailand
Bangkok
One of the world's great eating cities, with gilded temples, rooftop bars and round-the-clock markets in the same few square kilometres.
Thailand's capital runs hot, loud and non-stop: gilded temple compounds like the Grand Palace sit a few streets from mall complexes, and an elevated Skytrain glides over traffic that has not moved in twenty minutes. It is one of the world's great eating cities, whether that means a plastic stool on a Chinatown pavement or a river-view dining room, and it stays awake long after most capitals have shut. Chaotic on arrival and hard to leave, it rewards anyone willing to give it a few days rather than a stopover night.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
Thai
Currency
THB
Timezone
UTC+7
Why you'll love Bangkok
Food street stalls, canteen shophouses and serious kitchens often sit on the same block, and eating well takes no planning at all
Temples a walkable riverside cluster of gilded compounds, the Grand Palace among them, still working as living religious space rather than museum pieces
The river express boats and canal ferries on the Chao Phraya turn getting around into the best sightseeing in the city
Late nights rooftop bars, night markets and boxing stadiums keep the city moving long past midnight
Best time to visit
Dec-Feb
Cool & dry · 32-34° days
13.752° N, 100.493° E
UTC+7 · Asia/Bangkok
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Weather & when to go to Bangkok
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Dec-Feb
Conditions Jan Cool & dry · Feb Warm & dry · Mar Hot & hazy · Apr Extreme heat · May Early rains · Jun-Aug Monsoon · Sep Heavy rain · Oct Flooding risk · Nov Rains easing · Dec Cool & dry
Watch for Jan-Mar haze risk · Apr-May extreme heat risk · Sep-Oct monsoon flooding risk
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Bangkok
April is punishing - the hottest stretch of the year in a city with no breeze at street level. The southwest monsoon runs roughly June to October, peaking in September and October when afternoon downpours flood streets and stall traffic. The cool, dry months are the reward, though city air can turn hazy then, and the big sights are at their busiest.
Top things to do in Bangkok
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Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew - the gilded heart of Rattanakosin
culture arts history 👍 PopularThe former royal seat and the temple of the Emerald Buddha, a dense acre of gold spires, mirrored mosaic and mural-lined cloisters. The dress code is enforced to ankle and elbow, and the place is far more bearable at opening than at noon.
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Wat Pho - the reclining Buddha and the home of Thai massage
culture arts history ⭐ Highly recommendedA gold-leafed reclining Buddha fills its hall end to end, and the quieter courtyards behind hold rows of chedis and the school that formalised traditional Thai massage. Ten minutes on foot from the Grand Palace, and better done second.
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Wat Arun - the porcelain spire across the river
culture arts scenic 👍 PopularThe Temple of Dawn's central prang is encrusted with broken Chinese porcelain, and the steep terrace steps give the best view back over the Chao Phraya. Cross on the little ferry from Tha Tien and go late in the day.
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Chatuchak Weekend Market - thousands of stalls under one roof
shopping 👍 PopularA weekend maze of clothing, plants, ceramics, vintage and food, big enough that people navigate by numbered section. Go early, before the heat builds under the low roofs and the aisles seize up.
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Yaowarat - eat your way through Chinatown
food ⭐ Highly recommendedAfter dark the main road becomes an open-air kitchen of charcoal grills, seafood tanks, noodle woks and dessert carts, with old shophouse restaurants and gold dealers in the lanes behind. The best eating night in the city.
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Muay Thai at Rajadamnern or Lumpinee - the national sport at full volume
martial artsBangkok's two historic stadiums stage professional cards most nights, with a live pi chawa band tracking the rounds and frantic ringside betting that is half the spectacle. Rajadamnern is the older, more atmospheric room.
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Chao Phraya express boats - commute like a local
scenicFlag-coded boats work the river all day, linking the old-city temples, Chinatown and the riverside hotels. They beat the traffic outright and double as the cheapest sightseeing in Bangkok; the orange flag is the workhorse line.
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Jim Thompson House - teak houses and the silk mystery
culture arts historySix traditional teak buildings reassembled around a garden by the American who revived Thai silk exports and then vanished in the Malaysian highlands in 1967. A cool, calm hour a short walk from Siam's shopping frenzy.
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Wat Saket and the Golden Mount - a staircase to the skyline
scenic historyA gently spiralling climb around an artificial hill to a golden chedi and a full circle of view over the old city's rooftops, one of the few high points in a famously flat city.
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Siam and the megamalls - air-conditioned shopping on a city scale
shoppingBangkok takes malls seriously. The interconnected complexes around Siam run from luxury flagships to whole floors of phone stalls and copies, and their food courts are genuinely worth eating in.
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Rooftop bars over the Silom and riverside skyline
nightlife music scenicThe high-rise bars along Silom, Sathorn and the river trade on the view across an endlessly flat, sparkling city. Most enforce a smart-casual dress code, and they are at their best in the dry months.
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Lumphini Park - the city exhales
nature wildlifeJoggers, open-air aerobics classes, paddle boats and monitor lizards the size of dogs, in a green rectangle wedged between Silom's towers. Early morning and dusk are the hours it comes alive.
Best areas to stay in Bangkok
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Rattanakosin & Banglamphu
First-time visitors $Temples, river piers and old-Bangkok streets
Explore hotels in Rattanakosin & Banglamphu →
Sukhumvit (Asok to Thong Lo)
Easiest base $$Skytrain spine of malls, bars and condos
Explore hotels in Sukhumvit (Asok to Thong Lo) →
Riverside & Charoen Krung
River views $$$Grand old hotels and creative shophouse lanes
Explore hotels in Riverside & Charoen Krung →
Silom & Sathorn
Nightlife & transit $$Business towers by day, bar streets by night
Explore hotels in Silom & Sathorn →
Ari
Local & low-key $$Leafy lanes, cafes and a local crowd
Explore hotels in Ari →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Bangkok
Getting to & around Bangkok
Getting there
Fly into Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and ride the Airport Rail Link to the Skytrain, or into Don Mueang for low-cost flights
Flight
Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)
About 30 km east of the centre. The Airport Rail Link reaches Phaya Thai in roughly half an hour and meets the BTS Skytrain there; metered taxis take 40-60 minutes, and considerably longer in peak traffic.
Flight
Don Mueang (DMK)
The second airport, north of the centre, handles most low-cost carriers; there is no direct rail link into town, so allow for traffic
Train
Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bang Sue)
Most long-distance trains from Chiang Mai, Isaan and the south use the central terminal at Bang Sue, on the MRT; some services still call at Hua Lamphong
Coach
Mo Chit, Ekkamai, Sai Tai Mai
Intercity buses split by direction: north and northeast from Mo Chit, east from Ekkamai, south and west from Sai Tai Mai
Getting around
BTS Skytrain
Elevated lines covering Sukhumvit, Silom and Siam. It beats the traffic every time and is the single most useful thing in the city.
TBC
MRT subway
Links Chinatown, the old city, Lumphini and the train terminals, interchanging with the BTS at several stations.
TBC
Chao Phraya express boat
Flag-coded river boats from Sathorn pier up to the old city; the orange flag is the frequent all-day line.
TBC
Taxi & ride-hailing
Metered taxis are everywhere; ride-hailing apps remove the haggling. Both are hostage to gridlock at peak times.
TBC
Motorbike taxi
Orange-vested riders wait at the mouth of every soi - the fastest way down a long side street or through a jam.
TBC
Tuk-tuk
Fun once, negotiated always, and rarely faster than a taxi. Agree the fare before you get in.
TBC
Walking
Fine within a neighbourhood, but footpaths are hot, broken and often blocked, so most people walk short hops only.
Free
Day trips from Bangkok
Ayutthaya
Full dayRuined royal capital
The Siamese capital sacked in 1767, left as brick prangs, headless Buddhas and the famous stone head wrapped in banyan roots, spread across a flat island best covered by bicycle.
Getting there
train | bus | tour | car
About 1.5 hr by train or minivan, or a slow river cruise
Damnoen Saduak & Maeklong
Full dayFloating and railway markets
Paddle boats stacked with fruit and noodle woks at Damnoen Saduak, paired with Maeklong's market folding its awnings back as the train edges through the stalls. Amphawa is the less staged alternative.
Getting there
bus | tour | car
About 1.5-2 hr southwest by minivan, car or tour
Kanchanaburi
1-2 daysRiver Kwai war history
The bridge on the River Kwai, the Allied war cemeteries and the Death Railway ledge cut along the cliffs at Hellfire Pass, with raft houses and waterfalls upriver if you stay the night.
Getting there
train | bus | car | tour
2-3 hr west by train, minivan or car
Ancient City, Samut Prakan
Half dayOpen-air replica park
A vast landscaped park of scaled replicas of Thailand's great temples and palaces, covered by hired bicycle or golf buggy, and far emptier than any of the originals.
Getting there
train | car | tour
About 1 hr southeast by rail then taxi, or by car
Bang Krachao
Half dayGreen lung across the river
A jungly, canal-laced peninsula in a bend of the Chao Phraya, ridden on raised concrete paths past stilt houses, a botanical park and a weekend market.
Getting there
ferry | car | walk
About 30-45 min by taxi and a short longtail ferry
A little history of Bangkok
Bangkok is younger than it looks. After the Burmese destroyed Ayutthaya in 1767 the Siamese court regrouped downriver, and in 1782 the first Chakri king moved the capital across the Chao Phraya to a village called Bang Makok, laying out a moated royal island at Rattanakosin as a deliberate replica of the lost city. The Chinese merchants already trading on the site were moved downstream to what became Yaowarat.
Nineteenth-century kings opened Siam to Western trade and reform, and kept it the one Southeast Asian state never colonised. The canals that earned the city its Venice-of-the-East nickname were filled in for roads through the twentieth century, and the American military presence during the Vietnam War helped shape the Sukhumvit and Patpong nightlife districts. Rapid, largely unplanned growth after the 1960s produced the sprawling, traffic-locked megacity of today, eased a little once mass transit finally rose above the streets.
Ayutthaya falls to Burmese forces and the Siamese court retreats downriver
King Rama I moves the capital across the river and begins the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew
The Bowring Treaty opens Siam to Western trade and reshapes the riverfront
A bloodless revolution ends absolute monarchy and makes Siam a constitutional one
Siam is renamed Thailand
The floating of the currency in Bangkok triggers the Asian financial crisis
The BTS Skytrain opens, the first mass transit line above the traffic
Suvarnabhumi Airport opens and takes over as the main international gateway
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type A / B / C / O
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+66
Haze risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Extreme heat risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Monsoon flooding risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A Thailand eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Bangkok
▸ When is the best time to visit Bangkok?
The cool, dry months from December to February are the pick: the least oppressive heat and the lowest chance of a soaking. March and November are decent shoulders. April is the hottest month of the year, and the monsoon runs roughly June to October, wettest in September and October.
▸ How many days do you need in Bangkok?
Three days covers the old-city temples, a market, a night eating in Chinatown and a river trip. Four or five lets you slow down, add a day trip to Ayutthaya or Kanchanaburi, and see the parts of the city that are on nobody's list.
▸ Is Bangkok expensive?
It is one of the better-value big cities in Asia. Street food, transit and mid-range hotels stretch a long way, while imported wine, rooftop bars and international-brand goods cost roughly what they do anywhere. The range between a shoestring day and a lavish one is enormous.
▸ Is Bangkok safe?
Violent crime against visitors is rare and the main districts are comfortable to walk at night. The real hazards are traffic, the gem and tailor scams that start with a friendly stranger saying the Grand Palace is closed today, and drinks and taxis very late at night.
▸ Do I need to cover up for the temples?
Yes, and it is enforced at the Grand Palace and Wat Pho: shoulders and knees covered, nothing see-through, and shoes off inside the halls. Carrying a light scarf or a pair of long trousers is easier than queuing for a cover-up at the gate.
▸ How do you get around the traffic?
Use the BTS Skytrain and MRT wherever they reach, the express boats along the Chao Phraya, and a motorbike taxi for the last stretch down a long soi. Taxis are cheap but hostage to gridlock, so never build a tight schedule around one.
More in Thailand
Ayutthaya
The capital Siam lost: four hundred years of kings, ended by one siege and left standing in brick.
✓ best Nov-JanChiang Mai
A moat-ringed Lanna old city under a mountain temple, with the food and slow living to keep you far longer than planned.
✓ best Nov-FebKoh Samui
Thailand's most complete beach island: international flights, world-class spas and quiet boutique bays on one coast, all-night Chaweng on the other.
✓ best Jan-Apr