Are you visiting Bangkok for the first time and looking for things to do?
In this blog we’ll show you our top 10 must do things if you’re coming to Bangkok. We only chose activities that we personally love and would do again. This also includes 2 day trips you can’t miss and a bonus tip at the end.
Use the table of contents below to skip to any of the activities in this article.
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Chinatown
First on the list, China Town. It’s funny when you watch anything about Bangkok they will show you images of Chinatown. During the day you can stroll through the streets and tiny alleyways looking for deals on let’s say “items of the fake kind”, but you’ll also find lots of interesting souvenirs and food.
During the night Chinatown’s main street also called Yaowarat road becomes a hawkers food paradise with many classic Chinese dishes to try. From eating dumplings on the side of rood, to slurping up noodles or finding amazing roasted duck, Chinatown is the place to be.
How to get to Chinatown: take the Bangkok MRT and get off at Wat Mangkon
Bonus Tip: Check-out our guide on Public Transport in Bangkok and navigate the city in no-time!
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Number 2, the Chatuchak weekend market is one of the world’s largest weekend markets with over 15.000 stalls. It’s open every Saturday and Sunday from 9am-6pm and you can buy everything here. From all the Thai souvenirs you want to bring home to all kinds of fashion. At the Chatchuchak weekend market there are more things than you can look at, plus there’s food everywhere. If you can’t find what you need here, you can’t find it anywhere. And remember the market is only open in the weekends!
How to get to the Chatuchak Wekeend Market: you can easily get here by BTS Skytrain (stop: Mo Chit) or by MRT. If you exit at MRT stop Kamphaeng Phet you’ll find yourself directly at the market.
Cruising the Chao Phraya River
Our third recommendation is to cruise on the Chao Phraya River. The Chao Phraya river is also known as the river of kings and is considered to be the main artery of Thailand. It flows through Bangkok before reaching the gulf of Thailand, and the river plays a vital role in the city.
There are many options available to do this. You can for example go on the Chao Phraya Express tourist boat, this is like taking a cruise and public transport at the same time as you can hop on and hop off wherever you want.
You can also take a private cruise or go on a smaller boat and cruise along the river and the canals to see many Bangkok highlights from the water.
Whatever you do, do it! It will be worth it, except dinner cruise boats… avoid these.
Wat Arun -The Temple of Dawn
Our absolute favorite temple and the most beautiful one of Bangkok is Wat Arun, the temple of Dawn. It’s located on the western side of the Chao Praya river, and when the sun hits just right it’s stunning! Entrance fee is 200 Baht per person and it’s well worth the price. Best times to go are in the morning avoiding the crowds or during sunset to admire the dawn.
How to get to Wat Arun: Public transport in limited around the old city area of Bangkok, however you can easily get a transfer boat from the Tha Tian Pier for about 5 baht per person, or you can reach Wat Arun by the Chao Phraya Hop-on tourist boat.
Wat Pho – The Reclining Buddha
Next on the list, Wat Pho! Have you ever seen a 46-meter-long gold-plated Reclining Buddha? Well visit the Wat Pho temple and you can admire this giant lying statue. It costs 300 baht to enter, but you will be impressed by its size for sure. Wat Pho is also known to be the birthplace of traditional Thai medicine and massages, which you can get, but for an extra charge. Even though Bangkok has many temples, this one needs to be on your list for sure!
How to get to Wat Pho: If you don’t mind a 5 minute walk you can get here easily by MRT and get off at stop Sanam Chai.
The Grand Palace
Built in 1782 the grand palace is the ceremonial residence of the King of Thailand and cannot be missed when you’re visiting Bangkok for the first time. With its beautiful architecture it’s a worthwhile visit, but it does set you back 500 baht. The entrance fee includes the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textile and the Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand’s famous green emerald Buddha.
Do not forget to dress appropriately for the grand palace and all temples you visit, this is very important. You can combine visiting the Grand palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun in one day as they are very close to each other. It’s also possible to book a guided tour to visit all three temples.
How to get to the Grand Palace: the Grand Palace is best reached by taxi or tuktuk. However, if you’re coming from Wat Poh you can get there by foot in about 10 minutes or you can get there by boat if you’re heading there from Wat Arun.
Visit Bangkok’s Luxury Malls
Bangkok is the perfect place for your luxury shopping needs, with over 200 malls spread out over the city. But which one to choose? Our first recommendation and favorite is the Icon Siam, a beautiful ginormous mall right on the Chao Praya River with all the shops and restaurants you want, plus a giant indoor waterfall and a food court in the basement set up as floating market.
Another mall recommendation is to go to the EM district. The EM district consists of three malls that are located right next to each other and you have direct access from BTS Line: Prom Phong. You’ll find all the stores you need and want here, and the latest addition, the Emsphere, even comes with a city IKEA.
Our last mall recommendation is Central World, a mall with many different stores located in the Siam district. It’s also one of the larger malls in Bangkok, is easily accessible and has a grand square in front of it that hosts many themed events throughout the year. As a bonus there’s a BigC supermarket acros from it where you can buy lots of Thai snacks as a souvenir.
Visit Benchakitti or Lumpini park
If you want an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city but don’t want to go far, then visiting a park is your best bet. Benchakitti Park for example is a beautiful park with a big lake you can walk around, or you can take a stroll on the Benchakitti Forrest Skywalk.
The second Bangkok park we recommend is Lumpini Park. Here you’ll find a lake, where you can take boat rides and it’s perfect to stroll around. You can also see lots of animals here and even the fearsome Monitor lizards. We recommend visiting in the morning or evening as it can get very HOT in the parks of Bangkok.
How to get to Lumphini Park: you can easily get to Lumphini Park by public transport. Either get off at BTS stop Sala Daeng or at MRT stop Silom and you’ll find yourself directly in front of the park.
How to get to Benchakitti Park: The easiest way is to take the MRT and get out at station Queen Sirikit for direct entrance to the park
Day-Trip Kanchanaburi River Kwai
The bridge over the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi, as made famous by the movie with the same name, is an easy day trip from Bangkok. You can take one of two direct trains and it takes only 2,5 hours to get there.
On the way there you’ll be passing through beautiful Thai landscape and train tickets only costs 100 baht per person. The train stops right in front of the bridge and after leaving the train you can actually walk over it. If you want more insight about the history of the town and the bridge we recommend visiting the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre and the The Jeath War Museum.
For an easy day trip we recommend taking the 07:45 train in the morning and going back with the 14:45 train. Alternatively you can also spend the night here or go from Bangkok on a fully organised day-tour.
We stayed the night and booked a stay at the River Kwai View Hotel Kanchanaburi. We prefer a little slower travel and this hotel had the best location and the best view. What is better than waking up next to history!
Day-Trip to Ayutthaya
Last on our list is a trip to: Ayutthaya. This is the old capital city of Thailand, and you can get here with a guided tour or by train for only 15 baht! There are direct trains leaving from Hua Lampong station and it takes a little under 2 hours to get there, super easy!
In Ayutthaya you can see the history of the old capital of Siam. There’s a smaller version of Mini Ankor Watt to admire and you can see and old Buddha head statue that got intertwined in a Banyan tree.
We really recommend taking a boat tour on the river, so you can see many highlights and admire Ayutthaya from the water. As its easily reachable by many trains you can take a very early train and go back later in the day to maximize your day-trip.
If you’re short on time we recommend to book a day-trip to Ayutthaya from Bangkok
We preferred to two nights in the iuDia Hotel because there is so much to see. This hotel has an amazing view of Wat Phutthaisawan, easy access to many sights, a little bit of Dutch history and a offers a very relaxing stay.
We’ve posted a full video about how to get to Ayutthaya and what to do there on our Youtube channel
Bonus Tip: Bicycle Tour
Time for the bonus tip! We wouldn’t be Dutch if we didn’t recommend to do a bicycle tour in Bangkok! We went on cycling tours exploring the city of Bangkok.
On a cycling tour you will bike through the streets of Bangkok, cross the Chao Phraya River, go to the country side and even visit markets! It’s a great way to explore the city from a different perspective, especially if you’re short on time.
Some cycling tours also include a boat ride on the canals, which is something we really recommend.
Top Things to Do in Bangkok
Now there you have it: 10 things we recommend doing when visiting Bangkok for the first time. Ideally you need 4-6 days to do all these things and that is also the minimum we recommend when going to Bangkok.
Is this all? No Bangkok has so much more to offer, so let us know if you enjoyed our list and if you want to see even more things to do in Bangkok! If you want to know what all these activities look like in more detail then be sure the watch the video we made about this top 10 below.
For now we want to thank so much for reading and we wish you safe travels!
– Laurens & Laura
p.s. you can watch the full video of top 10 things to do in Bangkok below!
Laurens is the co-founder of Yes and Explore, with a background in sports, theater, and bringing people together. He’s happiest when traveling, tasting his way through local dishes, and sharing stories that inspire your next travel adventure.
