Bangkok Must-See’s & Must-Do’s
We packed A LOT into just 2.5 days in Bangkok, Thailand, but we’re SO glad we did as much as we could in our short visit! There are so many incredible landmarks and places to see and visit in Bangkok, and we made our shortlist based on our quick visit below. Of course, there’s so much more you can do in Bangkok!
Walk & Paddle a Swan Boat at Lumphini Park
If you haven’t heard of Lumphini Park yet — it was the thing that surprised us most about Bangkok. With it being such an industrial and hustling and bustling city, we did NOT expect to find such a big park right in the middle of the city! It reminds us a lot of Central Park. Take a walk around the 142 acre park, watch all the wildlife, paddle a swan boat, kayak, or stand-up paddle board in the lake, and maybe even visit the public library!
BONUS: If you are at or are going to Lumphini Park, make sure you visit Polo Fried Chicken! It’s across the street, and one of the must-try foods in Bangkok.
Take a Tuk Tuk ride
Bangkok is notorious for it’s bad traffic that can get you stuck (if traveling in a car) for hours. Don’t let that be you. You can quickly and easily get through traffic by taking a tuk tuk through the city.
Thailand doesn’t have Uber or Lyft, but they do have Grab, which you can download and easily use right away once you’re there. On Grab, you can quickly book cars, taxis, and even motorcycles!
Visit a Night Market
You can’t go to Bangkok and not go to a night market! The city and country, really, is sprawling with night markets, and they are a great place to shop, eat some of the best local foods & dessert, and enjoy music! Make sure to check schedules though as most are only open Thursday - Sunday!
Below are a few recommendations for popular night markets:
Chang Chui Bangkok Plane Night Market (open Thursday - Tuesday from 4pm to 11pm, closed Wednesdays)
Chatuchak Friday Night Market (only open Fridays 9pm - 3am)
Khaosan Road (open daily 3pm to 2am) — known as the Backpacker’s universe!
Visit the Grand Palace
Don’t miss the Grand Palace during your visit to Bangkok! There’s quite a few buildings consisting of government offices, the royal residence, temple of the Emerald Buddha, and the Queen Sirikit Museum of textiles. The buildings here are BEAUTIFUL and the craftsmanship is honestly breathtaking.
ENTRANCE FEE: You can buy a foreigner ticket (500 Baht) for the Royal Thai Palace online, or directly at the entrance with cash or credit. It’s free for residents, though! Plus, you can get an audio guide as well for 200 Baht.
GOOD TO KNOW: Make sure you’re wearing the right clothes before you go! You will not be able to enter the palace grounds if your outfit is not appropriate. The recommended outfit is a t-shirt (that covers your shoulders) and a long skirt for females or long pants for males. Plus, wear easy to take off shoes as you’ll need to take your shoes off prior to entering the temple.
Your shoulders and legs MUST be covered
No sheer or see-through tops
No short or cropped tops
No torn or distressed outfits
No tight pants!
Visit Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha)
If you are visiting the Grand Palace, you can easily walk ~10 mins down the road over to Wat Pho! This temple is one of the largest temples in the city and inside contains a giant reclining Buddha that is 46 meters long and is covered in gold leaf.
ENTRANCE FEE: Tickets for Wat Pho are 200 Baht and can be purchased at the entrance. You can also purchase a bowl of coins inside the temple, which you can drop into the 108 bronze bowls which line the perimeter of the building for good luck!
GOOD TO KNOW: Same as the Grand Palace, you need to dress appropriately in order to enter. Make sure your shoulders and legs are covered, and you have comfortable easy to don/doff shoes as you’ll need to remove your shoes to enter the temple.
Visit Wat Arun
Wat Arun is a MUST-see! If visiting the Grand Palace or Wat Pho, you will need to take the ferry across the river to see Wat Arun. Head on over to ‘Tha Tien Pier’ also known as Pier 8 and pay 3 Baht (yes, only 3!) to board the boat.
This temple used to be on the grounds of the Royal Palace before it was abandoned and moved across the river to where the Grand Palace sits today. It had gone through several series of restorations until finishing in 2017.
Wat Arun was the busiest we went to, so be prepared for lots of people in the photos! This is also a popular place for you to rent traditional Thai garments for both males & females (Chut Thai) and take photos in! The local stalls will help you find the color you want, help you dress and do your hair as well for the photos.
ENTRANCE FEE: The entrance fee to Wat Arun is 100 Baht.
GOOD TO KNOW: As with the other two temples mentioned above (The Grand Palace and Wat Pho), there are strict dress codes in order for you to enter the temple and grounds. There are several clothing stalls close-by as well if you need to rent long skirts or shirts to cover up.
Visit the Damneon Saduak Floating Market
We visited the Maeklong Railway Market and the Damneon Saduak Floating Market through a tour we booked on Viator: Half Day Railway Market and Floating Market Tour in Thailand and we would HIGHLY recommend! We had an incredibly knowledgeable tour guide, and the cost included the ticket costs, transportation, etc.
This floating market is outside of the city (about 100km), so you will need to book a car or tour in order to visit the market. It’s open daily from about 8AM - 4PM, and if you are riding one of the boats, it takes about an hour to tour the entire river & canal.
This is the perfect place to visit for lunch before hopping on the boat. Shop for touristy items to take home, clothes, and more as well both on land and on the boats!
Ride the Train to the Maeklong Railway Market
One of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangkok is the Maeklong Railway Market! We visited this again on the Viator tour we booked, so our transportation is covered, but this one is also outside of the city. There are several tours you can book leaving from Bangkok city that will be much easier than train, coach, or taxi.
Our tour drove us out of the city and dropped us off at the Ban Kalong train station, where we hopped on the train directly to Maeklong Railway Station. There are about 5 stops along the way, but it’s a rather quick ride, and you get to witness first-hand riding the train through the market!
There are a ton of clothing shops, produce stalls, meat and seafood stalls here to explore. The market itself spans about 100m long, and as soon as the train docks you get to walk through the market directly on the railroad. But as soon as the train is coming back through, make way and get yourself behind the safe zone (the red line)!
Visit the famous ICONSIAM
There are a ton of malls all spread across the city center like Paragon Siam, etc. but the ICONSIAM is truly the most impressive sprawling mall I’ve ever seen! It is located right on the water, and boasts over 7,000 shops, 100 restaurants, and even a whole market + floating market on the ground floor.
It’s incredibly impressive and you can find brands here spanning from $ to $$$$. If you are here at night, you will be able to see the beautiful water fountain and lights as well.
On our way back to the US, we had a 12 hour layover in Bangkok and we knew we wanted to see all of the touristy spots like Wat Arun, the Grand Palace, etc. Luckily, we were able to find a private tour hosted by Oriental Escape, where you have your own private car, private driver and tour guide to take you to wherever you want to go! They even pick you up from the airport and drop you back off, reducing your need to travel with luggage to a pickup/dropoff point. Our tour guide, Uma, was incredible and was with us every step of the way, knew all of the tips and tricks for each location and was SO good about taking photos for us! We would highly recommend booking a private tour with them if you have a layover in Bangkok, or even a half day left there.