Chao Phraya River

Chao Phraya River

Chao Phraya River
4
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
About
This scenic river, flowing through the heart of Bangkok, offers convenient boat transportation and sightseeing cruises since many of the major city attractions are easily accessible from various points along this waterway.
Duration: < 1 hour
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Address
Neighbourhood: Riverside
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  • Darren S
    28 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Best way to see the sights
    Great way to see the sights along the river. Very cheap and simple to use with around 13 different hop on hop off stations. Don’t expect perfect timekeeping mind! So sad to see the river so polluted with it absolutely teaming with plastic bottles, bags, dead fish, timber - can’t imagine there’s much life in there.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 29 February 2024
  • Karoli24
    713 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Cheap sightseeing trip
    This time I used the Chao Phraya express ferry during sundown. I was going from Saphang Taksin to Wat Arun and later from there to the opposite side to the great palace. During that time the ships have an open deck and you can make pretty pictures. The tour is really interesting and you can see several of Bangkoks great sightseeings. The price of together 65 Bath is ridiculous cheap. I enjoyed this trip.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 2 March 2024
  • tuco919
    Tavares, Florida243 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Chao Phraya from Sukhumvit with stop at Khaosan Road
    From Sukhumvit area take BTS transfer at Siam and continue to Sampin Taksen. Take the public ferry, basically heading north. See the sights for 16 baht. Can’t beat it! Also it’s the only easy way to get to Khaosan road. Get off at Phra Arthur and it’s a ten minute walk.
    Visited September 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 13 September 2024
  • FergusA
    Glasgow, United Kingdom109 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A fascinating snapshot into Bangkok life
    The river life is so busy. Constant stream of tugs, barges, long-tail boats, hotel shuttles and ferries. A ride along the river gives you great views of many of the key sites and avoids the traffic. The orange flag boat is the way to go. Please note that there are several ferry lines on the river and all stop at different stops. The tourist boats are the larger more modern ones and cost 40 baht, the express boats only cost 16 baht. Then orange one stops at all the stops so is the safest option!
    Visited October 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 9 October 2024
  • Alfred V
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands2,699 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Get on the river
    The important artery of the city: the river. It is quite wide and there are not many bridges, so to get across you can get ferries, or better: the hop-on-hop-off service, which some 10 stops on either side of the river and goes with a frequency of about 20 minutes. Also, it is a great way to view the city from a different side. There are many boats going, but the staff will tell you which ones to take.
    Visited November 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 9 December 2024
  • wombatdavid
    Hobart, Australia2,816 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Love this river
    I love staying on the river near the Sathorn pier area. I've been to Bangkok three times and stayed at the Hilton Millenium, Shangri-La and most recently the ibis Riverside. It is a great place to stay and get out on the river on the ferries.
    Visited December 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 24 January 2025
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.0
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DMCTZ
London, UK25 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2022
This was the first thing we did in Bangkok after checking in to our hotel in Sukhumvit at about 5pm.

Best place to find a boat is Saphan Taksin - and easy to take the excellent BTS to get there. Despite doing some research it's a little confusing trying to work out which boat/line to take though. In the end we were too late to take the public boats so hired a private longboat from the first location (right outside the BTS station before you walk under the bridge to access the bigger pier). Cost quoted was 500B per person but we ended up paying 1700B for 5 of us for 1 hour and that allowed us to go all the way up to the Grand Palace and back.

We started our ride at about 6.15pm which meant we had 30mins before sunset and 30 mins to appreciate the city lit up. Amazing views and a great way to kick off a visit to Bangkok.
Written 16 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anamika T
363 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2023 • Family
Chao Phraya river in Bangkok is the key means of transport and life line of the city. The ferries run on various routes with stops at different piers. Night time view over the river is beautiful as big hotels, malls and temples light up. We took a ferry from IconSiam once to soak in the experience. Various river cruises also run on a daily basis for the tourists.
Written 4 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maratom64
Germany1,898 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
From the starting point at Sathorn/Central Pier to the final stop in the north - Wat Arthit, it takes around 30 minutes on the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat. Heading north, you pass IconSiam, the flower market, Wat Arun and the Grand Palace, among other places. The whole thing costs just 30 Baht. The day ticket for as many trips as you like costs 150 Baht, so it's very cheap. It's particularly nice to sit on the upper deck and sail past the sights. Fantastic.
Google
Written 1 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BTS1972
Munich, Germany3,743 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Business
You can see a lot of activity here both day and night. Together with the skyline, it is definitely a highlight. Best enjoyed from the club floors of the chain hotels on the river itself - e.g. Shngri-La. The climate here is also very pleasant. In contrast to the city center with all the traffic, exhaust fumes and stuffy air.
Google
Written 14 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

flyingdoc1
Emsworth, UK526 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
Tourists are beginning to return in numbers post Covid, and this bustling river with its small hotel ferry boats, huge river dinner cruisers and struggling tug boats towing heavy barges up river to Ayutthaya, all go to make up an incredible scene day and night. The dinner cruises are all spectacularly lit up. As this was the finale to the APEC Summit being hosted in Bangkok, a fireworks display was added to the evening, with thousands of spectators lining the banks and eating from nearby restaurants.
Written 29 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Winter W
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
iconsiam offers free ferry from a couple locations (including China town). we find it is the best way if you want to do a short trip on the river.

the normal price to get across the river is 3.5-4 bht. Do not get tricked by the people who try to get you on a boat tour. Those people are normally around the Grand Palace area, and will approach you on the street pretending to offer help to you. Some of them pretend to the official travel information guide or the security around the area, they also work with some tuk tuk driver to take you to a specific port. Do not trust those people.

we took the free ferry from iconsiam back to China town at night. the view was beautiful
Written 24 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

daf57
Adelaide, Australia657 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2019
A visit to Bangkok is not complete without spending time on the Chao Phraya River. It offers insights into Thai culture with an amazing "city at work" on the river with all sorts of commercial activity taking place night and day. There are plenty of ferries on the river that are cheap. There are many attractions close to the river so the best time to appreciate them is at night when they are majestically lit up. A night cruise including a sumptuous buffet dinner can be booked through the Tourist Information Office (highly recommended for all bookings). It lasts about three hours and costs about $A50-55.
Written 14 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Off their P
Manchester, UK4,044 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022 • Couples
Our hotel balcony was right on this wonderful river and there’s always something going on. If you were trying to read a book it is very hard to concentrate as there is just so much activity and it is fascinating.

Due to the current circumstances there are much fewer boats than usual but there’s still loads and they are beautiful to watch.

Every so often a party boat goes past in full swing which creates noisy entertainment.

We also went for many walks along as far as we could and there is always something to new to see and do.
Written 3 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brian E
Melbourne, Australia158 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Business
I really enjoy a trip in the river As you can see so much of the city from this river and what a beautiful view it is. Take a ricer tour or river taxi to or from the grand palace.

If you take a taxi then bargain the fare.

As an option try and stay at one of the many hotels along the river.
Written 9 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kim G
Pacific Grove, CA3,741 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2019
The Chao Phraya River is the major river of Thailand, and the life-blood of Bangkok. Serving as a highway of industry with large barges transporting their freight to the Gulf of Thailand, the mighty river is also used as an inexpensive, fun and easy access to main attractions in Bangkok, offering several levels of transportation at differing price-points on the river public transit boats. We stayed at Sala Rattanakosin on the Chao Phraya River, with views across to Wat Arun. Using the public transportation system, we crossed the river by ferry and took the public transit boats to travel both up and down river to access the tourist sites and BTS Skytrain Station. Grab a long boat to tour a khlong (canal), or book a spot on a dinner cruise with colorful illumination and live music, also very pretty to view at night from the banks, as the large dinner cruises move up and down the river taking in the lovely illuminated sights and architecture along its banks. Unfortunately, the loud, live music pulsates and trails in their wake. Stay on the banks of the Chao Phraya River where the heat and pollution are somewhat diminished.
Written 15 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Chao Phraya River - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2025)

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