I went to Thailand to go to a friend’s friends’ wedding in Koh Samui. Whilst you can fly straight to the island with a short airport stop in Bangkok, my friend and I decided to travel for a week or so first including a few days in Bangkok.
Before we went, my friend and I were told by multiple acquaintances that we wouldn’t like the city. Needless to say, we ignored them and loved it!
Bangkok is a fun city with lots to see, and the city in which I have taken the most different modes of transport! Here’s how to get around Bangkok…
1. Walk
It’s a huge city, so you can’t really get around the whole of Bangkok on foot. But you’ll definitely be doing some walking, whether that is around the palace grounds or through the many markets in the city.
My friend and I didn’t understand the scale of the city when we first arrived and we attempted to walk from our hotel to the Palace. A nice Thai businessman saw us looking lost and offered help. He hailed us a…
2. Tuk tuk
The tuk tuk is a classic method of travel in Thailand (and also other parts of Asia where they are better known as an auto rickshaw). Named after the sound the motor makes – tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk – it’s one of the easiest, cheapest and most popular ways to get around Bangkok.
Following the Thai man’s instructions, the tuk tuk dropped us straight at a boat station where we took a…
3. Longtail boat
A long tail boat is a long wooden boat which has a ‘long tail’ – a car engine powering a propeller on the end of a long rudder. Noisy, smelly, and a whole lot of fun as you speed along Bangkok’s Chao Phraya river and hop out at the amazing Grand Palace.
Long tail boats are also the transport of choice for getting around the islands. If you plan visit the islands, make sure you take a backpack or a hybrid bag, as you’ll often have to hop out into the water.
4. Local bus
Buses are one of the cheapest ways to travel around Bangkok, but also hottest and and slowest! We hadn’t intended to travel by bus, but when we tried to get a tuk tuk to take us from the palace back to our hotel, the driver lazily pointed at the bus instead.
We heard him check with the driver and climbed aboard. It took forever, cost pennies, and made us laugh.
We ended up hopping off early to go shopping in one of the many huge malls (I needed some shoes for the wedding…).
Now back in a well-connected area of the city, we travelled back to our hotel by…
5. Train
Trains and monorails make it easy to travel around the more developed areas of Bangkok – for example the shopping malls and main hotel areas. It’s easy and safe to catch the train from the airport to the city too. The train network is easy to navigate, clean, and air conditioned.
Speaking of air con…
6. Taxi
Thailand gets pretty warm, so if you’re going out for the evening and prefer to stay perspiration free after showering at your hotel, you can get around in a good old fashioned taxi.
Like most cities, you can ask your hotel to order you one, or simply hail a cab on the side of the street. If a car taxi is just too much like home, you could always try a…
7. Motorbike taxi
There are literally hundreds of motorbikes and scooters in the city, which makes it pretty easy to find this type of taxi.
In my opinion this is probably the riskiest way to get around Bangkok. They are far cheaper than the car variety, but come with much less in the way of safety features! If you’re comfortable riding on the back of a stranger’s motorbike without a helmet, go for it. I didn’t 🙂
8. Paddle boat
Last but not least, head out of Bangkok for a visit to the Floating Markets. Here, local people sell fruit, vegetables, cooked food, and other goods from their wooden boats on the river.
You can opt for a ride in your own boat to see how locals live in stilted huts along this part of the river.
Getting to Bangkok
You can find great flight deals to Bangkok by searching Momondo and Skyscanner. Or, if you’re in the UK, check out Jack’s Flight Club for notifications of great deals.
Thailand is a great place to start if you’ve never been to Asia before, but if you don’t fancy going it alone I recommend G Adventures tours – I’ve travelled with them multiple times (read my reviews of the China, India and Jordan trips) and always had a great time!