How to Travel Around Bangkok City – Exploring the Capital

 Bangkok, the vibrant capital of Thailand, is one of Southeast Asia’s most visited cities. A metropolis of delicious chaos, experiences, and entertainment. Bangkok’s traffic-clogged streets are legendary. Travelling around the city is part of the excitement from the BTS Skytrain and tuk-tuks to river taxis. Here is everything you need to know about how to travel around Bangkok City.

Fabio Achilli from Milano, Italy, BTS Skytrain in Bangkok (7997069605), CC BY 2.0

1. Train Travel in Bangkok

 The train network is the fastest mode of travel for exploring ‘New Bangkok’. The network, consisting of two links, covers the area between Sukhumvit, Siam Square, and Silom, which are the three main hubs. Offering a wide network, both the Metro and BTS service is ever-expanding to offer easy links to every part of the city, as a means to avoid the traffic-clogged streets. Do keep in mind that you are not allowed to eat or drink while travelling via BTS or Metro.

2. Travelling via the BTS Skytrain in Bangkok

The BTS Skytrain transports you above the chaotic streets of Bangkok and offers links to just about every main point within the city. The train service operates from six in the morning to midnight offering links to the airport as well. Fares start from around 16B, with the Automatic Gate retaining single journey passes; however, a day pass would be your best option. Otherwise, you need to have plenty of change on hand as most of the ticket vending machines only take coins; you can get your currency changed to coins at the information booths located at stations.

3. The Daily BTS Skytrain Pass

 Tourists exploring the city will benefit from purchasing a one-day pass for travel via the Skytrain. The ticket offers one limitless travel within the 24-hour period of the day the pass was purchased. The Skytrain is the best mode of travel if you plan to shop and explore Bangkok with stops located just outside of all the major malls and attractions. Staying at a city hotel Bangkok has on offer will place you within walking distance of the nearest Skytrain station, with some like Avani Atrium Bangkok offering you a chance to enjoy convenient urban stays coupled with easy access to top Bangkok attractions.

4. MRT Travel in Bangkok

 The Metro offers easy links to major points of the city and is especially helpful when staying at Bangkok city hotels close to Silom or Sukhumvit. Fares will start from around 16B while the service operates from six in the morning to midnight. You will find there are some stops where your baggage needs to be scanned at the entrance to the station. When staying at the convenient city hotels in Bangkok, it is less expensive to buy a multiple-day pass for travelling on the metro. The cards once purchased can be topped up as per usage.

5. Taxi Travel in Bangkok

The Bangkok taxi service is comfortable as most of the vehicles are new. Besides, all taxis are required to run on a meter with the starting fare being around 35B (at the time of writing this article) Taxis are less expensive than riding in a tuk-tuk, if you don’t mind the time stuck in traffic, which too depends on the time of day you plan to travel. You can download the apps for hailing taxis, which makes life much easier. Choose from the All Thai Taxi or Grab Taxi services; the latter is the most popular.

6. Tuk-tuk Experience in Bangkok

 Tuk-tuk, pronounced as ‘duk-duk’ in Thailand, are small three-wheeled taxis, which are popular for zipping around the city. While the service is a daily convenience for locals, foreigners find the experience quite fascinating. Expect to pay exorbitant rates for your ride when hailing a tuk in Bangkok as an unsuspecting tourist. However, the ride is considered part of the experience; hence, most tourists do satisfy their curiosity of riding in the low-roofed little machines.

7. The Water Taxis of Bangkok

 Two water taxi services are operating in Bangkok; one ply’s the canals and the other the famous Chao Phraya River. Travelling via water in Bangkok is a lovely and convenient experience that offers you easy access to central city attractions. The canal taxis are called Klong Boats. They operate between Khlong Saen Saep and are perfect for travelling between the famous shopping centres of Siam Square and Jim Thompson House. The boats operate from 5:30 am to 7:15 pm on weekdays; operating between 6 am and 6.30 pm on the weekends. Hop aboard the Khlong boats from any one of the designated piers at which the vessels stop for a very short time.

8. The Chao Phraya River Boat

 Hop aboard the Chao Phraya Express River Boat to explore the extent of the river, considered the lifeblood of Bangkok. Sathorn is the central pier, also known as Saphan Taksin or the Central Pier. This water taxi service operates from six in the morning to 7 pm; hop aboard the orange flag vessels for easy travel between Wat Rajasingkorn to Nonthaburi as the vessel stops at all piers in-between. The yellow-flag and green-flag boats cover the route faster as they skip some stops along the way. The blue-flag boat operates for tourists and stops at all the iconic sites in-between.