Bangkok Travel guide.
Bangkok, the city that never sleeps, is an unrelenting feast for the senses. With its unique blend of exhilarating nightlife, spiritual temples, rousing 24-hour markets and inimitable cuisine, Bangkok is a must if you’re flying to Thailand. To help you get there, we compare hundreds of airfares to provide the cheapest direct flights to Bangkok to save you time and effort. What’s more, as we also offer exclusive prices for students and those under 26, flying to Bangkok couldn’t be easier. As the much-loved 80s chart-topper explains: one night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster – and, despite the sketchy tune, we couldn’t agree more!
For many of our travellers, Bangkok will be the first stop on their Southeast Asian adventure. Sure, Thailand's capital may be seen as a busy transport hub, but stay a little longer and venture beyond the markets and nightspots of Khao San Road. You'll find a complex city that is in part charming old-world, and part modern, cosmopolitan metropolis. Stuff your face in Chinatown, explore Bangkok's temples, canals and water markets, and discover mind-blowing mega-malls in Sukhumvit.
Bangkok City & Temples:
Feed your inner culture vulture and check out several of Bangkok's most magnificent temples, including the famous reclining Buddha. You'll also enjoy plenty of sightseeing, shopping and eating opportunities. A great way to find your feet!
River Kwai Float House:
Head to the mountainous jungle town of Kanchanaburi where you will visit the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum, Allied POW Cemetery before checking into your luxurious float house on the River Kwai. Activities include sailing to a local village for dinner, visit Hellfire Pass Memorial and take a train ride to the infamous 'Death Railway'.
Khao San Road.
Banglamphu's most buzzing street, Khao San Road is Bangkok's backpacker hub. It's just a kilometre from the Grand Palace, and is packed full of bars, small nightclubs, restaurants, shops and hostels.You're guaranteed to have a ball here, and make some great new friends!
Chinatown.
Stroll half an hour southeast of Banglamphu to see, smell and taste Asia at its best. In this neighbourhood, you'll be able to snap colourful pictures of the hundreds of signs along the main road, get completely lost in the colourful mess of market stalls just off of it, and of course, stuff your face with noodles, dumplings, curries and more.
Banglamphu.
Bangkok's 'Old Town' of Banglamphu is full of colour, charm, history and famous monuments like Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, offering the best insight into what Bangkok's all about. It's centrally located, and home to Khao San Road, where you'll most likely be staying!
Sukhumvit.
Khao San Road might be Bangkok's must buzzing street but Sukhumvit is Thailand's longest. You'll find Bangkok's craziest red-light district, the most futuristic shopping malls, rooftop bars, hotels and drinking spots such as Soi 11 all along here. Boycott the taxis (stand-still traffic jams are the norm along the length of Sukhumvit), and instead hop on and off the BTS Skytrain, which runs the length of it.
Best time to visit Bangkok?
The busiest months in terms of tourism in Bangkok are between December and April, when the climate is driest and the sun nearly always shines. British summertime is actually Bangkok's rainy season, so expect high humidity and short, sharp afternoon storms from late May through until October. Bangkok is rainiest in September.
How to get to Bangkok
If you're flying to Thailand from the UK, you'll almost certainly land in Bangkok. Emirates, Qatar Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines all operate frequent flights to Suvarnabhumi Airport (commonly known as Bangkok International) which lies about 30km west of the city centre.
If you're flying into Bangkok from elsewhere in Asia, you're likely to arrive in Don Mueng International, which is around 25km north of Bangkok's centre. It's an easy bus journey or cab ride into the city centre from both airports, and all sign posts offer directions in English.
Another way of getting to Bangkok is aboard a bus; if you're travelling overland from somewhere like Chaing Mai, or Siem Reap in Cambodia, there are plenty of cheap and comforable overnight coach options.
