While in Bangkok, there are multiple ways to move around and explore some of the main places to visit in capital city of Thailand. Most of the places of interest in Bangkok can also be reached through a boat ride and above all you can also be wise about opting for best boating deals and make best of you time with some of the exceptional experience of Bangkok city. This Blogpost shares more about Boating options, tips around managing your time well and have pocket friendly tour of Bangkok City.
The Chao Phraya River can be a great way to explore Bangkok city, but the system of boats and their different coloured flags can appear confusing for a first-time visitor. Bangkok river boat service can be a very convenient (and cheap) way to get to some of Bangkok’s main attractions.
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The Chao Phraya is the major river in Thailand and certainly a very important river in Bangkok city. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Above photograph shows port near Khao San Road. One can buy tickets of Half day tour, full day tour or single ride etc from one of these ports around Chao Phraya River. There are government run boats as well as private company boats and accordingly there are different prices, timings and frequency of these boats.
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Major bridges cross the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok are Rama VI railroad bridge, Phra Pin-klao near the Grand Palace, Rama VIII, a single tower asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge, Rama IX, a semi-symmetric cable-stayed bridge and Mega Bridge, on the Industrial Ring Road. All of these look even beautiful when you are crossing through them in a boat. Above photograph shows one of the boards I noticed around ticket counter and it shows some of the main places along with their respective stops on Boating route.
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All piers along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok are clearly marked in English as well as Thai. The Central Pier is called Tha Sathorn and is conveniently located close to the Saphan Taksin skytrain station. Piers to the north of Central Pier are marked ‘N’ followed by a number and piers to the south of Central Pier are marked ‘S’ followed by a number. The most popular tourist attractions and sights are located between Central Pier and stop number N13 to the north. The ride from Central Pier to N13 takes approximately 30 minutes.
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Here are some of the details about different Piers and which one is located close to main places to explore around Bangkok City in Thailand :
Central Pier (Tha Sathorn) – Saphan Taksin Skytrain station
N1 (Tha Oriental) – O.P. Place shopping
N4 (Tha Harbour Department) – River city shopping, Holy Rosary Church and Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel
N5 (Tha Rachavongse) – Chinatown
N6 (Tha Memorial Bridge) – Phra Poklao Bridge and Chinatown
N7 (Tha Rajinee) – Chinatown vegetable market and cross-river ferry to Santa Cruz Church and the old Portuguese Quarter
N8 (Tha Tien) – Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and cross-river ferry to Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn)
N9 (Tha Chang) – Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)
N11 (Tha Railway Station) – Bangkok Noi (Thonburi) train station
N12 (Tha Phra Pinklao) – Klong Bangkok Noi and National Museum of Royal Barges
N13 (Tha Phra Athit/Banglamphu) – Ratanakosin Island (old Bangkok) and popular backpacker areas including Khao San Road
N15 (Tha Thewes) – Bangkok flower market
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In Bangkok, the Chao Phraya is a major transportation artery for a network of river buses, cross-river ferries, and water taxis. More than 15 boat lines operate on the rivers and canals of the city, including commuter lines.
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Chao Phraya Tourist Boat :
The tourist boat service is more expensive than the other boats, but it is less crowded so you should have no problems getting a seat and there is also an on-board commentary in English to point out landmarks and points of interest. A one-day unlimited ticket is available for 150 Baht and includes a handy map of the river and the various boat stops. Tickets for the tourist boat service can be bought at Central Pier (Tha Sathorn), pier N13 (Tha Phra Arthit/Banglamphu) or the skytrain stations at Saphan Taksin or Siam.
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We boarded our boat from Tha Phra Arthit which is close to Khao San Road in Bangkok.
Fare of Chao Phraya Tourist Boat : 150 Baht for unlimited day use or 30 Baht for single journey
Timings of Chao Phraya Tourist Boat : Daily 09.30-16.00
Frequency of Chao Phraya Tourist Boat : approximately every 30 minutes
Route of Chao Phraya Tourist Boat : Sathorn Pier (Central) – Phra Arthit Pier (N13)
As we talked about various boating services and distinguished through flags. Orange flag boats is another service provider and following details are helpful to understand what they offer and other relevant details :
Fare of Orange flag boats: 15 Baht (pay on boat)
Timing of Orange flag boats : Daily 06.00-19.00
Frequency of Orange flag boats : approximately every 15 minutes
Route of Orange flag boats: Nonthaburi (N30) – Wat Rajsingkorn (S3)
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There are Cross river ferries at different Piers in Bangkok. These small ferries are available at most piers for crossings to the opposite river bank. There is limited seating on these boats so expect to stand for the short journey across the river.
Fare of Cross river ferries : varies from 2-4 Baht (usually paid at entrance to pier before boarding the boat)
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There are some Local or Standard boats running on Chao Phraya River without flags.
Fare of local ferries : 10 - 15 Baht
Timing of local ferries : Monday-Friday 15.00-17.30
Frequency of local ferries: approximately every 20 minutes.
Route of local ferries : Nonthaburi (N30) – Wat Rajsingkorn (S3)
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There is another service provider Green flag boats :
Fare of Green flag boats : 12-32 Baht
Hours of Green flag boats: Monday-Friday 6.15-8.10 and 15.30-18.05
Frequency of Green flag boats: approximately every 15-20 minutes
Route of Green flag boats: Pakkred (N33) – Nonthaburi (N30) – Sathorn (Central Pier)
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As you may have noticed that there are many options during weekdays. Let's also know more about Yellow flag boats :
Fare Yellow flag boats : 20-30 Baht (paid on boat – charged according to distance of travel)
Hours Yellow flag boats : Monday-Friday 06.15-08.30 and 15.30-20.00
Frequency of Yellow flag boats: approximately every 30 minutes
Route of Yellow flag boats : Nonthaburi (N30) – Sathorn (Central Pier) – Ratburana (S4)
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All photographs in blogpost are clicked when we took our boat from Phra Arthit pier close to Khaosan road in Bangkok. This whole boat-ride offers great views of riverside which is full of amazing architecture, temples (wats) and some of the cool high-rise establishments of Bangkok city.
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While taking boat ride around Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, you can see Wat Arun, Wat Pho, Royal Palace from distance and lot of other places which are popular from Tourism standpoint. We took our boat from Phra Arthit to China Town.
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Above is a photograph of route map at closet pier around China Town. Not everything is readable in this but idea is to share that almost all piers have this information which makes it easier for you to plan where to get down for reaching the place you want to go.
We got to know about boating tour option on last day otherwise we would have made best use of day pass for Chao Phraya River boating tour.
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