Where to Stay in Bangkok?

I am sure this would be one of the very first questions coming up in your mind when planning your vacation in Bangkok. Your eyes will roll over when searching for hotels on those hotel online booking platforms. This blog is written to help you find the right hotel locations for you to stay. From years of experience being a tour guide, I went around the city to pickup my guests. Because of this part of my job, I can share my knowledge about my best areas for hotels in Bangkok to stay. In my opinion, the best areas to stay for hotels in Bangkok would be around Sathorn Pier, Phra Artit Road near Khao San road and hotels along sky trains and subway.

Sathorn Pier

This is a name of a boat pier along the Chao Phraya River. The pier is also known as central pier where “Chao Phraya Express Boats,” and Bangkok sky train (BTS) intersected. This intersection between the sky train and the ferry allows you to commute to both old and new town easily using the transports.

Surrounding the pier, there are many hotels situated nearby. These hotels have shuttle boat services transporting their guests from their hotels to the pier every 10-15 minutes. It’s so convenient for you to get around and avoid unexpected congestion in the city by these modes of transports.

Bangkok hotels along Chao Phraya River

Chao Phraya Express Boat

The ferry starts servicing from 06.00-19.00 every day. The fares range from THB 15-60 per person. There are a few types of ferry services categorizing by flag color; orange, yellow, green and blue flag. To go to old town for the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun etc, you need to take the orange and blue flags.

Chao Phraya Express Boat and Wat Arun

BTS Sky Train

From the pier, you only need to walk for a few minutes to Saphan Taksin BTS Station. There you take a train heading to “National Stadium BTS Station.” The train will take you to the new town where you can explore the modernity of the city.

Beside the transportation convenience, you will get a beautiful scenery of the river while staying at these riverside Bangkok hotels as well.  Where to stay for hotels in Bangkok? Now you know one area to focus your search on “Sathorn Pier.”

Phra Athit Road : old Bangkok

Located in inner part of old Bangkok, Phra Athit Road is another favorite area of mine to stay for hotels in Bangkok. The area is surrounded by the main attractions such as the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddah, Wat Pho, Golden Mount etc. Along the road, there are several nice and affordable riverside hotels for you to choose from. These hotels are the ones that I prefer to stay.

Phra Arthit Road. Photo credit: crownproperty.or.th

Nearby historic attractions

Staying at a hotel here, what I like the most is the ability to easily walk to many important historic sites within 15-30 minutes. Furthermore, in the evening, you can entertain yourself by walking to Khao San Road, the largest Backpacker hub in the Southeast Asia for dinner and evening relaxation such as massage and drinks

Phra Sumen Fort on Phra Arthit Road. Photo credit: crownproperty.or.th

Grab is good to get around

Although this part of old Bangkok doesn’t have sky trains or subway yet, I do not think this is a problem. If you want to go to shopping areas like MBK Mall or Chatuchak Weekend Market, I suggest you use “Grab” transport service if you do not want to deal with Taxi meter drivers who refuse to turn on their meter system.

From my experience taking a taxi from this area to MBK Mall (shopping center) at different times of day, I found that the traffic is not congested at all. If you compare it with congested Sukhumvit area, this area is much better for me.

Boat pier nearby

Or if you would like to enjoy more of the city, take “Chao Phraya Express Boat” and transit to BTS Sky Train at Sathorn Pier to go to new Bangkok. There is “Phra Artit Pier” nearby these hotels where you can walk to within a few minutes. With this way of commuting, you can be sure that you will avoid unexpected Bangkok traffic.

Bangkok hotels along sky trains and subways

As I mentioned earlier in the blog about the use of the sky train, any hotels close to the sky train and subway would be my top choice. These hotels will allow you to get around the city using the transport system.

To get to old Bangkok from the area and avoid traffic. You can do the followings.

Take the sky train to Sathorn Pier and transit to the ferry heading to old Bangkok.

Take the sky train and then get off at National Stadium Station and get a taxi or Tuk Tuk to old town. If you do not want to take a taxi or Tuk Tuk, you can do “Saen Saep Boat Service.” You need to walk to “Saphan Hua Chang Pier” to take the boat to old town. From the station to the pier, it will take 10-15 minutes walking. But this way, I do not recommend because it’s more difficult to navigate for first time visitors. Unless, you have a local guide who know the city accompanying you.

Bangkok hotels along sky trains

My favorite stations

To give you a better idea of where to stay in Bangkok for hotels in the area, I will give you my favorite BTS Stations that you can use to search for hotels nearby.

National Stadium Station

Siam

Rachathewi

Phloenchit

Ratchadumri

Nana

Asoke

Why my favorite stations for hotels to stay?

Beside its connection to the ferry, the stations are centrally located in new Bangkok. These stations are surrounded by shopping malls, various types of restaurants; Thai, Western, Chinese, and Japanese and Korea and other important sites etc. After a long day tour, you can conveniently go to shopping malls and restaurants to spend your evening close to your hotels.

With all these reasons mentioned above, Sathorn Pier, Phra Artit Road, and hotels along sky train and subway would be my choice to stay in Bangkok for hotels.

After reading this blog, I hope you can narrow your hotel search down and be able to focus on the areas that would suite you the most.

However, if you would like to save and maximize your time efficiently in a big city of Bangkok, getting a private guide and customize your itinerary would help you a lot. Check out our custom tour experience or email us at [email protected] for more information.