A traveller's guide to
Bangkok
Thailand's entry point for most trips: a fast, humid, endlessly layered city where the practical stuff — transport, food, payments — mostly runs through your phone.
Getting around
- BTS Skytrain and MRT metro beat traffic and cover most of the areas visitors use. Buy a stored-value card or tap contactless where accepted.
- Grab and Bolt are the easiest way to take a car or motorbike taxi without negotiating a fare.
- Chao Phraya express boats are cheap, quick and the best way to reach the old town and riverside temples.
- From Suvarnabhumi, the Airport Rail Link into Phaya Thai is far faster than a taxi in rush hour.
Connectivity tip
Bangkok has the densest mobile coverage in the country, but the BTS at rush hour and mall basements can slow things down. Load your ride-hailing app and hotel address before you leave the terminal, and screenshot your booking so you are never dependent on a signal at the exact wrong moment.
How coverage works in ThailandEat on the street
Yaowarat (Chinatown) after dark and the sois around Victory Monument give you the best food-to-price ratio in the city. Follow the queues of locals.
Old town by boat
Take an express boat to Tha Tien for Wat Pho, then cross the river for Wat Arun. Go early: it is cooler and far quieter before 10am.
Escape the heat
Mid-afternoon is for air conditioning. Jim Thompson House, the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, or a long lunch beat sightseeing at 35°C.
Heading to Bangkok?
Get online
Install a Thailand eSIM before you fly and land with maps, rides and messages already working.