10 Reasons To Visit Bangkok – Why We Keep Coming Back

We have been visiting Bangkok since the early 1990s. Over 30 years and more trips than we can count, it has become the city we return to more than any other outside Australia. We have used it as a stopover, a base, a medical destination, a food destination, and simply a place to decompress between longer journeys. We have stayed in capsule hotels on Sukhumvit Soi 22 and in suites at the Sofitel. We have eaten from street carts at midnight and from Michelin-recommended rooftop restaurants at sunset.

Bangkok is not a city that runs out of things to offer. Every visit, it surprises us. These are the reasons we keep going back — and why we think it should be near the top of your travel list.

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1. The Food Is Extraordinary — And Everywhere

No city we have visited in over 30 countries matches Bangkok for the sheer quality, variety and accessibility of its food. You can spend 60 baht on a plate of pad kra pao from a street cart that will be better than anything you eat in a Thai restaurant at home, or you can spend 3,000 baht at a rooftop restaurant that would hold its own against the finest dining rooms in Europe. Both experiences are worth having.

The street food scene along Sukhumvit is the one we return to most. The cart operators who set up each evening on the sois near Phrom Phong and Thong Lo have been cooking the same dishes for years — regulars know their spots and return to the same vendor every time. We have our own. The mango sticky rice from one particular cart near Soi 33 is something we genuinely look forward to months before arriving.

For those who want to understand Thai food rather than just eat it, a cooking class is one of the best half-days you can spend in the city. The Silom Thai Cooking School runs excellent sessions that begin with a guided market tour — you see how ingredients are sourced before you cook with them. Book a Thai cooking class here.

Bangkok is also one of the great café cities of Asia. The speciality coffee scene that has emerged over the past decade is world-class, with roasters and cafés across Thong Lo, Ekkamai and the riverside competing at a level that would impress Melbourne or Tokyo.

If you love Thai cuisine, we would recommend trying these 9 most popular Bangkok cuisines on your next visit.

Love Vegetarian food? Check out our guide on our favourite vegetarian restaurants here

Bangkok is a hot city and one of the best ways to cool down is to enjoy some of the best ice creams in Bangkok.

2. The Temples Are Unlike Anything Else in Asia

We have visited temples across Asia — in Japan, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Bangkok’s temples occupy their own category. The scale, the colour, the detail and the spiritual atmosphere combine in a way that is genuinely difficult to describe before you have experienced it.

Wat Pho is where we always start. The reclining Buddha — 46 metres long and covered in gold leaf — has to be one of the most extraordinary objects we have ever stood in front of. The temple complex surrounding it is equally impressive, and less crowded than the Grand Palace next door. Go early, before 9 am, and you will have much of it to yourself.

The Grand Palace deserves its reputation. The architecture is overwhelming in the best possible sense — intricate, colourful, impossibly detailed. Allow at least two hours and dress appropriately: shoulders and knees covered. There are sarongs available to hire at the gate if you arrive underprepared.

Wat Arun, on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River, is best seen from the water at dusk when the spires catch the last light. Take the ferry from the Maharaj pier — it costs a few baht and takes two minutes.

One practical note: scams operate around the Grand Palace area. If a well-dressed local approaches you outside the gates and tells you the Palace is closed for a special ceremony, it is not true. The Palace opens every day. Simply walk past and continue to the entrance.

3. It Is One of the World’s Best Stopover Cities

Bangkok sits at the intersection of routes between Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the rest of Asia. Suvarnabhumi Airport is served by Qantas, Thai Airways, Emirates and many other carriers. This makes Bangkok not just a destination but a genuinely useful stopover — one of the few cities in the world where a 12-hour layover is something to look forward to rather than endure.

With a 12-hour stopover, you can comfortably fit in: a hotel rest, a visit to one temple, a proper Thai meal, and a street food wander. In 24 hours, you can do all of that and add the floating markets or a Chao Phraya river cruise. We have done it both ways many times and never felt we were short-changing the city.

If you are flying through and need somewhere to stay near the airport, we recommend the Canalis Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel — reliable transfers, spacious rooms, a pool, and genuinely fast taxi service back to the terminal.

4. The Shopping Is World Class

Bangkok is one of the great shopping cities. What sets it apart from other Asian shopping destinations is the range — from luxury international brands to handmade local crafts to wholesale markets — and the fact that much of it is genuinely affordable.

The Siam area is the epicentre. Central World is one of the largest malls in Southeast Asia. Siam Paragon stocks every luxury brand you can name. Siam Centre and Siam Discovery cater to younger, design-focused shoppers. MBK is five floors of electronics, fashion and goods at market prices. All of them are within ten minutes’ walk of each other.

Terminal 21 on Asok is our favourite mid-range mall. Each floor is themed around a different city — Tokyo, Istanbul, San Francisco — and the food court on the basement level is genuinely one of the best in Bangkok for a quick, cheap, quality meal.

Chatuchak Weekend Market is worth a dedicated half-day. Running every Saturday and Sunday, it is one of the largest outdoor markets in the world — over 15,000 stalls covering everything from vintage clothing to antiques to live plants to street food. Go early (before 10 am), before the heat becomes an issue, wear comfortable shoes, and bring cash.

It is located at 587/10 Kamphaeng Phet 2 Rd, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900.  It is open from 6 am to 6 pm and can be reached on the BTS at Mo Chit station.

Icon Siam, on the Thonburi riverfront, is the most spectacular mall we have visited anywhere in the world. The Sook Siam indoor market on the ground floor replicates a traditional Thai floating market with stalls, canals and food vendors from across the country. Take the BTS to Saphan Taksin and catch the free shuttle boat across.

5. Getting Around Is Easy and Cheap

One of the barriers travellers often cite before their first Bangkok visit is the traffic. The concern is valid — Bangkok road traffic is genuinely among the worst we have encountered anywhere — but it is also largely irrelevant if you know how to move around the city.

The BTS Skytrain is fast, clean, air-conditioned and cheap. A single journey costs between 17 and 59 baht, depending on the distance. It runs from around 6 am to midnight and connects Sukhumvit, Silom, Siam and the Chao Phraya ferry piers. Buy a Rabbit Card on arrival for convenience. 

Grab (the Southeast Asian equivalent of Uber) is reliable, safe and removes the stress of negotiating taxi fares. Download it before you arrive. We use it constantly for journeys the BTS does not cover — particularly to the Old City temples and Chatuchak.

Metered taxis are plentiful and cheap. Always insist on the meter. If a driver refuses, get out and find another. From Sukhumvit to the Grand Palace should cost 80–120 baht, depending on traffic.

Chao Phraya ferries are an underused gem. For 15–30 baht, you get a river crossing with some of the best views in the city, bypassing road traffic entirely. The express boats stop at major piers, including Saphan Taksin (BTS connection), Maharaj (Grand Palace), and Banglamphu (Khao San Road).

6. The Hotels Offer Outstanding Value

Bangkok has some of the best hotel value of any major Asian city. The gap between what you pay and what you get — particularly in the four and five-star categories — is wider here than almost anywhere else we have stayed.

We have reviewed many Bangkok hotels in detail and continue to add new ones. Some highlights from our personal stays:

The Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit is the finest hotel we have stayed at in the city. The Club Millesime lounge, the 9th-floor pool, and the Belga breakfast terrace are all exceptional. The direct walkway to Nana BTS makes it as convenient as it is luxurious.

The Mercure Bangkok Sukhumvit 24 sits three minutes from Phrom Phong BTS and offers one of the best rooftop bar experiences in the mid-range category. Excellent value.

The Arize Hotel Sukhumvit 26 is a property we have returned to multiple times. Consistently reliable, well-located, good pool.

For the full breakdown of where we have stayed and our detailed recommendations across every budget, see our Bangkok hotels guide.

Some of the best family hotels in Bangkok are so affordable for families that what you save on accommodation can be put toward some great family experiences.

Whether you are a backpacker, flashpacker or like to travel in style Bangkok has so much to offer the visitor.

7. The Nightlife Suits Every Style

Bangkok after dark is as varied as Bangkok by day. You do not have to want clubs or bars to enjoy the city at night — though both are available in abundance if you do.

Sukhumvit Soi 11 is the most-visited nightlife strip for international visitors: a concentration of rooftop bars, live music venues and clubs within easy walking distance of Nana BTS. Thong Lo (Soi 55) has a more upscale feel — the bars and restaurants here attract a Thai crowd as much as an international one, and the food options at midnight are exceptional.

Silom offers a different atmosphere again. Patpong — the famous night market — runs down the centre of the road while bars and restaurants line both sides. The area around Silom Soi 4 is known for a welcoming, mixed crowd and stays busy until the early hours.

For rooftop cocktails with a view, the Scarlett restaurant and bar at the Pullman G (37th floor, Silom) is Michelin-recommended and genuinely worth the trip. The view over Bangkok at night from that height is one of the best in the city.

For those who prefer something quieter, Bangkok’s night markets — Rot Fai Market at Ratchada, Asiatique on the riverside — offer a relaxed evening of food, shopping and people-watching that winds down around midnight.

8. It Is an Outstanding Medical and Wellness Destination

This one surprises people who have not been, but it is one of our most consistent reasons for returning. Bangkok is one of the world’s leading medical tourism destinations. The combination of internationally accredited hospitals, highly trained specialists, and costs that are a fraction of Australian or European prices makes it genuinely compelling for planned procedures.

We have used dentists in Bangkok on multiple visits. The quality is excellent — comparable to any private dentist at home — at roughly one-third of the price. Bumrungrad International Hospital in Sukhumvit is one of the most internationally recognised private hospitals in Asia, treating over a million patients a year, including a large proportion from overseas.

The wellness side is equally well-developed. Traditional Thai massage is available everywhere, from luxury spas at five-star hotels to neighbourhood shops charging 300 baht an hour. After a long flight or a heavy day of sightseeing, an hour’s massage is one of the most sensible investments you can make.

9. The Day Trips Are as Good as the City Itself

Bangkok makes an excellent base for day trips. There are some excellent day trips from Bangkok if you can plan to visit the capital longer.

Within two hours of the city, you can be at destinations that, on their own, would justify a visit to Thailand.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is one of the most photographed sights in the country — vendors on narrow wooden boats selling food, fruit and crafts on the canals. Combine it with the Maeklong Railway Market, where the market stalls fold back twice daily to let a train pass through the middle of them — genuinely one of the most surreal things we have seen anywhere in the world. We have written a full guide to visiting both markets in one day.

Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, is 80km north of Bangkok and can be reached by train in just over an hour. The ruined temples and headless Buddha statues spread across the riverside site are genuinely moving — a reminder that Bangkok is a young city by Thai historical standards. One of the popular tours from Bangkok is a visit to the temples with lunch included – book here

Kanchanaburi — home to the Bridge on the River Kwai and the Thailand-Burma Railway — is a more sombre but important day trip for anyone interested in Second World War history. We did this tour on our last visit to Bangkok, we hired a private driver and chose our three places to visit – River Kwai, Death Railway and Hellfire Pass and can highly recommend it. On the return journey, allow extra time if you plan to go out in the evening and have reservations at a restaurant or show, as the traffic can be very heavy. Book here.

10. The People Make It

We have saved the most important reason for last. Bangkok is a city of 10 million people, and in all our visits we have found the Thai approach to strangers — patient, warm, genuinely helpful — to be consistent in a way that stands out.

When we have been lost, people have gone out of their way to help, sometimes walking us to where we needed to be rather than simply pointing. When we have been confused in a market or a restaurant, someone has always stepped in. When we have had small problems at hotels or with transport, the staff have resolved them without fuss.

Bangkok is also an incredibly safe city for tourists. In 8 months of cumulative travel across Thailand since 2013, we have had no serious problems. As in any large city, be sensible — particularly late at night in unfamiliar areas — and you will find Bangkok a welcoming and comfortable place to be.

Travel Outside Bangkok

Are you looking to travel more in Thailand? There are so many Thailand Islands to visit you will need to allow a couple of weeks to enjoy all they have to offer.

Some recommendations are:

Chiang Mai

Phuket

Krabi

Practical Information for visiting Thailand

Do you need a visa for Thailand? Australian, UK, EU, US and most Western passport holders currently receive a visa exemption on arrival for stays up to 60 days. Always check the current rules before travelling, as these can change. Check visa requirements for your passport here.

You must complete a Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) within 3 days before arriving in Thailand. The TDAC is free of charge and must be submitted online through the Thailand Immigration Bureau website. Beware of fake websites charging you a fee for the TDAC.

Entry and exit conditions can change at short notice.  See the official website of the Tourism Authority of Thailand for the latest details about visas, currency, customs and quarantine rules.

Can you drink the water? Drink bottled water only. Ice in restaurants and hotels is made from purified water and is generally safe — we have never had an issue with it.

Is Bangkok safe? Yes. Exercise the same common sense you would in any large city. The main scam to be aware of is around the Grand Palace — if anyone tells you it is closed for a special event, ignore them and walk to the entrance. It is not closed.

What is the best time to visit? November to February is the cool season and the most comfortable time to visit. March to May is hot and humid. June to October is monsoon season — afternoon rain showers are common but rarely last long. Bangkok receives visitors year-round.

How do you get around? BTS Skytrain for Sukhumvit and Silom, Grab for everywhere else, metered taxis from the airport (always insist on the meter), and Chao Phraya ferries for the riverside and Old City temples.

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Top travel tip:

Scams are a fact of life when you travel these days, it happens everywhere, but if you are a first-timer to Bangkok it is better to be forewarned before you travel.

Travel Insurance

Travel is full of unforgettable moments — but sometimes the unexpected happens too. That’s why we always recommend travelling with insurance. Ekta Travel Insurance offers flexible coverage options to help protect your trip, so you can focus on enjoying the adventure ahead.

Which card do you travel with?

I thought I would share a service that I use that I couldn’t live without, not just for running my business but for travelling too.

Wise is an online bank and foreign currency transfer service ( formerly Transferwise) that allows you to have money in 50+ currencies, and convert between them at the real exchange rate whenever you need. It’s free to sign up, and there are no monthly fees.

It comes with an immediate Visa debit card that allows you to make payments and withdrawals wherever you are in the world in over 40 currencies (you get an electronic card immediately and a real card about a week later in the mail). There are lots of great reviews about this – I’ll put a link in comments.

I use the Visa to make all my travel bookings and for spending and I use the account to move currency between US, EU, and AU, at much lower rates than any other service I know of. You can also use the card to access cash at ATMs just like any card.

This is my affiliate link if you want to sign up.

https://wise.com/invite/u/janed143

Time in Thailand

Thailand: GMT + 7

Transport Around Thailand

For transport details in and around Bangkok and Thailand, we use 12goAsia.

More Things to Do in Bangkok

Spend half a day at:

Visit Jim Thompson House & Museum

Jim Thompson was an American Architect who volunteered for the US Army and was sent to Asia. He fell in love with Bangkok and, in particular, the long-neglected cottage industry of the weaving of silk. On his property in Bangkok, he combined six traditional teak buildings, some dating back 2 centuries and came from as far away as the old capital of Ayutthaya.

He opened his house to the public, and the proceeds were donated to Thai charities.

On March 26 1967, Jim Thompson disappeared whilst on a visit to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia.  There are many theories on how and why he disappeared, but his body has never been found.

His silk empire continues to this day, and his exquisite silk products can be found all over the world.

You can now book a tour of Jim Thompson’s House.

• Get to know the man behind the Thai silk industry
• Breathe in the history whilst walking around his traditional Thai house
• Admire the pieces of art and antiques he collected
• Explore the beautiful garden, a sanctuary of peace in the middle of Bangkok
• Relax with return hotel transfers included

Visit Chinatown

Wander through the streets of Chinatown, packed with market stalls, gold shops, clothing shops and a variety of food stalls that will whet your appetite.  Head down at sunset and soak up the atmosphere of local food frying in the streets that will assault your senses.

Chinatown 4-hour Guided Tour

• Sample the unique Chinese food of the region
• Experience the hustle and bustle of the largest Chinatown in the world
• Explore temples, churches and food stalls galore
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Visit Bangkok’s Most Instagrammable Spots and a Half-Day Temple Tour

Have you checked out the latest Bangkok Travel Pass from TagThai?

Final Thoughts

Bangkok is one of those rare cities that works for almost every kind of traveller. It is affordable without feeling cheap, chaotic without feeling unsafe, and endlessly varied without being overwhelming — once you know how to move around it.

What keeps us coming back after 30 years is not any single thing. It is the combination: waking up to a proper Thai breakfast, spending a morning at Wat Pho before the crowds arrive, finding our favourite street food cart still in the same spot on the same soi, and ending the evening on a rooftop watching the city light up below. Bangkok delivers that combination reliably, every time.

If you have never been, go. If you have been once and thought it was too busy or too hot or too much — go again, stay somewhere comfortable, and give it three or four days rather than one or two. The city rewards patience and repeat visits in a way that few destinations do.

We will keep returning. We suspect you will, too.

Our Bangkok Guides

• Where to Stay in Bangkok – Our Favourite Hotels
• Damnoen Saduak Floating Market & Maeklong Railway Market Tour
• Things to Do in Chiang Mai
• Review: Mercure Bangkok Sukhumvit 24
• Review: Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit
• Review: Pullman Bangkok King Power
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