With kids · Bangkok · Thailand
Bangkok with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Terence Ong, CC BY 2.5
Quick answer
Bangkok is easier with children than its traffic suggests: river boats, the skytrain and tuk-tuk rides are adventures in themselves, malls have aquariums and play zones, and Lumphini Park's monitor lizards are a hit. Plan outdoor sightseeing for early morning, keep afternoons for air-conditioned attractions or the hotel pool, and carry plenty of water. Top picks: Chao Phraya Express Boat, Lumphini Park and Museum Siam. Families usually base themselves in Siam and Pathum Wan.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 6
- Best area for families
- Siam and Pathum Wan
- Rainy-day options
- 2
- Busiest months
- December–January
Best things to do with kids
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Experience · Chao Phraya River
1.Chao Phraya Express Boat
Express boats run up and down the river from Sathorn pier, next to BTS Saphan Taksin, stopping at piers for Chinatown, Wat Arun, Wat Pho and the Grand Palace (Tha Chang). It is an inexpensive river tour and often faster than a taxi through the old town's traffic.
Use the regular orange-flag boats rather than tourist boats to save money, and let passengers off before you board.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Iconic
- Photo spot
- Kids
Park · Silom
2.Lumphini Park
The city's central park has a lake with pedal boats, shaded paths and large monitor lizards that roam freely. At dusk, locals jog, play sepak takraw and join outdoor aerobics classes, and everyone stops still when the national anthem plays at 6pm.
Go early in the morning or late afternoon to avoid the heat, and keep a respectful distance from the monitor lizards.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Museum · Rattanakosin
3.Museum Siam
In a colonial-era former ministry building near Wat Pho, Museum Siam uses interactive, playful exhibits to explore what it means to be Thai, from food and festivals to history and language. It is a good introduction to the culture and works well with children.
Arrive or leave by MRT Sanam Chai, whose station hall is decorated like a royal palace.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Waterfront · Thonburi riverside
4.ICONSIAM
This vast riverside mall on the Thonburi bank, opened in 2018, includes SookSiam, an indoor floor of food and craft stalls laid out like a floating market representing Thailand's regions. Its riverfront terrace hosts an evening fountain show, and shuttle boats cross from Sathorn pier.
Eat dinner at SookSiam, then watch the river from the terrace; arrive by shuttle boat or the Gold Line monorail.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Shopping
- Food
- Rainy day
- Free
- Kids
Viewpoint · Silom
5.Mahanakhon SkyWalk
King Power Mahanakhon's pixelated tower rises 314 metres beside BTS Chong Nonsi, and its 78th-floor glass-floored SkyWalk gives a 360-degree view over the city and the river, with a rooftop bar above.
Book a slot shortly before sunset to see the city in daylight and after dark in one visit.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Views
- After dark
- Couples
- Kids
Religious site · Rattanakosin
6.Wat Pho
One of Bangkok's oldest and largest temple complexes holds the 46-metre gold-leafed Reclining Buddha, whose feet are inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and more than a thousand Buddha images in its cloisters and halls. Wat Pho is regarded as the home of traditional Thai massage, and its school still gives treatments on site.
Drop a coin into each of the 108 bronze bowls along the Reclining Buddha's back for luck, then book a massage at the temple's school.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Art
- Architecture
Rainy-day ideas
- Museum Siam — Arrive or leave by MRT Sanam Chai, whose station hall is decorated like a royal palace.
- ICONSIAM — Eat dinner at SookSiam, then watch the river from the terrace; arrive by shuttle boat or the Gold Line monorail.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for shopping, families and first-timers
Siam and Pathum Wan
Around Siam station, where the two BTS lines meet, Siam Paragon, Siam Center, MBK and CentralWorld form a chain of malls linked by skywalks, with the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Jim Thompson House and the Erawan Shrine close by. Hotels here are central and well connected, though the area is dominated by traffic and shopping.
- Good
- Best transport hub in the city; Air-conditioned malls and food courts; Central for everything
- Watch out
- Heavy traffic; Little traditional character
- Nearby
- Siam Paragon, Jim Thompson House, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Erawan Shrine
Family travel tips
- SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World, beneath Siam Paragon, is a reliable option for a rainy or very hot afternoon.
- Pushchairs are hard work on uneven pavements and skytrain stairs; a carrier is easier.
- Children below a set height ride the BTS and MRT free; check the signs at the gates.
- Choose busy street-food stalls with food cooked to order, and carry hand sanitiser.
- A hotel with a pool is close to essential in the hot season; many in Sukhumvit and Siam have one.
Day trips for families
- Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (About 1.5–2 hours by car) — Bangkok's best-known floating market, where vendors in wooden boats sell fruit, noodles and souvenirs along narrow canals.
- Maeklong Railway Market and Amphawa (About 1.5 hours by car) — At Maeklong, market stalls line the railway track and pull back their awnings each time a train passes through.
- Kanchanaburi (About 2.5–3 hours by train or car) — The town on the River Kwai is known for the bridge on the Death Railway, built by Allied prisoners of war and Asian labourers in 1942–43, with war cemeteries and the Thailand–Burma Railway Centre museum.
- Ko Kret (About 1 hour by taxi and ferry) — A small island in the Chao Phraya north of the city, home to a Mon community and its pottery workshops.
- Khao Yai National Park (About 3 hours by car) — Thailand's first national park is part of a UNESCO-listed forest complex of waterfalls, viewpoints and wildlife including gibbons, hornbills and wild elephants.
- Pattaya and Ko Lan (About 2–2.5 hours by bus) — The beach resort south-east of Bangkok is the nearest seaside escape; skip the busy city beach and take the ferry of about 45 minutes to Ko Lan for clearer water and sandy coves.
When to go with children
The best months overall are November–February. December–January are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Bangkok good for kids?
Bangkok is easier with children than its traffic suggests: river boats, the skytrain and tuk-tuk rides are adventures in themselves, malls have aquariums and play zones, and Lumphini Park's monitor lizards are a hit. Plan outdoor sightseeing for early morning, keep afternoons for air-conditioned attractions or the hotel pool, and carry plenty of water.
+What can kids do in Bangkok?
Chao Phraya Express Boat, Lumphini Park, Museum Siam, ICONSIAM and Mahanakhon SkyWalk.
+Where should families stay in Bangkok?
Siam and Pathum Wan: Malls, the skytrain interchange and the city's shopping centre.