A stay in Bangkok wasn’t exactly high up on our bucket list, but after our night flight to Thailand, we didn’t feel like continuing our journey right away either. So we decided to spend 48 hours in Bangkok – to recover from the flight, shake off the jet lag, and get used to the heat and hustle of Asia. However … we visited during the rainy season, and many of our plans quite fell through because of the monsoon. In the end, we were only active for one full day – so voilà, here’s our 24 hours in Bangkok itinerary for active travelers.
In the morning
We started our day with a bike tour with Co van Kessel. This company was founded years ago by Dutchman Co van Kessel, who was the very first to offer cycling tours in Bangkok. Sadly, Co passed away in 2012, but his legacy lives on, and the company now offers a wide range of different tours.
We joined the Co Classical Tour, which takes you by bike through the real Bangkok. We visited Chinatown, the flower market (the largest in Thailand!), an off-the-beaten-path temple, and cycled through countless narrow alleys. The entire tour lasted about three hours, with several stops along the way, including at a local market.
The tour was well organized and gave us a great first impression of Bangkok’s bustling chaos. Since there’s always a guide cycling in front and another one in the back, you don’t have to worry about getting lost in the maze of alleyways. Water, soft drinks, and snacks were included during the ride. We thought this was a really fun and active way to get to know Bangkok!
You can book this tour via the Co van Kessel website or via GetYourGuide.
In the afternoon: time to visit the temples
After finishing our bike tour with Co van Kessel, we took the boat across the Chao Phraya River to visit the temples. It’s a super fun and quick way to get around Bangkok, and you can easily buy a ticket on board.
We spent our afternoon visiting Wat Pho, the oldest temple in Thailand, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha — a stunning 46 meters long. We wandered around for about an hour, but unfortunately had to wait almost an hour and a half because of heavy rain and thunderstorms. We had planned to visit the Grand Palace right after, but due to the downpour we arrived too late. The palace closes at 3:30 PM, so in hindsight we should have visited it first. We explored this whole area on foot – it’s a great part of Bangkok to walk around.
Tip: From the riverside (about a 10-minute walk from Wat Pho), you’ll have a beautiful view of Wat Arun, where the New Year’s Eve fireworks are held every year. Another nice place to check out nearby is the Yodpiman River Walk, with lots of great little restaurants.
In the evening: Khao San Road
We spent the late afternoon and early evening on the famous Khao San Road, Bangkok’s iconic backpacker street. We got there by tuk-tuk from Wat Pho. Since we visited in the low season and arrived around 4:30 PM while it was still light, it was relatively quiet. There are plenty of cheap food stalls, and you can spend hours just watching all the weird and wonderful things being sold.
We treated ourselves to a Thai massage, then went for dinner on Rambuttri Road, which runs parallel to Khao San Road. We actually preferred Rambuttri Road — it’s cozier, with more trees and terraces, and has a more relaxed vibe. We wanted to go back to Khao San Road later that night to see it after dark, but once again, it started pouring with rain. So we decided to take a Grab (a local taxi app) back to our hotel instead.
Transportation in Bangkok
Because we wanted to experience as many different ways of getting around Bangkok as possible, we used a mix of local transport: the Chao Phraya boat, a tuk-tuk, and a Grab taxi. Here are our tips:
- The boat: It takes a bit of figuring out, but right behind the Coffee Company (next to Co van Kessel) is the correct pier for boats heading to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. You pay in cash on board, so make sure to have some bills on hand!
- The tuk-tuk: This is a relatively expensive way to get around Bangkok, but we just wanted to experience it once. We paid 150 Baht for a 20-minute ride — probably too much, but we were tired from the jet lag and not in the mood for bargaining.
- Grab: This is basically Thailand’s version of Uber. You can pay in cash or link your credit card in the app. Later during our trip, I added my Visa card so everything was automatically charged, which made things a lot easier.
Where to stay in Bangkok
We stayed at the Photohostel, a small-scale accommodation run by a Dutch photographer. Calling it a “hostel” doesn’t really do it justice — we had an excellent double room on the top floor with a private bathroom.
Photohostel is located in the Talat Noi area, which is part of Chinatown. There’s a cozy café downstairs, and you’ll find countless food stalls and restaurants in the surrounding streets. From here, it was about a 15-minute walk to Co van Kessel, where we started our day.
Check availability and prices for Photohostel here.
Check availability and prices for all other Bangkok accommodations here.
Conclusion
Let me be honest. We were quite glad when we left Bangkok behind. It’s a giant city and when you enjoy cities, you’ll probably love it. We’re more into small towns and nature and so two nights turned out tobe more than enough for us.
I hope you enjoyed reading our 24 hours in Bangkok itinerary. Let us know if you have any comments or suggestions!
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