Boat travel in Bangkok

I guess you are talking about boats at Chao Phaya river. Different boats stop at different places. But sure stops are at next to Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel; Oriental Hotel and Saphan Taksin where BTS train station and Shangri la hotel.

Peninsula, Anantara and Millenium Hilton have their own boats for their guests at Saphan Taksin stop.

Dinner cruise going up and down river is at Side of Royal Orchid Sheraton.

But Manohar cruise is with state room to adyuthya city.

There is canal boats at Pratunam all the way to Minburi. Many people take it as it's fast and easy.

If you live in Ekamai and goes to Pratunam, take the boat is better and faster too.

Coming soon will be boats near to future park shopping centre to Nakorn Nayok whereby passing dream world too.

In Bangkok, you have motorbike taxi; trishaws; Tuk Tuk, vans, boat, mini bus, 2 rows pick up truck, tour bus, taxi and bus.

Thanks for the information; great summary.  One other interesting option is local trains, not the BTS but the older rail-network trains.  I know nothing about that, and have only taken sleeper cars to other parts of Thailand, to Chiang Mai and to Nong Kai, beside Vientiane in Laos, and of course they would also run to the South, all the way to Singapore depending on what you arranged.

But local rail is an option, and probably an inexpensive one, which maybe makes more sense for going somewhere not far from Bangkok but not around town, maybe not really set up for commuters.  But then if you're a local and know of a rail line going from where you are to where you want to go why not.

A friend told a funny story about taking a local train that was so lower tier in terms of class there were no seats at all.  It was during a holiday time and the train was crowded, but in spite of that people kept getting on.  He said it eventually got so crowded that as he exhaled and the air left his lungs people around him took up that space and it was more work to breath in again, to reclaim the space.  He finally got off the train somewhere random, not able to take it anymore, and took alternate transportation.

I never sat on a train and don't think I want too. There are cabin types, bunk beds and seats. Those standing one's are like from Patum Thani to Bangjok and vice versa.

The locals know the time and if I'm not wrong is 6 baht only. I know the train stop opposite Don Muang airport as there are many people there as well as Bang sue and Rama V near Chitlada Palace.

The well known luxury train, Oriental Express runs all the way to Singapore. A ticket cost more than a first class air ticket on the same route.

Normal trains go to the Malaysian side then switch to Malaysian train to Singapore. It will take about 2 days journey.

Over crowded train are not only in Thailand but Indonesia and India whereby people cling on at the steps or sitting on top of the train.

During peak hours in Japan, it's pack like sardines in a can. You should see how the Japanese read newspaper in a pack train ;-)

Hong Kong and Singapore trains are pack too during peak hours but Singapore offer free ride if you get on early in the morning to central business district. The trains have bigger and more carriage than Thailand.

Way off topic but I love this subject too.

I loved the sleeper car trips in Thailand, the experience of being in something like a hotel but on rails.  One layout has bunks more in a common area for second class (the train to Nong Kai), like an old Navy ship might have, but even in second class trains to Chiang Mai the layout is small rooms, four persons and four bunks to a room.  The beds convert from seats, so you have the attendant switch it when you are ready and change it back in the morning.

One downside is that the trains to Chiang Mai sometimes derail.  It's hard to imagine what that experience would be like but it must not be as bad as it sounds because people are either almost never killed or have never been killed, per my understanding (not that I'm tracking it closely).

I've been on the Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train, and also the Chinese version from Beijing to Shanghai.  These trains are not only fast but also very modern in design and decoration, not so different than a plane, just a bit roomier.  The Thai trains look like they might be half a century old in design, lots of stainless steel and color patterns you don't see these days.  But they aren't old trains, so they are nice enough, I guess possibly a bit rough for the 4 and 5 star hotel crowd.

bkk tea blog wrote:

Way off topic but I love this subject too.

I loved the sleeper car trips in Thailand, the experience of being in something like a hotel but on rails.  One layout has bunks more in a common area for second class (the train to Nong Kai), like an old Navy ship might have, but even in second class trains to Chiang Mai the layout is small rooms, four persons and four bunks to a room.  The beds convert
from seats, so you have the attendant
switch it when you are ready and
change it back in the morning.

One downside is that the trains to
Chiang Mai sometimes derail.  It's hard
to imagine what that experience would
be like but it must not be as bad as it
sounds because people are either
almost never killed or have never been
killed, per my understanding (not that
I'm tracking it closely).

I've been on the Shinkansen, the
Japanese bullet train, and also the
Chinese version from Beijing to
Shanghai.  These trains are not only fast
but also very modern in design and
decoration, not so different than a plane,
just a bit roomier.  The Thai trains look
like they might be half a century old in
design, lots of stainless steel and color
patterns you don't see these days.  But
they aren't old trains, so they are nice
enough, I guess possibly a bit rough for
the 4 and 5 star hotel crowd.

I have not taken the train in Thailand and never think of it too as I find it slow.

If it's slow, then I prefer to drive as I'm in control. Stop where I like to see and enjoy the place then continue the journey.

While in certain countries, one need to take the train as it's cheaper, faster and comfortable.

For me a night train changes the equation, and being slower isn't such a factor.  It doesn't take that long to fly to Chiang Mai, maybe 2 or 2 1/2 hours, versus something like 10 on the train, but one has to sleep at night either way. 

I guess I also like the experience.  It would be understandable for someone to hate it instead, to not sleep well, to want no part of it.  Or the same could be true of a plane.  Statistically that's a very safe way to travel but you are hanging out up there in the sky.  A friend just mentioned lower range air-fare is around 1200 to Chiang Mai, and a second class train ticket is around 900, or it was a few years ago, so really not that much difference.

The same would apply to the boats right, the original point.  I loved taking one to get around in Bangkok but my wife (who is Thai) hates boats.  Her idea is that a small boat could sink but a large vessel is much safer.  Someone more confident in their swimming might think with a small boat they could just swim to the side of the river but when those bigger boats go down things could go badly, if not from time delay when rescue comes then due to not getting out at all.  At any rate the more significant risk is probably in taking a car, or of course from riding a bike on the roads in Thailand.

Somehow I'm not a train guy as I find it slow. Besides the train derail here, accidents like hit vehicles or humans at crossing etc

I will take fast trains in Japan; China, Europe and USA as safety records are better, newer trains and comfortable.

I even tried the fast 1st Class train from Yokohama to Tokyo to compare with the normal one's. It's nice as good seats and can be turn 180 degrees so as to face someone to talk or dine.

There are big ships sink with lots of people died in South Korea; China; Italy; Indonesia and Philippines.

On small boats, you surface to the top faster and easier. Can clink on to anything that floats. But on big ships, when capsized, the top becomes the bottom while the hull is the top.

I prefer driving compared to train because of freedom to stop and enjoy. I had drove from Bangkok to the Malaysian border twice. Drove to Mae Hong Sot, Chiang Rai etc

It's fun as I can see many things and enjoy food along the way. Traveling on trains in Japan get the chance to taste different bentos at different stations.

I was asking something about safety on a thread here about the Philippines, asking if people really do get kidnapped there (only about 5 or 6 a year), and the subject of road safety came up.  Those trains derailing is scary but statistically not significant since people aren't dying in those accidents (per my understanding--possibly they are).  Of course people really are dying in boats from time to time, because a big boat is a deadly place to be when things go wrong, as Rejoice mentioned.

But car safety is statistically the deadliest thing you can do.  Per stats cited in that threat Thailand is several times over as risky as lots of other places, and somewhere more developed like the US isn't necessarily safe.  Of course safety is relevant; if 5 or 10 or 30 people die per 100,000 in a year as long as you aren't in that low percentage it doesn't matter so much which (and I think those are the real numbers for the safest countries, then a place like the US, then Thailand, respectively).  I've driven to Krabi before from Bangkok and it seems that if you at least avoid driving at night you can reduce your risk here.

I was in just one car accident when I was younger, when the person behind me didn't stop when I turned left, even though I put a signal on and was stopped well before they approached.  They were just dozing at the wheel, or doing something else.  You think that you might be able to do something to stop an accident but things go wrong in a fraction of a second, and it's hard to keep watching everyone in every direction to avoid what they did wrong at the last second.  If that same person made a mistake and drove into the side of my car instead of the back I might have died then.  There's no way to avoid all risks, just best to keep them in mind and try to be safe, and try to keep your own biases in proper perspective.

Last time the wife and i take Airplane from Bangkok (Don Mueang) to CM it cost 900 baht pr ticket.
Flight time is 1 hour 10 min.

For me, around same price for ticket, but only 1h 10m travel time Vs 12 hours even if it is night train, is a easy pick.

I think the last two times I've been to Chiang Mai I've flown, but then the trains derailing made it an easier pick.  At the exact same cost I'd still take the train but that's just me; I like trains.

bkk tea blog wrote:

I think the last two times I've been to Chiang Mai I've flown, but then the trains derailing made it an easier pick.  At the exact same cost I'd still take the train but that's just me; I like trains.

Hats off to you, Mr. Train man. I will be bored.

I do agree with you on road accidents and Thailand has the most road accidents as reported by an organization.

You can see many people talk on phone without hands free set or blue tooth while driving.

Many do not turn on the signal light way before making a turn. Some do it at last minute.

When heavy rain, very few turn on the head lights or the emergency light.

You could not see turning on the left signal light when they stop at the side of road to let a passenger gets off.

Very few car drivers use the rear view mirror while driving. They hog on to the road.

Some drivers cannot parallel park or fear to go shopping centers as they are afraid of the ram since their driving is bad.

I had seen a lady driver gets out of a car and walk to the front of her car to see if there is enough space to go through by going straight.

Ladies doing make up while driving. People eat while driving are common.

Kids without child seat at the front of car.

Kids at the back but not sitting down and stand in between the 2 front seats of car.

No crash helmets while on the bike and whole family on a bike including toddlers and baby.

Prevention is better than cure are not practice in Thailand.

Just do it and accident then cry, regret and sorrow.

Never done that wrote:

Last time the wife and i take Airplane from Bangkok (Don Mueang) to CM it cost 900 baht pr ticket.
Flight time is 1 hour 10 min.

For me, around same price for ticket, but only 1h 10m travel time Vs 12 hours even if it is night train, is a easy pick.

Yes with budget airlines, it's cheap now and faster compare to trains. Pray hard there is no long delay on budget airlines.

I flew only once on budget from Phuket to Bangkok and flight delay was 2 hours excluding flight time and check in time.

I'm not a big fan of budget airlines due to delays, baggage allowance, change of flight days or time etc

I agree with all that about car travel but that list of risks missed food carts on the streets and people drinking and driving, probably the main factor.  It's not legal here but I don't think the penalty is enough to force a reduction in it.  Even in the US where the penalties are relatively severe people still do that, and it still causes accidents and deaths.

The trains have a dining car, and you can get beer there, so it could seem a little like a bar or café rolling through Thailand (just a bit rough, local style).  I wouldn't think of getting on one without some food and a large bottle of Chang, and after a light meal and a little beer it's easier to sleep on a train that rocks around a little bit.  For me I absolutely love it but I guess it's understandable not everyone else would.  For some the air conditioning is a little aggressive, or maybe just inconsistent, so bringing a spare shirt is advisable too.

Back on the subject of boats, one glitch I did run into using ferries is different express boats stopping at different places.  I got on one that didn't stop where I was going so I had to get off and get on another to go back.  It only took an extra 15 or 20 minutes and cost an extra 15 baht so it wasn't a big deal but it's something to consider. 

According to the system identified on the boats there are different color flags identifying different routes but I didn't see the same indication on the pier where you'd actually look before getting on a boat.  The timing is a little tight, like a bus stopping and taking off again, but you could check with the attendant as you get on, you'd just need to do that right away and quickly.  For most boats and stops they take the money on the boat, like a bus, but I did get on one at the main starting point on Sathorn and they sold tickets on the way through.  It occurred to me on the boat I may not be on the right one but I thought that through too late.

Yes trains have a dining carriage and one can have a meal or drink there subject to which country.

All flights were full from Shanghai to Hong Kong for that day. So I had to fly to Guangzhou then hop on to a train to Hong Kong.

The train has a carriage for diners and nice in there. You need to order food from the menu as they will cook for you.

You can't sit there just for drinks as the tables are for diners. At that time (1995) all menus are in Chinese language thus foreigners who can't speak or read Chinese will fact problems.

I guess when one takes the boat regularly, one knows which boat to take. Just like one takes the van at a bus stop because there are vans going different places.

Vans would be much harder.  At least with a boat you are going up-river or down-river, so the worst mistake you could make is to take a boat that skips your stop.  I have no idea how people figure out those van stops.

We also went on a train from Hanoi to Sapa (in Vietnam, of course).  It was pretty much the same thing, train cars with four bunks to a cabin, really pretty nice for what they were, set up well for overnight travel.  For a young child it's pretty much the perfect travel arrangement; the whole thing looks like a play area, and the novelty gets them so excited they don't know what to do.  Our son and daughter even slept better on the trains than in their own beds, probably in part from being so excited then worn out by the travel.  I love trains but the rocking around and rhythmic clicking sounds aren't great for my sleep.

Point A to B are fixed route for the van and it can take 15 passengers max. They can stop at bus stop to pick up passengers if there are empty seats or passenger wish to get off at a particular bus stop.

As I'm not living on the other side of the river thus I hardly take the boat. My first time taking the river cruise with dinner was my very early days here as a green horn tourist.

Another time was the boat was
chartered by a friend who propose to his
girl in a boat on Chao Pharya river with
friends on board plus embassy staff.

Then twice on the boat when the hotel
was known as Marriott Riverside Resort
but now is Anantara Riverside. The boat
belongs to the hotel as I stayed there for
few days on holiday.

Yes kids love trains and In sure they live
it. Besides they will not be bored as
there are space. If on long flight on
planes, they will sure bored. Likewise on
long trip in cars.

They will love cruise ships too as lots of
activities there. Try star cruise as they
have various destinations or cruise to no
where.

Latest news on ferry accident in Philippines.
http://m.bangkokpost.com/latestnews/611124

Hong Kong has the first accident in their ferry 2 years back. Never have they had an accident before.

you two are delivering very good information and thank you for sharing boat / train tourist adventures... Please help coordinate the public river boat starting locationa and round trip
return location including an estimate river travel time schedule...

Most tourist travel thorough Bangkok clutching distorted paper maps, listening to advice of
what taxi drivers deliver with on the street gossip...  wander around as tourist searching for information on the internet such as you have started as a resource for travel plans.

Thank you for sharing all experiences traveling trains, boats, and roads, shared with a
tourist arriving and therefore  starting at either of two airport or just tourist who want to get
away from Phuket or Udon or Pattaya with no private automobile or group charted agents

Please continue revealing, sharing, travel adventures using trains,  boats relevant to Thailand and neighborhood countries.. as we are tourist, on flexible schedules having no interest flying above countries we came to explore and experience using public roads and water transport..

Cheers

The way I found out that information was to search "pier" in Google maps.  since I was already in Bangkok the locations that came up were where I was, but someone else that isn't here would need to search "Bangkok pier."

The piers will all be red dots with names along the Chao Phya river.  You just go there and get on a boat.  Some are major piers that are express stops but you can take boats from any.

Mr Train Man, nice to know point A but one need to know point B. I think It's difficult for tourist who can't speak Thai and don't know which boat to take and how to count the number of stops will sure get lost. Got to do trial & error.

It definitely could be tricky.  If this site allowed me to post screenshots and other pictures I could fill in more information but discussion messages here are just text.

Someone would need good information about where to get on the boat and where to get off, for sure.  It would be very helpful to be able to figure out which boat you are on, identified by different colored flags for different routes.  Some boats stop at every pier, something like 25 piers along the river section beside Bangkok, and others only 10 or 15.  At least the stops are marked by signs, in English and Thai, as train stops always are, so at least it's not a guess which pier you are at.

The easiest way to do it is using Google Maps.  Someone could mark the start and stop point (drop a pin or add a star, Maps is easy to use in a sense but trickier in practice), and related piers and final destination, and monitor where they are at all times.  The other alternative is to do it with a paper map.  Someone could rely on the people working on the boat instead but that wouldn't work using spoken English. 

I overshot the pier I wanted once (got on the express boat, which didn't go to my stop / pier) and had to go back two stops on the "local," and wasted 20 minutes and 15 baht.

All of this is the challenge of travel in a foreign country, when language are an issue.  You can do something easy like use the BTS (sky train), and get help doing it.  Related to difficulties in using the Bangkok city bus system or van shuttles or local train system, just forget it, it's nearly impossible.  The ferries are in the middle, tricky, but it could be done.  With Google Maps to support you (carrying a digital map on your phone that also shows where you are) it's really not that hard, but with only paper maps things could more easily go wrong. 

Absolute worst case is you get off a boat in the wrong place and get in a taxi, and 200 baht gets you across Bangkok, so you've only got $6 and an extra hour or two of your time to risk.

Hi thank you again for river boat travel information... Google did have several options for river boat transportation we selected this link with a map and stop locations, however there is no information
how much time river travel takes, example start to finish then return back to start? The web mentions to use the orange boats as they are scheduled every 30 minutes?

- bangkok.com/attraction-waterway/chao-phraya-river-chao-phraya-river-pier-guide.htm#promo

Can one travel reasonably inside one day with a one hour break for lunch? 

How far is it to the river boat boarding station if we are starting from Bangkok
Victory Square, located West Bangkok and South of the only open Saturday / Sunday
week end bargain market?

Victory Square seems to be a center hub every body know where it is located also near
several famous WAT temples...

Guys this is an interesting topic but some of your information is well out of date:

It is some time now since the train derailing problem in Chiang Mai. This was caused by rotted out wooden sleepers. Many kms of track has now been relayed heading south of CM with welded rail on concrete sleepers. It is smooth, quiet and fast. The work was already completed when I left CM by train in February 2014.

There has been an alcohol ban on all SRT trains since soon after this sad and serious incident a year ago:

http://www.samuitimes.com/sales-alcohol … -old-girl/

So now passengers can't enjoy a beer due to the actions of a member of train staff.

Thailand has the 2nd most dangerous roads in the world.

http://driving-in-thailand.com/thai-roa … the-world/

This explains well which boat stops where on the Chao Phraya:

http://www.thaizer.com/travel-in-thaila … at-routes/

Lancashire Lad wrote:

Guys this is an interesting topic but some of your information is well out of date:

It is some time now since the train derailing problem in Chiang Mai. This was caused by rotted out wooden sleepers. Many kms of track has now been relayed heading south of CM with welded rail on concrete sleepers. It is smooth, quiet and fast. The work was already completed when I left CM by
train in February 2014.

There has been an alcohol ban on all
SRT trains since soon after this sad and
serious incident a year ago:

http://www.samuitimes.com/sales-
alcohol-banned-state-railway-rape-
murder-13-year-old-girl/

So now passengers can't enjoy a beer
due to the actions of a member of train
staff.

Thailand has the 2nd most dangerous
roads in the world.

http://driving-in-thailand.com/thai-roads-
the-second-most-dangerous-in-the-
world/

This explains well which boat stops where on the Chao Phraya:

http://www.thaizer.com/travel-in-
thailand/bangkok-chao-phraya-river-
piers-boat-routes/

I'm not a train fan and have not gone on 1 here thus unable to share anything. All I know are feedback from friend's who had experience taking one.

Neither am I taking the boat at Chao Phaya river as I do not need to. I may take the boat at Saphan Taksin pier to the hotels by the river on the hotel's boat to save time.

I do enjoy driving outside Bangkok so as to enjoy various places along the way. I would make stops to see what the people are selling or buy food and fruits along the way.

Neither will I go on a river cruise dinner as the food served are not authentic Thai because they cater for westerners who can't take spicy food. Besides the cost is high too and can understand as maintaining a boat is not cheap.

I prefer to sit in a nice hotel facing the river and enjoy the food.

Try dining in Jester restaurant in Peninsula hotel and look across the river. You see bright lights of Shangri La and Oriental Hotel.

The view from Peninsula hotel side is different from the view at Shangri-la or Oriental side.

Here is a site link covering lots of transportation summary information in Bangkok, the Express river boats, khlong boats, and also BTS, MRT, and bus information:

http://transitbangkok.com/

The buses in particular are a little tricky but this should help with routine demands, how to commute.  It's set up to say how to get from point A to point B so in theory someone could use it from a phone (assuming it's set up for mobile device access, I guess), but at some point one could always just use a taxi.

@ bkk tea

Which digital map are you talking about? I have google maps installed on iphone but it only works as long as you have Wifi available.Are there any Google apps that you can use offline?

You can always download the map on Google map and use it offline. Please check the procedure of map downloading on the Internet.

My understanding is that you can download google maps for use offline in most countries,  but can't do that while here, it isn't supported.  Of course I don't know if you can download local Bangkok maps while in another country.  That seems odd, and I'm not sure what the inconsistency is about, if it's something the Thai government had a role in restricting.

At any rate you can buy a tourist Sim card at the airport and use local data access here.  I haven't done it here (I live here) but I think it would run about $25, or the same as in many other countries,  just higher than regional countries here. 

Of course there are restrictions related to how your own phone works, related to using different frequencies in different countries,  or only using dedicated sims.  They could explain problems at the booth at the airport where you buy it, where you could also return it.

Even if you buy a lot of data per the plan (2 gig or better) you would still want to keep an eye on use, and change phone settings to not do program updates except on wifi.  If you don't watch how much you usr it's also possible to limit use too much and not use what you buy out of fear of running out.

Google maps is perfect for something like taking boats because it says where you are on the map. The gps should still work if you can get offline maps to work, which may or may not be possible here.

I just checked out Asiatique by boat travel, the shopping area on the river a good bit South of center of the city.  Other than a long queue to take a free boat shuttle from the main Sathorn pier to Asiatique it was nice.  Of course it is just a shopping center, not a mall but an outdoor version.  They have a ferris wheel attraction, like the Singapore Flyer or the one in London, but otherwise shops and restaurants.

Those Express ferry boats seem to be designed for commuting traffic, day-time use, so they end around 6 PM or just after.  If someone visited Asiatique for a dinner there they could still take the free ferry shuttle back to Sathorn but not another local boat to somewhere else.  There is a BTS station there, or there are always taxis, how we travelled back.

I did this free shuttle boat ride yesterday and it was a wonderful experience to see those lit up towers from boat. I visited there to take a boat to khaosan Road or China town but I was told that It was ended at 6.00 PM. I was told to take Bus no 1 to go to Khaosan road. Then I preferred to visit Asiatique river front since boat ride was free. I would go there early in the evening. Let's see.

It's funny that my family, and Thais in general to some extent, are afraid of the boats on the river because of a boat accident however many years back.  Of course eventually two boats are going to crash into each other as decades pass but it doesn't mean boats on that river are unsafe in general.  The boat size of the ferries seems really safe to me, not small enough a crash would likely sink one (a good bit bigger than a bus), but not like those bigger ferry boats where if something goes wrong half the people on it are going to get trapped and die.

I can understand their fears, but those boats are moving tens of thousands of people every single day without incident, so really its a proven safe form of transport. Much safer than a motorbike. However if standing at the back ready to get off when docking you need to hold on tight because sometimes they bump the dock quite hard. They are not an easy boat to manoeuvre especially when the there is a strong current. I respect the skill of the drivers working in that busy river.

Now for some years already the rear (stern) deck is painted yellow & has a roof. You are not  allowed to stand there unless the boat is full or you are about to disembark, but years ago there was no roof or yellow paint. It was great to stand there and take photos and videos over the lower roof of the foredeck.

It is amazing the way they can park those boats at the pier like they do.  They throw a rope over a post to secure it, but pulling in like parallel parking and then using the engine to hold it steady against the current seem like quite a feat, and they just do that over and over. 

Eventually someone would fall in the water doing something stupid, it would seem, since people can manage to get hurt walking down the sidewalk, but since my wife wouldn't read about that in a newspaper it wouldn't end up scaring her.

My family did enjoy the boat once they finally agreed to go on it.  My kids are young (6 and 1) so of course they really loved it.

I also love boat travel. Good thing that local travel is allowed already in Thailand during the Covid-19 pandemic. A lot has been offered with a discounted rate. Got very cheap tickets at FerrySamui which is also open for rebooking. Can't wait to go to Koh Samui and Lanta for that much-needed breather!