Bangkok DIY Travel Guide: 2022 Sample Itinerary & Budget

Home to hundreds of Buddhist temples that lures tourists due to its stunning intricate architecture, night market haul of cheap goods and items and a thrilling experience of eating exotic street-foods in the vibrant street of Khaosan are the activities that awaits for you in a 3 days & 2 nights adventure in Bangkok, Thailand! Sounds fun? Here is Bangkok DIY travel guide for you!

Thailand was the last country during my Indochina backpacking trip and I chose to explore 2 beautiful cities in Thailand: (1) Bangkok and (2) Chiang Mai. There are so many things to do here aside from what I’ve mentioned above. Below is a pre-travel guide that contains everything you need to know for a Bangkok trip. Furthermore, you may click here for Chiang Mai travel guide.

Table of Contents

Important Things To Know About Bangkok Thailand

Whenever people talk about Thailand, there are 2 things that usually comes up in their mind. And those are (1) temples and (2) elephants. As time passes by, Bangkok is slowly becoming famous to people for its cheap shopping items in a number of nights markets. Actually, my office-mates keeps telling me to buy them pasalubong in Bangkok because shopping there is cheap.

Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand and is also one of the most in-demand tourist destination in South-East Asia. Continue reading below to know more about Bangkok DIY trip.

Best month to visit

There are 2 seasons in Thailand which are dry and wet season. The best time to visit is when the sun is up and the skies are clear. These are the months between November – May. The rest of the months outside this season are considered wet season.

Manila to Bangkok

Flights from Manila to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) are available with Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines and AirAsia. You may check the fares through the platforms below:

BOOK WITH PHILIPPINE AIRLINES
BOOK WITH CEBU PACIFIC

Siem Reap to Bangkok DIY-way

Land travel from the neighboring countries is also possible. From Siem Reap, you have a choice of booking a direct flight or through land travel. However, booking a flight will cost you more money but if you have extra bucks to spend then you may opt for this. On the other hand, you may check my step-by-step travel guide below on how to travel from Siem Reap to Bangkok.

Crossing Boarders from Siem Reap to Bangkok (Travel Guide)

Chiang Mai to Bangkok DIY-way

From Chiang Mai Arcade Bus Station, there are lots of ticketing counters offering this route goint to Morchit bus station in Bangkok. There are night and day trips available and the travel time takes about 9 hours. Moreover, if you are in a time-sensitive case you may secure your seat with 12GO through the platform below:

BOOK YOUR TICKETS TO CHIANG MAI HERE

How to get around in Bangkok DIY

Getting around Bangkok is the same as how to get around in the Philippines. There are bus, taxis, trains and motorbikes available for transportation. A word of advise, taxis here are very expensive and tourists usually experience taxi scams in Bangkok. The good news is Grab app works here so make sure to download this app to know how to get to one place to the other.

During my trip, I did everything in a DIY-way. I think I only used the Grab app to book a motorbike to transfer me from Morchit to my accommodation located in Khaosan Rd. And then everything is already in a typical Bangkok DIY trip. I rode ferries, bus and trains to get to one place to the other. It’s not really confusing as long as you have internet with you wherever you go.

For more information, below is a helpful link on how to get around Bangkok:

BEST WAYS TO GET AROUND IN BANGKOK

How to go to Wat Arun, Wat Pho and Grand Palace

If you are staying in Khaosan Road, you can walk towards Chao Phraya Express Boat. Purchase your ferry ticket to Wat Arun for only 15THB going to Tha Thien Pier: N8. After exploring Wat Arun, the Wat Pho temple is just across the river. Ride the passenger boat to Wat Pho for only 4THB. To go to Grand Palace, just walk towards it since it’s just beside Wat Pho.

Morchit bus station to Suvarnabhumi Airport

Beside the Morchit bus station is the Bus Stop Port Bus Terminal, ride a bus with the number 138 the drop off at Morchit BTS station. You will see a stair going up with a BTS sign, go upstairs and buy your train ticket going to Phaya Thai Station. Once you arrive in Phaya Thai Station, just follow the sign that says “to Suvarnabhumi Airport” and buy your token to the airport. Total fare that will cost you all in all is 98THB.

Pocket wifi in Bangkok & Other Travel Essentials

If you’re planning to do Bangkok DIY trips for your tour, internet will be your best friend. To tell you honestly, foreigners are having a hard time finding cheap transportation in Bangkok especially that there are lots of taxi scam cases in here. So if you’re traveling on a budget, doing everything the DIY way is the best option. Directions are available on Google. So be sure to purchase your travel essential first.

BUY POCKET WIFI WITH KLOOK HERE

Where to stay? (Discounted Rooms)

I stayed in Yes Kaosan located in Khaosan Rd. For me, this is the perfect location to look for when in Bangkok since it’s just in the main street of Khaosan. This is where you can do night market shopping and try exotic street-foods too. It’s also near the pier that will take you to the temples like Wat Pho, Wat Arun and Grand Palace.

For discounted rooms, book with ZENRooms! Use my code: JOANSFOOTPRINTS to get 15% discount on your stay.

Book discounted rooms with ZENRooms here
Discount code (15%): JOANSFOOTPRINTS

Things to do in Bangkok Thailand

The ideal days to stay in Bangkok is 3 days. You can explore the temples in 1 day and visit the weekend markets and floating market the next day. On your last day, check out other places to see and things to do like checking out Madame Tussauds and the Ocean World. Check out the recommended things to do in Bangkok below!

Visit the 3 Temples (Grand Palace, Wat Pho, What Arun)

Shop cheap items in night markets

Aside from Chatuchak Weekend Market and Khaosan Rd., there are other night markets you can check out in Bangkok too. Here are the list of 10 best night markets to go to when the sun goes down!

Try exotic foods in Khaosan Road

Here is one of the list of things you should try! If you haven’t tried eating an exotic food before, now is probably the best time to do it, lol. (Just kidding, we might want to step back on this challenge due to the current pandemic going on in the world).

khaosan rd — Not an exotic food but this ice cream in a coconut shell is a must try in Khaosan Rd.!

night life in khaosan rd — Beers and night life in Khaosan Rd.

Floating markets

The floating markets are like those of Vietnam’s. Here you can observe the normal life of the locals exchanging goods and products. You can book this trip with Klook below.

BOOK FLOATING MARKET TOUR WITH KLOOK HERE

bangkok floating market — Photo from Klook

Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World

With over 400 sea species and 30,000 fish on display, SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World Aquarium (formerly known as Siam Ocean World) in Bangkok is one of the few in the world where families can spend a few hours without feeling bored.

BOOK OCEAN WORLD WITH KLOOK HERE

Madame Tussauds Bangkok

Pose for photos and hang out with international celebrities at Bangkok’s Madame Tussauds Museum!

BOOK YOUR TICKET FOR MADAME TUSSAUDS HERE

madame tussauds bangkok — Photo from Klook

Watch a Khon Masked Dance

Sample 3 Days & 2 Nights itinerary – Bangkok DIY

Day 0: Fly to Bangkok from MNL
Check in at YES Kaosan in Khaosan Rd.

DAY 1: Temple tour
7:00AM Breakfast
9:00AM Wat Arun
11:00AM Wat Pho
1:00PM Lunch
2:00PM Grand Palace
6:00PM Back in hostel
8:00PM Khaosan Rd. night life, shop items, try exotic food

DAY 2: Weekend market, floating market, Night market
7:00AM Breakfast
8:00AM Floating Market
10:00AM Chatuchak Weekend Market
5:00PM Back to hostel
7:00PM Dinner in Khaosan Rd.

DAY 3: Ocean Life and Madame Tussauds
8:00AM Breakfast
10:00AM Ocean Life
2:00PM Madame Tussauds
7:00PM Fly back to MNL

Help me improve my travel guide! By commenting suggestions in the comment section below, I am very open to new ideas. ?
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