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A Brief Guide to Bangkok’s Boats and Ferries
Many people are aware of the fact that Bangkok was once known as the “Venice of the East”. This moniker was due to its network of canals that served as the main form of transportation before roads were developed in the city.
What may not be so well-known in the modern world though is that water transport still plays a rather important role in Bangkok. The canal network, although vastly reduced from days gone by, is still fully in effect. And of course the city is situated right next to the Chao Phraya River.
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Maybe you like a bit of authenticity. Maybe you don’t really fancy the idea of packing into a crowded, over-priced and uncomfortable BTS sky train, or sitting in hours of traffic on congested roads. If this is the case, then one of the most fun ways of exploring the waterways of Thai capital is jumping on a river or canal boat.
If you are visiting Bangkok and decide to stay somewhere in the region of the riverside area near the Old Town side of the city – then boats are a great way to get around.
There are many sights and historical monuments to see in this particular area of Bangkok by way of temples and architecture, as well as some great views. There are a couple of different types of boats along the river, with the Express River Boats being the main one.
These boats run up and down the Chao Phraya River, and also provide a connection to the local areas of the Thonburi side. They are also a useful way for many people to get into the central parts of the city. There are also ferries that provide a means of crossing the river at various points.
The Chao Phraya Express Boat Company is the main organisation operating the boats – also known as ‘river taxis’— and it runs different ‘lines’ with various directions and stops on them. One of them (identifiable by its blue flag) is simply a ‘tourist boat’ which is the best option for anyone wanting to stop off at all the well-known spots such as Wat Arun and the Grand Palace etc.
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There are various piers along the river with both Thai and English signs on them, so they are not that difficult to use. One of the aims of this post is to go into a little more detail on the riverboats, including ferries.
But if you want to venture in and around other areas of the city, the canal boats are also a very quick and cheap option often overlooked by many visitors to Bangkok. It’s true that the canals (Khlongs) are not ranked among the cleanest in the world, which is one of the reasons why some locals won’t entertain the idea of them.
But if you are looking for authentic Bangkok experience then try a canal boat at least once. They can be a great way for seeing a different aspect of the city entirely than you are likely to from either the sky train or subway routes.
Images by Deror Avi sourced from wikimedia commons
So without further ado, let’s take a deeper delve into some of the useful things to know about the various types of boats in operation in Bangkok.
Express Boat River Taxis
The Chao Phraya River piers in operation for the main Chao Phraya Express Boat service are clearly marked in English. There are over 40 of these piers along the Chao Phraya River though, so it pays to do a little background working before using them.
The main hub of the river boats I Bangkok is based around the Central Pier. It is called Sathorn Pier, although it is also known as Taksin Bridge Pier. The pier is one of the most conveniently-located and easy to use as it connects with the BTS service at the Saphan Taksin stop.
The Chao Phraya River piers have numbers, which is another way of identifying them aside from their name. The piers heading in a northern direction from the central hub are also marked with an ‘N’ and a number.
The same applies to the piers heading southward of the central hub, in that they carry an ‘S’ and a number.
It has been reported that some of the piers added in recent years don’t have any numbers and are thus known only by name. This is something to look out for and is just one of those things.
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The line featuring the list of Chao Phraya Express Boat piers runs from the South to the North and will have details such as this:
- Asiatique The Riverfront Pier – open-air shopping mall
- S3 / Wat Rajsingkorn Pier
- S2 / Wat Worachanyawas Pier
- S1 /Wat Sawetachat Pier
- Central Pier / Sathorn Pier – connection with BTS Saphan Taksin station
- N1 / Oriental Pier
- N2 / Wat Muang Kae Pier
- N3 / Si Phraya Pier – starting point of
- ICONSIAM Pier – the newest shopping mall ICONSIAM
This is just an excerpt of the details of the line (with its 40-odd stops in total) to give some indication of how the names and numbers run. You can see from this how the newer piers for the malls Asiatique and Iconsiam don’t have numbers.
If that sounds simple enough, then next we need to consider that there are actually 5 different types of river express boats operating along the river (although they all belong to the Chao Phraya Express Boat company).
The different types of boats are identifiable by their coloured flag, which is either blue, orange, yellow, or green. So the thing to know here is that boats with various flag colours stop at different piers along the way.
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The Chao Phraya Express Boat routes are as follows:
Boats with no flag (local line): This boat stops at every pier. It runs from Monday to Friday between 6am and 6.30pm, with a cost of around 10-20 baht. The fares depend on distance and usually go up in increments of odd numbers like 9, 11, and 13 baht. It stops at every pier from Wat Rajsingkorn (Pier S1) in the South, all the way up to Nonthaburi (Pier N30) in the North.
Departures are scheduled every 20 minutes, and as with all types of boat in Bangkok, you pay either at the ticket kiosk or directly to the staff on the boat.
Boats with Blue Flag (Tourist Boat): This one stops at various points o you can get off where you want. It runs every day from 9am to 7pm and costs around 50 baht per trip, but you can get a day pass which is probably a better option at around 150 baht and provides unlimited trips.
This boat runs between Nonthaburi and Sathorn Central Pier from 7am to 6.30pm. As this is a tourist boat you will hear English-speaking staff calling the stops over a microphone, and they may even point out some of the sights. If you don’t make your intention to hop off known and there are no passengers to get on the boat at the pier it won’t stop.
Orange Flag: This boat operates between Wat Rajsinkorn (Pier S3) and Nonthaburi (Pier N 30), and stops at the main piers. It operates daily from 5.45am to 7pm and costs around 15 baht per trip.
Yellow Flag: This service features one of the larger express boats (like the Tourist Boat) that commuters use to get to and from the city. It runs largely between what might be termed rush hours as it can accommodate more passengers on. This type of boat is also faster and has better quality seats.
The yellow flag boat stops only at a designated 10 piers as it’s an express boat that runs mainly for the purpose of servicing commuters going to work from the northern outskirts of the city. It operates Monday to Friday between 6.15am to 7am and then again from 4.45pm to 8pm and costs around 20-30 baht per trip.
Green Flag: This boat is another Express Boat for commuters and is the only one with a route that runs all the way up to the northernmost pier (Pakkret,33). Boats like this one with a green flag stop at 13 out of 33 piers.
This boat is also used by passengers heading up to Bangkok’s ‘island in the city’ Koh Kret for the day as it is the fastest option. The main purpose of the route is to service commuters going to and from work from the northern outskirts of Bangkok.
It runs s Monday–Friday between 6.00am and 08.00am and again later on from 4.00pm to 6.00pm, costing somewhere between 15 and 30 baht per trip, again with the fare depending on the distance and usually rising in increments of odd numbers like 13, 15, 18 etc.
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At the Pier
It may sound like a no-brainer, but when the boat arrives at the pier, make sure that it’s going into the right direction. This is actually because the boats going in both directions use the same pier. Usually you’ll wait in a queue and board the boat once the arriving passengers have disembarked.
The entry and exit point of the boat is one and the same and is at the rear, so obviously you should move towards the front of the boat (unless you want to get off at the next stop). You should try and make your way towards the back of the boat again when you are approaching your stop.
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River-Crossing Ferries
The ferries are easily-identifiable in that they are much simpler looking affairs than the riverboat taxis, looking more like a raft with a roof by comparison.
They operate at 32 different crossing points, with the simple task of transporting people from one side of the river to the other. A trip costs around 3 baht on one of these boats, and you’ll find some of the most-used ferries for tourists are at the crossing between the two landmark Bangkok temples, Wat Pho and Wat Arun at Tha Tien Pier.
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The Chao Phraya Express Boat services work in tandem with Bangkok’s river crossing services, which are available at most of the main piers to allow crossing to the opposite bank of the river.
River Cruise Boats
The boats that are involved in cruises are not public transport options, but rather privately-operated trips. Different operators offer different experiences and options, whether it includes a buffet dinner, a band, a DJ, or a candlelit 6-course meal is largely your choice.
Image by Preecha MJ sourced from wikimedia commons
River cruises are popular and romantic ways for many visitors to Bangkok to experience either the daytime of the evening from the water, and dinner cruises are common.
The boats will typically follow some or all of the same routes as the river taxis and often begin somewhere in the region of the River City Shopping Complex before heading upstream to take in some of Bangkok’s most iconic tourist sites.
Image by Wolfgang Holzem sourced from wiki media commons
Canal Boats
The canal boats are a completely different type of vessel to the river boats and are more suited to chugging up and down the less turbulent, but somewhat more polluted Bangkok canal network system. (For more info on the piers and stops check out one of our previous posts on the some of the best Canal Boat stops in Bangkok.)
They are quite large, pretty loud, and probably not that environmentally-friendly, but you’ll find plenty of them making their way up and down Bangkok’s many canals from early morning until early evening.
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The largest and best-known canal in Bangkok is the Saen Seab Canal, which stretches from the regions of the Old Town in the western regions of the city to Ramkamheng on the far eastern side.
Canal taxi boats are the only vessels using of this long stretch of water, and the frequency that they run at varies over the course of day. Usually it is somewhere in the region of , 5 to 20 minutes between vessels, and a trip will set you back by around 10 baht and 20 baht according to distance.
The canal boats are an important transport link for many office workers travelling from downtown Bangkok to the eastern suburbs, and especially those who neither live close to BTS or MRT lines, nor can afford them. Seating is a bit harder to come by at rush-hour early morning peaks, but taking a trip on a Bangkok canal boat certainly offers an authentic insight into local life.
