Taking one of Bangkok river cruises is an experience recommended for every first time visitor to the capital of Thailand. On such a cruise, you can see the most important landmarks of the city from a different point of view, while enjoying local and international dishes. Let’s check, how to choose the best Bangkok River Cruise for your trip.
Things to Consider when Choosing Bangkok River Cruise
The selection of Chao Phraya River cruises is wide as there are dozens of cruise boats serving guests, who want to experience Bangkok in a special way. To make sure that your choice corresponds well with your preferences, you should take several things into consideration. The most important things to consider when choosing a Bangkok river cruise are the following:
- Type of cruise
- Luxury of cruise boat
- Cruising time
- Cruising duration
- Price of the cruise
- Departure pier
- Food
- Drinks
- Entertainment
- Seating
Each of these aspects are briefly described below.
1. Type of Bangkok River Cruise
The majority of dinner cruises on the Chao Phraya River are provided by large cruise boats that are serving buffet dinner. It’s the most affordable option, which is very popular with independent travellers as well as tour groups. Therefore, it can get quite crowded.
If you want more romantic atmosphere and prefer higher-class dining experience, choose one of Bangkok dinner cruises serving set dinner on smaller boats, such as Saffron Cruise or Manohra Cruise.
In case you are not into dining but still want to spend an evening on the waves of the Chao Phraya River, get on Yodsiam Sightseeing Boat, which is one and the only party boat in Bangkok offering unlimited beers and soft drinks with all kinds of light snacks.
2. Bangkok River Cruise Boat
While most Bangkok river cruises present themselves as luxurious, the luxury level of the boats and the environment on them is quite different. Therefore, if you are looking for the best experience, choose one of the higher-end cruise boats. You can read reviews found in the cruise descriptions via the links provided below. In most cases, the price of the cruise corresponds quite well with the luxury of the cruise boat and the level of the service.
The Opulence is widely considered the most luxurious Bangkok river cruise between the cruises, serving buffet dinner.
3. Cruising Time
You can normally choose from two Bangkok river cruise time options:
- Sunset cruise
- Dinner cruise
Dinner cruise is the most common option that is offered by all cruise boats. Such a cruise normally starts around 19:00 and ends around 21:00. On such a cruise you can enjoy the night view of the city with its most important landmarks being nicely lit up.
In addition to the usual dinner cruise, some of the companies are also offering the earlier sunset cruise option. Such a cruise normally starts around 17:00 and ends around 19:00 or a bit earlier, meaning that you are boarding the boat in the daylight and it gets dark on the way back. This option is normally cheaper and is especially suitable for travellers with kids. However, the lower price usually comes with a shorter duration (quite often sunset cruises last only 1.5 hours), smaller selection of meals, and more limited entertainment.
Popular Bangkok river cruises that are offering both, sunset and dinner cruise options:
4. Cruising Duration
Standard Bangkok dinner cruise duration is 2 hours. However, some of the sunset cruise options are shorter than that.
The longest cruise duration (3 hours) is currently offered by Saffron Cruise
On special occasions, the cruises are offering longer programs with the longest ones on New Year’s Eve extending even up to 5 hours.
5. Price of Bangkok River Cruise
As a rule, absolute majority of Bangkok river cruises offer significant discounts for advanced bookings online. The best offers for a wide selection of Chao Phraya River cruises can be found here:
Top Bangkok Sightseeing cruises
To get the best deal, compare cruise offers on both websites.
By online price, Bangkok river cruises can basically be divided into 3 groups:
- High-end dinner cruises with a price of more than 2,000 THB
- Mid-range dinner cruises with a price between 1,000 THB and 2,000 THB
- Affordable dinner cruises with a price under 1,000 THB
Cruises for more than 2,000 THB
The high-end Bangkok river cruises are the ones offering set dinner menu for a limited number of guests. Such a cruise normally costs around 3,000 THB without drinks.
Sadly, our favorite high-end dinner cruise Loy Nava didn’t survive during pandemic, so now you can only choose one of the cruises operated by luxury Bangkok hotels, such as:
Saffron Cruise operated by one of the leading 5-star hotels in Bangkok, Banyan Tree Hotel
Manohra Cruise operated by a 5-star hotel on the Chao Phraya River, Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort
Cruises for 1,000-2,000 THB
The selection of mid-range dinner cruises in Bangkok is much wider, as all the buffet dinner cruises with a touch of luxury fall into this range. While technically almost all buffet dinner cruises fall into this range due to their walk-in price, below we only include the cruises that can’t be booked for under 1,000 THB even with advanced online bookings. The best-rated mid-range Bangkok river cruises are the following:
The Opulence Dinner Cruise – the most luxurious buffet dinner cruise for around 1,800 THB
The Luxury White Dinner Cruise – the newest addition to the Chao Phraya River cruise scene that can be booked for around 1,300-1,500 THB, which also includes free-flow beer and wine!
Chao Phraya Princess Cruise – the most popular Bangkok river cruise, offering dinner cruise for around 1,200 THB with online booking (less for the sunset cruise)
Chao Phraya Cruise – well-rated dinner cruise that should cost you around 1,200 THB with advance booking
Wonderful Pearl Cruise – is one of the most pricey buffet dinner cruises, as it costs around 1,800 THB and the price is justified by unique to this market segment jazz performances
Cruises for under 1,000 THB
Affordable dinner cruises in Bangkok let you enjoy the experience for under 1,000 THB with online booking. Some of the most popular budget Bangkok river cruises in this price range:
White Orchid River Cruise – our favorite dinner cruise in this price range, as despite charging less than 1,000 THB for a dinner cruise (less for a sunset cruise) they are also offering free-flow beer, which helps you save a lot, in case you like to have a glass of beer with your meal
Meridian Cruise – another great option if you want to experience Chao Phraya River dinner cruise on a budget, as it’s possible to find dinner cruise offers online for under 900 THB with sunset cruise being even cheaper than this
Royal Princess Cruise – the most popular option between the cruises that can fit in 1,000 THB price range with a dinner cruise (just like others, they charge less for sunset cruise)
Alangka Cruise – a well-rated dinner cruise that with advance online booking costs just under 1,000 THB
Smile Riverside Cruise – Bangkok river cruise that can cost under 1,000 THB, if only you know, where to book it (check the link)
While the price of the cruise usually corresponds quite well with the level of the boat and the quality of food provided, there are several cruises that charge extra money putting them in the mid-range pricing zone but fail to offer better quality than cheaper alternatives. To avoid them, make sure to read some reviews for getting an idea of what can be expected.
6. Bangkok River Cruise Departure Pier
There are several piers on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok for boarding the dinner cruise. Choose the cruise that departs from the pier that is more convenient for you, as getting there from your hotel on time can be complicated. People missing out on boarding the cruise due to being stuck in the traffic is not as rare, as you might think.
Asiatique The Riverfront Pier
Asiatique The Riverfront Pier is one of the busiest cruise piers in Bangkok. There you can board:
Grand Chao Phraya Dinner Cruise
To reach it, you will need to take a taxi or use a combination of BTS SkyTrain (Saphan Taksin Station) and the Asiatique free shuttle boat departing from Sathorn Pier.
To take the hassle of traveling away, stay at one of the hotels nearby Asiatique, such as Ramada Plaza Bangkok Menam Riverside, Hotel Once Bangkok, or The Salil Hotel Riverside Bangkok.
ICONSIAM Pier
ICONSIAM Pier is another popular Bangkok river cruise departure point. There you can board:
The Luxury White Dinner Cruise
For getting to ICONSIAM, you can take an ICONSIAM shuttle boat from Si Phraya Pier, CAT Telecom Pier or Sathorn Pier. Sathorn Pier can be reached by BTS as it’s located next to Saphan Taksin Station. Another option is taking BTS to Krung Thonburi Station and then transferring to Gold Line Train, which takes you right to ICONSIAM.
There are also several well-rated hotels next to the shopping mall, such as Millennium Hilton Bangkok, Hilton Garden Inn Bangkok Riverside, and an affordable FOODOTEL Hotel.
River City Pier
River City Pier is another option for boarding the Bangkok river cruise. This pier is used by the following cruises:
River Star Princess Chao Phraya Cruise
This cruise departure pier is the most convenient option if you are staying in Bangkok Chinatown.
To get there, you can take BTS to Saphan Taksin Station and then take the Chao Phraya Express Boat (Yellow, Orange, and Green Flag) from the nearby Sathorn Pier to Si Phraya Pier. Another option is taking Bangkok MRT to Hua Lamphong Station and getting to the River City Pier from there on a short taxi or tuk-tuk ride.
For the ultimate convenience, stay at the nearby Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel.
Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort Pier
To board Manohra Cruise, you need to get to the pier of the hotel operating it. Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort is located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River.
The resort can be reached by taking BTS skytrain to Saphan Taksin station. From the nearby Sathorn Pier, you can catch hotel’s complimentary shuttle boat, which departs every 20 minutes.
Riverside Bangkok Hotel Pier
Riverside Bangkok Hotel, located on another side of the Chao Phraya River, is the place, where you can board Riverside Dinner Cruise.
The nearest to the hotel train station is Sirindhorn Station on MRT Blue Line. From there, you need to walk for about 1 km to get to the pier.
Terminal 21 Rama 3 Pier
Some of the cruises started to depart from a bit more remote Terminal 21 Rama 3 Pier, which is currently serving Chao Phraya Princess Cruise (Indian buffet option). On New Year’s Eve, this pier is used by a higher number of dinner cruises, as some of them are moved there from ICONSIAM.
Terminal 21 Rama 3 is a shopping mall, located far from the city center with no city train lines passing nearby. Therefore, the only reasonable way to get there is by taking a Bangkok taxi.
To make things easier, you can stay at the nearby Montien Riverside Hotel.
7. Food
As it was mentioned above, only a couple of cruises are offering set menu dinner for a special dining experience on the Chao Phraya River, which is quite pricey.
Majority of Bangkok river cruises serve a buffet with a combination of Thai and international dishes. The advertised seafood usually is limited to grilled prawns and mussels. More luxurious cruises are offering a slightly wider choice and higher quality of food.
To get an idea about the selection and quality of food, read the reviews. However, actual menus are updated from time to time, they might also depend on the availability of ingredients, and can be different for sunset and dinner cruise.
Sample dinner cruise menu (actual dinner cruise menu of the popular Chao Phraya Princess Cruise):
Appetizer
- Spicy Papaya Salad (Som Tum Thai)
- Spicy Mix Seafood with Glass Vermicelli
- Thai Spicy Minced Chicken Salad
- Kimchi
- Hawaiian Style Salad
Salad Bar
Soup
- Tom Yum Kung
- Truffle Soup
Japanese Corner
- Sashimi
- Assorted Sushi Rolls
Seafood Corner
- River Prawns
- New Zealand Mussels
Thai Signature Dishes
- Stir-Fried Noodle with Shrimp
- Chicken Massaman Curry
Main Dishes
- Tenderloin Steak with Gravy Sauce
- Baked Spinach with Cheese
- Salmon Steak with Cream Lemon Butter Sauce
- Penne
- Mushroom Cream Sauce
- Stir-Fried Seafood in Yellow Curry
- Grilled Lemongrass Chicken
- Stir-Fried Broccoli with Mushroom
- Deep-Fried Fish Cake
- French Fries
- Garlic Bread
- Fried Rice with Eggs
- Steamed Rice
Dessert
- Assorted Mix Fruit
- Thai Lod Chong with Syrup and Coconut Milk
- Panna Cotta
- Cold Crepe
- Fusion Mamon Cake
- Toffee Cake
- Berry Cheese Cake
- Chocolate Mousse
- Crème Brûlèe
- Coffee & Tea
You can find the menu and read reviews of each cruise via the links provided here: Best Bangkok River Cruises.
8. Drinks
Normally, dinner cruise offers include only a welcome drink (usually just a small glass of juice or mocktail), drinking water, coffee, and tea. All other drinks need to be purchased on board.
Some of cruises, such as Meridian Cruise, include soft drinks.
The exceptional ones, such as this White Orchid Chao Phraya Dinner Cruise, also include free-flow draft beer, enhancing the experience for beer lovers.
The most generous drink options are currently offered by the newly opened Luxury White Dinner Cruise , which includes soft drinks, draft beer, and even wine (red or white)!
9. Entertainment
All Bangkok river cruises are offering live music on board. Some of them also extend the program with other performances, such as a Thai classical dance, Khon Show performance, or even cabaret show.
One of the most extensive entertainment programs is offered by the newly-opened Luxury White Dinner Cruise, where you can enjoy live music, cabaret show and Thai classical dance performance.
10. Seating
The cruise boats operating on the Chao Phraya River normally have 2 or 3 levels that offer a combination of closed air-conditioned and open-air seating options. Some of them might have different pricing for specific levels, with the most popular upper deck seating being slightly more expensive. However, such a practice is more common for cruises on special occasions, such as New Year’s Eve cruise or Loy Krathong cruise.
If the cruise has single pricing and you would like to be seated on the specific level, make a special request at the time of booking. Even if the seating is not guaranteed, there’s a high chance that they will take your request into consideration.
Bangkok River Cruise List
The extended list of the most popular Chao Phraya River cruises can be found here: Bangkok River Cruises.
