Chao Phraya Pier Guide

Quick Links:

• Route Map for the five public lines
• Boat Schedule (operating times/boat frequency)
• Fares
• Tourist Boat Timetable

Nonthaburi (N30)

Reasons to come:

• Nonthaburi, a charming provincial town with old fashioned clock tower, cyclos (bicycle taxis), a clothing market and early 20th Century European-style civic buildings
• Koh Kret, the nearby Mon tribe island and daytripper favourite

Lines: local, orange, yellow, green-yellow, blue 

Kiak Kai (N21)

Reasons to come:

• interesting temple
• short taxi ride from Soi Ari, a hip road popular with the city's arty urban youth
• Krung Thon Bridge 
• River Side Bangkok Hotel

Lines: local, orange

Thewet (N15)

Reasons to come:

• to make merit by releasing fish into the river
• to witness the feeding frenzy as people feed catfish beneath the pier
• to dine at an old wooden restaurant overlooking the river
• to visit the lively wet market beside the canal (walk 100 metres, turn left over footbridge)
• to get to the nearby Royal district of Dusit (Wat Benchamabophit, Dusit Zoo, Vimanmek Mansion, Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall). 

Lines: local, orange, yellow, green-yellow

King Rama VIII Bridge (N14)

Reasons to come:

• to visit Bank of Thailand Museum
• to see up close the King Rama VIII bridge
• for Samsen Road – home to guesthouses and a few decent live music bars
• to dine at Kin Lom Chom Saphan, a relaxed open-air restaurant overlooking the river (Samsen Soi 3)

Lines: local line

Phra Arthit (N13)

Reasons to come:

• Phra Athit Road's tree-shaded atmosphere, hip shophouse boutiques and cafes
• nearby backpacker ghetto Khao San Road (10-minute walk)
• Banglamphu clothing market
• Wat Chana Songkram
• National Art Gallery
• early 20th Century architecture style made popular by King Rama V
• vintage postcards and kooky one-off blouses
• superb Indian food at Roti Mataba, a tiny box of a restaurant
• bohemian coffee shops like Coffee & More, Joy Luck Club or On Art
• chilled out Santiphap Park
• the Phra Sumen fort

Lines: tourist, local, orange

Phra Pin Klao Bridge (N12)

Reasons to come:

• Southern Bus Terminal
• The Royal Barges Museum 

Lines: local, orange, yellow, green-yellow

Wang Lang (N10)

Reasons to come:

• a women's clothing market selling cheap shoes, bags, dress, T-shirts and accessories (popular with teenagers)
• Patravadi Theatre, a riverside playhouse staging traditional/modern performing arts
• Wat Rakhang Khositaram, and ancient Ayutthaya temple with five bells inside
• Siriraj Hospital

Lines: tourist, local, orange, yellow, green-yellow, blue

Maharaj Pier (tourist only pier)

Reasons to come:

• the iconic Grand Palace
• City's most venerable temples, including Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Mahathat
• National Museum, Sanam Luang, the old, oval-shaped Royal park

Lines: tourist

Tha Chang (N9)

Reasons to come:

• a leafy old enclave brimming with atmosphere and King Rama V-era shophouses
• Maharaj Road's pavement market selling everything from used Buddhist amulets and phallic charms to old religious texts and false teeth
• the city's most venerable temples (Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Mahathat)
• the iconic Grand Palace
• National Museum
• Sanam Luang, the old, oval-shaped Royal park
• authentic local food at the pedestrianised market in front of the pier 

Lines: local, orange 

Tha Tien (N8)

Reasons to come:

• Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha)
• cross-river ferry to Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn
• dried seafood market found along a parade of King Rama V-era shophouses 
• restaurants and bars overlooking Wat Arun

Lines: tourist, local, orange 

Rajinee (N7)

Reasons to come:

• Wat Pho or Temple of the Reclining Buddha
• Pak Khlong Talad, Bangkok’s biggest 24-hour flower/fruit market
• Wonderfully shabby and dilapidated old architecture
• Museum of Siam, interactive museum on the history of Thailand 
• Santa Cruz Church, old Portugese Catholic church (cross river ferry required)
• Cafes and bars overlooking Wat Arun 

Lines: local

Memorial Bridge/Saphan Phut (N6)

Reasons to come:

• Saphan Phut Night Market
• King Rama I Monument
• Pak Khlong Talad, Bangkok's biggest 24-hour flower/fruit market (turn left out of pier, walk for 10 minutes)
• Sampeng Lane, a narrow old alley lined with cheap clothes, food and household items
• Pahurat Road/Little India, the Indian enclave famed for its Hindu iconography and fabrics

Lines: tourist, local, orange 

Rachawongs (N5)

Reasons to come:

• Chinatown, one of the city's most evocative and historic enclaves (walk up Ratchawong Road)
• Offbeat shopping: used amulets, Canto pop cassettes, Guan Yin statues, gold, Chinese medical herbs, birds nest soup etc
• Sampeng Lane, a charismatic alley lined with cheap clothes, food and household items (walk up Ratchawong Road)
• Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, a Chinese temple with Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian shrines

Lines: tourist, local, orange, yellow, green-yellow 

Si Phaya (N3)

Reasons to come:

• River City, a modern shopping complex selling pricey antiques
• Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers
• Bustling Charoen Krung Road
• Bangkok Folk Museum

Lines: tourist, local, orange, yellow, green-yellow

Oriental (N1)

Reasons to come:

• the colonial atmospheres and period architecture of the old Western quarter
• the venerable Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok, the perfect place for literary nostalgia and afternoon tea on the Author's Lounge
• OP Place, an upmarket antiques arcade housed in a white period building
• French Embassy

Lines: tourist, local, orange

Sathorn (Central Pier)

Reasons to come:

• Saphan Taksin Skytrain (BTS) Station
• Silom Road
• Sathorn Road
• Eminent Riverside Hotels, including Shangri-La Bangkok and lebua at State Tower
• Shuttle boats to hotels like The Peninsula Bangkok, Millennium Hilton Bangkok, Menam Riverside Hotel, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok and Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa

Lines: tourist, local, orange, yellow, green-yellow, blue 

Wat Worachanyawas (S2) and Wat Rajsingkorn (S3)

Reasons to come:

• low-key temple complexes serving local communities

Lines: local, orange