We visited Bangkok during a three city tour of Thailand where we also visited Chiang Mai and Phuket. Bangkok was the last stop on our trip. We’ve already heard there isn’t much to do in Bangkok and a day or two is enough time. Here’s how to spend 2 days in Bangkok.
How to Get From Chiang Mai to Bangkok
After we flew Qatar Airways to Thailand we took Air Asia, a local budget airline from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. There are no frills, you have to pay for water, etc. but the flight is only 1hr and the $26 price tag was perfect. Checked baggage is priced by weight ranging from 15kg to 30kg. We only had one checked bag for the whole family that weighed 20kg. My daughters luggage was a carry-on and you are allowed 7kg for each carry-on.
How We Got From the Airport
A private transfer was provided by our Airbnb at no additional charge! The driver was waiting for us with a sign when we came out of baggage claim. This was a great feature as it can sometimes be tricky finding an Airbnb or knowing how to get inside the apartment for the first time. Our driver had the keys and escorted us to our apartment. It was so nice especially since we arrived close to midnight. Here are some tips on getting around Bangkok.
Where To Stay in Bangkok
We rented this for our time in Bangkok which saved us a lot of money and was in a super convenient location. Not only did our Airbnb included airport pickup it also included a portable wifi hotspot so we could connect anywhere we went. New to Airbnb, sign up here and save $40 on your next stay. Don’t be nervous about using Airbnb, here are 8 Tips for a Great Airbnb Experience. Our Airbnb host provided a pack n’ play for Kennedy to sleep in, a high chair, baby tub since the bathroom only had a shower and even a baby blanket. The building also had a small playground with swings, some slides and a pool. Want to stay at the same Airbnb as us, pictured below? Here is the listing.
How to Spend 2 Days in Bangkok
Day One: Day Trip to Ayutthaya
From Bangkok we did a day trip to Ayutthaya which is about an hour outside of the city. There are a lot of expensive group tours but we wanted the freedom to go at our own pace. I researched a few blogs before we left for our trip and the cheapest ways seemed to be by train or minivan. The train was longer as it makes a lot of stops so I decided on the minivan. The drivers charge between 60-70 baht per person, we paid 65 going and 60 coming back. You can catch the minivans at the Mo Chit Bus Terminal. To easier way get to Mo Chit Bus Terminal is taking a taxi from where you are staying. You can also take the train to the Mo Chit train station but you’ll need to take a bus or taxi to the Mo Chit Bus Terminal once you arrive at the train station.
How to Get Around Ayutthaya
We hired a Tuk Tuk for the day at 300 baht per hour. I read that you could negotiate down to 200 baht per hour but 300 was as low as we could get the driver.
Temples to Visit in Ayutthaya
We visited the 5 main temples in the city: Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Wat Lokaya Sutharam, Wat Mahathat, and Wat Phra Si Sanphet. We didn’t even have to tell the driver where we wanted to go, they pretty much know what you are there to see. They have pictures with each temple and it’s name. Once you arrive they will show the picture again so you know which one you are visiting. Ayutthaya is truly magical and it is more than worth the drive if you will be in Bangkok.
Lessons Learned About Taking a Day Trip to Ayutthaya
I thought by taking the minivan and renting a tuk tuk that we would save a ton of money versus doing an organized tour. While it was much cheaper than tour guides taking a private taxi from Bangkok to Ayutthaya would have cost the same as our minivan and tuk tuk driver in Ayutthaya. We could have avoided having to take the train to a taxi to the minivans. We paid 1500 baht for the train, minivan, and tuk tuk driver and the quotes we received from taxi drivers ranged from 1400-1600 baht to have them for the whole day. Now I’m not sure if the Bangkok taxi drivers would know Ayutthaya as well as the tuk tuk drivers based there. We enjoyed the experience of riding around in a tuk tuk but if you prefer AC getting a taxi from Bangkok might be better for your travel style.
Day Two: Don Manora Floating Market, Maeklong Railway Market, Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Wat Arum
We started our day on a guided tour with Tour With Tong. It was a half day tour from 7:30AM-12:30PM to visit the floating market and train markert. Our first stop was to see the Maeklong Railway Market. We were dropped off about half a mile away so we were able to walk through the market stands before getting to the train tracks. When booking the tour for the floating market I actually had no idea it included the train market or that their even was one. I am so happy it did because I liked the train market best, it was so unique in my opinion.
After visiting the Railway Market we went to visit the famous floating markets of Thailand and we chose the Don Manora floating market. When we got there our guide took us to the dock and the the boat operator took us around. Where the floating market currently stands isn’t its original location and he took us to see where that was as well.
After visiting the market we went to the nearby fine china factory where fine china is hand painted. We were able to walk through to see all the workers. It was a really cool process to be able to witness. The workers are amazing at what they do. Of course, there is the opportunity to purchase some items in the store as well if you’d like.
Visiting the Temples in Bangkok
Our tour guide ended up dropping us off to the Grand Palace on the way back to the city as we discovered in the car it closes at 3:30PM. I was so happy she told us that because all the other temples close around 6 so we assumed it did as well. We might have missed it as we planned on having a relaxing lunch when we got back to our Airbnb.
We visited the Wat Pho Temple, which houses the infamous Reclining Buddha, around 5:30PM. This best as most tourists come earlier in the day so we nearly had the place to ourselves.
The main 3 temples are all near each other so you can walk except to Wat Arun. To get there you need to take the ferry across the river, it costs 4 baht per person. The tuk tuk price from the temples to our Airbnb (National Stadium train station) was 200 baht. We had two drivers try to charge us 400 and we stayed firm as we had already gotten a ride their for 200. Thank God because we would have thought 400 was normal. You should negotiate everything here, even if the price sounds low already you can possibly be getting overcharged so make sure to haggle.
We had an amazing 2 days in Bangkok and week in Thailand overall. Our adventure wasn’t quite over, we would have a layover in Singapore on the way home. Singapore is the perfect place for a layover as the country is so small you can do a lot in 12 hours.
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Hi, Love your blog and IG page. I am even more inspired to take my child with me on trips. For this post, I wish you could include the cost of the traveling in american dollars for reference. Like 60 baht is about $2 american dollars. This way when I see 200 baht I can automatically say oh, that’s about $6 or so.
Also, it would be cool if you included how the exchange or access of money works. Are there ATM’s? Can you use american dollars? etc.
Otherwise, great read!