Here’s our top recommendations for visiting Bangkok with the kids in tow!
Bangkok has a vibe! It’s hustle, bustle, history and culture. It’s an assault on the senses! It’s a great hub for arriving, connecting or departing South East Asia. But it’s also a huge metropolis that can feel very overwhelming.
We don’t think it is as family-friendly as the likes of Kuala Lumpur or Singapore but we still recommend a few days to explore if you find yourself in Thailand.
Here’s our favourite things to do in Bangkok with kids – and a few warnings as well!
Lumphini Park
If you have watched any of David Attenborough’s programmes, you may come across the series ‘Asia’ and an episode on how animals have learned to live with humans. This is set in Lumphini Park in Bangkok and is a great place to visit with kids. This huge green space in the city not only offers space for little legs to run freely, but you will 100% spot the monitor lizards wandering around. There are 400 of them in the park and you won’t need to go searching! We spotted our first one within 60 seconds of arriving! They aren’t dangerous to humans and just keep themselves to themselves, but kids (and adults) will enjoy watching them mooch around and swimming in the lake!
There is also a playground and a boating lake (note the lunch break from 1130-1300), various exercise areas and a jogging / cycling track.
Reclining Buddha Temple: Wat Pho
There are a lot of temples in Bangkok – it’s part of it’s beauty and culture! They are stunningly ornate buildings. But, there is such thing as too many temples with kids. Once you’ve seen one, don’t expect them to get excited by another!
We opted for the reclining buddha temple. We’d heard the Grand Palace was insanely busy, and Wat Arun whilst great for kids, was on the other side of the river. We were really pleased with our choice.
Entrance fee is 300 baht (£6) for an adult and kids are free. At the entrance there are two large gongs which naturally peeked the kids attention straight away. Remember to dress appropriately, but if you do have shoulders or legs on show, there are ‘gowns’ you can rent to cover up.
The entrance is right next to the reclining buddha temple and seeing the huge golden head as you walk in mesmerised the kids. They were completely focused for the whole 30 minutes we were in this temple for. There is also a gimmicky activity where you can pick up a pot of coins and put one in each of the 108 pots that run the length of the building (costs 20 baht / 30p). This entertained them as we marvelled at the exquisite paintings and artwork.
Aside from the reclining buddha temple there are many other buildings and areas to explore that you could easily spend a couple of hours there. We spent another 30 minutes or so before the kids had had enough but we felt it was money well spent and all four of us enjoyed it, and we finished on a high!
Take a boat down Chaopraya River
The river in Bangkok is a hive of activity and a boat trip is a great way to see the city. There are several options to do this: take an organised tour boat, take a private tour boat or use the hop on hop off boat. We experienced both the 2nd and 3rd option.
Our private tour boat was an hour trip, picking us up from Maharaj pier and dropping us off at IconSiam. We opted to also have an English speaking guide and so this was not the budget friendly option. It cost £50 for the boat, guide, driver and the 4 of us with Hidden Bangkok Tours. The guide was informative and it was nice to be be able ask questions as we went along. The hour was just the right amount of time for the kids.
Option 3 is the hop on hop off tourist boat where a single fair is 40 baht / 85p. The boat has a set route and there is no audio guide. It’s also a large ‘ferry style’ boat, and not the traditional Thai long boat that we got on our private tour. But you see the same sights and it is convenient for crossing the river and getting from one end to the other.
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
If you are on the hunt for a bit of free fun and art, then you can’t miss the BACC. The building alone is magnificent. It’s closed on Mondays but otherwise open 9am – 8pm every day and is located near Siam Square in the heart of the city. There are independent art shops, art installations and exhibitions over the 9 floors. When we visited the top 2 floors had a brilliant exhibition on as part of Bangkok’s art bienniale event, running until February 2025.
Exiting via the 3rd floor bridge takes you to the spaghetti junction sky train intersection. This plaza is fun to watch the traffic underneath, the sky trains running overhead and on our visit we enjoyed the xmas tree and lights as well!
Children’s Discovery Centre
To the north of the city, and 30 minutes on the sky train, is another free museum for children in Bangkok. The Children’s Discovery Centre is a great thing to do in Bangkok with kids. You need to show your passport for free entry, but there is easily a half day to spend here. There’s interactive exhibits and experiments, an area to build with soft foam blocks, a 4d cinema and games. Outside there is a playground and a splash park which operates 3 times a day. There is a break 1130-1300 and 1400-1500 but there’s so much to do if you miss it, there will be another chance later on. There is also a fossil finding area for dinosaur enthusiasts!
Over the road from the Children’s Discovery Centre is Chakuchat Mall which has a large food court, several coffee shops and of course shopping, so dive in here for air con and food after your day in the centre.
Chakuchat Weekend Market
Next to the Children’s Discovery Centre is the largest market in Bangkok, Chakuchat Weekend Market. It runs Wednesday – Sunday and is not only your usual tourist tat and souvenirs. There is clothing, suitcases, shoes, bags, shirts – in fact most things you could want to buy. Prices are reasonable and negotiation is expected. For achy bodies there are various massage places – all four of us got a massage for 30 minutes for £3 each.
If you time it right, you can spend a whole day in this area by combining a visit to the market with a trip to the Discovery Museum.
Ride in a Tuk Tuk
It’s true – Grab taxis are cheaper and more comfortable! However, nothing is more fun than zooming through the streets of Bangkok in a tuk tuk. They are everywhere, but be prepared to both haggle and still pay over the odds compared to grab. A 15 minute journey will be around 200 baht (but they will start at 400 baht!). Hold on to little ones as there are no seat belts and they are open enclosures, but exciting none-the-less!!
Khaosan Road
Backpackers haven! If you backpacked in your youth, chances are you visited Khaosan Road and it is still where the backpackers flock to today! Be warned however this is not a child friendly place and we made that mistake. Older kids will be ok, but our two were slightly traumatised by the alligator grills – think hog roast or kebab skewer but with an alligator! There’s also various insects on sticks such as scorpions, beetles, cockroaches and spiders……
There are also cannabis stalls along the length of the street and so there is quite a potent smell!! But if you are happy for your kids to see this, there is a good atmosphere, yummy food and great places for people watching over a beer!
Icon Siam
The newest shopping mall in Bangkok is quite the experience – and not necessarily positive depending what you are looking for. The mall itself is undeniably impressive. The architecture is incredible and it offers panoramic views of the river. There is a bar on the 7th floor to enjoy a terrace drink whilst enjoying the city scape.
As well as the huge variety of shops there are several large food courts, loads of restaurants. There is a cinema, an interactive horror experience, an AI exhibition and the largest soft play / trampoline park we have ever seen! However, here’s the warning! Everything is very expensive. The soft play was over £20 per child for 2 hours! Plus there was a fee for adults entering. You can imagine the disappointment on their faces when we told them they couldn’t go in!
Outside the mall is a plaza with a light show, and various sculptures and decorations – some a bit ‘out there’! The hop on hop off boat will drop you off at the Icon Siam jetty so getting here is pretty easy!
Bonus: For November and December visits!
Christmas gets in full-swing in Bangkok and every shopping mall or plaza has a beautiful Christmas tree. However, if you want a full on xmas experience, then head to Central World Mall for a delightful Christmas market. There is food, mulled wine, live music, snow, the coca-cola train, and a monumental xmas tree. This was a really nice way to spend a festive evening in Bangkok!
