Reading the various websites concerning Bangkok I%26#39;ve found the information on the Chao Phraya river boats to be out of date and unreliable. For current, accurate information on routes, schedules and fares, go to the boat company%26#39;s own website as follows:
http://www.chaophrayaboat.co.th/
For anyone intending using the river boats in Bangkok.
This site is just for this one particular company - there are many companies operating various types of boats on the river. There are dinner cruises, water taxis, express boats, tour boats, etc.
For anyone intending using the river boats in Bangkok.
BEWARE of the Chao Praya river scam in Bangkok.
If you take a taxi to the river,the driver will take you to a private jetty which will con you into a 1200 Baht river ride and the taxi driver gets a huge commission.
You need to go to a public pier numbered 1 through 35 and hop on the Baht boats which will charge you 10 Baht,big difference huh!
You can alight at the Grand Palace jetty and it%26#39;s just a short walk to the Grand Palace.When,not if,but when a Thai local tells you that the Grand Palace is closed today,don%26#39;t believe him/her,they will try and take you to another place to receive commissions.
BEWARE!!!
The website I quoted is for the main boat company on the river that runs regular scheduled services throughout the day from public piers at fixed fares available to all. It will take you to most places on the river a tourist would want to visit, very cheaply. You can, of course, hire your own boat on the river from various companies at negotiable rates, but you will pay a great deal more for the privilege.
the Chao Phraya Express Taxi is a little confusing. If you find the right one it is really cheap (about 12 bhat from the Shangri-La to the Grande Palace. Look for the dock with the big numbers. I think it starts with #1 or 2 at the last sky train stop near the shangri-la and goes up from there as you go up the river.
The boats that you want are the ones that fly a yellow or orange flag. They have some seats in the front, but many people standing near the rear. Good luck. It is an adventure...
The BTS terminus is Saphan Taksin on the river. From there it is a short walk to what they call the Central Pier. All scheduled boats call at this pier.
The most useful route is the one where boats fly an ORANGE flag. These boats call at most piers, named and numbered sequentially, (and certainly the ones of most interest to tourists) and run about every 20 mins throughout the daylight hours.
The flat fare to anywhere on this route is 13 baht, buying your ticket at the pier or on the boat. So you can go as far up the river as Nonthaburi (Pier No30) for peanuts if you wish to, but calling en route at Tha Tien and Tha Chang for the Grand Palace.
Providing you know the pier you want and are ready to disembark when your pier is next, there%26#39;s nothing to it really and a great way of sampling the life of Bangkok
Agree with Broadacres, this is a great way to see Bangkok very cheaply. Whenever we visit the Grand Palace we always use this service. A trip up to Nonthaburi is a great way to see life on the river for such a small amount of money.
Just make sure you buy your ticket on board the boat, not at the ticket kiosk otherwise you will end up on a tourist boat.
be careful of the longtail boat shopping scam
one of my first trips i thought I booked a longtail boat tour go upriver
through back cannels and stop at some temples with tour guide evereything was fine until the long tail boat left us at a temple the tour guide then took us across river to a taxi then to a gem stone
store for a tour and shopping. I was not pleased or happy I took the 5 minuet tour then headed out to waiting Van for ride back to my hotel no one asked me if I wanted to go he just took me. then looked sad becasue i didn%26#39;t buy anything.
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