Grand Palace in Bangkok Tickets and Tours

Some of the best things to see and do in Bangkok are the Buddhist monuments and temples throughout the city. The royal palaces belonging to the Thai monarchy are also recommended. That's why I advise you to visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok no matter how long your trip lasts.

The Bangkok Grand Palace complex of buildings is a must-see on your visit to the city, as it is the most important monument in Thailand. Its impressive architecture leaves no one indifferent, as does its Emerald Buddha or the Wat Phra Kaew Buddhist temple inside.

If you wish to buy tickets to the Bangkok Grand Palace, there are two options available to you. The first one is the most convenient of them all and it is a tour of Bangkok with a guided visit to the Grand Palace through a website such as Hellotickets. This option is recommended because it offers you benefits such as a purchase several weeks or even months in advance and you can also find out the opinions of other tourists who have paid for the tickets you are interested in.

The next option you have at your disposal is to buy the ticket directly at the ticket office of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. This option is recommended if you intend to visit this place without having planned a specific date and time. It is also advisable if your plans change while you are in the historic centre of Bangkok and you take advantage of the fact that you will be in the area to tour the site during the time that has been freed up in your itinerary.

However, online booking is still a better way to buy tickets for the Bangkok Grand Palace. Especially since they offer guided tours that take you within the same itinerary to several of Bangkok' s best temples. This means that for a single fee you can enjoy a safe means of transport as well as a guide who specialises in the history of the city.

The price of tickets to the Bangkok Grand Palace varies depending on the benefits you wish to enjoy during your visit. A single, conventional ticket costs around 15 euros, while a guided tour of both the palace and Wat Phra Kaew Temple usually costs around 55 euros per person. Keep in mind that such guided tour tickets also include a transfer to and from your hotel.

There are also tickets that offer the same guided tour of the Royal Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew temple on a private basis, which is ideal if you're interested in a more exclusive tour. This type of ticket costs around 65 euros per person.

There is a third alternative for tickets to the Grand Palace in Bangkok and this is a tour that usually lasts half a day. In this case you would go to both the Royal Grand Palace and other major Buddhist temples in the city. Wat Arun and Wat Saket are some of them. These rates are around 90 euros per person, but include transport between all the attractions and a guide who will accompany you to all the sites you visit.

If you want to complement these tickets with other tourist experiences that are also affordable, I recommend you take part in one of the best boat tours in Bangkok. Especially since the Royal Grand Palace is just a couple of metres away from one of the most important piers on the Chao Phraya River.

The entrance tickets to the Grand Palace Bangkok are included in a tourist pass of the city called Go City. If you want to buy it you have the alternative to pay different rates depending on the duration of the service, as it is available for 1,2,3,4 and up to 7 days.

However, you should bear in mind that it is not a recommendable investment if you are interested in visiting the main historical attractions of the city, as the pass focuses on more modern activities such as bicycle or tuktuk tours. Access to water parks or some of the best day trips from Bangkok are also good examples of this.

Also, the Grand Palace tickets included in this tourist pass do not give you a guided tour, but simply allow you to enter the building without having to queue. That means you would only be paying a slightly lower price for this palace in an overall price tag that easily exceeds 120 euros per person.

Thais who choose to visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok will enjoy tickets that are completely free of charge. This is as long as they are purchased at the palace ticket office or on the official website of this site.

On the other hand, you should know that tickets purchased directly at the ticket office are significantly cheaper than those purchased online. In this case the price is around €15 per person, although it all depends on the current exchange rate between the Thai currency and the Euro.

Another very important thing you should also know about the discounts when buying tickets to the Grand Palace in Bangkok is that by booking on websites such as Hello Tickets you can pay by credit card without additional charges. This is not common in Bangkok, as there are taxes for those who need to pay with their credit cards from abroad.

Basic tickets sold directly at the palace ticket office or on the official website do not offer any discounts for children. On the other hand, guided tours sold on sites such as Hello Tickets always have cheaper prices for children, especially for those under 11 or 10 years of age.

You should also know that this palace and the various museums and temples that are part of its structure are not exactly a children's entertainment activity. It is certainly a recommended plan for the whole family, but there are plenty of other things to do in Bangkok with children that are really focused on entertaining the little ones of the house.

One of the first benefits of buying tickets online is that you are sure to get tickets for all your companions on a specific date and time. This is very important for those who have very short trips where every minute counts and therefore need to plan the logistics before arriving in Bangkok.

Another important reason is that you avoid the queues at the palace ticket office. These can be quite long during peak tourist seasons such as the spring and summer months in the northern hemisphere, i.e. from March to September.

In addition, a purchase of these tickets is the most appropriate way to find competitive and convenient prices for guided tours which are definitely the best way to tour this place. At least if you are really interested in learning about its history and peculiar architecture.

This palace has a fairly simple schedule to follow, open every day of the week from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. This schedule of openness to visitors is maintained throughout the year.

The only exceptions are official events organised by the Thai monarchy, as the palace is still of great importance to the country's institutions. If this were to happen during your trip, the opening hours would change, but the palace would still be open for a few hours.

So the schedule is perfect for you to tour the palace and other parts of the city centre in the morning and then continue your tour in other parts of the Thai capital.

The amount of time you need to visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok depends on your tastes and interests. Most visits tend to last about three hours and guided tours use this as a benchmark for their tours, while self-guided tours may take a little less time.

This means that if you visit the palace for three hours in the morning you will still have the rest of the day to participate in other activities. Some of these might be the best food tours in Bangkok, which is an ideal plan if you want to learn a little more about the culinary world that distinguishes one of the cities with the best street food industries on the planet.

Arguably the best time to visit this palace is during the dry season from December to February. Especially as the number of tourists in the city drops a little in these months and there is less chance of rain on your visit.

If you are looking for the heat then you should know that the season with the highest temperatures of the year is from April to September and at the same time this is the season with the highest number of visitors. That means that the humidity and queues to enter each of the palace buildings is something you would have to deal with at that time of the year.

Anyway, visiting this palace is one of the best things to do in June and it is also part of the recommended things to do in Bangkok in October, as all year round the site keeps the same opening hours and the tourist demand is almost identical regardless of the season.

By Bangkok Metro

The Bangkok Grand Palace is located in a very accessible part of the city. According to locals, the best way to get there is to get off at the Sanam Chai metro stop and then walk for a couple of minutes. It is about 500 metres from the main entrance to the palace and is on the blue line of the Bangkok Metro.

Boat across the Chao Phraya River

Another alternative that is often preferred by tourists is to arrive by boat along the Chao Phraya River. This means of transport has different stops at various piers in the city. If you decide to use it, you will have to get off at the Wat Pho temple stop. You will then take a small boat across the river to the piers just in front of the Grand Palace.

By taxi

Taxis are also a good alternative if you decide to visit this palace during the morning, as from noon to 3pm you will encounter quite a lot of traffic as these are peak times for car transport in Bangkok.

By tourist bus

There is also the alternative of opting for one of the guided tours that offer a transfer to and from your hotel. This is a recommendable option because you don't have to worry about logistical aspects, let alone security details. In addition, the tour will help you get to know some of Bangkok' s best skyscraper neighbourhoods , although it always depends on the area where your accommodation is located.

The Grand Palace of Bangkok includes several important buildings within its structure. I will tell you about them so that you know which are the must-see places during a visit to this place:

The Chakri Maha Prasat

This building is the main seat of the palace and was built in the year 1867 as an order of King Rama V. The site is distinguished by the fact that the lower part has a European architectural style while the roof is entirely Thai. This mix in design was created with the intention of demonstrating that Thailand is an ideal place for both worlds to meet.

Wat Phra Kaew Temple

Most guides consider this to be the most important place on a visit to the palace, as it is the most important Buddhist temple in all of Thailand. It is known as a place of veneration for the Emerald Buddha, a religious image that is meticulously cut from a single piece of jade. The exact building where the Buddha is housed is called Ubosot.

The Duhi Maha Prasat

It was built by an order of the first king of the dynasty that currently rules the kingdom of Thailand. It is a ceremonial site, as it is used to preserve the bodies of kings and members of the monarchy before they are cremated according to Thai funeral rituals. The building is quite impressive inside, but the roof is the real star of the structure.

The Bangkok Grand Palace is an important building for Thai culture and there are certain behaviours that have to be maintained in this place out of respect for local customs. For this reason I make the following recommendations:

Cover your shoulders and legs

It is forbidden for people to enter the palace and its various temples with bare shoulders and knees visible. To avoid complications it is important to wear fresh clothes that cover these parts of your body from the moment you leave your hotel, although if you cannot do this, blankets and tunics are offered free of charge at the entrance to maintain respect for their traditions.

Take water with you

Much of the tour of Bangkok's Grand Palace takes place in the sun, as you'll be moving from one building to the next. This means that the heat and humidity is a challenge and I recommend that you take plenty of water with you to keep you hydrated and comfortable during the experience.