Grand Palace Tickets in Bangkok: how to buy, prices and discounts

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

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

If you wish to buy tickets to the Grand Palace in Bangkok you have two alternatives at your disposal. The first one is the most convenient of all and it is a tour of Bangkok with guided visit to the Grand Palace through the web as Hellotickets. This option is recommended because it offers 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 alternative 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 center of Bangkok and therefore you take advantage of the fact that you will be in the area to tour this site during the time that has been released in your itinerary.

In any case, online reservations are still a better way to buy tickets for the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Especially since they offer you guided tours that take you within the same itinerary to several of Bangkok' s best temples. That means that by paying a single fee you can enjoy a safe means of transportation and also a guide specialized in the history of the city.

The price of tickets to the Grand Palace in Bangkok varies according to the benefits you wish to enjoy throughout the visit. A single, conventional ticket costs about €15, while a guided tour of both the palace and Wat Phra Kaew temple usually costs about €55 per person. Keep in mind that such tickets with guided tours 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 in a private way, something ideal if you are interested in a more exclusive tour. This type of tickets cost about 65 euros per person approximately.

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

If you want to complement these tickets with other tourist experiences that also have affordable prices I recommend you to participate in one of the best boat tours in Bangkok. Especially since the Royal Grand Palace is located a couple of meters from one of the most important piers of the Chao Phraya River.

The entrances to the Grand Palace of 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 keep 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 within an overall rate 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 provided that they are purchased at the ticket office of the palace or on the official website of this site.

On the other hand, you should know that tickets purchased directly at the box office are significantly cheaper than those purchased online. In this case the price is around €15 per person, although it all depends on the exchange rate of the moment 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 pages like Hello Tickets you can pay by credit card without additional charges. This is not something usual inside 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 still know that this palace and the various museums and temples that are part of its structure are not exactly a children's entertainment activity. Undoubtedly it is 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 assured of getting tickets for all your companions on a particular date and time. This is something very important for those who have very short trips where every minute counts and therefore need to plan the logistics from before arriving in Bangkok.

Another important reason is that you avoid the queues that form at the palace ticket office. These can be quite long during busy tourist seasons such as the spring and summer months of 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, it is open every day of the week from 8:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. This scheme of opening to visitors is maintained throughout the year.

The only exceptions are official events organized by the Thai monarchy, as this palace is still quite important for the institutions of the country. If this were to happen during your trip what would happen is that the opening hours would be modified, but still the palace would be open for a few hours.

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

The amount of time you need to visit the Bangkok Grand Palace is something that depends on your tastes and interests. Most visits tend to last about three hours or so and guided tours use that length as a benchmark for their tours, while people visiting on their own may take a little less.

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 them could 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 until February. Especially since the amount of tourists in the city drops a bit 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 are from April to September and at the same time this is the season with the highest amount 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 plans to do in Bangkok in October, because 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 subway stop and then walk a couple of minutes. It is about 500 meters from the main entrance of the palace and belongs to the blue line of the Bangkok Metro.

Boat across the Chao Phraya River

Another alternative that is usually 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 stop of the Wat Pho temple. Then take a small boat that will cross the river and take you to the docks just in front of the Grand Palace.

By cab

Cabs are also a good alternative if you decide to visit this palace during the morning, because from noon to three in the afternoon you will find quite a lot of traffic as these are peak hours for car transportation 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 do not have to worry about logistical aspects and even less about security details. In addition, the tour will help you to get to know some of the neighborhoods with the best skyscrapers in Bangkok, although it always depends on the area where your accommodation is located.

The Grand Palace of Bangkok includes within its structure several important buildings. I 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 1867 as an order of King Rama V. The site is distinguished because 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 the most important place in a visit to the palace, as it is the most important Buddhist temple in all of Thailand. It is known for being 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 located 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 body of the 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 behaviors that have to be maintained in this place out of respect for local customs. Therefore I make the following recommendations:

Cover your shoulders and legs

It is forbidden for people to enter this 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 can not do it, at the entrance of the place you will be offered free blankets and tunics to maintain respect for their traditions.

Take water with you

A good part of the Bangkok Grand Palace tour takes place in the sun, as you will be going from one building to the next. This means that the heat and humidity are a challenge and so I recommend that you take plenty of water with you to keep you hydrated and comfortable during the experience.