Bangkok Hop-On Hop-Off Buses

One of the best things to see and do in Bangkok is to travel by bus through the streets of the city to see the sights of its different neighborhoods. That's why I advise you to keep reading this post in which I take care to share with you all the data you need about the best tourist buses in the capital of Thailand.

There are different alternatives when it comes to Bangkok tour buses and the two best options consist of a sightseeing service that allows you to use the bus as a means of transportation to tour the city. The trip is through about 16 stops that pass by some of the most important buildings and monuments of this city.

In this type of routes you usually have the possibility of getting on and off at each of the stops with total freedom throughout the opening hours. The frequency with which the buses of the same company run varies between 30 and 40 minutes and the most common is that the routes start at 9 a.m. and continue to be available until 9 p.m. That means they are a tourist service both day and night.

Some of the places near the stops of these tourist routes are:

• Kammalawat Dragon Temple.
• Patpong Night Market.
• Chinatown.
• MBK Center.

The prices of the experience vary according to the number of days you decide to use these buses as a means of transportation, however, the average rates range from 15 to 30 euros per person for each date.

Undoubtedly this is an experience that is part of the best tours of Bangkok and at the same time it is a recommended plan for the whole family. In addition, you should know that all buses offer audio guides in up to seven different languages.

Some of the Bangkok tour bus companies, such as Britannica only offer one route while others divide their routes into two routes because the city is quite large and there are tourist attractions in both the north and south of the city. The following routes are the ones offered by the two best tour bus companies in the city of Bangkok:

Main Route

The main Bangkok tour bus routes usually have about 16 stops in total. Within these 16 stops, passengers have closer access to some 53 different points of interest throughout the city including the Siam Museum, Chinatown, the Bangkok Grand Palace and the Bangkok National Gallery.

The specific duration of this route is about 7 hours in total, but if you decide to get off at several of the stops it is likely that the tour will take about 12 hours. In this case the frequency of arrival of the buses at each of the stops also varies between 30 and 40 minutes and it is always a double-decker bus with an open top roof.

CBD Route

The name of the CBD route comes from the Central Business District and it is a route that takes passengers through the different neighborhoods of the most modern and exclusive area of Bangkok. This tour is your best choice for a day when you decide to shop in one of the city's big shopping malls or also if you want to learn a bit about the development of the area where some of Bangkok's best skyscrapers are located.

Here the route also usually takes about 7 hours in total, but the number of sites of interest near the stops goes down to about 34 locations. There is also an audio guide and the frequency with which the buses pass at each of the stops still remains between 30 and 40 minutes.

There are advantages that make Bangkok tourist buses an excellent transportation alternative during most of the day, as this city is characterized by being quite chaotic when it comes to moving from one point to another. Therefore, a tourist service focused on the enjoyment and comfort of its users is a good bet, besides allowing you to enjoy the best tours of Bangkok.

It is a comfortable transportation alternative

Comfort is felt from the first moment you enter the Bangkok tour buses. They are state-of-the-art vehicles with audio guides and seats as comfortable as those of a private car.

There are fixed stops where you are guaranteed another bus will arrive in less than 30 minutes and that is a nice thing in a city where traffic makes all transportation alternatives a real challenge with too many unforeseen events.

There are guarantees that you will get to every place

With Bangkok tour buses you are completely assured that you will get to each of the stops that are part of the route. This means that it is a complete tour that will take you to the main tourist spots of the city and without having to pay more money in case there is traffic on the road.

For this reason they are a more recommendable alternative to cabs and tuks tuks, two fairly inexpensive options, but which adjust their rates according to the time of day and according to demand.

It is a cheaper experience

Ultimately, the best tour buses in Bangkok end up being a cheaper experience. Because they function as a means of transportation that is available to you for 12 continuous hours a day, you can take advantage of them to get to a lot of attractions without having to pay individual fares for each ride. That means that by paying for 24, 48 or 72 hours of service you will save a lot of money compared to what you would spend if you used cabs or tuks tuks for the same amount of trips throughout the city.

The full uninterrupted Bangkok sightseeing bus tour usually takes about 7 hours in total. However, the reality is that few people meet exactly that duration, because they decide to get off at some of the 16 stops on the main route and this is adding minutes and hours to the amount of time they spend their day inside this bus.

You should also keep in mind that if a person wishes to complete the two routes that are part of the Bangkok sightseeing buses then they would need about 14 hours minimum. Therefore, they may be a more practical plan for those who are in the city for three days or more.

Either way, one thing for sure is that no matter how long you are inside these buses, you will still have most of the night available. That means you will be able to participate in some of the best things to do in Bangkok at night, as it is a city with a wide diversity of nighttime activities that extend almost until dawn.

Rattanakosin and Siam are two of the areas of Bangkok that are part of the tours of the tourist buses of this city.

Rattanoski

The first site is known as the historic district of this community and is where important buildings such as the Grand Palace or the Temple of the Leaning Buddha are located. This means that along this part of the tour you will come across very typical Thai architecture and an area full of palaces and large buildings.

Siam

In the case of the second neighborhood, Siam, you will find a much more interesting and diverse urban panorama, as it is the oldest commercial area of the city and for many is the true center of Bangkok and is the best representation of the essence of the great Thai cities.

All this means that from these buses you will have the opportunity to see some of the best palaces in Bangkok and even some of the best temples in Bangkok. All in a tour that lasts 7 hours on average and offers you the opportunity to get off at as many stops as you want if you decide to enter each of these places and then continue the route without paying a single additional Euro.

The price of a ticket for the Bangkok sightseeing bus varies between 15 Euros and 30 Euros per person. Babies under 2 years of age in the arms of their parents do not pay any fee for access to the buses.

If you decide to pay these tourist buses in any agency in the city of Bangkok then you will have to pay higher prices, because in the capital of Thailand there are additional taxes when paying with credit cards from abroad.

So it is indisputable that these tourist buses are an excellent financial investment for its low cost and the possibility of paying with credit cards online.

The schedules of the best Bangkok tour buses remain identical throughout the year and this means that you will be able to use them from 9 am to approximately 9 pm. There may be some adjustments to this format in the event that the route has to be modified for special events or simply for some construction work on the streets and avenues that are part of the routes.

The fact that these buses remain available for 12 continuous hours makes them an excellent sightseeing activity during a four-day trip to the city of Bangkok. That's because with 8 to 10 hours you can tour most of the city center and even get off to visit museums and temples without worrying about finding alternative transportation to continue your tours.

The operation of the Bangkok tourist buses is something very simple to understand. It is a bus system that runs a 16-stop route that brings tourists to various major attractions in the center of the Thai capital.

The buses arrive with a frequency of approximately 30 minutes at each of the stops and users can get on as many buses as they want after getting off to visit the palaces, monuments and museums that are close to the stops along the route.

As the route is quite extensive, it is possible to use this bus system for 48 and 72 hours. In fact, this tour bus service usually have tickets with 7 days validity that allow users to take advantage of their comfort and safety for a whole week in Bangkok to move through the city center quickly.

My recommendation is that you make the most of this type of transport to reach the different corners of the tourist areas of Bangkok. This way you will have plenty of free time left on a relatively long trip so you can take part in some of the best excursions from Bangkok.