chloedickensonLast Updated on 3rd January 2023
This post the ultimate 3 day Bangkok itinerary includes affiliate links.
Bangkok is often cited as the “gateway to Southeast Asia” and after hearing so much about it over the years, we knew we had to pay a visit to the infamous city during our 1 month Thailand itinerary.
I’ll be perfectly honest; Bangkok isn’t my favourite place in the world, nor was it even my favourite place in Thailand.
However, I can’t deny that there’s plenty to do there. We actually spent six days in Bangkok but the below itinerary can easily be done in just two or three days if you have limited time in the capital city.
If you’re planning a trip to the capital city of Thailand, check out this ultimate 3-day Bangkok itinerary for first-time visitors!
3 days in Bangkok itinerary – best things to do
Bangkok is an absolute delight for every single one of your senses; it’s a city unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before and quite a lot of the things to see and do there can be a bit of a culture shock, especially if you haven’t spent much time in Asia beforehand.
The guide below shows just some of the best things to see and do in Bangkok, including plenty of temples, debauchery and eclectic nights out, plus where to see the best views of the city above!
Wat Arun Ratchawararam
It’s thought that there are over 40,000 temples in Bangkok city, with around 33,000 of them still in use today.
33,000.
That really is a staggering number!
However, how do you choose which temples are worth seeing in Bangkok?
I think my personal favourite temple is Wat Arun Ratchawararam. This beautiful Buddhist temple is located on the west bank of the Chao Praya River and is a truly stunning complex.
It’s also known as the ‘Tempal of Dawn’ and it derives its name from the Hindu God Aruna, who is often personified as the glow and shine from the rising sun.
It does get pretty busy at Wat Arun Ratchawararam, seemingly no matter what time or day you visit, but as early in the morning as possible is usually the best time to visit the temples in Bangkok to avoid the crowds as much as possible.
Opening times: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Admission cost: 200 baht (£4.95) per person (this seemed quite lenient, however – we paid for a ticket, but there were many people entering the temple who didn’t pay)…
Dress code: appropriate temple wear (cover knees and shoulders)
Find it!
Khao San Road – 3 day Bangkok itinerary
Khao San Road is world-famous for being a crazy place where tourists from all over the world gather to enjoy an eccentric night out on the town.
Having been to Bangla Road in Phuket, I actually think that Khao San Road wasn’t quite as ~bad~ as Bangla Road, but it’s still a pretty intimidating place if you’re not used to crazy nights out.
There are dozens of bars and clubs lining the streets along Khao San Road and you’ll find everything from cheap beer, shots, Ladyboys, Ping Pong Shows (don’t ask!), laughing gas and so much more.
As someone who prefers a gentler and more relaxed pub crawl vibe, as opposed to a full blown mental night out on the town, Khao San Road was a little bit much.
However, even if you don’t plan on taking part in the crazy antics that it offers, I still think it’s worth a wander down Khao San Road on an evening so you can see what it’s like for yourself!
Be warned – all the bars seem to be in competition with one another as to who can play the loudest music so expect it to be very, very loud!
Find it!
Muay Thai at Baan Chao Praya Gallery
One of my favourite things we did in Bangkok, and something that completely surprised me with how much I enjoyed it, was watching a live show at a Muay Thai event.
Muay Thai literally means ‘Thai boxing’ and it’s one of the most popular and famous competitive sports in Thailand.
Usually, I’m not really one for competitive sports like this but when we discovered this Muay Thai event was free to attend (compared to the extortionate 500-1500 baht that most fights often charge!), we couldn’t really say no!
This particular event is held just next to the Baan Chao Praya Gallery every Saturday evening. The event begins at around 7 pm, but I’d recommend getting there at around 6 pm to make sure you get good seats. It’s also televised live throughout the evening, so you may even be able to see yourself on the big screen!
They do serve food and drink at the event, which you can buy if you wish, but the actual entrance fee is completely free!
I feel like we stumbled upon a true gem when we discovered this event so I’m excited to share it with you guys too so you can still experience some proper Thai culture, without forking out lots of money for the privilege!
Find it!
Chatuchak Weekend Market
The Chatuchak Weekend Market is the largest market in the whole of Thailand.
It’s home to more than 15,000 stalls and an astonishing 11,500 vendors and is spread across a whopping 27 sections. Over 200,000 people visit the market every weekend which is such an unfathomable amount of people that it’s hard to comprehend!
You’d be hard-pressed to explore every single inch of the Chatuchak Weekend Market as it’s just so overwhelmingly huge, but it’s definitely worth visiting for an hour or two to experience some real Thai culture.
We didn’t even buy anything from the market; simply just being immersed in the crazy stalls and vendors was enough to sate our cultural appetite!
Opening times: The whole market is open every Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6pm.
Find it!
Bangkok Marriott Hotel The Surawongse rooftop bar
I think this might have been my very favourite thing we did during our whole time in Bangkok as it was so unexpected and truly brilliant.
I’ve been a huge fan of the Marriott hotels chain for so many years now and I’ve stayed at their hotels in New York , London , Leeds , Manchester , York and more and while I would have loved to have stayed in their Bangkok hotel, it was just a tad out of our price range!
However, when we discovered that The Surawongse Marriott Hotel had a rooftop bar, we jumped at the chance to visit.
As well as the insanely beautiful views of the city, the whole decor of the rooftop bar was also stunning and had exactly my kind of vibe! The staff were also so lovely and accommodating and I already wish I was back up there!
It’s certainly not cheap at around 388 baht (£9.50) for a cocktail, but it was well worth it for those insane views and delicious cocktails.
We had the ‘Lights up on China Town’ cocktail which was easily one of the most deliciously refreshing cocktails I’ve ever had (if it didn’t cost the same as our daily budget in Thailand, I could have easily drank five of them!).
We happened to be on the rooftop just in time for sunset, which made the whole experience even more magical and memorable.
If you can afford to have some wiggle room in your Thailand budget, I’d definitely recommend paying a visit to the Bangkok Marriott Hotel The Surawongse rooftop bar as it was one of my favourite experiences from our whole month of backpacking Thailand.
Find it!
Wat Pho – 3 days in Bangkok itinerary
Wat Pho is another incredibly popular Buddhist temple in Bangkok and is most notably famed for being the ‘Temple of the Reclining Buddha’.
We didn’t actually properly go inside Wat Pho as you have to pay entry for both the temple and then to go inside to see the Reclining Buddha as well (at least, that’s what they tried to charge us!).
By the time we arrived at Wat Pho, we were pretty templed out, so we gave seeing the huge Buddha statue a miss, but I have heard great things about how impressive it is!
Opening times: 8 am – 6:30 pm
Admission cost: 200 baht (£4.95) per person
Find it!
Yodpiman Flower Market – 3 day Bangkok itinerary
If you have severe hay fever, you might want to avoid a visit to the Yodpiman Flower Market (or you could just take an extra strong antihistamine like Matt does!).
The Flower Market is a really beautiful collection of exotic and locally sourced flowers and I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite as many flowers in one place!
It’s not exactly a ground-breaking thing to see or do in Bangkok, but I think it’s still worth seeing anyway.
Find it!
The Grand Palace
The Grand Palace is always listed as one of the best things to see and do in Bangkok and while it did look pretty impressive from the outside, I’m not entirely convinced that it’s worth the money.
Being on a relatively stringent travel budget, we couldn’t really justify the 500 baht (£12.33) each cost of visiting the Grand Palace. We did have a little wander around inside the grounds, but we didn’t pay to go all the way inside and see everything.
I know a few people who have properly visited the Grand Palace and said that it was awesome, so I suppose it just depends on whether you want to spend some of your travel budget on it or not.
Opening times: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
Admission cost: 500 baht (£12.33)
Find it!
Wat Anongkharam Worawihan
This incredibly long-winded name of a temple was actually one of my very favourite temples that we saw in Bangkok.
We happened to stumble upon it while walking back to our hostel just before sunset and we were delighted to discover that not only was it free to see but that there was also no one else around!
It’s a truly beautiful temple and one that I’d definitely recommend visiting when you’re in the city.
Find it!
More things to do in Bangkok in 3 days
While I think we did a pretty good job of ticking off a fair few things to do in Bangkok, there were still a few things that we missed. I’ve added a few more suggestions below that you can add to your itinerary for three days in Bangkok.
- Lumphini Park
- Wat Saket
- Safari World
- Pratunam Market
- Erawan Shrine
3 days in Bangkok – where to eat
Despite Bangkok being dubbed as one of the culinary capitals of Southeast Asia, we didn’t actually eat all that well in Bangkok.
The main issue is that Matt and I really don’t like much Thai food at all, which means that we ate at a lot of Western places, instead of eating the typical Thai curries and noodle dishes.
We also noticed that many places and dishes in Bangkok include peanuts, which Matt is allergic to, and lime and coconut, which I really don’t like!
However, we did eat at a couple of really nice places and I’ve listed a few of them below.
Jack Diamond
Unfortunately, as I knew we wouldn’t be eating at loads of different places in Bangkok, I wasn’t actually planning to write a post about where we ate so I didn’t take any pictures of any food I ate while we were there.
However, I can tell you that Jack Diamond is a really lovely restaurant with a gorgeous interior and an even more beautiful outside eating area.
Matt and I both had a pork dish; I had pork with fried rice and Matt had pork noodles and it was so affordable and truly scrumptious.
Find it!
The October
The October is actually just around the corner from Jack Diamond so you’re spoiled for choice if you’re staying around this area of the city.
We both had a sort of mixed grill type thing where you could choose two types of meat and a side dish. I can’t remember exactly what we had but I know that it was really delicious and I believe most things on the menu are pretty reasonably priced.
Find it!
Shoshana
We actually ended up eating at Shoshana on two different occasions; first when we went with our friends who we met all the way back in George Town last year and then again when we headed back to Bangkok for one night to meet Matt’s friends who’d just started travelling Thailand.
The chicken kebab shawarmas are absolutely divine and such huge portions! The second time we went I also had the fried chicken noodles which were also bloody scrumptious.
It’s not the cheapest place in the world but I think it’s great value for money and it’s a lovely little place to eat before heading to Khao San Road just around the corner for a night on the town!
Find it!
I definitely think three days in Bangkok is more than enough time to explore the capital city of Thailand. It’s a pretty overwhelming city and not one that I’d necessarily rush back to, but I’m glad we visited anyway.
Check out more of my Thailand content to help you plan the perfect trip!
- The Ultimate 1 Month Backpacking Thailand Itinerary & Guide
- Phuket Island Hopping Day Trip To Phi Phi Islands
- Phuket Day Tour Itinerary – Big Buddha, Wat Chalong, Old Town & More
- Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary Chiang Mai
- Death Railway and River Kwai Bridge, Kanchanaburi – Ultimate Guide
Pin for later – 3-day Bangkok itinerary
Do you have any other recommendations for how to spend 3 days in Bangkok? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram at @imjustagirl_16.
*Prices in this post are accurate as of the currency exchange rate in February 2020.