Bangkok, Thailand

State guide with cities, regions, and key information.

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Introduction
Bangkok is administered as a Special Administrative Area — coextensive with the city itself rather than being a province in the ordinary Thai sense. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) governs the 1,569 km² of the central city; the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), the wider commuter area, adds five surrounding provinces (Nonthaburi to the north-west, Pathum Thani to the north, Samut Prakan to the south, Samut Sakhon to the south-west, and Nakhon Pathom to the west) and brings the population to roughly 17 million people on around 7,800 km². The state-level read of Bangkok is therefore a metropolitan-and-day-trip geography rather than a province in its own right. The metropolitan arc runs from the Don Mueang corridor in Pathum Thani south through the Suvarnabhumi airport zone in Samut Prakan; Bang Krachao, the green oxbow river island known as 'Bangkok's lung', sits in Samut Prakan immediately across the Chao Phraya from the city. The day-trip orbit reaches the UNESCO World Heritage city of Ayutthaya 80 km to the north, the floating markets of Damnoen Saduak (Ratchaburi) and Amphawa (Samut Songkhram) 90 km to the south-west, the Bridge over the River Kwai at Kanchanaburi 130 km to the west, and Khao Yai National Park — Thailand's first national park (1962) and a UNESCO World Heritage forest complex (2005) — 165 km to the north-east. The royal seaside town of Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan, 200 km to the south-west on the Gulf of Thailand, sits at the natural weekend extension of the metropolitan orbit.

Discover Bangkok

Bangkok itself is administratively a Special Administrative Area (sometimes translated 'special metropolitan administration'), governed by the elected Governor of Bangkok and the Bangkok Metropolitan Council from Bangkok City Hall on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue, with no provincial structure above it. The wider Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) — formally the Bangkok Metropolitan and Vicinity area — adds five surrounding provinces. Nonthaburi to the north-west holds the inner suburbs that the MRT Purple Line connects (the line opened in 2016 and runs from Tao Poon BTS interchange to Khlong Bang Phai); Pathum Thani to the north absorbs much of the university and research belt (Thammasat University Rangsit campus, the Asian Institute of Technology, Future Park Rangsit); Samut Prakan to the south holds Suvarnabhumi airport, the Ancient Siam open-air heritage park (Mueang Boran, 80 hectares of one-third-scale Thai monuments laid out in the country's geographical shape), and the seaside of Bang Pu; Samut Sakhon to the south-west holds the country's largest commercial fishing port (Mahachai) and the SRT-Mae-Klong-line that runs the Mae Klong railway market sequence; Nakhon Pathom to the west holds the Phra Pathom Chedi, the tallest Buddhist stupa in the world at 127 metres and Thailand's oldest Buddhist monument (probably 1st-3rd century in original form, current structure 1853-1870 under Rama IV). The BMR contains 17 million people and roughly a third of Thailand's GDP. Most international visitors stay within Bangkok proper but make day trips into the surrounding provinces — Ancient Siam in Samut Prakan, Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom, the Don Wai market in Nakhon Pathom, the Mahachai-and-Mae-Klong railway-market sequence — and the metropolitan-and-day-trip geography is therefore the principal regional context.

Travel Types

Bangkok Metropolitan Region

The 17-million-resident metropolitan area of Bangkok plus Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Nakhon Pathom — covered by MRT and BTS extensions and the SRT Red Line commuter, with Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom and the Mahachai fishing port in Samut Sakhon as the working provincial anchors.

Bang Krachao & Suvarnabhumi Corridor

Bang Krachao the green oxbow river island in Samut Prakan with its 7-km elevated cycle path through mangrove canopy and the Bang Nam Phueng weekend market; the Suvarnabhumi airport corridor; Ancient Siam (Mueang Boran) as the open-air heritage park; the Erawan Museum's 43-metre bronze three-headed elephant.

Ayutthaya — UNESCO Royal Capital

The Siamese capital 1351-1767, its 289-hectare Historic Park with Wat Mahathat's fig-tree-grown Buddha head, Wat Phra Si Sanphet's three royal chedi, Wat Chai Watthanaram on the river at sunset, and the 1991 UNESCO World Heritage inscription. Reachable in 90 minutes by SRT from Krung Thep Aphiwat from ฿20.

Floating Markets & Mae Klong Railway Market

Damnoen Saduak in Ratchaburi as the most-photographed canal market (best 7:30-11:00); Amphawa in Samut Songkhram as the locally-attended weekend evening market; the Mae Klong Railway Market where vendors fold canopies eight times a day for the SRT train.

Kanchanaburi — Death Railway & Erawan Falls

The Bridge over the River Kwai and the Death Railway built 1942-1943 with massive POW and Asian-forced-labour casualties; the Hellfire Pass Memorial; the Erawan National Park's seven-tier waterfall; the original line still in service from Kanchanaburi to Nam Tok station.

Khao Yai National Park — UNESCO Forest

Thailand's first national park (1962) and largest inner-mainland forest, 2,168 km² in Nakhon Ratchasima province; UNESCO inscribed in 2005 as the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex; 200-250 wild elephants, the Haew Suwat and Haew Narok waterfalls; cool-and-dry season the practical window.

Hua Hin Royal Seaside Extension

The original Thai royal seaside resort 200 km south-west on the Gulf of Thailand, with the 1926 Klai Kangwon Palace, the colonial-era 1923 railway hotel and its restored royal waiting room, and the Phraya Nakhon Cave with its sun-shaft-illuminated royal pavilion at Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park.

Practical Tips for the Bangkok Metropolitan Region & Day Trips
  • •Bangkok itself is a Special Administrative Area (not a province in the ordinary Thai sense); the Bangkok Metropolitan Region adds Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Nakhon Pathom for a combined population of around 17 million.
  • •Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Station (the 2023 megastation north of central Bangkok) has replaced Hualamphong as the principal long-distance railway terminal; SRT trains for Ayutthaya, Khao Yai (Pak Chong), Kanchanaburi region and Hua Hin all depart from here.
  • •Suvarnabhumi (BKK) is in Samut Prakan province south of Bangkok; Don Mueang (DMK) is on the Bangkok / Pathum Thani border to the north. The Airport Rail Link from Suvarnabhumi reaches Phaya Thai BTS in 26 minutes for ฿45.
  • •Ayutthaya is reached in 90 minutes by SRT mainline from Krung Thep Aphiwat (฿20-220 depending on class) or 80-90 minutes by minivan from Mo Chit. Foreign-visitor entry to the Historic Park ฿220, valid one day; bicycle hire in town ฿60.
  • •Damnoen Saduak floating market is best 7:30-11:00 to see the working market before the tour buses; Amphawa runs Friday-Sunday afternoons through 21:00 and is locally rather than touristically attended. The Mae Klong Railway Market is 4 km from Amphawa in Samut Songkhram town.
  • •Kanchanaburi is 130 km west; SRT trains from Bangkok Thonburi (not Krung Thep Aphiwat) twice daily, 2h 40min, ฿100. The original Death Railway line still runs from Kanchanaburi to Nam Tok station (2 hours, ฿100) — the wooden Wang Pho viaduct is the visible legacy.
  • •Khao Yai National Park (DNP entry ฿400 for foreigners) is best visited from November to February; the access road from Pak Chong (SRT 3 hours from Krung Thep Aphiwat) reaches the northern park gate. Wild elephants are commonly seen on dawn and dusk drives along the main road inside the park.
  • •Hua Hin (200 km south-west) is the royal seaside; SRT runs from Krung Thep Aphiwat 3-4 hours by class, ฿44-242. The town remains low-rise (no buildings above the height of the 1926 royal palace) and is markedly less developed than Phuket or Pattaya.
  • •Ancient Siam (Mueang Boran) in Samut Prakan, 80 hectares of one-third-scale reproductions of Thailand's monuments arranged in the country's geographical shape, costs ฿700 entry; reachable on BTS to Kheha and a free shuttle, or by Bus 511 from Sukhumvit. A bicycle is rented at the gate for grounds navigation.
  • •Bang Krachao the green river island is best visited weekends — the Bang Nam Phueng Floating Market runs Saturday-Sunday only. Bicycle hire at the village near the longtail crossing pier ฿80 / day; the central elevated cycle path loops in 90 minutes.
  • •Samut Songkhram, Samut Sakhon and Nakhon Pathom can be combined as a one-day rail-and-minivan circuit using the SRT Mahachai Line from Wongwian Yai (Bangkok) to Mahachai, then ferry across the Tha Chin river, then the Mae Klong Line to Mae Klong town. The trip is the experience.
  • •Khao Yai's wider Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex covers 6,155 km² across four provinces — Nakhon Nayok, Saraburi, Nakhon Ratchasima and Prachinburi — with multiple access points; the southern Prachinburi side is the quieter alternative to the busier Pak Chong / northern entrance.
Cities in Bangkok

1 city with detailed travel information

Bangkok