River boat

[heywinks]

Bangkok, as true to its fame as the Venice of the east, will never fail to impress you when it comes to the ways of getting around this modern metropolis through its intricate network of canals and the mighty Cho Phraya. River express and canal boats regularly ply several routes, a world away from the congested roads both in terms of how quick you can reach your destination and the cost is next to nothing. The river boats that mainly ply around 20 odd piers along the River banks that stretches almost the whole lenght of the city, which makes it a viable alternative for those who want to skip the traffic on the road and save time. For example, a trip from Grand Palace to Silom district could easily take over an hour by taxi, while the boat ride will only take around 15 or 20 minutes.

Though it's convienent and time saving mode, it is indeed confusing if you are not used to it. Especially along the river piers where there are a number of boats offers river crossing service. You will end up across the river than where you actually heading if you do not watch out for the right boats. All the piers both along the rivers and the canals have names marked clearly in Thai and English. Best idea would to grab a map with the piers and routes clearly marked before you head out, which you can buy it from any book store or even can get a free one if you check with any of the tourist information booths across the city.

[winkie]

One of the most fun and cheapest ways of getting around central Bangkok is by express boat along the Chao Phraya River. The 21km route is served by 65 boats and operates between 6:00 am to 7:30 pm on weekdays and 6:00 am to 6:40 pm on weekends and holidays. Current prices are from 9 baht (Local line for distance within one zone) to 30 baht (for green-yellow flag trip on its entire route from Pakkret to Sathorn), depending on the type of boat and the distance travelled. I took the service a couple of times from the BTS Skytrain station at Saphan Taksin which is near the Sathon pier to Phra Pin Klao Bridge pier in order to get to the Southern Bus Station instead of getting a taxi through the centre of Bangkok. It's also a very scenic trip as you pass by the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, churches, Wichai Prasit Fort and some temples along the way...

[atiumm]

You can visit some of Bangkok's most charming riverside attractions by Chao Phraya Tourist Boat...It's special boat service to travel unlimited trips along the Chao Phraya River with boat guide who gives the information of piers and attraction places ...This trip'll begin at the Sathorn Pier near the Saphan Taksin Station and proceeds up the river to Phra Arthit Pier...and stopping at 10 major piers such as Visit the Grand Palace across from Chang Pier

[jaffaman]

We took a river cruise - a private river cruise. It's a small boat for 4 of us. Felt like we were the fish in the river. It's very busy, very wavy and just wow... You should definitely do it if you have time and the money. We got 2 hour private boat ride for 2,600 baht. Not bad.