Your Travel Guide to Thailand
All information & tips to prepare your trip in Thailand
Bangkok buses guide
Find a bus line in Bangkok
Bangkok's bus network
Bangkok's bus network is dense. Public buses are the cheapest way to get around Bangkok, but also the most complicated for foreigners, for two main reasons: there are no network maps at the stops (or even on the bus company's official website), and drivers and conductors rarely speak English. There is another complication: stops don't always show all the lines that stop there, and you can go crazy looking for the right stop before realizing that the first one was the right one all along – the line you wanted just wasn't listed (it has happened to us several times!). That said, for some destinations, the bus is the only alternative to taxis, and it can be fun to take the bus in Bangkok if you have the time and patience to deal with these small hassles. You can buy a bus map in bookstores or newsstands in Bangkok (the best known is the Bangkok Bus Guide Map published by Thinknet). And if the conductor doesn't speak English, other passengers will do their best to help you; but always try to have something to show of where you want to go (a photo or the name written in Thai – most guidebooks, and our website, give Thai names). It makes things much easier.
Bangkok's buses are very varied: colors, models, age and comfort differ a lot from one line to another. Tickets are bought on board from the conductor. The fare depends on the distance, which is why you need to make clear where you are going.
The network has 108 lines and is impossible to show on a single map, so I created a small search engine to help you find the bus lines that serve Bangkok's main places, and I added the Skytrain and subway map just in case. Note that there are also the BRT buses in Bangkok.
Practical information
Bangkok buses run from 5 am to 11 pm.
Bangkok bus hotline: 1348
Website: www.bmta.co.th
Other public transport in Bangkok
Bangkok Skytrain
Bangkok's Skytrain is called the BTS. Its air-conditioned trains glide above the capital's heavy traffic. It doesn't go everywhere, but combined with the Chao Phraya Express boats, it takes you to Bangkok's major temples.
Chao Phraya Express
The Chao Phraya Express boats run regularly along the river that flows through Bangkok and stop near all the monuments and sights on its banks, including Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho and Wat Arun, the three must-see temples in Bangkok. Fares are cheap.
Bangkok bus lines
The bus is clearly neither the easiest nor the fastest way for a foreign tourist to get around Bangkok, but it is the cheapest. The network is huge and you can go almost anywhere – you just need to be patient.
Transport in Bangkok
So far the only Thai city with a metro (a project is planned in Phuket), Bangkok offers the widest choice of public and private transport in Thailand (metro, buses, boats, tuk-tuks...). No, there's more than tuk-tuks and pink taxis to get around Bangkok!
