The legendary backpacker strip and the old neighbourhood around it — cheap beds, cheaper beer, street food, bars and a party that spills down the road every night. Rowdy and touristy, but fun, sociable and walkable to the old city's temples; the budget base with the most energy.
A look around
What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.
€25–50
typical per night in Thailand
Easy on the wallet
Among the cheapest areas to sleep in Bangkok.
Where it sits
The circle is Khao San & Banglamphu and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.
How far is everything?
From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.
- The Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew14 min walk1.2 km
- Wat Pho & the Reclining Buddha18 min walk1.5 km
- Wat Arun23 min walk1.9 km
- Chinatown (Yaowarat)7 min taxi2.5 km
- The Chao Phraya river11 min taxi3.5 km
- A rooftop bar14 min taxi4.6 km
- A Thai massage22 min taxi7.2 km
- Chatuchak Weekend Market22 min taxi7.3 km
On your doorstep
What you’re living next to if you stay here.
- 5.Bangkok street food — The best street food in the world — pad thai and boat noodles, green curry, mango sticky rice and grilled satay, cooked to order at a plastic-stool stall for a euro or two. Follow the queues and the smoke; Chinatown, Victory Monument and the old-city lanes are the classic hunting grounds.
- 8.Khao San Road — The mother of all backpacker streets — a neon carnival of bars, street food, tattoo parlours, buckets of cheap booze and travellers from everywhere, roaring till the small hours. Touristy and chaotic, but a rite of passage and genuinely fun for a night; the surrounding lanes are calmer and cooler.
When are you staying?
Booking.com & Airbnb open searched to Khao San & Banglamphu; flights via Google Flights.