So you want to visit the best, the biggest, the oldest and the most famous Bangkok Temples? Then you are on the right page! In this post, I’m going to share the most unique temples you can find in Bangkok. Each one has a unique highlight and each is different from the last.
I spent a full day cruising around the streets of Bangkok with my driver, ‘Tuk-Tuk Tony’. We visited nine awesome Bangkok Temples all of which I’m going to share in this post.
Bangkok is the best area in Thailand to go ‘Temple Hopping’. The Kingdom is famous for its rich Buddhist culture and there are over 4,000 temples in Thailand. But more than 10% of the Temples in Thailand are located in Bangkok. The most extravagant and notable Temples are in Bangkok and most are close to each other.
Follow this guide to the Temples of Bangkok, immerse yourself in Thai culture and see as much as you possibly can in one day by properly planning a Bangkok Temple itinerary.
But before you set out to see the best Temples in Bangkok don’t forget to read my guide on what to wear to a Thai Temple.
Btw, if you hadn’t guessed already then the word ‘Wat'(วัด) means Temple in the Thai Language.
How Many Temples Can You Visit in One Day
I visited 9 temples in one day in Bangkok and it felt like the perfect amount. Not too many but not too few either. We got to see the most famous temples and stopped for lunch in China Town to try the street food too! It was a long day. We started early(ish) at 9.00 am and ended our day by watching the sunset in Bangkok, at one of the Temples (Wat Arun), around 6.00 pm.
You might choose to see a few less temples in Bangkok than we did and spend more time at each one instead. There is no right or wrong answer and the number of temples you can see in Bangkok in one day. It totally depends on your personal preference.
How Much it Costs To Visit Bangkok Temples
There is an entrance fee in place at most of the Temples in Bangkok but it’s best to consider it as a donation to the temple. Note that for Thai people there is no charge the admission only applies to foreign tourists. If you want to visit all the Bangkok Temples in this post(which I recommend you do) you’ll spend around 1,000 Baht in admission fees (around 25 USD). The Grand Palace is the main temple in Bangkok and has the highest admission cost. The small and lesser-known temples are usually free.
Tip: Try to change up some 20 Baht notes before you visit the Temples in Bangkok, you’ll encounter a ton of donation boxes during your temple day!
Admission Costs at Bangkok’s Most Famous Temples
| Bangkok Temple | Admission Price in 2024 |
| The Grand Palace | 500 Thai Baht |
| Wat Pho (Sleeping Buddha) | 200 Thai Baht |
| Wat Saket (The Golden Mount Temple) | 100 Thai Baht |
| Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) | 100 Thai Baht |
| Wat Trimad (Golden Buddha Temple) | 100 Thai Baht |
| Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple) | 50 Thai Baht |
| Wat Samphran (Dragon Temple) | 20 Thai Baht |
| Wat Chakawat (Crocodile Temple) | Free Entrance |
| Wat Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha Temple) | Free (w/ Grand Palace) |
How to Get From One Bangkok Temple to Another
So if you taking on this Bangkok Temple Itinerary you’ll need to know how to hop from one temple to the next. Most of the best Temples in Bangkok are close to each other. Mostly located in the old city, better known as the Khaosan Road area.
It is possible to get between Bangkok’s Temples using public transport but not ideal because there are some gaps which need to be filled in with taxis or by walking one or two kilometres.
I recommend hiring a Tuk-Tuk driver for the day. In fact, this is literally the only time I would recommend using a Tuk-Tuk in Bangkok! You should be able to find a driver hanging around Khao San Road or nearby the temples. Negotiate the price directly with the driver and the Tuk-Tuk should cost somewhere in the range of 1000 to 1700 Baht for the day.
Hiring a Tuk-Tuk is the best choice because your driver will be waiting and ready to take you to the next temple as soon as you are ready to go! Plus it’s a pretty cool experience riding around the street of Bangkok in a Tuk-Tuk.
The Best Temples in Bangkok
We visited nine temples in Bangkok and each one had something unique to offer. These are the best and most famous temples in Bangkok. I recommend visiting above all others.
- The Grand Palace
- Wat Samphran (The Dragon Temple)
- Wat Pho (The Sleeping Buddha Temple)
- Wat Trimad (The Golden Buddha Temple)
- Wat Arun (The Temple of The Dawn)
- Wat Benchamabophit (The Marble Temple)
- Wat Chakawat (The Crocodile Temple)
- Wat Saket (The Golden Mount Temple)
- Wat Phra Kaew (The Emerald Buddha Temple)
Map Showing The Best Temples in Bangkok
Use this Bangkok Temple map to plan your own temple Itinerary in Bangkok! You can tap this link to save my Bangkok Temple Map to your phone and open it up in Google Maps totally free!
The Grand Palace
How Much Does it Cost: The Grand Palace costs 500 Baht, $15 USD or £12 GBP. The prices are for foreign tourists. Thai citizens can visit for free.
What Makes This Bangkok Temple Unique: The Grand Palace is the most famous Bangkok Temple and the official residence of the King of Thailand.
Opening Hours: The Grand Palace opens at 8:30 am, and the last Admission is at 3:30 pm.
How Much Time to Spend Here: Long Visit – Allocate around two hours to see the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew.
The first stop on our ‘Bangkok Temple Day’ was the grand palace. The Grand Palace is the main temple in Bangkok, and in Thailand too. It’s the biggest temple and there is so much to see. In fact, it’s an entire complex of Temples! We decided to visit the Grand Palace first, to ensure we had plenty of time there. Plus we also wanted to get our money’s worth, because the Grand Palace is also the most expensive temple in Thailand to visit!
The Grand Palace is the most famous Temple in Bangkok. The name ‘Bangkok’, when translated into the Thai Language contains 330 letters! It’s the longest place name in the world and mentions the Grand Palace! Bangkok is the short version.
The Grand Palace has been the permanent residence of the Kings of Thailand since the seventeenth century. The Palace is still used for royal ceremonies to this day. It is also used to welcome foreign world leaders and high-ranking diplomats. On these days the Grand Palace Grounds are closed to the public.
There is so much to cover when it comes to this temple. Too much to fit in this post! But if you want to know everything about all the temples in the Grand Palace Complex Josh from Prepare Travel Plans has a great Grand Palace Guide.
Wat Phra Kaew (The Emerald Buddha Temple)
How Much does it Cost: There is no extra cost to visit Wat Phra Kaew, but the Temple is located on the grounds of the Grand Palace, which costs 500 Baht.
What Makes This Bangkok Temple Unique: The Emerald Buddha is the focus of this Bangkok Temple there is a ceremony three times a year where the Buddha changes outfits.
Opening Hours: This Bangkok Temple shares the same opening hours as the Grand Palace (8.00 – 3.30).
Wat Phra Kaew is a Bangkok Temple which is situated on the grounds of the Grand Palace. The admission fee for the Grand Palace also gets you into Wat Phra Kaew.
Wat Phra Kaew is a Bangkok Temple also known as ‘The Temple of the Emerald Buddha’. The Emerald Buddha is actually pretty cool to see. The Buddha is housed in a separate building and has been at the temple since the seventeenth century. Despite the name, the Buddha statue is actually made from a semi-precious material- Jade and not real Emerald. The Buddha statue is dressed in real gold and has three separate outfits! The Emerald Buddha changes ‘clothes’ three times a year and has a golden outfit for each season.
Wat Pho (The Sleeping Buddha Temple)
How Much does it Cost: The entrance fee at Wat Pho is 200 Thai Baht for foreigners and free for Thai.
What Makes This Bangkok Temple Unique: The enormous Reclining Buddha Statue is the focus of Wat Pho Temple.
Opening Hours: Wat Pho opens at 8:00 am and the last admission is at 6:30 pm.
How Much Time to Spend Here: Medium Visit – Try to allocate around one hour at Wat Pho Temple.
Wat Pho is an excellent Bangkok Temple to visit after the Grand Palace because it’s nearby and can be reached easily by foot. Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok is famous for the ‘Reclining’ or “Sleeping Buddha’ statue. I’d seen a few pictures of the sleeping Buddha before visiting this temple. But nothing could prepare me for the sheer size of this statue!
The Sleeping Buddha is ******* massive! It’s 150 feet tall! The entire room is built around the Sleeping Buddha at Wat Pho Temple and there is no space for anything else other that a walkway which leads around the Buddhist Statue. Taking a photo of the Sleeping Buddha is a near-impossible task, due to its unfathomable size.
There are also a lot of open spaces at Wat Pho it’s the entire complex has a calm feeling, much more so than other temples in Bangkok. There are smaller pagodas and statues of gains dotted around the complex.
Wat Pho is a must-visit temple in Bangkok and one of my favourites.
Wat Traimit (The Golden Buddha Temple)
How Much does it Cost: The admission fee at Wat Trimid is 100 Baht for foreigners, and free for Thai.
What Makes This Bangkok Temple Unique: The Golden Buddha Statue take a dominant place at this Bangkok Temple. The statue is made from solid gold and is worth over 250 million USD.
Opening Hours: Wat Traimit opens at 8:00 am and the last admission time is 5:00 pm.
How Much Time to Spend Here: ShortVisit – Although the temple is beautiful it’s one of the smaller Bangkok Temples.
Wat Traimit is one of the most beautiful temples we visited on ‘Temple Day’ in Bangkok. The temple is mostly outdoors so make sure to apply plenty of suncream before visiting this Bangkok Temple. There are three tiers to climb to the top. Once you reach the top there is a small room which houses the ‘Golden Buddha’.
Now, no one told me this at the time, it wasn’t until after I left that I found out this Buddha Statue was made solid from real gold! Which I find absolutely insane! This statue weighs over 5,500 Kilograms! And it’s pure 18 Karat Gold! The golden buddha statue is worth 250 Million US Dollars! And it’s just chilling in this easily accessible temple with zero security. If this isn’t a heist waiting to happen then I don’t know what is.
But the story gets even crazier, this statue was found by mistake! It was covered in plaster to disguise it from Burmese invaders and somehow forgotten about until years later when the statue was damaged in transport revealing the truth! The Golden Buddha is a must-visit temple in Bangkok with a unique story to learn.
Wat Traimit was the fourth stop on our Bangkok Temple Ittenarary and we arrived around midday which was perfect. Wat Traimit is located in the China Town area of Bangkok and there are a ton of street food hawkers here. We stopped for a quick Pad Thai lunch before heading on to the next temple.
Wat Chakawat (The Crocodile Temple)
How Much does it Cost: Wat Chakawat Temple is completely free, unusual for a Bangkok Temple.
What Makes This Bangkok Temple Unique: There are literal crocodiles just chilling at this Temple!
Opening Hours: The Bangkok Crocodile Temple is open 24 hours. Yes if you want to go and see the cross at 1.00 am there is nothing stopping you!
How Much Time to Spend Here: Short Visit – The crocs are the main highlight here.
I’ll be totally honest I was so distracted by the Crocodiles at this Bangkok Temple, I completely forgot I was at a Temple. We didn’t really look around the buildings much and spent most of the time at the croc pool.
This is another insane temple in Bangkok, when you enter the temple you’ll spot the crocodile pool near the entrance. The enclosure doesn’t seem to be very safe and in some sections, there is nothing more than a thin sheet of plastic separating you from the crocodiles!
We spotted five crocodiles within the enclosure when we visited and I was desperate to feed them a chicken or something but wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea. I slipped a few baht in the donation box to let the crocs choose, and buy their own lunch instead.
Wat Saket (The Golden Mount Temple)
How Much does it Cost: The Golden Mount Temple in Bangkok costs 100 Baht for foreigners to enter, and it is free for Thai citizens.
What Makes This Bangkok Temple Unique: This temple is built in a unique location on the top of a hill, and there are incredible views of Bangkok city from the top.
Opening Hours: The Golden Mount Temple opens at 7.30 am and closes at 7.00 pm.
How Much Time to Spend Here: Medium Visit – This is a beautiful temple and not one that you want to rush. But the overall size is smaller than other Bangkok Temples.
The Golden Mount was the most peaceful temple we visited in our Bangkok Temple Itinerary. It is a really beautiful place with water flowing down the mountainside in pools and calming streams. The entire temple had a ‘Jungle’ theme to it and there is cooling mist sprayed around to keep the air cool.
There is a red staircase circling the mountain and leading to the top of the temple it takes around 15 minutes to get to the top. There are areas to stop along the way where you’ll find bells to ring and a massive gong too. There are 344 steps to climb before reaching this temple.
Wat Benchamabophit (The Marble Temple)
How Much does it Cost: It costs 50 Baht for foreigners to enter, and Thais enter for free.
What Makes This Bangkok Temple Unique: The temple is built entirely from Italian Marble.
Opening Hours: The Benchamabophit Temple opens at 8:00 am and the last admission time is 5:00 pm.
How Much Time to Spend Here: Medium Visit – This is a beautiful temple but there is not a huge amount to see here. Don’t rush it but save more time for the other temples.
Pronouncing the name of this temple is a challenge in itself. It was built for the fifth King of Thailand and the name translates to exactly that: ‘The Temple of the Fifth King’. Arriving at Benchamabophit Temple is a sight to behold and it takes a while to really appreciate the beauty of this temple. The entire temple is built from Italian Marble. It’s easily the most photogenic temple in Bangkok, although Wat Arun gives it a good run for its money.
The Benchamabophit Temple has a unique atmosphere which hits quickly and calmingly. The air was cool and fragrant with incense, and the soft glow of lamps illuminated the ornate carvings and gilded Buddha statues that lined the walls. The temple’s fusion of Thai and European architectural styles was stunning, and I spent several minutes just admiring the intricate details of the marble pillars and staircases.
Wat Samphran (The Dragon Temple)
How Much does it Cost: There is a 50 Baht admission fee for foreigners, and Thais enter for free.
What Makes This Bangkok Temple Unique: The Wat Samphran has a giant snake slide circling the tower!
Opening Hours: The Dragon Temple opens at 9.00 am and the last admission time is 5.00 pm.
How Much Time to Spend Here: Long Visit – The distance between this temple and the others means it takes a lot of time to visit.
Wat Samphran (The Dragon Temple) is another insane temple in Bangkok. I don’t know how this temple is not as famous as the others but I guess the location has something to do with that.
The bright pink “Dragon Temple is 17 stories tall, and 80 meters high. One meter for each year Buddha lived. and if you think there is a staircase or elevator to get to the top then think again. That dragon wrapped around the outside of the temple is actually a tunnel. Yes, the dragon is hollow, it’s a slide-like tube which you can walk through to reach the top of this awesome Bangkok Temple!
It’s a little difficult to get to this temple, located near Bang Wa in west Bangkok it takes around 45 minutes to drive there by tuk-tuk.
Wat Arun (The Temple of The Dawn)
How Much does it Cost: Wat Arun entrance fee is 100 Baht for foreigners and free for Thai.
What Makes This Bangkok Temple Unique: This is one of Bangkok’s most Iconic Temples. The focus point is the huge Prang which can be climbed, and also seen from miles around.
Opening Hours: Wat Arun opens to visitors at 8:00 am, and the last admission is at 6:00 pm.
Wat Arun is one of the most visited and iconic temples in Bangkok. The location of the temple right on the bank of the Chao Phraya River means it can be seen from all around. Including on a Bangkok River Cruise.
The temple grounds and the complex are huge, it’s like a maze of shrines and Buddhist statues. The centrepiece at Wat Arun is the huge spire or prang which is almost 90 meters high. This Bangkok Temple is located near the Grand Palace and also Wat Pho, but it’s on the opposite side of the river. There is a shuttle boat to cross the river from Wat Arun Pier and the boat costs just 3 Baht!
Wat Arun has three floors on the central prang it used to be the case that tourists could reach the top of Wat Arun, however, the upper two levels have since been roped off. I assume for safety reasons because the stairs are unimaginably steep!
Wat Arun is also known as the ‘Temple of the Dawn’ because it is one of the most therapeutic places to watch a sunset (or sunrise) in Bangkok from. Try to make Wat Arun last on your Bangkok Temple List you can chill on the lawn while the sun disappears behind the temple.
Note that the sunset time in Bangkok is around 6:30 pm, however, Wat Arun Temple has a last admission time at 6:00 pm. You need to enter this Bangkok Temple before then if you want to stick around to watch the sunset.
