Vote: Best area for us-and why?

Hi Everyone

I am having great difficulty deciding which area to stay in Bangkok. Can%26#39;t decide between Sukhumvit and the riverside. We are a couple in our 40%26#39;s, the first day we will go to temples and river and the second day we will probably do shopping. We want to be close to a couple of bars (nothing seedy) and maybe night markets But we would want to see the real Bangkok. I prefer an area which is easy to get around the city. Which area would be best for us - and why?

Thanks

Jaff

Vote: Best area for us-and why?

Sukhumvit, Silom, or the river really won%26#39;t make much difference. I always stay around Sukhumvit, due to easy access to shopping,restaurants, and entertainment. Of course I am most familiar with Sukhumvit, so it is particularly easy for me to get around in that area. Sukhumvit and Silom both have easy access to the Skytrain, so moving between the 2 is easy. The riverside area is probably a little less convenient (in my opinion), but I visit that area every trip so access is not that bad. I suggest identifying the price you are interested in paying for a hotel, then check what that price gets you in each area. For top end, the Oriental or Penninsula is hard to beat. In a lower to middle price, Sukhumvit has always been my choice, but anywhere with easy Skytrain access will be ok. I find the Skytrain more useful than the subway, but the Skytrain does not go everywhere.

Vote: Best area for us-and why?

I would recommend you to stay at Silom. Since i feel sukhumvit is more of service appartment type and long stay condominums with lots of expats. I stayed at Siam heritage in silom suriwongse and it was perfect for us to go to the rivercity with only 10 mins walk and take the temple tour and 5 mins walk to skytrain and catch to the Mbk center or 3 more stops to sukhumvit area.

Silom too has lots of entertainment places and this side of town is much nearer to the temples that tourist visit than the sukhumvit area.

Hope it helps,

Cheers

In my opinion, best areas are riverside or Siam square. Riverside is romantic and it%26#39;s very nice to watch Chao Phraya from the windows of your room. Too nice! If you book before, control that your room is really a river view. Most hotels have a boat connected to BTS station (Saphan Taksin) by which you may go almost everywhere. From here you may go by boat to Grand Palace, Wat Po, Chinatown and so on.

Siam square is a central area with a lot of shopping complex and restaurants. It%26#39;s also near to skytrain station.

I don%26#39;t like so much Sukhumvit but if you prefere this area control distance from your hotel to BTS station.

If you want a touch of the real BKK, don%26#39;t forget Chinatown and Chatuchak weekend market (open in weekend). For Chatuchac, take BTS and go to Mo Chit.

If you need any help, contact me freely. Have a nice trip!

Thanks for the help so far. It seems everyone has a personal favourite area in which to stay. Does it make sense to stay 2 nights by the river and move to Siam for shopping on the last day?

Also I would love to go tho chatachuk market but will probably arrive in the city around 4pm. Is that too late to visit the markets? What time do they close?

Thanks again

Jaffa

It%26#39; really a nonsense use two different hotel during your stay. The trip by boat from river area to Sapahan Taksin BTS station last abut 5 - 10 minutes, from Saphan Taksim to Silom by BTS more 10 minutes.

Chatuchak market opens during weeckend from 9 - 18. But I%26#39;ve seen that is open during friday too.

Hi;

Siam square is the Best for a couple in the 40%26#39;s to stay. The area is close to BTS station and shopping area. The river side hotels are much more expensive and also have bad smelling water mud.

The Sukhumvit road hotels are for tourists who want to be in the middle of entertainment district with a lot of bars, restaurants for foreigners