Riverside temple walk: Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun
WAT
Three temples and a river crossing in one morning and early afternoon. Follow it on your phone, stop by stop; no tour needed.
STOPS
4
FEES
฿1,000
HOURS
5–6
Diagram of the order of things, not a floor plan or to scale.
Checked 31 October 2026
At a glance
Time
About 5–6 hours
Entrance fees
About ฿1,000 a person (part review-based)
Start
MRT Sanam Chai (BL31), Exit 1 by Museum Siam, or Tha Chang pier (N9) on the express boat.
Start time
08:30 — Start at 08:30 at the Grand Palace: it sells its last tickets at 15:30 and fills with tour groups from mid-morning.
Dress
Shoulders and knees covered at every stop. Take your shoes off before you step into a hall. Dress code for all temples
If the Grand Palace is closed for a ceremony, do Wat Pho and Wat Arun only, starting at stop 2. Check the official schedule, never a stranger outside. Official Grand Palace schedule
If a guide is easier
If you would rather have a guide: these tours cover the same temples. Entrance fees are paid separately. Tour prices often leave out entrance fees. For the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun the fees add up to about ฿1,000 a person on top.
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1 Grand Palace
Stay
150 min
Fee
฿500
Hours
tickets 08:30–15:30
Basis
Official
First because ticket sales end at 15:30. Enter by the Mani Noppharat Gate; Wat Phra Kaew comes first, then the palace buildings. Give it about two and a half hours.
Look for
The Emerald Buddha, about 66 cm tall. Small, high on its gilded throne, and dressed in one of three seasonal costumes (hot, rainy and cool season), changed by the King or a senior royal.
112 garudas around the ordination hall. A golden row of them holds up the base of the hall, which stands on 48 square columns. Walk the outside before you go in.
Phra Si Rattana Chedi. The golden bell-shaped chedi on the upper terrace, from 1855, later covered in gold tiles brought from Italy.
Lunchtime is fine here: Wat Pho stays open into the evening, and the cloisters are shaded. About an hour and a half.
Look for
The Reclining Buddha, 46 m long and 15 m high. It fills its hall so closely that you never see it whole: walk from the head to the feet and back along the other side.
The soles, 3 m high and 4.5 m long. Inlaid with mother-of-pearl in 108 panels. They are at the far end of the hall; most people photograph the face and miss them.
108 bronze bowls along the wall. People drop a coin in each for luck. It is allowed, and the sound carries through the hall.
Last because it is across the river, but it closes at 18:00 (review-based), so cross by mid-afternoon. About an hour.
Look for
The central prang, about 70–80 m by most counts. Sources give anything from 66.8 m to 86 m. Its surface is set with pieces of porcelain: worth a close look on the lower terraces.
A seven-pronged trident at the top. Often called the Trident of Shiva. Easier to see from the ground on the river side.
Indra on the three-headed elephant Erawan. Four statues on the second terrace, one facing each direction.