In this guide
💡 The Short Version: A Chao Phraya dinner cruise is a 2-hour round trip past Bangkok’s lit-up river landmarks, including Wat Arun, the Grand Palace and the Rama VIII Bridge. There are two styles: large buffet ships carrying hundreds of passengers with live music, and teak rice barges serving a plated Thai set menu to about 60 guests. The Chao Phraya Princess sails 19:30 to 21:30 and sells direct, with the adult ticket shown at 790 THB, marked down from 1,900 THB, on its own booking page, which closes at 4 pm on the day. Book 3 to 7 days ahead and ask for an upper-deck table. Or book a tour: the Chao Phraya Princess dinner cruise ticketad (from ฿850, 4.2 stars from 882 reviews) lets you pick the pier and sailing, with hotel pickup on some options.
Two styles of Chao Phraya dinner cruise
The choice is between a lively buffet with a band and a quiet fine-dining table on an old wooden boat.
| Cruise category | Example operators | Price | Meal service | Atmosphere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large buffet ship | Chao Phraya Princess, White Orchid, Wonderful Pearl, The Planet, Meridian | From 790 THB direct or 850 THB on GetYourGuide, up to 1,750 THB | Self-serve international, seafood and Thai buffet | Multi-deck ships, live band, Thai dance show, open-air top deck |
| Teak rice barge or yacht | Manohra, Pruek | From 7,990 THB on GetYourGuide | Plated Thai set menu | Restored teak barge or private yacht, about 60 guests at most, unhurried |
Tours and tickets on GetYourGuide
GetYourGuide sells the major buffet boats with a choice of pier and sailing. Its “from” prices are the cheapest option in each listing, which is often the sunset or the standard-deck ticket.
Chao Phraya Princess
From ฿850 · 4.2 stars from 882 reviews · 1½ to 2 hours · hotel pickup option
Bangkok: Chao Phraya Princess Dinner Cruise Ticketad includes a welcome drink, live music and a Thai dance show, with an international buffet. Choose from the Asiatique, ICONSIAM or Terminal 21 Rama 3 piers; the Terminal 21 sailing serves an Indian buffet. The “Thai visitors” options are for Thai citizens only, and children aged 1 to 3 are free.
White Orchid with free beer
From ฿1,128 · 4.4 stars from 5,474 reviews · 2 to 4½ hours · hotel pickup option
Bangkok: White Orchid Chao Phraya Dinner Cruise with Free Beerad includes an unlimited Thai and international buffet with vegetarian dishes, a welcome drink, an open bar with beer, live music, and a Thai cultural and cabaret show on the night cruise. It leaves from Asiatique The Riverfront or ICONSIAM.
Wonderful Pearl
From ฿1,750 · 4.5 stars from 189 reviews · 2 hours
Bangkok: Wonderful Pearl Luxury Romantic Dinner Cruisead is a gourmet buffet with salmon sashimi, steak and live cooking stations, a live band and a Thai dance show, on a 19:30 to 21:30 sailing. Exchange your ticket at River City Pier, first floor, exit 2, between 18:30 and 19:20.
The Planet
From ฿1,100 · 4.3 stars from 1,065 reviews · 1½ to 3½ hours
Bangkok: The Planet Sunset Dinner Cruise on the Chao Phraya Riverad is a three-deck boat with an open-air rooftop. The sunset sailing runs 17:15 to 18:45 and the dinner sailing 20:00 to 22:00, both from Pier 1 at Asiatique; exchange your ticket at Warehouse 7 and 8. The Thai dance show is part of the dinner programme only.
Manohra rice barge
From ฿7,990 · 2 hours · no reviews yet
Bangkok: Manohra Premium Chao Phraya River Dining Cruisead boards Manohra Star, a restored antique rice barge, for a Thai dinner with modern twists and drinks. Manohra’s own fleet is made up of teak barges more than 100 years old, and the Manohra Star takes up to 60 guests (manohracruises.com).
The Rama VIII Bridge at night. Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Official ticket or tour: the prices side by side
The Chao Phraya Princess sells direct on its own booking page, where the adult ticket is shown at 790 THB, marked down from a list price of 1,900 THB, and the ticket for a child aged 4 to 10 at 650 THB, down from 1,500 THB. GetYourGuide’s “from” price is the lowest option in its listing.
| What you want | Official | On GetYourGuide |
|---|---|---|
| Chao Phraya Princess dinner cruise, 19:30 to 21:30, adult | 790 THB (list price 1,900 THB) | From ฿850; choose the pier and sailing in the listing |
| Chao Phraya Princess, child aged 4 to 10 | 650 THB (list price 1,500 THB) | Children’s rate in the same listing; ages 1 to 3 are free |
| Indian buffet, Charoen Nakhon Pier Soi 61 | Same booking page, Indian buffet programme | Terminal 21 Rama 3 pier option in the listing |
| Cancelling or changing the date | Not allowed once booked | Per option, shown on the listing |
For the Chao Phraya Princess, book direct: the operator’s page is the cheaper of the two, but it stops taking online bookings at 4 pm on the day and its tickets cannot be refunded, changed or cancelled. GetYourGuide is worth using to compare other boats such as White Orchid and The Planet in one place, or when you want hotel pickup.
Large buffet cruises
Ships such as the White Orchid, Wonderful Pearl and Chao Phraya Princess are Bangkok’s most common cruise format:
- Dining: self-serve buffet stations with grilled river prawns, mussels, sushi, Thai curries, pad thai, carved meats, salads and fruit desserts. Water, coffee and tea are included; beer, wine and cocktails are extra unless the listing says free beer.
- Entertainment: a live band plays pop covers on the top deck, with short traditional dance demonstrations and cabaret routines.
- Atmosphere: festive and noisy; popular with families, tour groups and birthdays (the Chao Phraya Princess gives a free birthday cake).
Luxury teak boat dining
For couples who want a quieter table, hotel-linked operators run restored vessels:
- Manohra Cruises (Anantara): antique teak rice barges named after the Sun, Moon and Star, with a Thai set menu and a premium menu option (manohracruises.com).
- Saffron Cruise (Banyan Tree): a modern dining vessel with a rooftop lounge for cocktails before dinner.
- Pruek Cruise: a three-storey private wooden yacht with a champagne welcome and a four-course Thai dinner.
Tables are spaced well apart, with table-side service.
Route highlights: Bangkok at night
Dinner cruises run a round trip along the central stretch of the Chao Phraya, turning at the Rama VIII Bridge, so the landmarks come in this order:
- Santa Cruz Church: a Portuguese-founded Catholic church with an illuminated dome on the Thonburi bank.
- Wat Kalayanamit: a riverside temple whose giant seated gold Buddha is lit through tall wooden doors.
- Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn): the central spire glows under golden floodlights.
- The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew: green and orange tiled roofs, gilded chedis and spires above the white palace walls.
- Rama VIII Bridge: a single-tower cable-stayed bridge with gold-lit stay cables.
By day you can enter the temples: see Wat Arun tickets and Grand Palace tickets.
Departure piers and getting there
Most dinner cruises board at one of three riverside complexes. The Chao Phraya Princess’s own booking sends international-buffet guests to the ICONSIAM pier unless you choose otherwise, and Indian-buffet guests to Charoen Nakhon Pier Soi 61 (chaophrayaprincess.com). Asiatique and River City are the departure points for several other boats.
ICONSIAM
ICONSIAM is on the west (Thonburi) bank in Khlong San:
- By BTS and Gold Line: take the BTS Silom Line to Krung Thon Buri station, then the automated BTS Gold Line one stop to Charoen Nakhon station, which opens into ICONSIAM.
- By river shuttle: take the BTS Silom Line to Saphan Taksin station (exit 2) and walk to Sathorn Pier, where free ICONSIAM shuttle boats run every 10 minutes (a 5-minute crossing).
Asiatique The Riverfront
Asiatique is further south, off Charoen Krung Road:
- By river shuttle (fastest): take the BTS Silom Line to Saphan Taksin (exit 2) and walk to Sathorn Pier for the free Asiatique shuttle boat.
- By taxi: Charoen Krung Road is jammed between 17:30 and 19:30, so the free shuttle from Saphan Taksin is quicker.
Asiatique The Riverfront from the river. Photo: Slyronit, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Check-in
- Arrive at the pier ticket desk at least 45 minutes before departure, by about 18:45 for a 19:30 sailing.
- Show your e-voucher or booking QR code at the registration desk.
- Staff give you a boarding pass, a coloured sticker and your table number.
- Boarding starts about 15 minutes before departure.
Booking advice: choosing your table
- Ask for the open-air upper deck. Add it as a note when you book on GetYourGuidead or Klookad{rel=“sponsored nofollow noopener”}. The top deck has the breeze and the open sightlines; the lower enclosed deck is air-conditioned, but window reflections spoil photographs.
- Rain: open decks carry transparent awnings, or staff move diners to covered salons downstairs.
- Timing: book 3 to 7 days ahead for Friday to Sunday sailings and from November to February.
- Loy Krathong: on 24 November 2026 the river is busier and the dinner cruises cost more; see Loy Krathong in Bangkok.
For waterfront accommodation with private boat piers, see hotels on the Chao Phraya River. For daytime ferries and the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat, check Bangkok public transport and the hop-on hop-off guide. The wider plan is in the Bangkok travel guide.
Common questions
How much does a Chao Phraya dinner cruise cost in Bangkok?
Large buffet cruises are the cheaper option. On GetYourGuide the Chao Phraya Princess is from 850 THB, White Orchid from 1,128 THB, The Planet from 1,100 THB and Wonderful Pearl from 1,750 THB. The Chao Phraya Princess's own booking page shows an adult ticket at 790 THB, marked down from a list price of 1,900 THB. A plated dinner on a teak rice barge costs far more, from 7,990 THB on GetYourGuide.
Where do Bangkok dinner cruises depart from?
Most leave from Asiatique The Riverfront, ICONSIAM or River City. The Chao Phraya Princess's own booking defaults to the ICONSIAM pier for its international buffet and to Charoen Nakhon Pier Soi 61 for its Indian buffet. Free shuttle boats link Asiatique and ICONSIAM with BTS Saphan Taksin.
What do you see on a Chao Phraya dinner cruise?
Cruises pass Bangkok's illuminated waterfront landmarks, including Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn), the Grand Palace, Wat Kalayanamit, Santa Cruz Church and the Rama VIII suspension bridge with its gold-lit cables.
How long is a Bangkok dinner cruise and what time does it depart?
Dinner cruises last about 2 hours. The Chao Phraya Princess and Wonderful Pearl sail 19:30 to 21:30, with check-in opening from about 18:30; The Planet's dinner sailing from Asiatique is 20:00 to 22:00, and its sunset sailing is 17:15 to 18:45.
Do I need to book a Chao Phraya dinner cruise in advance?
Yes. Book 3 to 7 days ahead, and earlier on Friday to Sunday and in the November to February high season, to be sure of an upper-deck table. The lower decks are air-conditioned but without the river breeze.
