In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Foreign visitor tickets for the Grand Palace cost 500 THB. You can buy them at the ticket offices inside the palace, or online up to a month ahead on the official site; online tickets cannot be refunded or changed. It is open daily from 08:30 to 15:30, with the grounds clearing at 16:30. Enter by the Mani Noppharat gate. The palace’s own list of banned clothing includes sleeveless shirts, shorts, tight trousers and mini skirts, so wear sleeves and full-length, loose trousers or a long skirt. The ticket also takes you to the Khon masked dance show, three times a day from Monday to Friday. Tuk-tuk drivers outside who say the palace is closed for a ceremony are pitching commission stops; walk past them to the gate. Or book a tour: the five-hour guided tour of the palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arunad (from ฿750, 4.8 stars from 6,053 reviews) takes a group of up to ten with a guide who gets you past the ticket queue, plus a boat across the river.
⚠️ Dress code. The palace refuses entry in the clothing on its banned list (see below), so check what you are wearing before you queue.
Ticket prices and what is included
The ticket office is inside the grounds, and online tickets are sold on the official site.
| Ticket type | Price | Inclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign adult visitor | 500 THB | Wat Phra Kaew, the Grand Palace grounds, the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, and the Khon show at Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre |
| Thai citizen | Free | Show an ID card at the entrance |
| Children under 120 cm | Free |
The 500 THB ticket includes:
- Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha): the royal chapel containing the Emerald Buddha, carved from jadeite. Take your shoes off before entering the hall.
- The Grand Palace grounds: the Chakri Maha Prasat Hall and the neighbouring royal halls.
- Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles: inside the palace compound.
- The Khon show at Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre: foreign visitors who bought a Grand Palace ticket can take it to the show (royalgrandpalace.th). There are three 25-minute performances from Monday to Friday, at 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00. A shuttle bus waits at the Phiman Deves gate, leaving 30 minutes before each show. A show-only ticket costs 400 THB at the theatre.
Prasat Phra Thep Bidorn between two golden chedis, Wat Phra Kaew. Photo: Basile Morin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
An audio guide in eight languages (English, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Thai) costs 200 THB to rent, with a passport or credit card left as a deposit (royalgrandpalace.th FAQ).
Tours that include the palace
The palace ticket is the same 500 THB with or without a guide, so a tour is paying for a guide, the other temples and the logistics, not for access. Every tour below is sold on GetYourGuide, and the dress code applies to tour groups as much as to anyone else.
Small group, three temples in one morning
From ฿750 · 4.8 stars from 6,053 reviews · 5 hours · groups of up to 10
Bangkok: Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun Guided Tourad: an English-speaking guide takes a group of no more than ten round the palace, the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho and Wat Arun, with a boat across the river and a bottle of water. The group meets outside Golden Place at Tha Chang pier and finishes at Tha Tien pier. The listing says entrance fees are paid at the official ticket counters on the day and that the guide gets the group past the queue. Anyone who has not joined the group 30 minutes after the start is not let on the tour.
Half-day guided walk
From ฿700 · 4.8 stars from 467 reviews · 4 hours · walking
Bangkok: Half-Day Guided Tour of the Grand Palace, Wat Pho & Wat Arunad: a licensed English-speaking guide, a bottle of water and the ferry across the river, starting at the palace gate at a coffee shop with a red tent. Entry fees are not included; the listing prices them at 500 THB for the palace, 300 THB for Wat Pho and 200 THB for Wat Arun, so the guide and the three tickets come to about 1,700 THB.
Private half-day with entry fees included
From ฿3,500 · 4.8 stars from 589 reviews · 4 hours · private · air-conditioned car
Bangkok: Grand Palace & Wat Pho Half-Day Private Tourad: a private guide and an air-conditioned car for the palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, not Wat Arun. The listing includes the entry fees, which it puts at 500 THB for the palace and 200 THB for Wat Pho. It suits a family or a small group that wants one guide and no ticket queues of its own.
Private day with hotel transfer and lunch
From ฿4,450 · 4.8 stars from 912 reviews · 5 hours · private · hotel pick-up
Bangkok: Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun Private Tourad: a round-trip Bangkok hotel transfer, a private guide, admission to the palace and the Emerald Buddha temple, water, a cold towel and lunch. Wat Pho and Wat Arun entry are included when you choose the options with them. The listing notes that photography is allowed in the palace grounds and the temple compound but not inside the buildings.
Official ticket or tour: the prices side by side
Official prices from the Grand Palace and Wat Pho; the GetYourGuide column is the “from” price in baht.
| What you want | Official | On GetYourGuide |
|---|---|---|
| The palace and Wat Phra Kaew, no guide | 500 THB | |
| The palace and Wat Pho, no guide | 800 THB (500 and 300) | |
| A guide for the palace with an audio guide | 500 THB plus 200 THB for the audio guide | From ฿750 for the group tour, entry fees extra |
| The palace and Wat Pho with a private guide and car | 800 THB for the two tickets | From ฿3,500 with entry fees included |
The official ticket is the better buy if you only want to see the palace: nothing on the tours opens a door the 500 THB ticket does not.
What to see inside
The palace was built from 1782, when the capital moved to the east bank of the river, and its grounds cover 218,000 square metres (royalgrandpalace.th). Wat Phra Kaew sits in the north-east of the front court, and no monks live there.
- Wat Phra Kaew’s cloister: a gallery of murals of the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Ramayana, runs round the temple courtyard.
- The Phra Si Rattana Chedi: a gilded spire on the upper terrace, with giant guardian figures (yaksha) from the Ramakien standing at the temple’s gates.
- Dusit Maha Prasat: a throne hall with white walls and a tiered gold spire.
- Chakri Maha Prasat: the hall on the cover of this page, Thai spires on a European-style building.
Ramakien mural, Wat Phra Kaew. Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The Phra Si Rattana Chedi and guardian giants. Photo: Welcome to Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Dress code
The palace publishes a list of clothing that is refused entry:
- sleeveless shirts and vests
- short tops and see-through tops
- shorts and short trousers
- torn trousers
- tight trousers and bike pants
- mini skirts and culotte-style skirts
- sleepwear
The “Palace is closed” scam
Around Sanam Luang park, along Phra Chan road and near Tha Chang pier, visitors on foot are regularly approached by friendly locals and tuk-tuk drivers asking where they are going.
When you say the Grand Palace, they typically tell you:
- The palace is closed for a Buddhist holiday.
- It is closed for a private royal prayer ceremony until 13:00.
- It is closed for cleaning or lunch.
They then offer to take you to “two open temples and a government export showroom” in a tuk-tuk for a few baht. The tour ends at tailor shops and gem emporiums where drivers earn commission.
The facts:
- The Grand Palace is open daily from 08:30 to 15:30.
- The entrance is the Mani Noppharat gate.
- Ignore advice from anyone outside the perimeter walls.
- The palace’s schedule page shows which parts are open on each day.
The Government of Canada’s travel advice warns of the gem and jewellery version of the same scam, where merchants sell lower-quality stones at inflated prices (travel.gc.ca). Thailand’s Tourist Police run a 24-hour hotline on 1155.
Dusit Maha Prasat. Photo: Supanut Arunoprayote, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
How to get to the Grand Palace
Traffic around the Rattanakosin historic district is dense during daytime hours. River transport or the subway avoids traffic queues.
By river boat (recommended)
- Take the BTS Silom Line to Saphan Taksin station (exit 2).
- Walk to the Sathorn pier under the bridge.
- Board the Chao Phraya Express Boat, orange flag. The orange-flag fare is a flat 19 THB.
- Get off at Tha Chang (N9); the palace is on the right of the pier.
For Wat Pho first, get off at Tha Tien (N8) and walk past the food stalls to the road junction. The Grand Palace is ahead and Wat Pho is about 10 minutes’ walk to the right.
By MRT subway
Take the MRT Blue Line to Sanam Chai station (exit 1). The palace is a walk north past Wat Pho; buses 3, 9, 44, 47, 53 and 82 also run from the station.
For transport from Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang into the centre, see Bangkok airport to the city. For temple open days and booking summaries, see the main Bangkok travel guide.
The next stops on the same side of the river are Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha and Wat Arun; the Rattanakosin old city walk links them with the temples east of the palace. The temple rules beyond the palace’s dress code are in Bangkok etiquette, and is Bangkok safe covers the touts who say the palace is closed.
Common questions
How much does a Grand Palace ticket cost in Bangkok?
500 THB for foreign visitors; Thai citizens enter free and children under 120 cm are free. The ticket covers the Grand Palace grounds, Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, and can be taken to the Khon dance show at Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre.
Can I buy Grand Palace tickets online?
Yes. Online tickets go on sale up to one month before your visit date, on the palace's official site. They cannot be refunded, changed to another date or time, or amended. You can also buy at the ticket offices inside the Grand Palace on the day.
What is the dress code for the Grand Palace?
The palace lists what is not allowed: sleeveless shirts, vests, short tops, see-through tops, shorts, torn trousers, tight trousers, bike pants, mini skirts, culotte-style skirts and sleepwear. Wear a T-shirt or shirt with sleeves and loose, full-length trousers or a long skirt.
Is the Grand Palace closed on certain days?
It is open daily from 08:30 to 15:30; tickets are sold until 15:30 and the grounds close at 16:30. Tuk-tuk drivers outside who say the palace is closed for a Buddhist prayer are touting for detours to gem shops and tailors.
Which gate do I enter the Grand Palace by?
Mani Noppharat gate. The Bureau of the Royal Household moved the entrance there on 10 January 2024.
How do I reach the Grand Palace by public transport?
Take the Chao Phraya Express Boat to Tha Chang Pier (N9), or the boat to Tha Tien (N8) and walk past Wat Pho. By MRT, get off at Sanam Chai station (exit 1) and walk north.
Is a Grand Palace tour worth it?
The 500 THB ticket gets you in with or without a guide. A tour adds a guide, the other two temples and a boat; the group tours on GetYourGuide start at 750 THB with entry fees paid separately at the official counters.
