Wat Arun

How to get there, and the dress code that catches people out

Wat Arun sits on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, directly opposite Wat Pho and the Grand Palace. The simplest approach is also the best: finish at Wat Pho, walk three minutes to Tha Tien pier, and take the cross-river ferry — about ฿5 (raised to ฿7 in an April 2026 fare update), a few minutes’ crossing, which lands you almost at the temple gate. Pay cash at the pier desk before you board. The spires growing as you cross the water is the entrance most people remember.

Entry is ฿200 for foreign visitors (Thai nationals go free), paid at the gate — there’s nothing to book ahead and rarely a real queue. The catch is the dress code: shoulders and knees covered, for men and women, no vests or shorts. It’s checked at the entrance, and underdressed visitors get sent to borrow a sarong before they’re let in. Turn up already covered and you walk straight through.

When to go, what you can climb, and is it worth it?

Two facts shape the timing. First, the upper steps of the 70m central prang have been roped off in recent years for safety — you can still climb the lower terraces for the river view and a close look at the broken-porcelain mosaic that covers the whole tower, but not to the top. Second, the temple’s best face is its silhouette. Go early (from 08:00) to walk the grounds in cooler air with fewer people, then for the real payoff cross back to the east bank near Tha Tien at dusk and watch the prang light up over the water — that view is free and the best in central Bangkok. Allow about an hour inside, plus the ferry each way.

Worth it, and it gives you two sights for one ฿200 ticket. Pair it with Wat Pho (the reclining Buddha) on the same morning since they share the ferry, and save the floodlit river view for the evening rather than trying to do everything in the midday heat.