The Ultimate FIVE-Day Tour Ideas for SOLO Travelers in Bangkok

Looking for day tour ideas for solo travelers in Bangkok? We have Five for you to optimize your itinerary.

As one of the most renowned tourist spots in the world, there are a lot of options for traveling in Bangkok. While you can build your one-week itinerary easily and do it all by yourself, you may also want to add in some day tours amongst your ideas.

Especially, when you are traveling alone in Bangkok, the organized day tour serves as a very option for fitting in your free days. Not only you would have more in-depth information about the attractions from the local tour guides, but you could also meet some fellow travelers during each of the tours. Who knows what is in store, you could be meeting your would-be friends, travel companions, or even life partners.

So I highly recommend you to have at least one or two local day traveling Bangkok solo. For that, I have summarized five ideas for you to consider.

Day Tour Ideas for Solo Travelers in Bangkok 1 – Activities in the city center

While it is possible to travel around the Bangkok city center by yourself, there are a lot of activities that can only be done on a group base. Examples include sightseeing buses, cooking, or cycling experiences. These activities usually last for 3 or 4 hours on a group basis. It can easily provide you with a deeper understanding of the locals and opportunities to meet others.

Thai Food Sightseeing Bus

Sightseeing bus is no stranger to most of us. How about a food sightseeing bus? In Bangkok, you would spot people chilling out on some sophisticated double-deck bus with food and drinks. These buses are mostly offered by local operators to combine Thai food tasting, icon-visiting, and mingling in one offer.

The tour can range from 3 hours to 6 hours depending on your availability. On the bus, you can sample local snacks, and meals such as Thai iced tea, coffee, papaya salad, coconut pancakes, mango sticky rice, and more. While enjoying the meals, the bus will also stop in the main locations around the city such as the Democracy Monument, Golden Mount, Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha Temple, and China Town. At each point, you can learn the story, history, and culture via the explanation of the tour guide on the bus.

You can choose from a lunch tour, afternoon tea, or dinner tour. The bus also provides free wifi and USB chargers.

Despite being offered by the local operators, it is cheaper and more reliable to book via renowned international travel agents in advance. Plus most of them provide 24-hour cancellation options. Some recommendations are below for you to choose from.

Bike tour in Bangkok

If you are looking for activities that can burn off (partially) the calories from the tasty Thai food, a local bike tour is something you should consider. There are multiple bike tours led by local guides available in Bangkok. Normally, the guide will take you to cycle around the quiet backstreet and alleyways instead of the dangerous busy roads. Along the journey, you will experience vibrant street markets, family shops, and the local temples.

The tours usually take around 3 hours, some include lunch and some even include a canal boat tour. By having the same activity together, it is easy to meet another international traveler for solo travelers.

Thai Cooking Class

Other than eating or cycling, cooking class is another great interactive activity for solo travelers to meet each other. Of course, Bangkok will have its versions of cooking classes. By joining the local cooking class, you will learn how to cook some of the most famous Thai cuisines with fellow participants. The instructors will offer you a recipe book and detailed guidelines for how to prepare a full course of Thai cuisine. That would include appetizers like satay & green papaya salad and mains like Thai curry and mango sticky rice. 

Normally a cooking class will last for four hours. The dishes may differ slightly according to the package you select.

Day Tour Ideas for Solo Travelers in Bangkok 2 – Floating Markets Day Tour

Want to explore further from the City center? The floating market tour is a good economic choice for solo travelers like us. Most of the local floating market tours in Bangkok would take you to the largest and most famous Damnoen Saduak floating market in the Country. Some tours would also add in other attractions such as the Maeklong Railway Market where you can experience an exotic local market where a train will pass by several times per day. From there you can take a photo of a train passing local stores at a very close distance.

On top of that, some tours would even add an option for a fireflies tour at Amphawa Floating Market River. The group is usually large with 20 people even during the weekday. It is a nice day tour for solo travelers in Bangkok to combine sightseeing, shopping, and friends-meeting in a day.

Day Tour Ideas for Solo Travelers in Bangkok 3 – Temple Walking Tours

If you are visiting Bangkok first time, you must go for the temple visits. Zheng Wang temple (Wat Arun), the Reclining Buddha temple (Wat Pho) and the Emerald Buddha temple (the Grand Palace). While, it is totally possible and even cheaper to visit them on your own, topping up for a walking tour is a very good idea.

First, the local tour guide could explain the major pieces, history, and stories of each temple. They will also help you take photos (which is very important for solo travelers like us). Other than that, you will also get a chance to meet your fellow travelers for the historical journey.  Plus, you will always have someone for photo taking.

Although I did choose to walk on my own during my stay in Bangkok, I would have chosen a walking tour for a more detailed elaboration next time.

Day Tour Ideas for Solo Travelers in Bangkok 4 – Night Life Experience

Apart from the food, shopping, and wats, Bangkok is also famous for its nightlife. Although you may not be a party animal (same as I am), there is no harm in learning a bit about the night culture. However, going alone to the bar areas as a solo traveler in Bangkok is not recommended. Apart from safety issues, it is often hard to feel the atmosphere alone. Why would you want to drink alone, while seeing others having fun?

For that, a short tour for the experience of the nightlife i.e. pub club crawl could be an ideal option for us. Led by knowledgeable and fun local guides, you can safely pub crawl in a group for a night drinking, dancing, and meeting new friends in Bangkok. On top of that, you will also learn about the local culture, hidden gems for bars, and rules that you would not be able to know if you were visiting alone.

Day Tour Ideas for Solo Travelers in Bangkok 5 – A day tour out of Bangkok

Other than in-city activities, having a day out of Bangkok is also a good option for your itinerary planning. Especially, traveling to other cities such as Ayutthaya or Kanchanaburi is usually cheaper via day tour than solo travel. For example, you will usually need to negotiate locally for a tuk-tuk for travel to different temples in Ayutthaya which is more expensive than taking a local tour in the absence other splitting the cost.

Ayutthaya Day Tour

Ayutthaya and Kanchanaburi are the most common tours for a day tour from Bangkok. Ayutthaya as the ancient capital of Thailand (Siam) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Chao Phraya River Valley. With a long history dating back to 1350, it was one of the most wealthiest and cosmopolitan trading centers in Asia during that time. There you will find the most iconic temples in Thailand including the largest Reclining Buddha at Wat Lokayasutharam and the famous Buddha in the tree.  Some local tours would take you to the local night market to experience the difference between Ayutthaya and Bangkok.

Kanchanaburi Day Tour

Kanchanaburi is famous for its historical significance during World War II and its natural beauty. For the former, a must-visit site is the infamous Death Railway and the iconic Bridge over the River Kawai. Furthermore, there are also icons including JEATH War Museum, Thai-Burma Railway Center, and Kanchanaburi War Cemetery related to the same historical context. Apart from the historical part, Kanchanaburi is a paradise for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. It is famous for its wildlife sanctuaries, Erawan National Park, and Sai Yok National Park where you can witness the natural wonders such as forests and waterfalls and wildlife such as elephants and gibbons.

Both places can fit well in one full day during your visit to Bangkok. And by having a group tour to such wonderful places, solo travelers like us can meet fellow travelers around the world as well.

Other Day Tour Ideas for Solo Travelers in Bangkok

Other than the five recommendations for traveling solo in Bangkok, there are a lot of other day tours that may interest you. For example, if you want to have close experience with animals, you could go to the Bangkok Safari World. Although the safari itself could be controversial and usually visited by families instead of solo travelers, you may check out our other blog post for Bangkok Safari World in advance.

Or there are theme parks, massages, and other experiences available to fit your preference.

Please leave me a comment about which day trip you enjoy the most in Bangkok while traveling solo there.