Where to stay in Bangkok
Old City / Khao San is the cheapest area, at €24 a night for a mid-range hotel; Riverside the priciest, at €46. The table below gives each area's median price, surveyed on 15 October 2026, at constant comfort level.
| Area | Hostel | Mid-range hotel | Upscale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old City / Khao San | €860 | €2439 | €439 |
| Chinatown / Yaowarat | €109 | €2811 | too few surveyed |
| Siam | €920 | €3220 | €8412 |
| Silom | €815 | €3514 | €7812 |
| Sukhumvit / Asok | €109 | €3831 | €6349 |
| Riverside | €813 | €468 | €10718 |
| Thonglor / Ekkamai | too few surveyed | too few surveyed | €6917 |
| Ari | too few surveyed | too few surveyed | too few surveyed |
Median per night; the small figure is the number of properties surveyed. An area with fewer than 8 addresses in a tier shows no price: a median over five values shifts by a fifth if one moves.
The area costs you most at the top end
For hostels, the gap between the cheapest and priciest area is only 25%. For mid-range hotels it reaches 92%. Put differently: on a tight budget, pick the area for what is there, not for its price. From hotel level up, the address becomes a real lever.
The areas, one by one
Old City / Khao San€24 a night
The Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun are walkable, and Khao San holds most of the city's hostels. It is by far the densest area for lodging and the cheapest at equal comfort, with a gap that widens as you move up in tier. The drawback is transport: no skytrain station nearby, so you rely on the river boat, a taxi or a long walk. Suits you if your trip revolves around the temples and the historic centre, less so if you plan to cross the city daily.
Chinatown / Yaowarat€28 a night
Chinatown, known for its food streets that come alive at the end of the day. It is noticeably cheaper than the modern centre while staying halfway to the old city, which makes it a serious alternative to Khao San for anyone wanting character without mass tourism. The metro opened it up recently. The downside is noise and density: this is a trading and traffic district, not a quiet one, and the mid-range hotel offer remains limited.
Siam€32 a night
The city's transport hub and its big shopping malls, one stop from the main interchanges. Central without being touristy: you mostly cross paths with locals doing their shopping, and hotel prices sit in the middle of the range. It is the sensible compromise for a first visit, a metro ride from the temples and from the nightlife alike, without Sukhumvit's price or the old city's isolation. The atmosphere, though, is that of a shopping district, with little character after dark.
Silom€35 a night
The business district, dense with office towers and with street food at lunchtime. It changes rhythm completely depending on when you are there: very busy on weekdays, noticeably quieter at weekends once the offices empty. Lumphini Park, the largest green space in the centre, is walkable, and the metro serves the area well. Prices sit just below Sukhumvit's, for a comparable location. A good choice if you want central without the tourist feel, and if quiet evenings do not bother you.
Sukhumvit / Asok€38 a night
This is the modern centre, at the intersection of the two metro lines, which makes it the best connected point in Bangkok: the airport, the stations and most districts are reachable with no change or nearly none. You get the malls, the nightlife and a high density of international restaurants. It is also the priciest for hotels, and the gap with the old city exceeds fifty per cent at equal tier. The area has almost no sights of its own: you sleep here and set out from here.
Riverside€46 a night
The Chao Phraya bank, served by the river boats that link much of the historic sites without ever sitting in traffic. This is where the gap between tiers is sharpest in the whole comparator: reasonable at mid-range, it becomes by far the priciest at the top end, because the big international hotels cluster along the river. Mid-range is thinly represented, which limits the choice. Worth it if the view and the boat commute matter to you.
Thonglor / Ekkamai
Eastern Sukhumvit, residential and popular with expatriates, with a concentration of cafés, restaurants and cocktail bars. It is a place to live rather than to visit: no major sights, but a genuine neighbourhood life. The skytrain links it to the centre in about ten minutes. Our survey found only a handful of mid-range properties there, too few to publish a reliable median: the offer leans firmly towards apartments and the upper end.
Only 4 properties surveyed in this area at mid-range comfort: too few to publish a median.
Ari
A living neighbourhood north of the centre, appreciated for its shaded streets, independent cafés and markets. The skytrain puts it a quarter of an hour from the heart of the city, which makes it a quiet and noticeably cheaper base for a long stay. It has no tourist sights, and that is precisely what makes it pleasant. Our survey found very few properties there: lodging is scarce and books up early, which explains the absence of a published median.
Only 2 properties surveyed in this area at mid-range comfort: too few to publish a median.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area in Bangkok?
- Old City / Khao San, at €24 a night for a mid-range hotel, against €46 in Riverside. The gap holds at the same standard: these are two medians of the same tier, surveyed on the same day.
- Does the area really change the price?
- It depends on your tier, and this is the part the guides leave out. For hostels the gap between the cheapest and priciest area is only 25%. For mid-range hotels it rises to 92%. The further up you go, the more the address costs.
- Where do these prices come from?
- From a survey dated 15 October 2026, covering 175 Bangkok properties at mid-range comfort, 129 of which sit inside one of the areas above. Each price is its area's median, not a weighted average or an estimate.
Surveyed 15 October 2026. Prices move; this page is regenerated at every new collection.