Guides
In-depth guides to help you get the most out of Khao San Road and the Banglamphu neighbourhood.
Khao San Road vs Sukhumvit: Where Should You Stay? (2026)
Every first-time Bangkok visitor hits the same fork in the road: Khao San or Sukhumvit? It is the single most common accommodation question in every Bangkok travel forum, every Reddit thread, every hostel common room debate. And for good reason — these two neighborhoods represent fundamentally different ways to experience the city.
Is Khao San Road Safe? Honest Guide for Travelers (2026)
Khao San Road has a reputation. Depending on who you ask, it is either the beating heart of Southeast Asian backpacking or a chaotic strip of sensory overload best avoided entirely. Neither take is accurate. The truth, as usual, sits somewhere in the middle — and the safety question has a straightforward answer.
Khao San Road to Grand Palace: Walking Guide (2026)
One of the best walks in Bangkok starts where the backpacker noise ends. Step off Khao San Road heading south and within fifteen minutes you're standing at the gates of the Grand Palace, one of the most spectacular royal complexes in Southeast Asia. The walk covers roughly 1.5 kilometres through Bangkok's old town — past temples, a revolutionary monument, and a vast royal field — and it's the kind of route that makes you understand why this city gets under people's skin.
Best Rooftop Bars Near Khao San Road (2026)
Khao San Road's nightlife reputation was built at street level — plastic chairs on the sidewalk, buckets from rolling carts, bass thumping out of neon-lit bars where the doors never close. But some of the best drinking in Bangkok's old town happens one or two flights up, where the noise fades just enough and the skyline opens into something you didn't expect to find in a backpacker district.
Khao San Road for First-Timers: Everything You Need to Know (2026)
Khao San Road is the most polarizing street in Southeast Asia. Some travelers land in Bangkok and head straight here, spending their entire trip within a few blocks of the strip. Others take one look, turn around, and never come back. Both reactions are valid.
Khao San Road Street Food: What to Eat & Where (2026)
Khao San Road street food is half the experience of visiting Bangkok's most famous backpacker strip — and your best meals here will cost less than your cheapest beer. While the neon signs and thumping bass might pull you in after dark, it is the smoke curling off charcoal grills and the sizzle of woks that will keep you coming back.
Khao San Road Nightlife: Best Bars & Clubs (2026)
Something happens to Khao San Road around sunset. The daytime market vendors start folding up their stalls of elephant pants and fake student IDs. The pad thai carts roll into position. And then the speakers come on — all of them, everywhere, at once — and a 400-meter stretch of cracked pavement in old Bangkok transforms into one of the most concentrated party zones in Southeast Asia.
Things to Do on Khao San Road: Complete Guide (2026)
Khao San Road is a 400-meter stretch of cracked pavement in Bangkok's Banglamphu district that has, over the past four decades, become the unofficial capital of backpacker Southeast Asia. It is loud. It smells like pad thai grease and cheap cologne and jasmine garlands all at once. A guy will try to sell you a suit. Another guy will try to sell you a ping pong show ticket. A woman will grab your arm and steer you toward a massage chair before you can say no.
Where to Stay Near Khao San Road: Complete Area Guide (2026)
Most first-timers book a hotel "on Khao San Road" without realizing that the backpacker district is actually a patchwork of distinct neighborhoods, each with its own personality. The difference between booking a room on Khao San itself versus a quiet lane two blocks away is the difference between sleeping above a nightclub and waking up to monks collecting alms along the river.
Best Party Hotels Near Khao San Road Bangkok (2026)
You already know what Khao San Road is. You've seen the photos — neon-drenched chaos, backpackers hoisting buckets of fluorescent booze, street vendors grilling satay at 2 AM while someone gets a questionable tattoo three feet away. What the photos don't capture is the sound. The overlapping basslines from six different bars, the guy on a megaphone selling ping pong show tickets, the collective roar of a Muay Thai knockout playing on a bar TV. It's sensory overload in the best possible
Best Budget Hotels & Hostels on Khao San Road (2026)
Khao San Road has been the beating heart of Southeast Asian backpacking for over four decades, and in 2026 it remains the single best place on the continent to find a cheap bed. Nowhere else can you roll off a flight, grab a pad thai for 60 baht, and collapse into a clean room for under fifteen bucks a night — all within stumbling distance of temples, rooftop bars, and the Chao Phraya River.
15 Best Hotels Near Khao San Road (2026)
Khao San Road draws millions of travelers every year, but here is what most first-timers get wrong: they book the cheapest room they can find on the road itself, then spend their trip sweating through thin walls while a bass-heavy sound system rattles their fillings until 3 AM. The smart move is to stay *near* Khao San Road — close enough to walk to the action, far enough to actually sleep.
What's On Tonight: Monday 2026-02-16
Tonight on Khao San Road: 1 events tonight, 10 places worth checking out. Here's what's worth your time.
Best Bars on Khao San Road: Where to Drink in Bangkok's Backpacker District
From legendary live music joints to rooftop cocktail bars, here's your guide to the best bars on Khao San Road and the surrounding Banglamphu neighbourhood.