Six dinner sailings work the Chao Phraya every night, and from the riverbank they look interchangeable: a lit-up boat, a buffet, a band, Wat Arun sliding past. They are not interchangeable. They leave from three different piers, they sail between 17:00 and 20:00, they are back between 18:30 and 22:15, and the gap between the cheapest and the dearest is ฿545 a head.
This page lays out what each one costs, where it boards, how long you are on the water and what is actually included, so you can pick on facts rather than on photographs. Every price here is the adult rate from the booking page on this site, checked September 2026.
| Cruise | Boards at | Sails | Back | Adult | Child | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chao Phraya Princess (sunset) | Asiatique | 17:00 | 18:30 | ฿850 | ฿650 | 4.4 (117) |
| Smile Riverside | ICONSIAM Pier 2 | 19:15 | 21:15 | ฿895 | ฿795 | 4.4 (99) |
| VIVA Alangka | Asiatique Pier 1 | 19:45 | 21:45 | ฿990 | ฿690 | 4.9 (81) |
| VIVA Alangka | Terminal 21 Rama 3 | 19:15 | 22:15 | ฿990 | ฿690 | 4.9 (81) |
| Chao Phraya Princess (dinner) | Asiatique | 19:30 | 21:30 | ฿1,200 | ฿950 | 4.4 (117) |
| Sawasdee Chaophraya | ICONSIAM Pier 4 | 18:45 | 20:45 | ฿1,295 | ฿995 | New for 2026 |
| The Opulence | ICONSIAM Pier 2 | 20:00 | 22:15 | ฿1,395 | ฿1,195 | 4.5 (58) |
Five boats, six sailings: the Princess sells a sunset run and a dinner run as separate tickets, and VIVA Alangka lets you board at either of two piers for the same fare. Ratings are the operator review scores shown on this site, with the number of reviews in brackets.
Child rates apply from age 4 to 10 on every boat except the Princess, which runs its child rate to age 11. Infants under 4 travel free on all of them, and every cruise requires at least one adult travelling with a child.
The spread is wider than the headline prices suggest once you put a family on board. For two adults and two children:
| Cruise | 2 adults + 2 children |
|---|---|
| Chao Phraya Princess, sunset | ฿3,000 |
| VIVA Alangka | ฿3,360 |
| Smile Riverside | ฿3,380 |
| Chao Phraya Princess, dinner | ฿4,300 |
| Sawasdee Chaophraya | ฿4,580 |
| The Opulence | ฿5,180 |
Note where VIVA Alangka lands. It is ฿95 more than Smile Riverside for an adult but ฿105 less for a child, so a family of four pays slightly less on the better-rated boat.
Two more things affect the number on your card. None of the five includes hotel transfers: you make your own way to the pier. And you can hold your seats with a deposit or pay in full, where paying in full adds a 5% card processing fee. The deposit option carries no fee, and the exact total is shown before you confirm.
Valentine's Day, Loy Krathong and New Year's Eve run as separate gala programmes on most of these boats and are priced separately, so the rates above do not apply on those nights.
The Chao Phraya Princess sunset sailing at ฿850. It leaves at 17:00 and is back at 18:30, so you are watching the sun go down behind Wat Arun rather than seeing the temples floodlit, and free-flow beer is included on this sailing only. Ninety minutes rather than two hours, and your evening is still ahead of you when you step off.
Smile Riverside at ฿895. A full two hours, an international buffet with the grill working through river prawns and butter-baked mussels, a Japanese counter doing sashimi and sushi, and the Smile River Band playing throughout. Tables are handed out at check-in rather than reserved in advance, which is the one good reason to arrive at the start of the window instead of the end.
VIVA Alangka at 4.9 from 81 reviews, the highest score of the six. It is also the only one where buffet beer for adults is in the base price, and the rooftop deck is fully open with a clear 360 degree view. You choose your pier when you book: Asiatique Pier 1 gets you two hours on the water, Terminal 21 Rama 3 gets you three, for the same money, because the boat collects the Asiatique guests on the way past.
Sawasdee Chaophraya at ฿1,295, with more than 120 dishes, a seafood counter running river prawns, Chilean mussels and scallops, and live stations for sushi, sashimi and carved roasts. Halal, vegetarian and vegan plates can be arranged if you say so in advance. It is also the earliest dinner departure at 18:45 and the earliest back at 20:45, which matters if you have an early flight or small children.
The Opulence at ฿1,395. Around 70 metres and room for roughly 700 guests across three decks, two air-conditioned behind panoramic glass and an open rooftop. It sails latest at 20:00 and stays out longest at two hours fifteen, and there is a live band, singers and a dance floor. Drinks are not included on this one, so budget for the bar.
Any of the after-dark sailings will give it to you. They all pass the same stretch: Wat Arun, the Grand Palace, Wat Kalayanamit and the bridges up to Rama VIII, all floodlit. What differs is where you stand while you take it. Smile Riverside has an uncovered bow on the top deck, VIVA Alangka and The Opulence have fully open rooftops, and Sawasdee has a skydeck above the glass-walled main deck.
Used by Smile Riverside (Pier 2), Sawasdee Chaophraya (Pier 4) and The Opulence (Pier 2). ICONSIAM sits on the Thonburi bank and is easiest on the BTS Gold Line to Charoen Nakhon, or on the mall's free shuttle boat from Sathorn Pier at Saphan Taksin BTS. Note that the three boats use different piers within the same complex, and Smile Riverside runs its main check-in desk indoors on the G floor at the Sook Siam counter rather than at the pier itself.
Used by both Chao Phraya Princess sailings and by VIVA Alangka's Asiatique option. A free shuttle boat runs from Sathorn Pier from late afternoon. The night market is at the pier, which is the practical argument for the sunset sailing: you are back on dry land at 18:30 with the market just getting going.
VIVA Alangka's alternative boarding point, with check-in on floor G near Gate 4. Further out than the other two and not on the BTS, so allow for traffic, but it buys you an extra hour on the river at no extra cost.
Check-in windows close before the boat leaves, not when it leaves, and on most of these the gap is 30 to 45 minutes. Turning up at the advertised sailing time means watching it go.
The Chao Phraya Princess sunset sailing at ฿850 per adult is the cheapest ticket, though it is a 90 minute sailing in daylight rather than an after-dark dinner cruise. The cheapest full after-dark dinner cruise is Smile Riverside at ฿895 per adult, with children at ฿795.
It is worth it for the view rather than the food. The stretch of river these boats sail is the only place you see Wat Arun, the Grand Palace and Wat Kalayanamit floodlit from the water, and two hours on the Chao Phraya costs less than a taxi tour of the same landmarks in traffic. The buffets are hotel-standard rather than remarkable, which is why the boat with 120 dishes charges a premium for it. If you are choosing between a cruise and a riverside restaurant purely on dinner, take the restaurant.
Smart casual is the standard across all five boats: no beachwear, shorts or flip-flops. Bring a light layer if you plan to spend the cruise on an open deck, since it is breezier on the water than on the street.
No. All five board at a pier and none of them includes hotel transfers. ICONSIAM and Asiatique are both reachable on a free shuttle boat from Sathorn Pier at Saphan Taksin BTS, and ICONSIAM is also on the BTS Gold Line.
Children aged 4 to 10 pay a reduced rate on every boat, and 4 to 11 on the Chao Phraya Princess. Infants under 4 travel free on all of them. The child rates run from ฿690 on VIVA Alangka to ฿1,195 on The Opulence, and at least one adult must travel with a child.
It varies, and it is the single biggest difference in what you get for the money. VIVA Alangka includes buffet beer for adults plus a welcome drink, water, tea and coffee. The Princess sunset sailing includes free-flow beer. Smile Riverside includes a welcome drink, water, tea and coffee but charges for alcohol and soft drinks. Sawasdee Chaophraya and The Opulence charge for all drinks from the bar.
Yes, all five sail nightly year round, rain included: the main decks are enclosed and air-conditioned, so weather changes the view rather than the sailing. The exceptions are the gala nights at Valentine's Day, Loy Krathong, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, which run as separate programmes at separate prices.
Prices, sailing times and piers checked September 2026 against each cruise's booking page on this site. Ratings are the operator review scores shown on those pages.