Chao Phraya Princess: Sunset or Dinner Cruise on the Chao Phraya
Highlights
- Two cruises in one listing: sunset sail at 17:00 or classic dinner cruise at 19:30
- Bangkok’s best-known river cruise, run by Tristar Floating Restaurant since 1990
- Sail past Wat Arun, the Grand Palace and the Rama VIII Bridge
- International buffet on both cruises, free-flow beer on the sunset sailing
- Live music on board and departures from Asiatique The Riverfront night market
Description
The Chao Phraya Princess has been around long enough that most people have seen it from the riverbank even if they never boarded it. The company behind it, Tristar Floating Restaurant, started out in 1990 as an actual floating restaurant and only moved into cruises in 2001 when the first Princess launched. They run seven boats now, so departures happen every night and the routine on board is well drilled, sometimes to the point of feeling a bit conveyor-belt at the pier, though it settles down once you're seated.
Pricing
Sunset Cruise
Adult
Age 12+
THB 850Child
Age 4-11
THB 650Infant
Age 0-3
Free
Dinner Cruise
Adult
Age 12+
THB 1,200Child
Age 4-11
THB 950Infant
Age 0-3
Free
- Step 1
Check-in at Asiatique The Riverfront
Both cruises leave from the same pier. Arrive at the Chao Phraya Princess counter at Asiatique The Riverfront before your sailing: the pier sits inside the Asiatique night market on Charoen Krung Road, easy to reach by taxi or the free shuttle boat from Sathorn (Saphan Taksin BTS) pier.
If you booked the Sunset Cruise, the boat sets off at 17:00 with the river still in daylight. The buffet opens as you sail, free-flow beer is included, and over 90 minutes you watch the sun drop behind Wat Arun and the temples of the old city before docking back at Asiatique at 18:30, with your evening still ahead of you.
If you booked the Dinner Cruise, boarding opens with a welcome drink and the boat sets off at 19:30, after dark. The international buffet runs through the two-hour cruise with hot coffee and tea included, live music plays on board, and the route passes the floodlit Wat Arun, Grand Palace and the illuminated bridges up to Rama VIII before returning at 21:30.
Both cruises dock where they started, right beside the Asiatique night market. Browse the stalls, ride the ferris wheel or catch the shuttle boat back to Sathorn pier.
Included
- Chao Phraya river cruise from Asiatique (sunset 17:00-18:30 or dinner 19:30-21:30, as selected)
- International buffet with hot coffee, tea and drinking water
- Free-flow beer (Sunset Cruise only)
- One complimentary welcome drink (Dinner Cruise)
- Live music entertainment on board
- Reserved table seating
Not included
- Drinks from the bar (beyond the free-flow beer on the Sunset Cruise and the welcome drink on the Dinner Cruise)
- Hotel transfers (the cruises depart from Asiatique The Riverfront)
- Smart-casual clothing (no beachwear)
- Camera or phone for the skyline
- A light jacket if you plan to stay out on deck
- Cash or card for extra drinks from the bar (dinner cruise)
This tour starts at a fixed meeting point. Please make your own way there.
Asiatique The Riverfront
Asiatique The Riverfront is on Charoen Krung Road south of the centre, and a taxi or Grab straight to the gate is easiest. Otherwise take the BTS to Saphan Taksin, walk to Sathorn pier and board the free Asiatique shuttle boat, which runs from 16:00 and takes under ten minutes. Check in at the Chao Phraya Princess counter and arrive 30 minutes before departure.
Check-in works the same for both cruises. Find the Chao Phraya Princess counter inside Asiatique, show your confirmation and they point you to the boat. Doors to the pier open a while before departure so there's no need to cut it fine.
If you booked the 17:00 sunset sailing you board in daylight and the buffet opens around the time the lines come off, with beer included for the whole 90 minutes. On the 19:30 dinner sailing you get handed a welcome drink on the way aboard and dinner runs through the full two hours. The food is the same style either way, a long buffet line of Thai standards next to western and Asian dishes. Coffee and tea are in the price, the bar is not.
There are musicians on every sailing, more background covers than a show you're expected to watch, so you can still talk. You don't have to stay at your table. Most people end up on the open deck at some point because the floodlit temples don't photograph well through glass.
The boat is back at Asiatique on time, 18:30 for sunset and 21:30 for dinner, with the night market right there when you step off.
FAQs
They are two separate sailings and you choose one when booking. The Sunset Cruise runs 17:00-18:30 in daylight and golden hour, and includes free-flow beer with the buffet. The Dinner Cruise runs 19:30-21:30 after dark, opens with a welcome drink, and serves the buffet with hot coffee and tea while the city lights are at their best; other drinks are extra. The route and live music are the same on both.
Both go from Asiatique The Riverfront on Charoen Krung Road, the big night market south of the old town. A taxi straight to the gate is easiest, or you can take the BTS to Saphan Taksin and use the free Asiatique shuttle boat from Sathorn pier, which runs into the evening. The Chao Phraya Princess counter is inside the market near the pier, check in there first.
The same buffet style on both sailings: a long line of Thai standards next to western and Asian dishes, with hot coffee, tea and drinking water in the price. Beer is free-flow on the sunset cruise. On the dinner cruise you get a welcome drink as you board and anything after that, beer, wine, cocktails or soft drinks, comes from the bar at your own expense.
Yes. Cancelling or moving your booking to another date is free up to 24 hours before the tour starts, and anything you have paid is refunded in full. Cancellations made less than 24 hours before the start time are non-refundable, and no-shows are not refunded. If we have to cancel, for example for weather or safety, you can move to another date or take a full refund.
Smart casual covers it. Light trousers or a dress is what most guests wear. Nobody gets turned away over clothes as far as we know, but swimwear and singlets would feel out of place at a dinner table.
Families are fine on either sailing. The child rate applies from age 4 up to 10, under-4s go free, and the buffet always has plain rice, noodles and fruit for fussy eaters. With small children the 17:00 departure is the easier one, home before bedtime.
Both run every night of the year with three exceptions: Valentine’s Day, Loy Krathong and New Year’s Eve, when the operator switches to gala pricing and normal tickets are not valid. Those dates are closed for booking here.
The dining decks are covered, so ordinary rain does not stop the sailing or the dinner. A heavy squall might keep you off the open deck for a while, but showers usually pass quickly enough to get your photos in.
