Bang Krachao Island – bike trip with kids to Bangkok’s green oasis

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Bang Krachao Island, also known as the “Green Lungs of Bangkok,” is a small man-made island on the Chao Phraya River in Thailand’s capital. Since mass tourism hasn’t reached it, it’s quiet and peaceful there. Instead of skyscrapers, crowds, and fumes, there are bike paths, cottages like those in Polish garden plots, small cafes, fields, and meadows. There’s even a tropical jungle! The best way to explore the island is by bike.

Check out how to organize such a several-hour bike trip with kids.

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How did Bang Krachao Island come about?

Bang Krachao is an artificial island that kind of happened by accident. In the 19th century, during the reign of King Rama III, the Thai government dug a canal that was meant to shorten the waterway from Bangkok to the eastern provinces of the country. During the excavation, the Bang Krachao canal was created, and the earth dug up from this canal was used to raise the land and create an artificial island.

Originally, Bang Krachao was used as agricultural land, but over time it transformed into today’s green oasis. Thanks to its unique location and ecosystem protection, the island has become a nature reserve and is popular among nature lovers and tourists looking for something more than the crowded areas of Bangkok.

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How to get to Bang Krachao Island?

To reach Bang Krachao, you can use several different piers on the Chao Phraya River, located on the eastern bank of Bangkok. The most popular ports from which you can ferry to the island are:

• Klong Toey Pier: This is one of the most popular piers, about 10-15 minutes by boat from the island. This pier is well-known and easily accessible from many parts of Bangkok.
• Wat Klong Toey Nok Pier: Another option, also located near Klong Toey. It’s a smaller pier, but still offers easy access to Bang Krachao.
• Wat Bang Na Pier: This is one of the more charming piers, located closer to the southern end of the island.

We used the last pier – its name is also the name of a Buddhist temple, so it’s quite easy to find on the map of Bangkok (Google Maps – there are also directions for public transport). We left our car in a small parking lot just before the Golden Gate leading to the temple. A few hundred meters beyond the gate, right above the pier, is a small booth with tickets for the ferry to the island. The ticket seller writes them out by hand on small cards – it has the date and phone number of the carrier (you need to keep them and give them back to the lady on the way back).

Ferries run regularly every few to several minutes from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The crossing is very short, just a few minutes.

Round-trip boat ticket cost: 20 baht per person (c.a 0,7 €).

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Where to rent bikes to tour Bang Krachao?

The boat takes us directly to a bike rental on the island. There’s really a good selection of different bikes (city, mountain, trekking), both for adults and children. For little ones, there are good-quality bike seats.

Cost of renting a bike for the whole day: 80 baht per person (less than 2€).

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Bang Krachao Island – what’s worth seeing there?

I think the best way to get to know Bang Krachao is just to ride around it without a specific goal. Everywhere you can find some cool spots: narrow paths between fields, small streets along which wooden traditional Thai cottages or more modern small villas stretch, every now and then you might even see groups of storks. There are small rivers where fishermen cast nets for fish, cafes with good coffee and cakes, shops, green areas, larger and smaller temples.

However, if you like to have a specific sightseeing plan, Bang Krachao has a few cool points that are worth visiting.

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Bang Krachao Floating Market (Bang Nam Peung)

In the middle of the island, there is a traditional marketplace, called a floating market. I don’t really know why, because it’s not a typical floating market like you see on Thai postcards. It’s a regular market surrounded by water channels. But it’s still worth going there to try various local specialties: pink sticky rice baked on fire in bamboo pieces, coconut ice cream, fish sausages, pickled garlic, soy and coconut colorful jellies, traditional coconut pancakes from crepe dough, or a large selection of Thai dishes.

Besides, there’s a lot of embroidered and handmade clothing (next to “traditional Chinese stuff”), Thai souvenirs, or a huge selection of rubber flip-flops. There are also plenty of Buddhist souvenirs. Although there are only a few short alleys, you can spend a lot of time there (especially if you’re with kids).

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Sri Nakhon Khuean Khan Park

Although there isn’t much traffic on the whole island and you ride along calm small streets (apart from a short stretch through the floating market where you have to ride along a busy street), it’s still worth visiting the quietest place on the whole island. It’s a park covering 111,000 square meters. So it’s one of the biggest parks in Bangkok.

There are asphalt bike and walking paths. Wooden bridges, lakes, and a piece of real jungle with a paved bike path where there are puddles and mud.

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Is it safe to ride on Bang Krachao Island?

Well, our answer is: it depends. The traffic there is definitely much, much less than in the rest of the city. Additionally, since there are bike paths along all the roads of the island, drivers drive much more calmly – they are used to cyclists. And it’s flat (apart from a few climbs in the park). The surface is also good.

One challenge is the narrow concrete piers about half a meter above the ground, which you can ride on to see the wildest, most picturesque side of the island. These piers stretch along cultivated fields and between small houses. You have to be careful on them, especially on turns or when a scooter is coming from the opposite direction.

Our seven-year-old Jasiek got distracted once and fell off such a path along with his bike. Luckily, the boy managed to secure himself and nothing happened to him – he landed on soft grass full of trash :). He rode much more carefully for the rest of the trip.

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How much time should you allocate for exploring Bang Krachao?

You should reserve at least 2 hours for a trip around the island. However, it’s best to spend 4-5 hours there to calmly explore the whole area: stop for coffee or some food, walk around the marketplace, sit in the park, or wander along the temples. A break from the crowded, noisy Bangkok is really very useful.

Our kids said it was one of the cooler days (along with the safari in Kui Buri National Park, where they saw some of the last wild elephants in Thailand) during our road trip through Thailand.

And their recommendation is incredibly valuable.