7 Ways to Feel Luxurious in Bangkok (on a Budget)
We’ve been traveling the world for over two years on a budget of $2,000 per month for both of us (including flights, accommodations, phones, and everything else). As you can imagine, this means we’re on a pretty tight budget most of the time! But who doesn’t like a bit of luxury now and then?
Bangkok is one of our favorite cities for splurges of affordable luxury. While these options aren’t backpacker-level cheap, they’re dramatically less expensive than what you could expect to pay for the same experience in the United States. And when you can live so affordably most of the time, it makes sense to splurge on budget luxuries like these! In a month in Bangkok, we can typically do most of these (and more) while staying comfortably within our $2,000/month budget.
1. Use a Laundry Service
Okay, so this might sound a little silly, but bear with me…
Laundry is a chore even at home, and it only gets worse when you’re traveling as you try to navigate the situation. Does the hotel/apartment have a washing machine you can use? Where do you dry the clothes? Is it culturally acceptable (and clean enough) to hang them off the edge of the balcony? It sounds funny, but dealing with figuring out laundry around the world is one of our least favorite parts of traveling full-time.
In Bangkok, we love to splurge on a laundry service. For an amazingly low price, we leave our laundry with the doorman at the apartment building. The laundry company picks it up, washes and dries it, and brings it back the next day.
Until you’ve done it, you have no idea how amazingly relaxing it feels to get home to a bundle of perfectly clean, fresh-scented, folded, sorted, and organized laundry that you didn’t need to deal with yourself.
Approximate cost: $10 USD for a full load of laundry, including pick up and delivery
2. Enjoy a Tasting Menu at a Michelin-Starred Restaurant
At home in the US, a Michelin star often puts a restaurant out of our monthly budget - especially for a long tasting menu. Here in Bangkok, though, it’s completely reasonable to eat inexpensive street food 95% of the time and then splurge on an incredible meal. (Read more about our philosophy of avoiding the mediocre middle when it comes to eating out.)
At Saawaan, you’ll enjoy a 9-course tasting menu with breathtaking food and impeccable service. We adore how the dishes here are innovative and inspired while remaining deeply rooted in traditional Thai flavors. You’ll absolutely know you’re in Thailand, which we much prefer to a generically French-inspired nouvelle cuisine approach.
It’s usually surprisingly easy to get reservations even a day or two in advance, but book further ahead if you have your heart set on a particular date, just to be safe!
Approximate cost: $100 USD per person (before drinks)
3. Have a Once-in-a-Lifetime Luxury Movie Experience
I’ll be honest: I typically hate going out to the movies at home. I always expect a disappointing experience full of noisy kids, loud eaters, seat-kickers, and stale popcorn stuck to the bottom of my shoe. (And usually I’m unfortunately right.) It makes it worse to realize that between tickets, snacks, and drinks, the price can quickly add up to $50 or more for a couple (at least in the Bay Area!).
In Bangkok, the experience is breathtakingly different. You can enjoy complimentary delicious snacks and cocktails before being escorted to your private reclining seats complete with blankets.
It’s like the difference between in the chaos of economy and the relaxing luxury of first class. Except you’ll pay almost the same price! Check out Bangkok Airways Blue Ribbon Screens at Siam Paragon or Diplomat Screens at Central Embassy.
Approximate cost: $30 USD per person
4. Eat Breakfast in a Princess’ Garden
Less than a century ago, Dinsor Palace was a residence for a Thai princess. Today, The Gardens at Dinsor Palace is beautiful and elegant restaurant where you can still experience some of the luxury of the past.
You can opt to eat either inside the building itself, or (our recommendation!) at a table in the gardens right beside the swan pond. If you’re lucky, the staff will even give you a basket of approved food to feed the swans. (But please don’t share your own meal with them.)
Dinner can be pricey, but breakfast and brunch are surprisingly affordable. Be aware that the portions are very large considering the price and setting. (We made the mistake of ordering way too much here because we figured the portions would be small, and ended up so full that we were barely able to stagger our way back to the train station.)
Approximate cost: $10 to $20 per person
5. Enjoy a Dinner Cruise on the Chao Phraya River
Yes, there’s a lot of food on this list. But I promise all the experiences are worth it!
One of our favorite memories in Bangkok is the river cruise we took for our anniversary. Still not used to the affordability of Thailand, we thought that a cruise for this price would be short and that the “dinner” would just be a few snacks.
We were wrong. The two-hour cruise was long enough to relax and luxuriate in the views of Bangkok from the river, and the multi-course Thai dinner was so filling that we couldn’t even finish several of the 17(!!) dishes, despite how delicious they were.
Did I mention that there was even live music and traditional Thai dancing?!
There are lots of dinner cruise options, but many (most?) of them are on modern, flashy, loud boats with the clientele to match. For a calmer and more intimate experience, we highly recommend Loy Nava. Their boat is cute and relatively small, the atmosphere is relaxed, and (as I mentioned) the food is delicious!
Approximate cost: $60 USD per person (without drinks)
6. Get a Massage
Before we came to Thailand, I imagined that Thai massages were generally one of two things: an opportunity for aging white men to get more than a massage, or an overpriced gimmick on an Instagrammer-filled beach.
While you can find both of those things, there are definitely other options. And prices are surprisingly reasonable! While the truly high-end luxury experiences have price tags to match, you can find really nice, relaxing experiences for incredibly reasonable rates. If you’re stuck for where to begin, look into Urban Retreat Spa or Divana Spa.
Approximate cost: $15 to $100+ for a 1-hour massage depending on how high-end you go
7. Hire a Private Driver
I’m not (only) talking about the surprisingly affordable rates for taking taxis everywhere you go. Instead, I’m talking about actually hiring your own private driver for a full day of going wherever you want within the Bangkok area.
There are a plethora of options for private drivers in Bangkok, which you can find by asking around or doing a simple Google search. (I don’t want to recommend anyone we haven’t used personally, but you should have no problem finding someone.)
Grab, which is basically the Southeast Asian version of Uber (and actually bought out Uber in the region), even has an option that allows you to hire a car and driver for up to 8 hours.
Approximate cost: $60 to $100 for an all-day car and driver