Chao Phraya Express Boat in Bangkok: Flags and Fares

Flags, routes and fares

The Chao Phraya Express Boat company publishes one fare per flag on its routes and timetable page. These are the figures it showed on 12 October 2026, in Thai baht per journey:

Two points follow from that table. The orange flag is the only one listed beyond Sathorn, down to Wat Rajsingkhon, and it is the cheapest. The red flag is the highest-priced service. The operator's home page says it launched an air-conditioned express boat in 2020 that connects with the rail system on the Nonthaburi–Sathorn route, but it does not say which flag or fare that boat runs under, so do not assume every red-flag boat is air-conditioned. The 33-baht red fare is presented as a discount on a 50-baht regular fare, so it could go back up without much notice.

The route page does not publish child, senior or other concession fares, and it does not say how to pay. We could not confirm card or e-wallet acceptance, so carry small baht notes and coins.

Which flag to take

The flag tells you the stopping pattern and the fare, so look at the bow before you step on, not just at the direction of travel. A faster flag that sails past your pier is no help.

• Orange suits most visitors: the longest route, the lowest fare and, in the operator's own news notice of 5 April 2024, the orange flag calls at Tha Tian pier (for Wat Pho) instead of Wat Arun pier. No later notice on the news page reversed that when we checked on 12 October 2026.
• Yellow and green-yellow run between Nonthaburi or Pak Kret and Sathorn. They are commuter services, useful if you are staying up-river near Nonthaburi and want to reach Sathorn.
• Red runs Nonthaburi–Sathorn at 33 baht, 14 baht more than the orange flag. The operator does not list its stops in text, so check at the pier that it calls where you need before paying the higher fare.

For the temple near Tha Tian pier, our guide to Wat Pho tickets, hours and massage covers the entry fee, opening hours and dress rules, and the Grand Palace tickets and hours guide covers the palace's own rules.

Timetable and the weekend question

The operator's timetable is dated "from 6 October 2026" (written as 6 ตุลาคม 2569 in the Thai calendar), but the times themselves are published only as an image that we could not read. The page therefore does not give us first and last boats or frequencies we can quote, and this guide does not invent them.

There is also a conflict on the same page. The timetable heading says the service runs Monday to Sunday and on public holidays, while each of the four flag sections says Monday to Friday. The page does not explain the difference. The safest reading is that some boats run every day but not necessarily every flag, so on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday:

1. Do not build a plan around the yellow, green-yellow or red flag.
2. Check the timetable image on the routes page for the day you travel, or use the ViaBus tracker the page links to.
3. Ask staff at the pier which flags are running before you wait.

The same page carries a separate timetable image for royal barge procession rehearsal days, so expect changed service on those dates too.

An example day for two

Two adults staying near Sathorn want a temple morning and a return in the late afternoon, on a weekday:

Swapping one leg for the red flag adds 28 baht for the pair (66 baht instead of 38), or 104 baht in all, but only between piers the red flag actually serves; the route page does not list its stops in text, so check the route map at the pier. These totals use the fares listed on 12 October 2026 and exclude temple entry.

Switch points for that day:

• It is a weekend or public holiday: expect only some flags. Check the timetable image or tracker first, and fall back to the BTS and a taxi or ride-hail if no suitable boat is listed.
• Your pier is N1 (Oriental): it is closed; use another pier.
• You want many stops at a sightseeing pace: price the separate tourist boat (below) against several 19-baht orange rides.
• You are going on to the Skytrain: our guide to using the BTS and MRT for the first time covers fares and paying by card.

The separate tourist boat

The Chao Phraya Tourist Boat is not part of the express-boat fare table. A Thai government page published on 12 February 2024 describes it as a hop-on hop-off service with an all-day river pass or single tickets, calling at piers including Sathorn, ICONSIAM, Ratchawongse, Rajinee, Wat Arun, Tha Tien, Tha Chang, Tha Maharaj, Prannok and Phra Arthit, and departing every 30 minutes, with the route extended to Asiatique in the evening. That page gives no prices or operating hours, and the tourist boat's own home page showed its pass only as an image banner when we checked on 12 October 2026. This guide therefore does not quote a tourist-boat price, timetable or current pier list; confirm them at the pier before you buy.

This guide also does not cover Bangkok's canal boats, whose operator site could not be used for checking.