Khao San Road Guide: Bangkok Nightlife, Street Food & Budget Hotels

Khao San Road is a major tourist district in Bangkok known for its vibrant entertainment scene and budget hotels. It is often considered to be an obligatory stop for travelers who are backpacking their way through Asia, and it is also popular among locals for its carefree vibe. Because Khao San Road only covers a few blocks, a lot of the action has also spilled over onto neighboring Rambuttri Road and Phra Athit Road. Get the most out of your visit with this comprehensive Khao San Road guide.

What to do on Khao San Road

It is impossible to get bored when staying on or visiting Khao San Road. There is always a good time to be had at one of the many bars and clubs, as well as plenty of tasty street food to try and souvenir shopping to do. Khao San Road has something for every type of traveler, whether you prefer to dance the night away or sample all of the flavors of the city.

Check In to D&D Inn Khaosan, Step Out to Khaosan Road

Khao San Road nightlife

Khao San Road is always busy during the day, but the area really comes alive at night. The streets and alleys are lit up with neon signs and music pours out into the streets from the local establishments. There is a rich and diverse nightlife scene here, with each bar and club boasting its own unique style. You’ll find spots that cater to every taste in music, food, and drink. With such a large array of choices, it can be hard to know where to begin. Here’s a look at some of the best bars and clubs on Khao San Road to help you decide.

Best bars on Khao San Road

• Brick Bar – Easily one of the most popular bars in the Khao San Road area, Brick Bar is always a safe bet for a good time. Come here for up-tempo live music performed by talented bands that get the whole crowd dancing and singing along. Brick Bar is a very large venue that can hold over 1,000 people, and it is often packed on the weekends with a diverse crowd composed of both locals and tourists. Three bands take to the stage every night, and the party continues well past 1 a.m., until the last band has finished up on stage.
• Bombay Blues – For a more relaxed atmosphere where you can sit back and have a few drinks, don’t pass up a chance to visit Bombay Blues. This shisha bar is one of the area’s best chill-out spots, and it is also a great place to get some Indian food in Bangkok. It is located in a historic house on Rambuttri Road and has an open rooftop area where you can go to enjoy the cooler night air after a hot day. While it is mostly a dinner spot on the weekdays, the house DJ spins a fantastic mix of Bollywood tunes on the weekends that will get you up and dancing.
• Adhere the 13th – A small but very popular spot among the locals, Adhere the 13th plays live blues music every night of the week. It is located on Samsen Road, just a five-minute walk from the west end of Khao San Road. The musicians usually start playing around 8 p.m., so it’s best to get a seat before then. Bar patrons who play and bring along an instrument are also welcome to come up to the stage and jam out with the performers. The cozy and friendly atmosphere ensures that everyone who walks through the doors can look forward to a great night ahead. Plus, Adhere the 13th serves some of the cheapest beer in the city!
• Molly Bar – Located on the east end of Rambuttri Road, Molly Bar is a great place to go for good drinks, a fun-loving crowd, and a diverse selection of music. It is located inside of a whimsical house that has twinkling lights decorating the exterior and an outdoor seating area where you can start the evening. As the night progresses, patrons move inside the two-story house to take in the music. On the lower level, you can listen to live bands perform covers of Top 40 hits and popular Thai pop songs. Upstairs, a DJ spins dance tracks for those who want to get their bodies moving.
• Jazz Happens – Jazz aficionados will be thrilled to find this authentic jazz bar just a few minutes away from Khao San Road, near the banks of the river on Phra Athit Road. Jazz Happens is owned by one of the most prominent pianists in Thailand and features nightly performances by talented graduates and students of the Silpakorn University Faculty of Music. It’s also a great spot to find authentic and affordable Thai food as well as a range of drinks and creative cocktails. For a laid-back night spent enjoying good food and local musical talent, you can’t go wrong by coming to Jazz Happens.
• Mulligan’s Irish Bar – A quintessential Irish bar right on Khao San Road, Mulligan’s Irish Bar is a fantastic place to take the whole group out for a fun night of chatting over drinks and playing bar games. There is a wide selection of tap and bottled beers, including imported Guinness for some of the lowest prices in all of Thailand. You can also try a variety of cocktails as well as a fantastic selection of Thai food and traditional Irish pub food. Watch a sporting event on the big screen television, challenge a friend to a game of pool, or sit back and listen to one of the live bands that perform every night.
• Hippie de Bar – Another Khao San Road gem, Hippie de Bar has a cool and retro vibe that will take you back to a simpler time. The bar offers both indoor and outdoor seating on comfortable, retro-style chairs surrounded by flower power decor. The music is an eclectic mix of reggae and indie pop, along with a good dose of classic 80s anthems. Try one of the bar’s signature cocktails or choose from a wide selection of beer and whiskey. This is also a great place to sample some Thai bar food. Come here to watch live sports on TV or to just take in the lively atmosphere.

Check In to BBhouse Rambutri, Step Out to Molly Bar

Best clubs on Khao San Road

• The Club – It may not have a very original name, but there’s no mistaking that The Club is where you should go if you want to dance the night away to EDM, house, and techno music. It is located right in the heart of the Khao San Road area and impossible to miss due to the large neon sign out front. After entering inside and passing through a narrow hallway, you’ll come out to a large dance floor that is sure to be full of people on any night of the week. The crowd is always energetic, the drinks are cheap, and the music doesn’t stop until 3 a.m.
• Superflow City Beach Club – Just a bit further down Khao San Road, you’ll find this beach-themed day and night club where you can come and enjoy some early drinks in a more subdued atmosphere and then return at night for a real party. The cocktails are inexpensive and the large venue feels like a tropical island getaway, with real sand, palm trees, sun loungers, and bamboo huts. A central DJ booth blasts house music that gets everybody dancing, especially closer to midnight. Each month, Superflow City Beach Club hosts a special “Full Moon” party with fire shows, bucket cocktails, and fantastic light displays.
• The Bank Club and Restaurant – For a full night out that doesn’t require hopping from venue to venue, choose The Bank Club and Restaurant. This popular, three-floor nightlife spot on Chakkapong Road just off Khao San Road is a restaurant, a bar, and a dance club all wrapped up into one. Come in for dinner in the evening, head up to the breezy rooftop bar for drinks as the atmosphere picks up, and then make your way down to the basement club space where a DJ will be playing a mix of house and hip-hop. On some nights, there is a live band playing instead.
• Lava Gold – Located right in the middle of Khao San Road in the basement of the Bayon Building, Lava Goldd is a small club that’s all about the dancing. Its central location makes it a perfect destination after you’ve finished bar hopping for the evening. Drinks are cheap and the DJ blasts a mix of dance and hip-hop music over the fantastic sound system while laser light shows dazzle the dancers. The party typically doesn’t get started until after 11 p.m., but it keeps going into the early morning hours. The crowds at Lava Gold are a great mix of locals and tourists.

Check In to Yes kaosan, Step Out to Lava Gold

Khao San Road street food

Street food in Thailand is known for being delicious, filling, and highly affordable. On Khao San Road and along nearby Rambuttri Road and Phra Athit Road, you will find all of the most popular street food options at some of the best prices in Bangkok. Every corner and every alleyway has something new and interesting to try, making Khao San Road a particularly fun place for foodies. There are plenty of unique Thai delicacies for those feeling particularly brave and lots of well-known Thai dishes for those just looking to treat their taste buds.

Foods to try on Khao San Road

• Deep-fried spring rolls – Spring rolls are a popular street snack throughout Bangkok, and it’s no different on Khao San Road. Most spring rolls are made of vegetables and rice noodles wrapped in a rice wrap and then deep fried. They are a great choice for eating on-the-go.
• Fried chicken – Every culture makes fried chicken in its own unique way. After trying it on Khao San Road, you might become convinced that Thailand does it the best. Thai fried chicken has a tender, juicy interior and a light and crispy exterior. It is often served with crispy fried garlic on top and a side of chili sauce.
• Fried roti – Roti is an unleavened bread that originated in India and has become a popular street food across Southeast Asia. In Thailand, it is often stuffed with banana and sprinkled with sweetened condensed milk. The street food stalls along Khao San Road are known for serving up fried banana roti dipped in chocolate.
• Tom Yum Goong – One of the most popular dishes in Thailand, Tom Yum Goong is a hearty, spicy soup full of bold Thai flavors. It is made of a blend of herbal spices, chilies, tamarind paste, lemongrass, and a generous serving of jumbo prawns.
• Coconut ice cream – Satisfy your sweet tooth with a bowl of delicious ice cream made from rich coconut cream. Coconut ice cream makes a fantastic dessert after a meal of Tom Yum Goong or a wonderfully cooling mid-day snack when you need a break from shopping. It has a delightfully smooth texture and a wonderful aroma.
• Pork porridge – Pork is used in many different ways in Thai cooking, and one popular way is by adding pork meatballs and liver slices to a rice porridge base. Pork porridge is a true comfort food, perfect for the morning after a long night of partying or for helping you warm up on a cooler day.
• Grilled pork – Another popular way to consume pork in Thailand is in the form of grilled pork skewers. Several succulent pieces of pork are skewered together, placed in a sweet and salty marinade, cooked over top of hot coals that impart them with a smoky flavor, and served with a spicy sauce. Grilled pork skewers are best when eaten fresh and hot off the grill.
• Mango sticky rice – Easily one of the most popular sweet street food snacks in Bangkok, mango sticky rice is made of three simple ingredients: fluffy rice, sweet ripe mango, and coconut cream. It’s an indulgent dessert that you need to try at least once and that you’ll likely go back for a few more times!
• Pad Thai – It may be an obvious recommendation but, when you are in Thailand, you owe it to yourself to try authentic Pad Thai from a street food vendor. It is available with various meats as well as in vegetarian and vegan options. Pad Thai is sold for as little as 40 baht a plate and you won’t have to look very hard to find it.
• Fried bugs – If you love to try new things or if you are feeling adventurous, then one Thai delicacy you need to try is fried bugs. Plenty of vendors along Khao San Road offer these crispy critters, which are usually served with a side of sauce. Choose from a selection of grasshoppers, mealworms, cockroaches, worms, beetles, and more.

Check In to Bed Box Khoasan Hostel, Step Out to Rambuttri Road

Khao San Road shopping

Khao San Road and the surrounding area is essentially one big market, with shops and stalls set up everywhere you look. As there is limited vehicle traffic to contend with, you can browse with ease. The best time to head out for a shopping spree is in the evening, when the temperatures are cooler. Many more shops and stalls are also open after dusk, offering a wide array of accessories and knick-knacks geared towards tourists. Khao San Road is a great place to pick up some souvenirs for your friends and family back home and a few special keepsakes for yourself.

What to buy on Khao San Road

• Handmade jewelry from Oh La La! – For high-quality jewelry like necklaces, bracelets, and pendants, Oh La La!! is the place to go. All of the pieces are made by hand and the skilled craftsmanship shows. This classy little shop is located along Rambuttri Alley leading to Phra Athit Road. It is a great place to stop if you’re heading towards the ferry at Phra Arthit Pier. The friendly staff will help you find just the perfect piece of jewelry to make you feel fabulous and remind you of your time along Khao San Road.
• Clothing and accessories from Pasiri Thai Handicraft – There’s no need to look any further than Pasiri Thai Handicraft for a great selection of clothes, bags, sarongs, shoes, scarves, skirts, Hmong bags, and all sorts of unique handicrafts. You’ll find this quaint shop in Susie Alley, which runs between the east ends of Khao San Road and Rambuttri Road. The storefront is hard to miss because all of the colorful clothing and accessories will immediately catch your eye. This is a good spot to pick up some souvenirs and gifts for friends and family back home.
• Cheap used books from Sara Barn Books – It’s always a good idea to bring a book along when you’re traveling, as you never know when you’ll need to pass the time. Sara Barn Books has a great selection of everything from the latest paperbacks to fantastic travel books and books about Buddhism. There is also a selection of postcards that you can send to loved ones back home. This awesome little bookstore is located at the top of Susie Alley by the exit to Rambuttri Road. If you’re headed to travel the rest of Asia, make sure to stop here first.
• Traditional handicrafts from Lofty Bamboo – For genuine indigenous Thai handicrafts that are Fair Trade certified, make sure you pop into Lofty Bamboo at the east end of Khao San Road. This store sells a wide variety of beautiful textile goods and artwork made by the skilled hands of hill tribe villagers. You’ll find all sorts of beautiful clothing, bags, jewelry, and accessories in striking colors and patterns. This is a wonderful store to support as the owners are working very hard to keep traditional Thai crafts alive.
• Vintage goods from Trapeze Swingers – One of the most unique stores in the area, Trapeze Swingers is a small storefront at the end of Chana Songkhram Alley, near the exit to Phra Athit Road. While the surrounding shops focus more on the tourist trade, this shop carries a wide selection of high-quality vintage goods like graphic tees, classic CDs and LPs, men’s and women’s fashion from as far back as the 1920s, and quirky pieces of home decor. You can even purchase a beer on-site to enjoy while you are browsing!

Check In to The Printing House Poshtel Bangkok, Step Out to Phra Athit Road

How to get to Khao San Road

While Bangkok has a fantastic mass transit system called BTS Skytrain which can take travelers to most of the city’s main tourist areas, there are not any BTS stations located close to Khao San Road. You will have to disembark at Saphan Taksin BTS Station and take a boat instead. The best and most affordable option if you are coming from the airport is to take a bus.

• Bus S1 from Suvarnabhumi Airport: When you arrive at the airport, you can catch bus S1 from the first floor of the terminal. It is a bit of a longer journey at an hour and a half, but you will be dropped off right at Khao San Road.
• Bus A4 from Don Mueang Airport: Bus A4 can be caught from the first floor of both Terminal 1 (Exit 6) and Terminal 2 (Exit 12/14). Thanks to a limited number of stops, it will have you at Khao San Road in about 45 minutes.
• Boat from Sathorn Pier: Take the Skytrain to Saphan Taksin BTS Station and head a few minutes west towards Sathorn Pier. Hop on one of the boats headed north to Phra Arthit Pier. Boats come every few minutes and the journey takes about 35 minutes.

Once you have reached the Khao San Road area, getting around is simple and done entirely on foot as everything is within easy walking distance.

D&D Inn Khao San

Bed Box Khoasan Hostel

The Printing House Poshtel Bangkok

Khao San Road accommodations

Khao San Road is a backpacker’s paradise, offering clean and comfortable accommodations situated close to all of the action. It is also one of the most affordable places to get a room in Bangkok. Staying on or near Khao San Road is a great way to meet other travelers to do some exploring and adventuring with. Here is a look at five of the best budget hostels and hotels in the area, each of which has free Wi-Fi so that you can stay connected during your travels.

Budget hotels near Khao San Road

• D&D Inn Khao San – Located right on Khao San Road, this hotel is a great choice if you are traveling with a small group as there are many rooms with multiple beds available. For solo travelers or pairs of two, there are also rooms with a king, a queen, or two single beds. The rooms are bright, air-conditioned, and smartly laid out, with more than enough room for all of your belongings. There is also a bar, a restaurant, a massage studio, and even an outdoor swimming pool. Find comfort, convenience, and a full range of services and facilities all at a great price.
• Bed Box Khoasan Hostel – Choosing to stay at a hostel is one of the easiest ways to save money on accommodations. This beautifully appointed, modern hostel just a few blocks from Khao San Road makes it possible to get to all of the bars and clubs in no time. There is a range of accommodation styles available, including a mixed dormitory, female-only dormitory, and private rooms with shared bathrooms. Rooms are air-conditioned and guests can enjoy extra services such as luggage storage and a 24-hour front desk. The rooms and all of the facilities are kept meticulously clean to ensure a comfortable stay.
• The Printing House Poshtel Bangkok – Just a few minutes from the main Khao San Road area, this is another fantastic choice if you are looking to stay in a hostel. The accommodations offer a great mix of dormitory-style rooms (with separate female dormitories), private rooms with their own shower, and family rooms with a shared bathroom. Air conditioning and daily housekeeping ensure that the property stays cool and clean. There is also a range of extra amenities available, including luggage storage, complimentary tea and coffee, lockers, televisions, and more. This property has a bar and a restaurant on-site where you can sit back and unwind.
• Yes kaosan – For travelers who want to stay in a hostel right on Khao San Road, there is no better choice than this very budget-friendly, clean, and comfortable property. In addition to larger dormitory-style rooms, there is also a selection of single, double, and triple rooms with either a shared or private bathroom. Choose exactly the accommodations you prefer at a budget you can afford and in a location that couldn’t get any closer to the action. This hostel offers 24-hour check-in, 24-hour front desk services, and other convenient services such as luggage storage, cash withdrawal, and a currency exchange.
• BBhouse Rambutri – Located on Rambuttri Road, this property offers easy access to all of the best bars, clubs, shops, and street food. Rooms are private, spacious, air-conditioned and available with one or two beds. Daily housekeeping keeps everything clean and ensures that you can relax very comfortably. The whole property has a laid-back vibe, and there is even a coffee shop with a nice seating area where you can grab a drink and strike up conversations with other guests. All rooms come with a shower, complimentary toiletries, a hair dryer, towels, and free bottled water, and guests can take advantage of express check-in and check-out.

Yes kaosan

BBhouse Rambutri