Wat Pho, Wat Arun and the Grand Palace with elders

There’s a photo in most Thai families: somebody’s grandparents in front of the Grand Palace, squinting into the sun, dressed better than anyone around them. Taking your own Yai and Ta there, or to Wat Pho’s reclining Buddha, is a way of adding your page to that album.

This guide is about doing it at their pace: what to wear, when to go, how to handle the heat and the walking, how to get there, and how to follow their lead once you’re inside. Last checked 20 October 2026. Hours and fees change, and the palace changes its hours for royal ceremonies, so check the official sites before you go.

How to plan the day

• One or two, not all three. Each is a lot of walking in the sun. The Grand Palace and Wat Pho are neighbours; Wat Arun is across the river. With grandparents, pick one for the morning and maybe one more after lunch.
• Go early. The Grand Palace opens at 8:30, Wat Pho at 8:00. You beat the heat and the tour groups.
• Rest at midday. In the hot season, the Thai Meteorological Department advises avoiding outdoor activity between 10:00 and 19:00 when the heat index is high (Khaosod English, February 2026). Air-conditioned lunch, then decide.
• Umbrella, water, a folding fan. Thai grandparents will already have all three. Copy them.
• Watch for ceremony days. The palace changes or cuts its hours for royal ceremonies: for one on 12 August 2026, tickets were sold only from 8:30 to noon, The Nation reported.
• If a stranger says it’s closed today, check the official site yourself before you change plans.

This isn’t medical advice; if a grandparent has a health condition, ask their doctor about heat and long walks before the day.

The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew

The palace’s own site lists it as open daily 8:30 to 16:30, with tickets sold from 8:30 to 15:30. The ticket for foreign visitors is 500 baht and includes Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles; children under 120 cm go free. Since 10 January 2024, the entrance has been the Mani Noppharat Gate, the palace’s FAQ says. An audio guide is available to rent in eight languages.

Thai family members get in free. The palace says access is free for Thai people, who show their ID card at the entrance. If you’re a luk khrueng with a Thai ID card, bring it; if you don’t have one yet, our guide to getting a Thai ID card abroad explains how. Your Yai will enjoy walking you past the ticket queue.

Dress code. The palace’s own list rules out: sleeveless shirts, vests, short tops, see-through tops, shorts, torn trousers, tight trousers, bike pants, miniskirts, culottes (“pants skirts”) and sleepwear. In practice: covered shoulders and long trousers or a long skirt, for everyone, including the teenagers who think it doesn’t apply to them.

Wheelchairs. The palace’s accessibility page says wheelchairs can be borrowed free from the cloakrooms just inside the Exhibition Road entrance, and that wheelchair-accessible toilets are marked on the maps. When we checked, the same page said the wheelchair service was temporarily suspended during the royal funeral ceremony. Ask at the gate or bring your own, and expect large open courtyards in the sun.

Wat Pho: the reclining Buddha

Next door, Wat Pho houses the 46-metre, gold-leaf-covered reclining Buddha, about half a kilometre from Sanam Chai MRT station, according to TAT. It’s the classic family temple morning.

Wat Pho’s official page lists it as open 08:00 to 19:30 with a 300 baht ticket, free for children under 120 cm; the page footer dates from 2018, so check before you go. It asks visitors to dress politely: no shorts, though trousers are fine. Shoes come off in any building with a Buddha image.

Wat Pho is also home to a Thai traditional medicine school, which offers Thai massage during the same hours. The page listed 30 and 60 minutes at 340 and 520 baht; check the current price list. After a morning on your feet, Ta might allow it.

Wat Arun: across the river

Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, sits on the Thonburi side of the river. TAT recommends Itsaraphap MRT station as the best choice for it, within walking distance. From the Wat Pho side, the short cross-river ferry is how most people go. We couldn’t confirm current hours or the ticket price from an official Wat Arun source, so check at the temple. The central prang is steep; with grandparents, the view from the courtyard is plenty.

Getting there

From the palace’s own directions:

• By boat: the Chao Phraya Express Boat, orange flag, to Tha Chang (N9) for the Grand Palace, or to Tha Tien (N8): walk past the food stalls to the junction, with the palace ahead and Wat Pho about ten minutes’ walk to the right. How the boats work is in getting around Bangkok.
• By MRT: Sanam Chai station on the Blue Line. The palace suggests exit 1 and a bus; with grandparents, a short taxi from the station is easier.
• By tuk-tuk: agree a price first, the palace advises.

Inside: follow Yai’s lead

This is where a temple day with family is different from a tourist visit. Your grandparents may want to make merit (ทำบุญ, tham bun): buy flowers, a candle and incense, kneel, and krab (กราบ, graap) three times before the Buddha. You don’t need to know the steps. Stand or kneel just behind them, do what they do a beat later, and keep your feet tucked away from the Buddha image.

• Shoes: off before any hall with a Buddha image, left by the steps. If you’re not sure, ask:

  ต้องถอดรองเท้าไหม

  torng thort rorng thao mai

  ต้องถอดรองเท้าไหมครับ

  torng thort rorng thao mai khrap

  ต้องถอดรองเท้าไหมคะ

  torng thort rorng thao mai kha

  Who is speaking?

  ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

  Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

• Sitting: people sit in พับเพียบ (phap phiap), legs folded to one side, feet pointing back. If Yai’s knees won’t do it, find her a bench or the back wall: นั่งตรงนี้ได้ไหม (nang trong nii dai mai), “can I sit here?”.

• The wai: hands together, head bowed; higher for the Buddha. Our guide to the wai has the levels.

• Photos: fine in the grounds; follow signs inside, and never climb on anything to get the shot.

• When it’s over, someone will say สาธุ (saa-thu). You can say it too.

The full how-to, from krab to the rules for women and monks, is in our Thai temple etiquette guide, and the merit-making side is in tak bat and merit making.

What to say on the day

When everyone is hurrying her along:

ยังไม่รีบ

yang mai riip

ยังไม่รีบครับ

yang mai riip khrap

ยังไม่รีบค่ะ

yang mai riip kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

When it’s 11am and the courtyard is an oven, ร้อนจังเลย (rorn jang loei), “it’s so hot!”, and then:

ขอน้ำหน่อยได้ไหม

khor naam noi dai mai

ขอน้ำหน่อยได้ไหมครับ

khor naam noi dai mai khrap

ขอน้ำหน่อยได้ไหมคะ

khor naam noi dai mai kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

And at the end of the day, to the grandparent who explained it all:

ขอบคุณที่ดูแลหลานนะ

khorp khun thii duu lae laan na

ขอบคุณที่ดูแลหลานนะครับ

khorp khun thii duu lae laan na khrap

ขอบคุณที่ดูแลหลานนะคะ

khorp khun thii duu lae laan na kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

“Where do I leave my shoes?”, “can I go in?” and “how do I make merit?” aren’t in our reviewed Thai yet; they’re on the list.

Practise this conversation in Reply Thai

Reply Thai has a “Visiting the temple with family” lesson, plus “do I need to take my shoes off?”, “I’m in no rush” and “thank you for looking after me”, practised as replies, so you can follow Yai in Thai, not just behind her.

Reply Thai for iPhone: coming soonEmail me at launch

Planning the rest of the week? See Bangkok with your Thai family, Song Wat and Talat Noi for the old riverside streets, or day trips from Bangkok with grandparents for Ayutthaya’s temples.

Thai words on this page are a draft until a native speaker has reviewed them. Hours, fees, dress codes and accessibility services change, including for royal ceremonies: check the official sites before you go. Last checked 20 October 2026.