Where to Stay in Bangkok: 5 Areas Ranked for Single Men

You can pick the right country. The right city. The right month. And still ruin the whole trip with one click. The hotel.

I am serious. In Bangkok, where you sleep decides everything. What you do at night. How much you spend on taxis. Even who is willing to come back with you.

So here are five areas of Bangkok for a single guy, ranked from worst to best. Then the three filters I use to find a great room in any of them.

The ranking in short

• Number 5: far out, because it is cheap. A trap.
• Number 4: inside the nightlife street. A different trap.
• Number 3: Silom and Sala Daeng. Quiet and good.
• Number 2: a few train stops from Asok. The best value.
• Number 1: walking distance to Asok, but not on the bar street. Where I would put any first timer.

First, what "central Bangkok" means

People say central Bangkok all the time. I say it all the time. But it can mean anything, so let me be exact.

When I say central, I mean one intersection: Asok. That is where the BTS, the sky train, crosses the MRT, the underground. Terminal 21, the big mall, is right there. Soi Cowboy is around the corner.

Asok, Sukhumvit station, Terminal 21, Soi Cowboy. You can use any of those four with a taxi driver or when you meet someone, and you end up in the same place. Even a girl who has never met a foreigner knows where Terminal 21 is.

From that intersection, Soi 11 is about a five minute walk. Soi 4, which everybody calls Nana, is about ten minutes.

And one more thing. In Thailand, a Soi is just a side street. Sukhumvit is the main road, and the side streets have numbers. That is all it is.

So when I rank these areas, I am really ranking one thing. How easy is it to get to that intersection, and how well will you sleep when you get back.

Number 5: far out, because it is cheap

This is the mistake I made, so you do not have to.

Years ago I stayed near a station called Punnawithi. On the map it does not even look far. Same train line, a handful of stops further out. The room was a great deal. Here is what I got for that deal.

• Stray dogs. The further out you go, the more of them you get. My place was in a side alley, and walking home at night past a group of dogs is not fun. It is actually terrifying.
• Taxis. The money I saved on the room, I spent on taxis. Every night out ended after the trains stopped, so every night out ended with a long taxi ride.
• Girls did not want to come. Nobody tells you this. When she hears how far away you stay, she thinks about how she gets home, and the answer is often no.
• Traffic. Every time I went out, it became a big thing. Thirty minutes or more in evening traffic, each way.

You do not fly across the world to sit in traffic. Far out: do not do it for the price.

Number 4: inside the nightlife street

The opposite mistake. You think, I am here for the nightlife, so I will stay right in the middle of it. On Soi 4, next to Nana Plaza. Or directly at Soi Cowboy.

I never do that. Two reasons.

The hassle. The massage ladies and the girls on the street run on autopilot. You can walk in and out of your hotel ten times a day, and you will be offered a massage eleven times. Every time you walk past, it is a clean slate.

The noise. And not only from the street. If you stay in a hotel in a bar area, think about what the people in the room next to you are doing at three in the morning. Worst case, the outside noise stops at midnight, and then the inside noise starts.

Is it convenient? Yes. Will you sleep? No.

There is a simple fix. Stay one or two streets away. Same walking distance, none of the problems. As long as the hotel lets you bring a guest, you lose nothing.

Number 3: Silom and Sala Daeng

Now we get to the good options.

Silom is the business district. You have the Sala Daeng BTS station, the Silom MRT station, and two smaller nightlife areas within walking distance: Patpong, with the night market, and Soi Thaniya, the Japanese street.

It is definitely not party central. But it is a good place to stay, and the best hotel I have ever stayed at in Bangkok was there: The Quarter at Silom. Brand new, with a real gym inside. Not a treadmill and two pink dumbbells. A real gym. And it was so well insulated that I never had to turn on the air conditioning. Not once.

So why only number three? Because the main nightlife is not there. Every time you want Soi Cowboy, Nana, or the late clubs on Soi 11, you take the train a few stops, and you take a taxi back.

If you go out every night, that adds up. If you go out two or three times in a week and care more about a quiet, modern room, Silom is a very good choice.

Number 2: a few stops from Asok

This is where the value is, and it is what I do myself.

My rule is simple. Stay no more than four or five train stops from the Asok intersection. Any direction. Sky train or underground. And the hotel has to be walking distance from the station.

That covers a lot of ground. Phrom Phong, for example, is one stop away. Nicer, calmer, more restaurants, and you are at Asok in two minutes.

Why does this work? Because of how prices behave in Bangkok. The closer you are to the action, the more you pay. Move two or three stops out, and the same money gets you a much better room. Pool, gym, high floor.

And for the guys who do not need to walk out of the door at three in the morning and be in a club five minutes later, this is the best price value in the city.

By the way. If you are thinking, fine, but which hotel, on which street: that is exactly what the interactive maps in my Thailand Guide are for. Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket, over 500 pins, including where to stay.

Number 1: walking distance to Asok, but not on the bar street

For a first trip, this is it.

Five to ten minutes on foot from the Asok intersection. Not in Soi Cowboy. Not on Soi 4. Near them.

Here is what that gives you. You can go for one beer and be back in your room twenty minutes later. You can go home, alone or not alone, and then go out again later to see what is going on. Everything can be spontaneous. And you are never, ever stuck in traffic.

You can even walk from one area to the next with a drink in your hand, which is allowed, and which is honestly one of the nicest parts of a night out in Bangkok.

One tip for that walk. If you do not want to be stopped every few meters, cross to the other side of Sukhumvit. It is less crowded, and almost nobody will bother you.

Yes, you pay a premium for this location. Pay it. You can always earn more money. You cannot get back the evenings you spent in a taxi.

One honest caveat. This ranking is for guys who actually go out. If you never go to bars, if people come to you, then you do not need to be at Asok at all, and you can stay further out and take the better deal.

The three filters I use to find the room

Now you know the area. Here is how I find the room. I use Agoda, but this works on any booking site.

Filter one is the map. Not the list. Open the map, find the Asok intersection, and look at the train lines. Count the stops. Check that the hotel is a short walk from a station.

Filter two is your budget per night. You know that one already.

Filter three is the most important one, and almost nobody talks about it. It is not the stars. It is not the price. It is not the recommended badge. It is the guest rating. I only look at places with a 9 or higher. That filter has never failed me. It did not matter if the hotel had three stars or five.

Three small things on top

• Ask for a high floor. Tenth floor or higher. About half the places I have tested in Bangkok had a noise problem, and I have been on a fifth floor where the traffic was still unbearable. When you book, write it in the request: highest floor available.
• Check for a pool and a place to sit. A lobby, a rooftop. It makes meeting someone much easier when you do not have to invite her straight to your room.
• If the listing says gym, look at the photos. Always.

And if you are new to Bangkok, do not book three weeks in one place. Book one week and stay flexible. The city is almost never full. In 99 out of 100 cases, you can book half an hour before check in and pay the same.

So here is where it lands

Far out is a trap. Inside the bar street is a different trap. Silom is quiet and good. A few stops from Asok is the best value. And walking distance to Asok, one street away from the noise, is where I would put any first timer.

Location, location, location. Get that one click right, and Bangkok gets very easy.

If you want the exact hotels and streets, and everything else you need to plan the trip, I have put it in one place: the Thailand Guide. 60+ videos, 4 eBooks, and the interactive maps for Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket, with over 500 pins. One payment, lifetime access.

More on this in video

Why first timers choose the wrong location:

Quick answers

What is the best area to stay in Bangkok for nightlife?

Walking distance to the Asok intersection, five to ten minutes on foot, but not on the bar street itself. Soi Cowboy is around the corner, Soi 11 is about five minutes away and Nana about ten.

Should I stay on Soi 4 (Nana) or at Soi Cowboy?

I never do. You get the hassle on the street every time you leave the hotel, and the noise at night. Stay one or two streets away instead: same walking distance, none of the problems.

Is Silom a good area to stay in Bangkok?

Yes, if you care more about a quiet, modern room than about going out every night. The main nightlife is a few train stops away, and you take a taxi back.

How far from Asok can I stay?

No more than four or five train stops, in any direction, and the hotel should be walking distance from the station. Phrom Phong, for example, is one stop away.

How do I find a good hotel in Bangkok?

Three filters: the map with the train lines, your budget per night, and a guest rating of 9 or higher. Then ask for a high floor, and look at the photos of the gym.

Read next

• Your First 24 Hours in Bangkok, Hour by Hour
• Soi Cowboy vs Nana Plaza vs Patpong: Which One Is Worth It?
• 3 Tiny, But "Deadly" Thailand Mistakes
• Why a $9 Hotel Isn't Cheap
• Thailand's 30-Day Visa Rule: How to Plan 7, 14 or 30 Days

Hotels change. Check the latest guest ratings before you book. Maps: map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, Natural Earth.