Bangkok does rooftop bars at sunset and clubs to 04:00 in the party zones. Koh Phangan adds the beach.
Live city guides: Bangkok.
Best clubs: Bangkok.
Where to go out
Thailand nightlife is cheap, late-ish and tightly regulated. A Bangkok night starts at a street stall or rooftop bar, moves to a cocktail bar and ends in a club. Most licensed venues must close at 02:00, while clubs in zones such as RCA, Silom Soi 2 and 4 and Khao San Road can stay open to 04:00. Beer at an ordinary bar costs 50 to 80 baht, roughly €1.30 to €2.
Bangkok and the islands are two different products. The best-known clubs in Bangkok sit at RCA, Sukhumvit and Thonglor. Phuket, Pattaya and Koh Samui sell simpler nights of walking streets, buckets and beach bars, and Koh Phangan draws up to 30,000 people to the Full Moon Party on Haad Rin beach. Chiang Mai is calmer than all of them.
The one thing visitors get wrong is the rules. The drinking age is 20. Shops sell alcohol only from 11:00 to 24:00 and not at all on major Buddhist holidays. Drugs carry severe penalties, cannabis has been medical-only since June 2025, and vapes are illegal. Undercover police work the Full Moon Party.
Rooftops open in the late afternoon and close around 01:00 or 02:00. Cocktails cost 350 to 600 baht.
A Chang draft is 50 to 80 baht, and Khao San Road is the cheap, loud end of town.
The Full Moon Party costs 200 baht to enter and runs until sunrise.
RCA's clubs run to 04:00, with covers of about 300 to 500 baht.
Silom Soi 2 and Soi 4 are Bangkok's best-known gay nightlife area, and Bangkok Pride parades along Silom Road.
S2O and Songkran in April, Wonderfruit in December.
Not for you if you want to drink all night anywhere. Most venues close at 02:00 and shops stop selling at midnight.
Each full moon, from about 21:00 to sunrise, for 200 baht cash. Next: 27 October, 24 November, 24 December and a New Year's Eve party.
The Thai New Year water fight. Silom, Khao San Road and Chiang Mai are the busiest spots.
A water-themed dance festival on Ratchadaphisek Road, 11 to 14 April in 2026.
A multi-day festival ending in a parade along Silom Road. In 2026 the parade was on 31 May.
Lantern festivals on the full moon. Chiang Mai's 2026 programme runs 24 to 26 November.
Five days of music and art at Siam Country Club, 3 to 7 December in 2026. Pattaya is about two hours from Bangkok by road.
Rooftop and cocktail bars on Sukhumvit Soi 11 and Thonglor first, then RCA, where clubs run to 04:00. BTS until midnight, Grab after.
Thonglor for cocktails, Chinatown for street food and shophouse bars, RCA for the club night.
Two nights in Bangkok, a flight of about an hour and a half to Koh Samui, then a boat to Haad Rin for the Full Moon Party.
Three nights in Bangkok, then north by a flight of about an hour or a sleeper train of about twelve hours. Chiang Mai is calmer, with bars around Nimman.
Three, two and two nights, timed so the last two fall on the full moon.
Octave in Thong Lo and Above Eleven on Sukhumvit Soi 11 open at 17:00 and run to 02:00. Wear closed shoes.
Chinatown's main road fills with street food stalls in the evening, and the shophouse bars of Soi Nana close around midnight.
A strip of clubs in a 04:00 zone. Route 66 and Onyx are the best known.
Busiest from about 22:00 to 01:00, with buckets at 150 to 200 baht. Loud, touristy and cheap.
Wear shoes you can throw away and keep your drink in sight. Go for the scale, not the music.
Patong's 400-metre bar strip and Pattaya's pedestrian street. Both are built for tourists and both have touts.
Rice soup with shared side dishes, sold by late-opening khao tom restaurants.
Minced pork or chicken stir-fried with holy basil and chilli, over rice with a fried egg. Street stalls sell it late.
Grilled pork skewers with sticky rice, from street carts in the evening.
Rice porridge with pork balls, ginger and egg. Stalls serve it late and again at dawn.
Fried banana roti with condensed milk. The standard Khao San Road snack.
Rooftops and dressier clubs want closed shoes and no beachwear. RCA and Khao San Road are relaxed.
Clubs check, especially in Thonglor, RCA and Sukhumvit. A phone photo of your passport page usually works.
Nobody expects a percentage. Round up, and check whether a restaurant already added service.
Touts offering a free show or a tuk-tuk club tour sell overpriced drinks. Ask for the priced menu first.
Possessing Class A drugs can lead to the death penalty. Cannabis is medical-only since June 2025, so recreational use is illegal.
Using or carrying a vape is illegal, with no tourist exception. Fines are typically 5,000 to 30,000 baht.
Posting images of people drinking alcohol can be illegal. Criticising the monarchy is a crime.
| Club entry, usually with a drink | 300–500 baht (€8–13) |
| Beer at an ordinary bar | 50–80 baht (€1.30–2) |
| Beer at a tourist bar | 100–200 baht (€2.50–5) |
| Rooftop cocktail | 350–600 baht (€9–15) |
| BTS or MRT single ride | about 17–65 baht (€0.45–1.70) |
| Grab, short trip | 80–200 baht (€2–5) |
| Street meal | about 50–100 baht (€1.30–2.60) |
Street food, four ordinary-bar beers, a Grab home.
A rooftop cocktail, a club cover with drink, two more drinks, supper, Grab.
A table with a bottle package, taxis, or a Full Moon trip with a party boat.
The BTS and MRT stop at about midnight. After that Grab runs until about 03:00 or 04:00. Insist on the meter in taxis, and agree a tuk-tuk price first.
The Thailand drinking age is 20. Clubs check at the door, and shops ask for ID. Carry your passport or a copy of the photo page.
Cards work in rooftop bars and larger clubs. Bring cash for street food, markets and the islands. Full Moon Party entry is cash only.
Most clubs charge at the door. Festivals sell online. The Full Moon Party has no advance tickets, so anyone selling them is a scam.
Shops sell alcohol from 11:00 to 24:00 since 29 May 2026. Sales stop all day on major Buddhist holidays and election days. Drinking is restricted at temples, parks and on public transport.
Drink spiking, late-night assaults near bars and bag snatching from motorbikes are reported. Methanol has killed drinkers, so avoid unbranded spirits. Hire scooters are the bigger risk.
Banned inside bars and clubs, so look for the outdoor area. Fines in banned public places go up to 5,000 baht.
English works in Bangkok bars and tourist islands. Sawasdee is hello, khop khun is thank you and chok dee is cheers.
Yes, if you pick the place. Bangkok has rooftops, clubs and live music, and Koh Phangan has the Full Moon Party. Hours and drug rules are stricter than visitors expect.
Most venues must close at 02:00. Clubs in designated zones such as RCA, Silom Soi 2 and 4 and Khao San Road can open to 04:00.
About €15 for a cheap night, €40 for a normal one and €90 or more for a big one.
It is 20. Bars and clubs check, and shops sell alcohol only from 11:00 to 24:00.
Bangkok, for range. Phuket and Pattaya suit walking-street nights, and Chiang Mai is calmer.
On 27 October, 24 November and 24 December in 2026, at Haad Rin on Koh Phangan. Entry is 200 baht cash.
