Bangkok with Kids: 4-Person Family 6N8D Cost & Plan

November 4th, 8:20pm, aboard the White Orchid cruise. Even the river turned gold.

Direct Answer & TL;DR

Two adults and two kids spent 6 nights, 8 days in Bangkok, November 3–9, 2025. Total cost: about ₩3,900,000 (~$2,786) plus 110,000 Asiana miles. Prepaid items — flight taxes, hotels, tours — came to about ₩2,900,000 ($2,072); local spending was about ₩1,000,000 ($714). We split the stay between Centre Point Silom on the Chao Phraya riverside (3 nights) and Novotel Living Sukhumvit (4 nights). We’d originally wanted Shangri-La on the river, but it was Loy Krathong festival week, and prices had roughly doubled. If you’re traveling with kids, the Novotel Living bunk-bed room is worth it. That said, we probably didn’t need the last night, which we only booked because of a late flight.

Mileage Seats Decided the Dates

It started with Asiana miles. Asiana Airlines is one of Korea’s two major carriers, and we’d heard our miles were about to expire, so we booked in a hurry on November 13, 2024 — a full year before departure. We didn’t pick the dates. We found which dates had award seats available first, then built our family’s trip around them.

Three of the four of us flew on miles; one child was booked with cash. Mileage tickets still carry tax and a fuel surcharge — we each paid roughly ₩130,000 (~$93) out of pocket for that.

What Kind of City Is Bangkok?

Bangkok sits on the Chao Phraya River delta. The land is flat — average elevation is just 1.5m — and the Gulf of Thailand is about 25km south of downtown. The 2024 estimated population is 9.1 million, 15.9% of Thailand’s population. It became the capital in 1782. The Thonburi kingdom had its capital on the west bank of the Chao Phraya; Rama I moved the capital across the river, east to Rattanakosin Island. The city’s full name starts with “City of Angels” and runs on from there. Our hotels for the first half of the trip, and the cruise on the second night, were all on this same river.

Bangkok’s Monthly Weather: November Is the Edge of the Dry Season

Bangkok’s year splits into three: a rainy season from June to October, a cooler dry season from November to January, and a hot season from February to May.

Monthly averages (source: Climates to Travel)

Even in the “cool” season, daytime highs stay above 32°C year-round. What changes is the rain. October’s 290mm drops to 50mm by November. The same source names December through mid-February as the best time to visit — less heat, and clear of the rainy season.

The 6-Night, 8-Day Itinerary at a Glance

We built a spreadsheet before the trip and stuck to it almost exactly.

The daily shape barely changed: one outing in the morning, lunch, then the hotel pool in the afternoon. Dinner was delivery, ordered through Grab — Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing and delivery app — and eaten in the room.

We Wanted Shangri-La. Loy Krathong Got There First

For the first three nights, we wanted to stay on the Chao Phraya riverside. Shangri-La was our first pick. The price had roughly doubled, though, and the date was the reason. Loy Krathong 2025 fell on November 5 — right in the middle of our trip.

Loy Krathong is a festival held on the full moon night of the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar, when people float small decorated krathong on rivers and lakes. A krathong is typically made of banana-leaf material, holding a candle and incense sticks. In Bangkok, events ran all along the Chao Phraya riverside — at Wat Arun, ICONSIAM’s riverside park, and more. Riverside hotels get expensive that week.

5:40pm, November 5th. Loy Krathong day. Crowds were already gathering on the riverside plaza.

So we booked Centre Point Silom instead, direct through the hotel’s own site — three nights for ₩700,000 (~$500). Per the hotel’s own listing, it’s a 5-minute walk from BTS Saphan Taksin station, with views of the Chao Phraya River. If you’re looking at Bangkok riverside hotels in early November, check the Loy Krathong date first. It follows the full moon, so it moves every year.

Morning of November 4th, seen from the boat. The gold roof stood out under a gray sky.

Novotel Living Sukhumvit: Sold on the Bunk Bed Alone

For the second half, we moved to Sukhumvit. We booked Novotel Living Bangkok Sukhumvit Legacy for 4 nights through the Accor app — Accor being the hotel group behind Novotel — for ₩930,000 (~$664).

The bunk bed was the whole story of that room. The adults took the king bed, the two kids took the bunk bed, all four of us in one room. The kids loved that bunk bed. Per the hotel’s official site, this is the “Family Suite with Bunk Bed” room type: 46㎡, a king bed plus a bunk bed, a kitchen, sleeps up to four.

And best of all, the room had a washer and dryer. Being able to wash and dry laundry mid-trip, right in the room, turned out to be genuinely useful. The location was good, and so was the pool.

Both hotels came out to about ₩233,000 (~$166) a night. One bought us the river, the other bought the kids their own room.

Wat Arun from the Cruise, and Unlimited Beer

On the second night, we took the White Orchid Dinner Cruise. It’s a 3rd-floor open-air seating package departing from ICONSIAM, with a 3+1 deal that made it ₩108,788 (~$78) for the four of us. Booked in advance through Hana Tour, a Korean travel agency.

While we worked through the buffet, the boat passed riverside landmarks one by one. The Wat Arun on the cover photo was shot from this boat — lit up at night, bleeding gold across the water. And the beer was unlimited. That part I liked best. Not that the kids got any of it.

Safari World: The Giraffes Were Scary, the Boat Was Overpriced

On day five, we went to Safari World, booked as a full-day private tour (morning departure) through Hana Tour, ₩253,308 (~$181).

At the feeding deck. A giraffe’s face comes right up to you.

The kids’ top memory from the whole trip is feeding the giraffes. Stand on the raised deck and a giraffe stretches its neck right in front of you. Both kids were scared and having a great time at once. Between them, they fed 8 baskets — 4 each.

The last bite on the stick. Two giraffes ducked their heads at the same time.

The catch was the price. We paid cash on site for the feed baskets — I remember it being around ₩10,000 ($7) a basket. Looking it up, it’s 200 baht a basket. At that day’s card rate of roughly ₩45 per baht, that’s about ₩9,000 ($6) a basket — and 8 baskets, 1,600 baht, comes to over ₩70,000 (~$50). The same guide notes that one basket is meant to be shared around the whole family. With two kids, splitting one or two baskets between them would probably work out better.

The elephant show. Flowers in its trunk, one foot up on the elephant ahead of it.

One thing I wouldn’t recommend: the boat ride inside Safari World. It’s the kind of attraction similar to the Amazon Express ride at Everland — Korea’s best-known theme park — and we paid 1,520 baht (₩68,369 / ~$49) by card. Way overpriced for local prices, and honestly, the ride itself wasn’t much.

The Total: About ₩3,900,000 (~$2,786) Plus 110,000 Miles

The local spending figure isn’t exact. Looking only at 5 days of card charges in our expense-tracking app, daily spending ran ₩40,000–₩150,000 ($29–$107). The highest was November 7th, the Safari World day, at ₩146,904 ($105). Add cash on top, and we landed on roughly ₩1,000,000. Four of us, six nights and eight days, and it comes out under ₩1,000,000 per person. That’s without counting the 110,000 miles.

Next Time, We Could Probably Skip the Last Night

Our return flight left at 11pm. We’d booked Novotel for 4 nights so we could keep the room until evening, checking out at 8pm on the last day. At about ₩233,000 (~$166) a night, that was the price of a few extra hours before a night flight. Looking back, 3 nights would have been enough. After checkout, that evening could’ve gone to the hotel’s indoor kids’ room or the pool, or one last loop around nearby sights. If your return flight is a night flight, that last night is worth recalculating.

The Poo Pad Pong Curry Hasn’t Ended

The first night after moving to Sukhumvit, we ordered Poo Pad Pong Curry — a Thai stir-fried crab curry — through Grab. It was so good we ordered it again the next night. The trip ended a long time ago now. My older kid still asks to go back to Thailand just to eat Poo Pad Pong Curry.

🔗 References

• Where to celebrate Loy Krathong 2025 in Bangkok (Nation Thailand) — Loy Krathong 2025 fell on November 5, with events along the Chao Phraya riverside at Wat Arun, ICONSIAM, and more
• Loy Krathong (Wikipedia) — a festival held on the full moon night of the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar; the shape and materials of a krathong
• Bangkok (Wikipedia) — Rama I moved the capital here in 1782, from the Thonburi kingdom; Chao Phraya River delta, average elevation 1.5m, about 25km from the Gulf of Thailand, 2024 population 9.1 million
• Bangkok climate (Climates to Travel) — monthly temperatures, rainfall, and rainy days; best time to visit is December through mid-February
• Centre Point Silom, official site — walking distance from BTS Saphan Taksin, Chao Phraya River views
• Family Suite with Bunk Bed — Novotel Living Bangkok Sukhumvit Legacy, official — 46㎡, king bed + bunk bed, sleeps up to 4
• Safari World Bangkok: Complete Guide (Trip Thai Tour) — giraffe feed baskets run about 200 baht cash, one basket can be shared around the family
• White Orchid Chao Phraya Dinner Cruise (GetYourGuide) — buffet and unlimited beer, a dinner cruise passing riverside landmarks
• Okinawa 6 Nights 7 Days, Two Families: Itinerary & Costs