While Bangkok may not immediately spring to mind as a top destination for outdoor adventurers, the city offers a surprising number of opportunities to escape the urban hustle and embrace nature. Beyond its renowned temples, vibrant markets and world-class cuisine, Bangkok has a network of green spaces (including new areas such as Bang Kachao, the city’s “Green Lung”) and waterways waiting to be explored.
Once you’ve taken in Bangkok’s essential sights and have familiarized yourself with its amazing street food, here are a few options for an easy walk or an hours-long workout into the hidden forests, neighborhoods and markets within the urban jungle.
The Amazing Parks
Once known as the Venice of the East for its network of canals and lush gardens, densely populated Bangkok has a green space ratio that sits well below the World Health Organization’s recommended 97 square feet per person. However, the Green Bangkok Project 2019 aims to change this by creating a wide array of open spaces by 2030. Chao Phraya Sky Park and Benjakitti Forest Park demonstrate what’s possible. The former opened in 2020 on an abandoned viaduct to support a skytrain above the Phra Pok Klao Bridge. Today, its pathways and gardens bloom with water olive trees, oleander and crocuses — and it also boasts 360-degree views of the city on either side of the Chao Phraya River.
Benjakitti Forest Park opened in 1992, but a 2022 renovation expanded its area to about 102 acres, transforming an industrial area into a vibrant green space with a lake, ponds, walking and bike paths and gardens. Its wetlands and forests provide wildlife habitats, and the park has become popular for bird-watching and for taking in the sunset from a network of elevated footpaths. Abutting the Queen Sirikit Convention Center near downtown, it’s also convenient to high-end hotels such as 137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok, Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Conrad Bangkok and Four-Star The Sukhothai Bangkok.
Even more accessible to the business district hotels is the city’s oldest park, Lumpini, or Suan Lum. While you can ride swan boats here, it’s also a great spot for an early morning jog or lifting weights in the open-air gym, Bangkok’s answer to Muscle Beach. Suan Lum is also the spot for viewing monitor lizards — just give them a wide berth, as they can be six feet long and may turn aggressive, if threatened.
The Extreme Pedaling
Bangkok’s parks provide space to stretch your legs and to view the city from different perspectives, but if you’re feeling truly adventurous, the best way to escape into its quieter corners, “forgotten” temples and remaining patches of jungle is with a seasoned guide.
Most of the top hotels work with a few different outfits, and one of the best at curating excursions into the veiled world of adventure is Smiling Albino, named for the region’s sacred white elephants. Canadian co-founder and CEO Daniel Fraser has been cooking up expeditions throughout Thailand and Asia since 1999, peppering them with insider knowledge and an insatiable curiosity. He also speaks fluent Thai and hosts a Thai-language TV show on a local network. His crack team of Thais and expats is continually researching, hunting for the perfect noodle stand and uncovering picturesque routes to explore by foot, bicycle or boat.
Smiling Albino regularly teams up with hotels such as Five-Stars Capella Bangkok and Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok. “Dan Fraser and Smiling Albino have been key partners with us since the beginning, and we collaborate on many of our outdoor activities,” says Nick Downing, general manager at The Siam, Bangkok. “One of my most memorable days in Bangkok was on a seven-hour bike tour with them, on both sides of the river.”
Downing and seven other mountain bike riders wound their way through “unseen Bangkok.” “We were rarely on the bike for more than 15 minutes at a time, as we’d stop at someone’s house for a coffee or explore a temple in Thonburi that you’d never find on your own,” he says. “We spent less than five minutes on major roads.”
Like all Smiling Albino’s tours, Downing’s ride route has evolved over the years. These days, it has become two separate outings designed to roll for about four hours: Cycling Bangkok’s Riverside and Cycling Thonburi’s Riverside. That said, both are highly customizable based on guests’ interests and fitness levels.
Smiling Albino product designer Andrew Clark has been instrumental in developing these cycling adventures, and along with fellow “idea machine” Greg Jorgensen, he has been riding and mapping routes for 15 years. “I’d rather ride here in Bangkok than back home in Calgary,” Jorgensen says, “because of all the motorcycles, drivers are much more aware of people on two wheels.”
Still, the designers deliberately plan to avoid as much traffic as possible. “We’re always looking for texture, history and color on our rides,” Jorgensen says. “We’ll explore ancient temples, visit the oldest mosque in Bangkok and find the pieces that make this such a fascinating city.” Clark adds, “We’ve taken many guides on our tours, and they’re amazed that we go through these neighborhoods — our guests love it.”
One of the company’s popular day trips is its Bikes, Boats and Beer adventure, which follows the original course of the Chao Phraya, passes ancient teak homes and terminates at the Chit Brewery pub on Ko Kret, a small island 18 miles north of the departure point. In many respects, this outing is a journey back in time. Before sampling the craft beer and local food, guests may visit a floating market, Ayutthaya-style temples and a traditional pottery village. And rather than ride home, you’ll load your bikes onto a longtail boat and take a leisurely scenic voyage down the river.
At the southern end of town, Bang Kachao transports visitors away from the modern world and into a lush grove of slower-paced village life. Its 6.2 square miles are home to thousands of mangroves, a floating market, dozens of coffee shops, restaurants, ice cream stands and the bird sanctuary of Si Nakhon Khuean Khan Park and Botanical Garden. Bang Kachao (pronounced “ka-jao”) means “area of the heron” in the local dialect, and Clark says, “There’s more wildlife here than in Northern Thailand because no one’s hunting it.” One of the other charms of Bang Kachao is that no building may exceed the height of the palm trees, and this stark contrast to the skyscrapers just across the river has helped make the island a popular cycling and ecotour destination.
While the “hidden city” tours of Smiling Albino would be impossible without their expert guides, seasoned travelers could undertake Bang Kachao independently. It requires a bit of coordination — you’ll need to take a boat — but it’s pretty simple to cross the river, rent bikes and explore for hours. A ride around the island’s perimeter is about 31 miles, but Clark says, “You could easily ride for 100. It’s an incredible sense of freedom.”
