What is the dress code for the Grand Palace in Bangkok, and how much are tickets?

Quick answer: dress code, price and hours

• Price: 500 baht for foreigners. Thai nationals enter free with an ID card.

• What the ticket covers: the Grand Palace grounds, Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, all inside the same compound.

• Ticket sales: 8:30 to 15:30 daily. The palace site also shows a 16:30 closing time in its footer, so treat 15:30 as the last time to buy and plan to arrive far earlier.

• Dress code: covered shoulders and knees, plus nothing tight, torn, transparent or cropped.

• To check hours: the palace lists +66-2-623-5500 ext. 2171.

Exactly what is refused

The Bureau of the Royal Household describes the palace as a place of reverence and publishes a list of items that will not get you in. Read it as the strictest dress code in Bangkok:

• Tops: sleeveless shirts, vests, short or cropped tops, and anything see-through.

• Bottoms: short shorts, short pants, miniskirts, pant-skirts (skorts), torn trousers, tight trousers, and cycling pants.

• Other: pyjama-style suits.

The words "tight pants" are the trap. Many visitors assume full-length leggings are fine because they cover the knees. At the Grand Palace they are on the refused list, and staff at the entrance do check. Loose linen trousers, a long skirt that is not clingy, or lightweight wide-leg pants are the safe choices in Bangkok's heat. For the shorter version of the rule across all Thai temples, see our temple dress code in Thailand and what to wear in Thailand.

If you turn up in the wrong clothes

The palace's own information page does not mention a clothing rental service. Third-party visitor guides report that sarongs and covering garments can be rented or bought near the entrance, and our Thailand temple dress code page describes a refundable deposit commonly quoted at around 200 baht. We have not been able to confirm the current amount or process from an official source, so treat rental as a fallback rather than a plan, and expect a queue when it is busy.

Street vendors around Wat Pho and the Tha Chang area also sell cheap wrap trousers. The simplest fix is to wear the right clothes from your hotel. Easy slip-on shoes help later, because shoes come off when you enter the temple buildings.

Tickets, hours and the closure scam

The foreigner price of 500 baht is the only official figure; guided tours and skip-the-line packages cost more and are sold by third parties. Tickets can be bought at the entrance or online.

Hours are not identical across the palace's own pages. One announcement says 8:30 to 15:30, the footer says 8:30 to 16:30, and ticket sales stop at 15:30. Go in the morning anyway: the courtyards have little shade and the midday heat is the real limit on a visit. Allow two to three hours for the palace, Wat Phra Kaew and the museum.

The palace also closes or changes hours for royal ceremonies. For 12 August 2026, for example, the Bureau announced ticket sales only from 8:30 to noon, a security screening point that closed at 11:00, and an adjusted dress code in which men could not wear jeans and women had to wear a skirt or wraparound cloth. Anyone paying respects before the royal remains in the throne halls on that day needed formal mourning attire. Dates like these can appear at short notice, so check the palace site or phone number before you go.

A well-known street scam in the area is a stranger telling you the palace is closed today for a ceremony, then steering you to a tuk-tuk tour. Walk to the official gate on Na Phra Lan Road and ask the staff there. Our Grab vs Bolt and taxi scams in Bangkok guide covers how to get around without being overcharged.

Security, bags and getting there

Entry goes through airport-style security with bag checks. Visitor guides report that large backpacks, selfie sticks, drones, tripods, food and drinks are not allowed and oversized bags can be refused. We could not confirm a published bag-size limit, so carry a small day bag.

The simplest way to arrive is the Chao Phraya Express Boat to Tha Chang pier, a few minutes' walk from the gate. A metered taxi works too. Wat Pho is a short walk south, so many visitors do both on the same morning; see our 3-day Bangkok itinerary for how the day fits together, and where to stay in Bangkok if you want to be near the river.

Behaviour inside Wat Phra Kaew

Inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, remove your shoes before the ordination hall and sit with your feet tucked to the side, never pointing at the Buddha image. Photography is prohibited inside the hall. Speak quietly, do not touch the sacred objects, and step aside for worshippers. Monks do not accept items directly from women's hands, a general Thai rule explained on our temple page.

If you are also going north, the same shoulders-and-knees logic applies at Chiang Mai's mountain temple; see our Doi Suthep dress code and visit guide.

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