Our Guide to Sukhumvit, Bangkok’s #1 Nightlife Location

Visiting Bangkok? If you plan on going out while you’re in Bangkok, you’ll struggle to find any part of the city with better nightlife than Sukhumvit.

Sukhumvit is Bangkok’s commercial and residential center. It’s a long street that runs east to west throughout most of Central Bangkok, ranging from shopping malls at one end to bars and nightclubs, then residential areas. Sukhumvit is also the main home of Bangkok’s foreigner-focused nightlife areas, including red light districts like Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy.

Here are our recommendations for a fun night out in Sukhumvit:

  • If you’re searching for Bangkok’s most exclusive and upmarket nightlife, take a taxi or the BTS to Thong Lor (Soi 55) and make your way down to Soi 10 or 13. SeenSpace has a great collection of international restaurants and some of Bangkok’s best bars.
  • Royal City Avenue, located north of Sukhumvit Road, is where you’ll find Bangkok’s biggest clubs. You’ll need to take a taxi, since this area is quite far from the BTS.
  • Sukhumvit Soi 11 is where you’ll find Bangkok’s most popular bars and nightclubs for foreigners. Highlights include OSKAR, which attracts a mix of expats and moneyed Thais, and Levels inside the ALoft hotel.
  • Sukhumvit Soi 22 offers a mix of cheap beer bars and fun nightclubs, including one of Bangkok’s best ice bars.
  • Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy are Sukhumvit’s two red light districts. Nana is the seedier and larger of the two, while Soi Cowboy tends to attract a mixed crowd of tourists and pleasure seekers. If you plan on spending any time at either, make sure you book into a hotel that allows you to bring guests back without any extra fees. GuestFriendlyHotelsBangkok.com has a great guide to nightlife friendly hotels.
  • Traffic on Suhkumvit Road can be killer, and you’ll spend hours waiting in taxis if you rely on them to get from one end of Sukhumvit to the other. Use the BTS Skytrain to get around quickly without wasting any time sitting in traffic.

Ready for a fun night out? Sukhumvit is undoubtedly one of Asia’s best streets for partying, and the tips above will help you get the very best of its bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Have fun and be awesome!