New Year's Eve in Bangkok with Children:
Fireworks, Family Dinners and Early Cruises

Bangkok on 31 December is a family night as much as a party night, as long as you plan around the crowds and the late finish. Here is where the fireworks are easy with children, the dinners with a view that welcome them, the cruises that get back before bedtime, and the few rules that keep the night simple.

The Free Countdowns with Children

The free countdowns are the family option. ICONSIAM’s River Park ran five days of free shows last year, with the fireworks at midnight on the 31st, and CentralWorld and One Bangkok had free viewing areas too.

One Bangkok, in the park by MRT Lumphini, is the easiest of the three to move around with children; CentralWorld is the densest.

A few rules make the difference. Arrive by late afternoon, before the roads close and the crowd builds.

Agree a meeting point and put your phone number on a wristband or a note in each child’s pocket. Expect the crowd to be thickest from 10 PM, and the walk out after midnight to take a while.

If midnight is too late, the shows on the days before the 31st at ICONSIAM give you the stage and the atmosphere without the finale. The full picture of each countdown is in The Countdowns.

Dinner with a View of the Fireworks

For dinner with the CentralWorld fireworks in front of you, the hotels on the Ratchaprasong corner are the answer. At Centara Grand, the Ventisi buffet is indoors, with a child price for ages 6 to 11 and a Lotus Garden add-on for the fireworks at midnight; Red Sky Restaurant’s indoor set menu lists children’s options à la carte. All nine of the hotel’s offers are on our Centara Grand page.

Last year Moxy Bangkok Ratchaprasong opened its 9th-floor terrace to families, with children’s prices and a front-row view of the same fireworks.

On the river, several riverside hotels run their own fireworks on the night, and the hotel restaurants along the Chao Phraya sell New Year’s Eve dinners with children’s prices. Book by early December: these dinners fill before the parties do.

On the River

The countdown cruises take children from age 4 at a lower price, and a boat is the one place where the ICONSIAM fireworks go off right above you. For small children, the early sailings are back well before midnight: the Chao Phraya Princess from Asiatique at 7:30 PM, back at 9:30 PM, or Meridian’s 7:15 PM dinner round.

For older children who can stay up, the countdown sailings return between 12:15 AM and 1:45 AM.

Rooftops: Mostly for Adults

The rooftop bar parties are for guests aged 20 and over, and on New Year’s Eve the bars are at capacity with adults who booked weeks ahead. The rooftop restaurants are different: they take children at dinner, with a seat for the fireworks, though some set a minimum age for the countdown night, so ask when you book.

Our family-friendly rooftops guide lists the ones that welcome children all year, and Rooftop Parties and Dinners explains how the New Year’s Eve packages work.

A Quieter New Year: the Temples

The New Year’s Eve chanting at Wat Pho and other temples, from 7 PM, is calm, free and very Thai, and children are welcome. Last year Wat Pho set out more than 5,000 chairs.

Shoulders and knees covered, shoes off where the signs ask, and bring something for the children to do during the long stretches of chanting.

Keeping the Night Easy

• A photo of each child on your phone, taken that evening, in the clothes they are wearing.
• Your phone number on them: a wristband, or a note in a pocket.
• Ear protection for the fireworks if they are sensitive to noise: the ICONSIAM display is loud and lasts about 20 minutes.
• Carry small children through the crowds rather than pushing a stroller.
• The train home, not a taxi. Last year the BTS and MRT ran until 2 AM, and the taxis did not move. See Getting Around on New Year’s Eve.
• New Year’s Day is a holiday in Thailand, and in 2027 it falls on a Friday: banks close, the malls, parks and restaurants stay open, and the city is quiet in the morning. A late start and a park are a good first day of the year.