Short answer
The Grand Palace is open every day from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, with tickets sold until 3:30 pm, according to its official page and the Royal Household Bureau's 2024 regulation. It closes only on days of royal ceremonies or official business, which the palace shows on its online calendar. A stranger who says it is closed today and offers a cheap tuk-tuk tour instead is using a known scam, according to Wikivoyage and a Coconuts Bangkok report on a police crackdown. Check the calendar, go to the ticket office and ignore the offer.
What the scam sounds like
Wikivoyage's Bangkok guide tells visitors to be highly sceptical when an English-speaking Thai at a popular attraction approaches out of the blue and says your destination is closed or offers discount admissions. It says anyone who tells you otherwise, even with official-looking identification, is most likely out to scam you, especially if they suggest a tuk-tuk ride to other sights until the place reopens. The reason given is often a Buddhist holiday or a ceremony.
The guide describes a second stage. If you get into the tuk-tuk, the driver drops you at a genuine temple, where a man who claims to be an official sends you on, and a second "official" there also says the attraction is shut, so that you hear the same claim from several people. A deputy commander of the Tourist Police, quoted by Coconuts Bangkok in an undated report, described drivers offering overpriced boat rides or shopping at jewellery and tailored suit shops.
What the official hours are
The Grand Palace's official page gives the opening hours as daily 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, with tickets sold from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm at 500 baht. The same page says in one line that the palace is open daily from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, so treat 3:30 pm as your last entry. Wikivoyage's Rattanakosin guide gives the same hours, with tickets until 15:30, and says to ignore anyone who says the palace is closed without official notice.
The Royal Household Bureau's visiting regulation of 2024, which is written in Thai, says in clause 6 that visits are allowed every day without exception for public holidays, from 08:30 to 16:30, and that ticket sales stop at 15:30. So a public holiday is not a reason for the palace to be closed. Wikivoyage adds that some throne halls close at weekends for ceremonial purposes, which is not the same as the whole palace being shut. The one real reason for a full closure is in the next section.
When the palace really does close
The same clause says that on a day with a royal ceremony or official business, visits to the places concerned are suspended for that day. Genuine closures are published. The Thaiger reported that the Bureau of the Royal Household closed the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew from 26 October to 8 November 2025 for royal merit-making ceremonies, and that on 3 June 2025 they closed for the Queen's birthday, after a partial opening on 1 June from 8:30 am to 12:00 without the main ordination hall.
The palace's online calendar lists such dates. On 29 October 2026 it showed one: 28 October 2026, with the palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and its chapel closing at noon, and no online booking that day. The calendar adds that dates might be changed or added, and that the ticket office can be reached on +66 2 623 5500, extension 2171. A stranger on the pavement is not a source; the calendar and the ticket window are.
How to check in a minute
Open the palace's official schedule page, or walk to the ticket window, which Wikivoyage says is the place to verify the operating hours at paid sites. The palace's FAQ says tickets can be bought online up to a month ahead or at the ticket offices on the day, so you do not need a middleman. The Tourism Authority of Thailand's helpline is 1672, and the 24-hour Tourist Police hotline is 1155, according to its newsroom.
If someone steers you away from the gate, say politely that you will check at the window and keep walking. Wikivoyage advises hailing a moving tuk-tuk or taxi from a main road, and insisting on your destination or getting out if the driver says it is closed. The palace's own page warns that a tuk-tuk to the palace may cost more than a taxi unless you are used to bargaining, so agree the price first or use the meter.
Why a tuk-tuk and a gem shop come next
The closed story is a way of getting you into a vehicle. Wikivoyage describes the gem scam as the most widely practised scam in Bangkok: tuk-tuk drivers offer all-day tours for prices as low as 10 baht, and you end up in one gem and souvenir shop after another. It says the stones are worthless glass, the suits of poor quality, and that the driver gets a commission, and fuel coupons even if you buy nothing.
Coconuts Bangkok, in an undated report, said police rounded up 139 tuk-tuks and taxis around the Grand Palace and charged 87 drivers with causing annoyance and obstructing traffic, after complaints of drivers waiting for tourists to mislead. It said the arrested drivers' licences would be suspended for three months, and that the shops were being investigated. We could not find a current 2026 report, so this shows the pattern, not today's numbers.
The same trick at other temples
It is not only the palace. A Thai government visitor page dated 15 August 2025 warns, at Wat Arun, to beware of scammers claiming the temple is closed and redirecting visitors elsewhere. At Wat Suthat it warns of scammers posing as guides or asking for unsolicited donations, and at Wat Benchamabophit of people posing as guides or staff to sell overpriced services. These are the same hustles in different clothes.
Know the real hours. Wat Pho's own visit plan gives 08:00 to 19:30, so "closed" at lunchtime is false. For Wat Arun, a government page and the Tourism Authority's listing, as GoAsia reports it, give 08:00 to 18:00. Our guides to Wat Pho and Wat Arun give the fees and hours, and our best temples guide lists the others.
What to do if you are already in the tuk-tuk
Stay calm and ask to be taken back to where you were, or get out at the first safe place. Wikivoyage's advice is to never get involved with the people who claim a place is closed, and not to believe their statements. Do not buy gems, suits or tickets offered by anyone you met this way, and do not sign anything. Keep any receipt or card you are given, and note the tuk-tuk's plate if you can.
If you feel unsafe, or someone will not let you leave, call the Tourist Police hotline, 1155, which the Tourism Authority of Thailand describes as a 24-hour line with multilingual support. Do not hand money to anyone you met this way. Carry the palace's phone number, and use the calendar before you leave your hotel.
How our tour avoids the problem
On our Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun tour you meet your guide at a set point near the Grand Palace at about 8:30 am, and the price includes the entrance tickets to the palace with Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho and Wat Arun, so nobody needs to talk to a stranger at the gate. The tour costs from $75 per person and takes about 4 hours. Our guide to the Grand Palace tour price shows what each ticket costs.
If your date is affected by a ceremony we tell you on WhatsApp, and we confirm the date before you pay. The tour does not suit you if you prefer to go alone and keep your hours open; the palace's hours and calendar are all you need then. For the dress list, which can stop you at the gate, see the Grand Palace dress code. For taxi fares, see Bangkok taxi and tuk-tuk prices.
Practical checklist
- Check the Grand Palace's online schedule page for your date before you leave.
- Plan to be at the gate before 3:30 pm, when ticket sales stop; the palace closes at 4:30 pm.
- Walk to the ticket window and verify; ignore anyone who says the palace is closed without an official notice.
- Agree a tuk-tuk price first or use the meter; do not accept free or 10 baht tours.
- Save the Tourist Police hotline, 1155, in your phone.
Questions and answers
What are the Grand Palace opening hours?
Daily from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, with tickets sold until 3:30 pm, according to its official page. The 2024 Royal Household Bureau regulation says it is open every day, including public holidays, except on royal ceremony days.
Is the Grand Palace ever really closed?
Yes, for royal ceremonies and official business. The Bureau of the Royal Household closed it from 26 October to 8 November 2025, the Thaiger reported. The palace's online calendar lists such dates.
What is the Grand Palace closed scam?
A stranger near the palace says it is closed for a holiday or ceremony and offers a cheap tuk-tuk tour, which Wikivoyage says ends at gem and souvenir shops where the driver earns a commission.
How do I check that the Grand Palace is open today?
Look at the official schedule page, or ask at the ticket window. The calendar gives a ticket office phone number, +66 2 623 5500, extension 2171. Do not rely on anyone who approaches you outside.
Who do I call if I am being scammed in Bangkok?
The Tourist Police hotline is 1155, a 24-hour line with multilingual support, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Its general call centre is 1672.
Do the same scammers work at Wat Pho and Wat Arun?
A Thai government visitor page dated 15 August 2025 warns of scammers who claim Wat Arun is closed and redirect visitors. Wat Pho is open from 08:00 to 19:30, according to its own plan.
Read next
- Grand Palace dress code and opening hours: what to wear, when it closes, and how Wat Pho and Wat Arun compare
- Grand Palace Bangkok tour price: what $75 covers, and what the three temples charge at the gate
- Bangkok taxi and tuk-tuk prices: what to pay and how to avoid overcharging
- Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun: why book this tour