For a drop-in class near Sukhumvit, Watchara, Elite or Krudam. For a real fight gym, Rithirit, FA Group or PK Saenchai. For a camp with rooms, Khongsittha. Seventeen Bangkok Muay Thai gyms in all.
Bangkok has hundreds of Muay Thai gyms, and this is the short list. Rithirit Gym Academy, the Din Daeng fight gym most people still call Jitti Gym, leads it. Elite Fight Club, FA Group, Bangkok Fight Lab, PK Saenchai and RSM follow.
The list sorts itself by what you want. For a drop-in class around Sukhumvit, Watchara, Elite, Krudam, RSM and Migaku are all a short walk from a BTS stop. For a real fight gym, Rithirit, FA Group, PK Saenchai and Petchyindee train working stadium fighters. For a camp with rooms, Khongsittha in Lat Phrao is the one. A group class at most of these gyms costs ฿400 to ฿600.
Best overall. The Din Daeng fight gym many people still call Jitti Gym, with Thai pros training beside visitors. It's on Vibhavadi Rangsit Soi 16, near MRT Ratchadaphisek, and a group session is ฿500.
Best walk-in gym on Sukhumvit. A well-equipped Phrom Phong gym where group classes run from morning to evening and stadium-veteran trainers coach beginners patiently. NOW Muay Thai lists a group session at ฿535.
Best for the clinch. A working fighters' gym in Chatuchak famous for the clinch, the grappling and kneeing range most Western gyms barely teach. A group session is ฿500 on both NOW Muay Thai and siamkickfight.
Where to stay
My pick at each price level in Bangkok, going by Google's hotel class. Hotels from my ranked list of the 10 best come first, then the best-reviewed. Each button opens the hotel on Booking.com with your dates filled in.
#1Luxury · 5-star
Millennium Hilton Bangkok4.6 (12,976 reviews)
Upscale riverside hotel on the Chao Phraya with strong service and sweeping river views.
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#8Mid-range · 4-star
Centara Watergate Pavilion Hotel Bangkok4.5 (4,456 reviews)
Sleek Bangkok hotel with spacious rooms, rooftop bar, spa, and an unbeatable location near top shopping.
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Best for Muay Thai plus BJJ and MMA. A big, modern gym on Sukhumvit Soi 50 near BTS On Nut, with an international coaching team and structured classes across three disciplines.
Best fight stable. One of Bangkok's elite stadium stables, in Bang Kho Laem near Central Rama III, with four rings, a cage and a roster of champions, and foreigners welcome at ฿400 a session at the gym's own price.
Best for a central drop-in. Rajadamnern Singha Muay Thai Academy, on the second floor of Jasmine City by BTS Asok, the easiest gym here to fit around a Sukhumvit stay. Book through its Facebook page.
Klook's best-reviewed Bangkok tours, with today's prices. Most cancel free up to 24 hours ahead.
Best camp with rooms. A purpose-built train-and-stay campus in Lat Phrao, first in Bangkok's Google local pack, with leveled classes at ฿500 a drop-in and 30 days with a room from ฿25,200 at the camp's own prices.
Best for beginners. A small, beginner-friendly gym on Sukhumvit Soi 1 near BTS Ploenchit. Message the gym for prices.
Best for evening classes. A busy gym on Sukhumvit Soi 36 near BTS Thong Lo. NOW Muay Thai lists a group session at ฿599 and a private at ฿1,499.
Best for a stay in the east. Master Toddy's long-running academy for foreign students, on Sukhumvit 107 near BTS Bearing, just over the city line in Samut Prakan.
Best for training beside stadium fighters. The academy of a fight promotion and stable that has produced champions for around fifty years, in Bangkok Noi on the Thonburi side, where visitors train next to pros preparing for Rajadamnern.
Best for muay boran. Bangkok's heritage academy in Prawet, devoted to the ancestral forms modern Muay Thai grew out of, taught alongside ordinary pad and clinch work.
Best polished city gym. The Yokkao brand's flagship on Sukhumvit Soi 16, with big-name Thai trainers, drop-in classes and privates in an air-conditioned gym a short walk from BTS Asok.
Best for a pro camp feel. A marquee stable in Prawet behind stadium and international champions, open to visitors of every level. siamkickfight lists a drop-in at ฿600.
Best small gym near Silom. Kru MAS's gym on Soi Ngam Du Phli in Sathon, a short walk from MRT Lumphini, with a perfect Google rating. Book through its Facebook page.
Best for a clean, central gym. A Muay Thai and fitness club near BTS Phrom Phong. NOW Muay Thai lists a group session at ฿580 and 20 sessions at ฿9,860.
Best near Ari. A Muay Thai and MMA gym on Soi Pradiphat 9 near BTS Ari. NOW Muay Thai lists a group session at ฿600 and a month of group classes at ฿4,900.
Watchara on Sukhumvit Soi 1 is RoamFit's first pick for beginners, and Elite Fight Club in Phrom Phong, Khongsittha in Lat Phrao, RSM by BTS Asok and Rithirit near MRT Ratchadaphisek make the same beginner lists. All of them run leveled group classes, so a first-timer isn't thrown in with the fighters.
A group class is ฿400 to ฿600 at most of the gyms on this list. PK Saenchai charges ฿400 at its own price, Rithirit and FA Group ฿500, Elite ฿535, Migaku ฿580, Krudam ฿599 and Tiger Eye ฿600 on the NOW Muay Thai booking site. A private hour with a trainer runs about ฿1,200 to ฿1,800, and Migaku's is ฿2,900.
Khongsittha in Lat Phrao is the train-and-stay campus, with 30 days and a room from ฿25,200 at the camp's own prices. Most of the other gyms on this list are city gyms, so for a longer stay you rent a room nearby and train twice a day.
Shorts, a T-shirt and water. Every gym on this list lends or rents gloves and wraps, and you train barefoot. If you stay longer than a week, buying your own wraps and gloves is more hygienic, and Thai brands cost far less in Bangkok than at home.
Rajadamnern Stadium fights seven nights a week, with tickets from ฿1,000 and the biggest card on Saturday, and Lumpinee hosts ONE Friday Fights. Several gyms on this list, Petchyindee and PK Saenchai among them, corner fighters you can see in those rings. The Muay Thai fights guide has the stadium nights and prices.
