RCA
RCA Bangkok Nightlife Guide explains the nightlife, nightclubs, bars, late-night partying, casual hookups, hotels, opening hours and how to get to Royal City Avenue (RCA) in Bangkok, Thailand.
RCA Bangkok, officially Royal City Avenue (RCA), is one of the main nightclub and late-night entertainment areas in Bangkok, Thailand. Unlike the tourist-heavy nightlife around Sukhumvit, Nana Plaza and Sukhumvit Soi 11, RCA has traditionally attracted a much larger Thai and younger local crowd looking for casual sex instead of prostitution.
RCA is best known for big nightclubs, EDM, hip-hop, live music and late-night partying. The entertainment area runs along Royal City Avenue between the Rama IX and Phetchaburi Road areas and contains many of Bangkok's best known clubs.
Contents
History
Royal City Avenue was developed as a commercial and entertainment area on land belonging to the State Railway of Thailand. Over the years the street became packed with restaurants, bars, cinemas and entertainment businesses before nightlife became what RCA was really famous for.
By the 1990s and 2000s RCA had become one of the main places for young Thais to go clubbing. This made it quite different from Patpong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy, which were much more dependent on foreign tourists and the sex industry.
RCA later became an officially designated entertainment zone. Big clubs replaced many of the smaller bars over the years and today the area is dominated by large nightclubs, EDM, hip-hop, bottle service and live DJs.
RCA Nightlife and Nightclubs
RCA normally starts getting interesting late in the evening and becomes much busier around midnight. Friday and Saturday are the biggest nights.
The crowd is more Thai than around Sukhumvit Soi 11. There are also foreign tourists and expats, but RCA is still a good place to see Bangkok nightlife without being surrounded mainly by tourists.
Route 66
Route 66 is one of the oldest and most famous surviving clubs at RCA. It is a huge club with different music areas and has been one of the landmarks of Bangkok nightlife for many years. The crowd is heavily Thai but foreigners are common and its easy to approach everyone in here. Music varies between hip-hop, Thai hits, EDM and commercial club music depending on the room and night.
Onyx
Onyx Bangkok is one of RCA's major EDM clubs. It has a large main room, big sound system, lasers and international and Thai DJs. Onyx attracts a mixed Thai and international crowd and is especially busy during major DJ events and weekends.
SPACEPLUS Bangkok
SPACEPLUS Bangkok is one of the newer generation of mega-clubs at RCA. The club is located at RCA Plaza and is built around EDM, large-scale lighting, DJs and VIP tables. It attracts a younger guys and has become one of the major alternatives to Route 66 and Onyx.
Casual Sex and Hookups
RCA is more about normal clubbing and hookups than the obvious prostitution scene around Nana Plaza and parts of Sukhumvit. Young Thai dudes and girls come here in groups to drink, dance and meet people. Hookups happen, but don't assume somebody talking or dancing with you is a freelancer or sex worker.
Foreign men may find RCA quite different from Nana because many of the Thai girls here are simply out partying with friends and looking for casual sex rather than looking for guys paying for sex.
Hotels and Where to Stay
There are hotels around Rama IX, Phetchaburi Road, Huai Khwang and the surrounding Ratchada area. Staying directly beside RCA makes sense if clubbing is the main purpose of the trip.
For visitors who also want easy access to Nana Plaza, Soi Cowboy and Sukhumvit Soi 11, staying around Sukhumvit and taking a taxi to RCA may be more practical.
How to get to RCA
RCA is between Rama IX Road and Phetchaburi Road in the Huai Khwang area.
Unlike Sukhumvit Soi 11, RCA does not have a BTS station directly on the street. Taxi and Grab are therefore common ways of getting there, especially late at night. The MRT can get you into the surrounding Rama IX/Phetchaburi area, but depending on where you are going inside RCA there may still be some walking or a short taxi ride.
Opening Hours
Most of the serious nightlife starts around 9pm or 10pm. The major clubs can currently stay open until around 04:00, although opening hours in Bangkok can change because of licensing, special events and enforcement. RCA is not a 24-hour nightlife area.
Stay Safe
Bring identification because clubs may check age at the entrance.
RCA can become extremely crowded on Friday and Saturday nights. Watch your phone and wallet, don't leave drinks unattended and don't drink and drive.
Taxis and ride-hailing cars can also become difficult to find immediately after the big clubs close, when hundreds of people leave RCA at the same time.
