Bangkok is an outsized city and it’s a little bit overwhelming to some travelers, especially those staying in the area of Khao San Road.
If you want to explore around and need a calm day outside the Metropolis, there are many activities to do inside the city and in its surroundings and a great day trip idea is to go to Ayutthaya.
Located only 1 hour and a half from Bangkok city center (80km), Ayutthaya is a city full of history, founded in 1351, according to the Fine arts Department of Thailand.
It was the old capital of the Kingdom of Siam, with an almost 15km squares archaeological zone declared Heritage of the Humanity by the UNESCO in 1991.
Check here for more UNESCO World Heritage Sites
It was an important economic and trade center, located in an equidistant point between China and India, was in his moment the most active city connecting East and West.
In Ayutthaya, there were -at its maximum splendor- more than 1500 temples and 4000 statues which were destroyed by the Burmese army.
For the history that existed in the place, Ayutthaya it is, undoubtedly, one of the must visit when in Bangkok.
How to go to Ayutthaya from Bangkok
There are different ways to reach Ayutthaya from Bankok.
You can get there by buses, train, taxis, and mini-vans.
This last one was the form that I chose to go towards the former city.
To go from Bangkok, if you move in BTS, there’s a mini-van terminal located near to BTS Victory Monument station.
Look for the exit number 4 of the BTS Station, then walk approximately 20 meters and you will find the small terminal.
You want to look at the window number 1, it’s the one that sells the tickets to Ayutthaya.
The trip in mini-van it is easy, fast and comfortable, it cost me 80 Bath to go and 60 bath return.
When arriving Ayutthaya, next step it is to negotiate with a taxi or Tuc-tuc driver to do the touring across the ruins during the day.
Normally they will try to charge you the maximum so be prepared to bargain hard with them!!!
There’s an option to hire bicycles for the day, for approximately 50 Bath or a motorcycle for 200 Bath.
For two persons we paid 250 Bath for the whole day, in a taxi with air conditioning (I’m really good sometimes when is fair bargaining!!).
What to expect in Ayutthaya
The ruins inside the historical park are located inside a relatively small area, so the air conditioning is not indispensable in spite of the heat that normally it does in the zone. You will be walking outside most of the time.
The mistake that we made was to contract only the service of transportation, without a tour guide.
Actually was something we thought was obviously included, we didn’t ask if it was, and then, when arriving the first destination, we realized the lady says: “I’ll wait for you here”. Sight!
So I recommend you to ask what it is included in the tour you will be paying for, and it would be interesting to achieve a good price with someone who actually tells you about the history of every place.
Since it had prepared material it was not necessary, but if you have local information it makes undoubtedly the visit to the ruins much more interesting.
Let me be honest at this point, just to let your expectations not too high about this place.
Ayutthaya it is not as impressive as it looks in pictures, or as other archaeological cities in Asia.
It’s a trip I would still recommend to do as it is really close to Bangkok and really interesting to see anyway.
Ayutthaya’s Park opening hours
The archaeological complex is opened from 8:00 until 18:00.
In every historical site, you must pay a ticket with values that go between 20 and 50 Bath each one.
Around every site, you can find a little market where you can find food and some other things that you may want to check, as hammocks (50 Bath!), clothes, plants, etc.
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Don’t forget to visit Ayutthaya while you are visiting Bangkok!!!
Have you visited Ayutthaya? Do you think it is worth to visit?
My husband and I went to Bangkok in February 2018. We planned a full day to see Ayutthaya, and wanting to do it on the cheap we decided to get a bus from the station at Victory Monument. When we went to the first van location asking about our destination the lady shook her head and said no pointing to the next person. Then the next person pointed to someone further down the line who just said no and shrugged his shoulders. They couldn’t speak English so there was a definite language barrier, but they all insisted that none of the buses in that area went to Ayutthaya anymore. My husband and I spent a few hours trying to figure it out and by then it was too late try and find another way to reach the ancient city. So we went another day and just went with a tour. I know there is a train that can take you there but after our experience at the train station we didn’t want any more blunders. We just wanted to update people on our experience. Did anyone else try going to Ayutthaya this way since February?
Nice to see a fellow physical therapist who loves to travel! I cannot wait to experience Thailand for myself with my husband. Thanks for the advice on traveling to Ayutthaya. It’s only my list of must sees 🙂