The route between Bangkok to Chiang Mai has a few options for stops along the way if you want to break up the journey. While traveling on the Northern Train line from Bangkok we first stopped in Ayutthaya and checked out the ruins there, then we stopped at Phitsanulok to be closer to the Sukhothai Historical Park.
We stayed over in Phitsanulok rather than in Sukhothai purely because the train doesn’t go to Sukhothai, we had to take a bus from Phitsanulok to Sukhothai (about an hour away). If you’re traveling by bus then rather go straight to Sukhothai and book your accommodation there.
Sukhothai Historical Park
The Sukhothai Historical Park consists of 193 ruins on 70 square kilometers of land. The entire area of ruins are in a rectangular shape, with four gates entering into the area (labelled East, West, South and North Gate). The area in which the various ruins are located is quite large, so the easiest way to get around is to hire a bicycle for the day. It’ll be about 30-50 Baht to rent the bicycle and will make your day so much more enjoyable!
It’s then a full day of exploring the ruins. You can cycle between the ruins, then stop off at each one and explore on foot. There are bicycle racks to leave your bike on (use your chain to lock it up). There’s so much to see, and really is breathtaking to see how massive the temples and statues are.
Rather than babbling on about them, I’d rather just show you ruins in a few of my favourite photos from the day.
If you’re taking a slow journey up to Chiang Mai from Bangkok (or visa versa), I’d highly recommend adding Sukhuthai Historical Park to your list of things to do. It’s one of the ‘must do’s’ in Thailand in my opinion.
All photos by my boyfriend, Michael Langer.
Can’t miss the opportunity for a selfi in the ruins!
