Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

The UNESCO World Heritage Center has been known to protect various places around the world "that are of outstanding universal value to humanity" so that future generations may be able to treasure and enjoy them. Among the long list of sites is Thailand's own "Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns."

This particular UNESCO World Heritage site is composed of 3 towns:
1. Sukhothai
2. Si Satchanalai-Chaliang
3. Kampeng Phet

I went to Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai-Chaliang last May 12-15, 2011.

Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai

Wat Chang Lom, Si Satchanalai

 Wat Pra Sri Rattana Mahathat, Chaliang

The town of Sukhothai is 6-7 hours away from Bangkok by bus.

View Larger Map

In Bangkok, go to the Northern/Northeastern Bus Terminal (Morchit Bus Terminal) near the Chatuchak Weekend Market.

Northern/Northeastern Bus Terminal (Morchit Bus Terminal)

One can use the BTS Skytrain or MRT Subway then a short bus ride to go to Morchit Bus Terminal.

In my case, I got off at Morchit BTS Station (N8). I went down to Exit 4 then walked pass the footbridge to a bus stop.

Morchit BTS Station, Exit 4

Bus stop after the footbridge

Bus 134: 11 THB 

You can also use the MRT Subway. Get off at Chatuchak Park Station, Exit 3. Walk pass the footbridge to the same bus stop.

Chatuchak Park MRT Station, Exit 3

There are several buses from this area that go to the Northern/Northeastern Bus Terminal such as # 3, 77, 96, 122, 134, 136, 138, 145, 159, 512, and 529.

Ordinary red buses: 7 THB (flat rate)

Ordinary blue buses: 8 THB (flat rate)

A/C blue buses: 11 THB (from this bus stop to the terminal)

A/C orange buses: 12 THB (minimum fare)

Confirm to the driver if he is going to the Northern/Northeastern Bus Terminal. I can speak a little Thai. I asked him, "Pai satanee morchit, krap?" (Is this going to Morchit Station?) Note: my Thai grammar is bad but I was understood. I used A/C bus #134 from this particular bus stop. It was 11 THB.

Once at the terminal, you will pass by some restaurants and several small shops before reaching the terminal itself.

 Drop off point of city buses at Morchit Bus Terminal

 Ticketing booths and entrance of the bus terminal

 Waiting area inside the terminal

 Waiting area at the platforms

 Food center

 Waiting area

Waiting area

According to the information officer, tickets for the buses going to Sukhothai are at booth numbers 25 and 48.

 Ticketing booths going to Sukhothai

VIP: 380 THB

1st Class: 328 THB

2nd Class: 255 THB

For the updated timetable and fare price, ask the personnel behind the windows. 

I took the 22:30 1st class bus from Transport.co.th Bus Company. The platform for this bus was at 119. It left a little after 22:40. 

Bus ticket to Sukhothai: 328 THB

Waiting area for passengers 

Platform for the 22:30 Sukhothai-bound bus

 1st class bus 

The bus company provided complimentary snack (cup cake) and water to the passengers. Blankets were also handed out since it was quite cold inside the bus. 

Complimentary pack

The bus was comfortable. It was cold. So the blanket was a good idea. The driver played an English dvd movie. However, it was dubbed in Thai. =)

There was one stop over at Nakhon Sawan. We stayed there for about 20 minutes. There are plenty of food you can buy as take-away.

 Bus stop at Nakhon Sawan

Treats you can buy there

We reached Sukhothai Bus Terminal at 4:30 in the morning. There were a lot of tuktuk drivers waiting for the passengers. They will not bother you anymore once you tell them that you are waiting for another bus or a service. 

Sukhothai Bus Terminal

 Public transportation rates from the terminal to different places

Timetable and Bus Fares from Sukhothai to Bangkok

From here, we decided to continue to Si Satchanalai-Chaliang. According to the Information Center, buses to Si Satchanalai leave Sukhothai Bus Terminal at 6:20, 6:40, and 8:30. The fare is 40 THB. Travel time is approximately an hour. 

 Bus to Si Satchanalai Historical Park: 40 THB

Our bus, however, left at 6:05. I read online that some buses leave before their scheduled departure. So to be sure, arrive at this terminal way earlier. 

A huge Buddha image along the highway 

I told the lady conductor (the woman who collects the fare from passengers) to drop us off at the entrance of the old city (in Thai, "Hai long meuang kao, krap.") 

This is where the bus will drop you off. At the entrance of Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat

Entrance of Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat

The yellow roof on the left side of the photo above is the bike rental. It costs 30 THB to rent the bike for the whole day. According to guide books, the bicycles in front of Si Satchanalai Park are better than the ones at Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat. But we opted to take these ones because Si Satchanalai Park is far from this point. 

1. Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat / Wat Borommathat Mueang Chaliang - วัดพระศรีรัตนมหาธาตุ / วัดพระบรมธาตุเมืองเชลียง
2. Wat Chom Chuen - วัดชมชื่น
3. Wat Chao Chan - วัดเจ้าจันทร์
4. Wat ok Singkaram - วัดโดกสิงคาราม
5. Wat Nang Phaya - วัดนางพญา
6. Wat Suan Kaeo Uthayan Yai - วัดสวนแก้วอุทยานใหญ่
7. Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo - วัดเจดีย์เจ็ดแถว
8. Wat Chang Lom - วัดช้างล้อม
9. Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng - วัดเขาพนมเพลิง
10. Wat Khao Suwan Khiri - วัดเขาสุวรรณคีรี
11. Wat Kuti Rai - วัดกุฎีราย
12. Tao Sangkhalok (Sangkhalok Kiln) - เตาสังคโลก

Hanging bridge before the temple; 
Bicycle rental: 30 THB

The admission fee to Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat and to the rest of the temples at Chaliang is 20 THB. 

Ticket to Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat: 20 THB

NOTE: 

I did not include the description of the temples anymore to avoid plagiarism. There are plenty of temple descriptions and their historical backgrounds available online. For paper readers, the Tourism Authority of Thailand publish booklets for places of interests that tourists will find very informative. Furthermore, guide books such as Lonely Planet also publish books containing these historical sites.  

CHALIANG TOWN: 

1. Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat: 

2. Wat Chom Cheun: 

Wat Chom Cheun Archaeological Excavation pit: admission fee is 100 THB for foreigners

3. Wat Chao Chan: 

4. Wat Khok Singkram:

Admission fee to Si Satchanalai Historical Park is 100 THB for foreigners. There is an all-inclusive ticket (Si Satchanalai Park, Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat, and Wat Chom Cheun Archaeological Excavation Museum) for 220 THB. 

Si Satchanalai Historical Park Entrance

Admission fees for locals and foreigners;

Ticket for foreigners: 100 THB

For the locals the admission fee is 20 THB. Their all-inclusive ticket is 40 THB. 

Admission ticket for locals: 20 THB

SI SATCHANALAI HISTORICAL PARK: 

1. Wat Chang Lom: 

2. Wat Chedi Chet Thaew:

3. Wat Suan Kaeo Utthayan Yai:

4. Wat Nang Phraya:

5. Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng: (144 steps, Buddha image on top)

6. Wat Kuti Rai:

7. Luang Rapids:

8. Restaurant in front of Si Satchanalai Park:

 No price. I guess, the price depends if you're a foreigner or local. =)

Yes, hydration is very important! :)

Bicycle ride from Si Satchanalai Historical Park back to the bike rental is about 15 minutes. 

The owner of the rental told us that the bus going back to Sukhothai Bus Terminal will pass by around 10:30, 14:00 and 15:30. 

We started the tour around 7:20 and finished at 11:35. Luckily, an ordinary bus going to Sukhothai passed by around 12:40. The fare was 40 THB. 

At Sukhothai Bus Terminal, we pre-booked our return ticket to Bangkok. It cost us 326 THB per person  this time for the 1st Class bus under WinTour Bus Company.

Return ticket to Bangkok: 326 THB

From the here, our hotel (Ruean Thai Hotel) picked us up for the 14:00 check-in. 

Direction from the main road to the hotel

Ruean Thai Hotel is probably one of the best midrange hotels in Sukhothai. I made a lot of research regarding the hotels in the area and Ruean Thai Hotel received plenty of very good reviews from previous guests. 

 Restaurant, information, and gate of the hotel

I made my reservations through Booking.com. They asked for my card details but did not charge me immediately. I paid in cash upon check-in at the hotel. 

Swimming pool (My favorite part! hahaha!)

Among the reasons why I booked here are the following:

1. Free transportation service to/from the bus terminal from/to the hotel. (8:00-22:00)

2. Free transportation service to/from the downtown area from/to the hotel. (8:00-17:00)

3. Standard Single/Twin/Double Bedroom: 1,200 THB per night

4. Buffet breakfast included. (7:00-10:00)(Be there by 7am so that everything is still warm)

5. Private hot shower

6. Free Wi-fi, bottled water, bicycle use, cable TV (very few English channels, though)

7. Swimming pool

8. No hidden charges (7% VAT is INCLUDED, no city tax, no service charge). 

9. No deposit needed.

10. In case of cancellation: 2 days before the arrival=no fee; later or no show=only the 1st night is charged.

11. The owner (Mr. Virachai) and whole staff are very friendly. They gave us useful maps of the old and new Sukhothai areas. The owner gave us tips on which temples are the most beautiful ones. He also showed us amazing aerial photos of the temples.  

At the 2nd floor

Buffet breakfast at the hotel

My first plate! hahaha!!!! Of course, I went back several times! 

Map of Downtown

Map of Old Sukhothai

Map of Old Sukhothai

Hotel Details:

Ruean Thai Hotel

181/20 Soi Pracharuammit, Jarodvithithong Road,

Sukhothai, Thailand 64000

+66-55-612-444

rueanthaihotel@gmail.com

www.rueanthaihotel.com

Downtown/New Sukhothai:

Map of New Sukhothai (downtown)

rambutan, mandarin orange, dragon fruit, durian

Rice congee with meat balls (in Thai, "Jok"): 25 THB @ the Night Market

(It was very delicious! A number of locals was surrounding the small stall that's why we noticed it.)

(Highly recommended!)

Downtown intersection between Jarodvithithong and Singhawat Roads

Yom River

Phraruang Bridge (view towards downtown)

Phraruang Bridge

Sam lor (type of rickshaw)

(Bargain first before getting on)

Municipal Office 

To go to Sukhothai Historical Park/ Old Sukhothai: 

From the hotel, you can take a purple sawngtheaw going to the downtown area for 10 THB. 

sawngtheaw from the bus terminal to downtown

At the downtown area, catch another sawngtheaw going to the "Old City." Their bus stop/terminal is just after the Phraruang Bridge (see above photo), on the other side of Yom River. The sign is in English so you do not have to worry. Fare is 20 THB. They operate between 6:00 and 18:00. It will take you 30 minutes to travel. Downside of this is that you have to wait for other passengers before the driver decides to leave for the park. 

New city sawngtheaw to Old city/historical park: 20 THB, 30 minutes

According to websites and guide books, it is best to go to the historical park early in the morning. This is to take advantage of the angled lighting from the rising sun to have awesome photos of the temples. And also at this time, there are very few tourists and the temperature is a bit cooler. 

The park is officially open from  8:30 - 16:30 daily. Perhaps there are some unguarded gates where you can enter earlier than 8:30.

Sukhothai Historical Park

As for me, since I waited for the breakfast of the hotel to be served at 7:00, I opted for the transportation service from the hotel to the old city for 270 THB per trip to save time. The total travel time was only 30 minutes.

Bicycle rental in front of the park: 30 THB per day

The Sukhothai Historical Park is divided into 5 zones: Central, North, East, South, and West.

The admission fee eons ago was 30 THB for each zone, except for the Central which was 40 THB. There was also an all-inclusive ticket for all zones (and more) for only 150 THB.

Fast forward to May 2011.... scrap the prices above! Now, it is 100 THB for EACH zone, except for the Central which is now 150 THB. There is NO all-inclusive ticket anymore. If a travel agency is selling you one, just politely decline and go to the ticketing booth in front of the park.

And then.... there is light! Not all gates are guarded! woohooo!!!! So check first before buying any tickets. Based on experience, I only paid in 2 zones. =)

Admission ticket for North zone

(locals: 20 THB; foreigners: 100 THB)

Admission ticket for West zone

(locals: 20 THB; foreigners: 100 THB)

Note: The two admission tickets above look the same. However, the stamps on them identify which zone you bought the ticket from. Example, the first ticket was from Wat Si Chum. It is a temple on the North zone. You can use this ticket within this zone only. When I went to the West zone, I had to buy another ticket, which was stamped with Wat Saphan Hin.

Ticket for bicycle: 10 THB

(It is the same for the bicycles. You pay 10 THB for each zone.) 

Tram service within the old city

According to Lonely Planet, it costs 20 THB per person.

Map of Old Sukhothai/ Sukhothai Historical Park

CENTRAL ZONE: 

1. Wat Mahathat:

2. Wat Tra Phang Ngoen:

3. Wat Si Sawai:

4. Wat Sa Si:

5. Wat Chana Songkram:

6. Ramkhamhaeng Statue:

7. Wat Sorasak:

NORTH ZONE:

1. Wat Mae Chon:

2. Wat Si Chum:

3. Wat Phra Phai Luang: 

WEST ZONE:

1. Wat Saphan Hin:

SOUTH ZONE:

1. Wat Chetuphon: 

2. Wat Chedu Si Hong:

EAST ZONE:

1. Wat Chang Lom: 

Sinvana Restaurant:

The hotel owner recommended this restaurant. He said it was good and he knows the owner of this place. From the South Zone, we passed this restaurant going to the East Zone. We decided to try it out.

Roasted Spare Ribs in Pineapple Sauce (120 THB) and 

Baked Shrimps with Glass Noodles in Pot (180 THB)

The 2 delicious-looking food above are on the restaurant's recommended list. Those 2 were among their most expensive dishes. I assumed that they were among their BEST. Boy, I was so wrong...

Sinvana Restaurant's Recommended List 

Taste-wise, they were ordinary. I have been living in Thailand for almost 4 years now and I had better. Price-wise, expensive. They were not worth the price. For this trip, I wanted to splurge a bit. I don't mind paying the price above as long as the food was great. But it was not worth it. One can get the exact quantity and quality for a way cheaper price somewhere else. The location of the restaurant is not even centralized. You have to go out of your way just to get there. It was not even a fancy place. So, I do not recommend this restaurant at all. 

Steamed Rice: 20 THB

Bottled Water (small): 20 THB

Ice: 10 THB

Coke (small): 25 THB 

Going back to New Sukhothai/ Downtown:

We returned the bicycles and crossed the street to get on the sawngtheaw going to downtown. We waited for about 20 minutes before the driver decided to leave. It took us 30 minutes to travel. The fare was 20 THB per person. 

Sawngteaw to New Sukhothai/Downtown: 20 THB, 30 minutes

Some of the passengers asked the driver to bring them directly to Sukhothai Bus Terminal from the historical park. The driver dropped them there before heading to downtown area where we got off. 

Dinner at Ruean Thai Hotel: 

Ruean Thai Hotel's restaurant was actually a good one. The food was delicious. Also, the price was very local. In fact, they had local guests not staying in the hotel. It made me think that this restaurant may actually be a good one even for the people who live around the area. I highly recommend this restaurant. 

Tom Kha Khai (Chicken in Coconut Soup): 79 THB

Mixed Vegetables: 69 THB

Sukhothai Noodles: 69 THB
Large Singha Beer: 89 THB

Steamed Rice: 15 THB

Ice cream: 30 THB per scoop (They have a dessert menu where you can get better ice cream combos)

Transfer service fro the hotel to various places

Additional rates of the hotel

We checked-out the next morning at 12:00. They brought us to the bus terminal for free. We had lunch in one of the small restaurants at the terminal. 

The Wintour Bus bound for Bangkok left at 13:00. I was disappointed with this bus because it did not look like 1st class at all. I can't help but compare it to the first bus that we used going to Sukhothai. For the 2 THB fare difference, I would have used the other bus company. What I really hate about our bus was the fact that the toilet was so stinky! 

Do not take the seats from rows 5-8. They are the nearest to the toilet. Unless you have a very small bladder, then do so. But spare your nostrils from the 7-hour burden! 

WinTour Bus: 326 THB, 7 hours to Bangkok

The bus picked up/dropped off some passengers along the way making the trip 7 hours. The main bus stop was at Nakhon Sawan where the passengers can go down and have some snacks or rice meals.

We reached Morchit Bus Terminal (Bangkok) at around 19:40. Below is the City Bus Terminal for the buses going to the city. We took ordinary bus 134 to Morchit BTS Station for 7 THB.

Over-all, it was a great trip to go to this World Heritage site. It was worth visiting. My favorite temples would be the following: 

1. Wat Si Chum (North Zone, Old Sukhothai):

2. Wat Pra Sri Rattana Mahathat (Chaliang): 

3. Wat Mahathat (Central Zone, Old Sukhothai):

4. Wat Chang Lom (Si Satchanalai): 

Total allotted time for this trip: May 12 - 15. Night bus from Bangkok to Sukhothai + 2 nights stay at Ruean Thai Hotel.

Total expenses for two people (including food and drinks): 6,765 THB or approximately 223 USD or 158 Euros.