Guide to Sukhothai Historical Park in Thailand

Sukhothai is an extremely important part of Thai history! It was the first capital of Siam (the former name of Thailand), even before Ayutthaya, which essentially makes it the birthplace of Thailand. Sukhothai Historical Park is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to many 700+ year old ruins, as well as being the birthplace of the famous Loy Krathong festival and even the Thai alphabet!

Read on to see everything you need to know about visiting this hidden gem in Thailand. If you just want to see the best temples in Sukhothai, read this instead!

What is Sukhothai

Sukhothai was the capital of Siam from 1238-1438 AD. It was essentially the beginning of Thailand! When Sukhothai fell, it was overtaken by Ayutthaya (the 2nd capital of Siam). If you like history, Ayutthaya is also an amazing place to visit and it is easy to do as a day trip from Bangkok!

Sukhothai is located about 440km north of Bangkok and 300km south of Chiang Mai. It’s the perfect place to stop for a night or two between these two popular cities to break up your travel and see an important part of Thailand’s history.

Sukhothai Historical Park has close to 200 ruins spread out over 70 square kilometers (43 miles) so there is a lot to see! The historical park is actually split up into five different sections: the center, north, east, south, and west. The center, north, and west sections each charge a 100 baht entrance fee. These sections are open from 6:30am-7:30pm daily. The east and south sections are free and are open at all times. While most of the main temples are located inside the walled center section, there are gorgeous temples in each section of this huge park.

One important thing to note is that Sukhothai city (New Sukhothai) and the famous Sukhothai Historical Park (Old Sukhothai) are not the same! It’s a 15-20 minute drive between the two of them. Keep this in mind if your plan is just to visit the Sukhothai Historical Park as it will be much more convenient to book a hotel right next to the park! There is a bus from Bangkok that goes directly to Old Sukhothai which is much more convenient than heading to New Sukhothai then having to take more transportation to the old city.

How to Get to Sukhothai Historical Park

As I said before, the one thing you want to keep in mind if you’re planning to visit the ruins in Sukhothai is that you want to go to the Sukhothai Historical Park, NOT to Sukhothai city. Most people stop in Sukhothai when traveling between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, so you can use either city as your starting point.

Bus to Sukhothai Historical Park

The most common way to reach Sukhothai Historical Park is to take a bus. It takes 7+ hours from Bangkok or 5+ hours from Chiang Mai. You can book buses to the Sukhothai Historical Park here. Make sure the destination says ‘Sukhothai Historical Park’ and not just ‘Sukhothai’ as the latter will take you to the New Sukhothai bus station about a 15-20 minute drive from the historical park.

Fly to Sukhothai Historical Park

Some people prefer to fly to the Sukhothai Historical Park. The closest airport is Sukhothai Airport (airport code THS) which is then a 40 minute drive from the historical park. I’ve found tickets from Bangkok for as cheap as $40 USD (1,388 baht) one way on Skyscanner.

Train to Sukhothai Historical Park

While some people say to take the train to Sukhothai, Sukhothai does not actually have a train station. You would have to take the train to the Phitsanulok train station then still drive a little over an hour to the Sukhothai Historical Park. I would avoid taking the train as you will have to use multiple types of public transportation to actually arrive at Sukhothai Historical Park.

When to Visit Sukhothai

While any time could be a good time to visit Sukhothai, the best time to visit would be over the Loy Krathong festival around the end of November. Loy Krathong is the famous floating lantern festival in Thailand. It actually originated in Sukhothai which makes this a very popular place to celebrate!

I would also say to try to avoid Sukhothai in the hot summer months of April and May. As most people use bicycles to get around Sukhothai, the heat will make it a lot more uncomfortable to bike long distances. Also keep in mind that July-October is rainy season in Thailand. If you visit during those months, keep an umbrella or ponchos on you incase there is sudden heavy rain!

Where to Stay in Sukhothai

While there are many nice, cheap hotels in both New Sukhothai as well as Old Sukhothai, we’d recommend staying close to the historical park. That way you don’t need to worry about additional transportation to visit the famous ruins. Staying by the historical park also puts you very close to Wat Traphang Thong where you can participate in the alms giving which occurs early every morning!

I would recommend staying one or two nights in Sukhothai. While you may be able to visit the most important ruins in just one day, it is nice to have some time to relax in the city before another long bus ride to your next destination.

Best Budget Hotel in Sukhothai

We stayed at Old City Boutique House when we were in Sukhothai and we loved it! Our room was very comfortable yet affordable. It was located 1 minute from a 7eleven, 2 minutes from the early morning alms giving at Wat Traphang Thong, and 4 minutes from the entrance to the Sukhothai Historical Park. You can book here on Agoda or here on Booking.

Best Midrange Hotel in Sukhothai

Thai Thai Sukhothai Resort is a gorgeous hotel complete with an outdoor swimming pool to cool off in after exploring the ruins. While the hotel is a 20 minute walk from the entrance to the historical park, they do have bicycles that you can rent at the hotel to make the trip quicker. There are also some restaurants and shops located very close to this lovely resort. You can book here on Agoda or here on Booking.

Best Luxury Hotel in Sukhothai

Sriwilai Sukhothai is the best 4 star resort in the area! Complete with traditional Thai architecture, it’s the perfect place to relax in Sukhothai. While it is almost a half hour walk to the entrance of the historical park, the hotel can assist you with transportation or you can rent bicycles directly from the hotel. The atmosphere is well worth the price of this resort. You can book here on Agoda or here on Booking.

How to Get Around Sukhothai

Once you arrive in Old Sukhothai, you’ll have to figure out how to get around Sukhothai Historical Park. Old Sukhothai town is actually very small so it’s easy to walk around to different stores and restaurants. It would also be possible to walk around the center section of the historical park. However, if you’d like to visit the other sections it would be best to have some sort of transportation.

Bicycles in Sukhothai

The most popular way to get around Sukhothai is by renting a bicycle. There are plenty of places right by the entrance to rent bikes. A lot of accommodations also have bicycles for rent. You CANNOT rent bicycles inside the historical park – all of the rental locations are directly outside of the park. We rented bikes on the corner right across from the park entrance for 30 baht each per day – less than $1 USD.

Keep in mind you’re charged an additional 10 baht ($0.30 USD) entrance fee per bicycle for the center, north, and west sections of Sukhothai Historical Park.

Golf Cart Rental in Sukhothai

If you don’t feel like riding a bike in the hot sun for a few hours, there are also golf carts available for rent at the entrance to the Sukhothai Historical Park. The prices range from 150-350 baht ($4.30-$10 USD) per hour depending on the size of the golf cart.

There is an additional 50 baht ($1.45 USD) entrance fee per golf cart for the center, north, and west sections of Sukhothai Historical Park.

Tours in Sukhothai Historical Park

If you’re very interested in history, there are also some tours you can sign up for so you learn more information about all the ruins you’ll see in the Sukhothai Historical Park. Check out these tours below:

What to Do in Sukhothai

There are almost 200 ruins spread across Sukhothai Historical Park. Even if you spend a lot of time in Sukhothai, it will be hard to see them all! Luckily we’ve marked some of our favorite ruins below so you don’t miss out! There are also many additional things to do in Sukhothai such as participate in an alms giving at Wat Traphang Thong, and make sure you try the famous Sukhothai noodles!

Participate in Alms Giving in Sukhothai

While alms givings happen all over Thailand, there is a special alms giving right next to the Sukhothai Historical Park that should not be missed! It’s located at Wat Traphang Thong and happens everyday at 6:20am. When we went there were many people – both Thais and foreigners. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can even buy prepackaged baskets right across the street to give to the monks.

Try the Famous Sukhothai Noodles

Sukhothai Noodles are a type of noodle soup that originated in Sukhothai. You can find them available in most restaurants in Sukhothai. However we had the best ones a little outside of the city center!

Visit the Most Popular Ruins in Sukhothai

There are almost 200 ruins in Sukhothai which is a LOT! Also, as the park is separated into 5 different sections with multiple entrance fees, many people choose to only visit the central section. While you can see a lot in the central section, there are so many more ruins to see. We have a separate article of all of our favorite temples in Sukhothai which you can read here.

Check Out Some Cute Cafes

We were surprised to see so many cute little cafes scattered around Sukhothai! They’re great places to stop to have a cold drink or some delicious desserts after a lot of biking. Our favorite cafe was Coffee Kiang Muang. We had some great coffees as well as a delicious chocolate cake!

Sukhothai vs Ayutthaya

Sukhothai Historical Park and Ayutthaya Thailand are both similar in that they are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, both were former capitals of Siam, and they’re both filled with gorgeous ruins. However, they are not the same.

Ayutthaya is easier to visit if you’re on a short trip to Thailand, especially if you will spend some time in Bangkok. It’s easy to visit Ayutthaya as a day trip from Bangkok. You can see a lot without having to spend multiple days traveling.

Sukhothai is farther from Bangkok, making it impossible to leave Bangkok, explore the historical park, and return to Bangkok in the same day. However, if you have enough time to spend a night or two in Sukhothai, it is definitely worth it! There are less tourists than in Ayutthaya and many more amazing ruins spread out across the whole park.

Check Out Our YouTube Video from Sukhothai!