Blog,  Travel,  Travel Guide

Travel Guide to Ayutthaya

If you have a day to spare in your Bangkok Tour, we are highly suggesting you to go up 80 km. north to see the ruins of Thailand’s old capital – Ayutthaya.

Ayutthaya is a historical city which is known as one of the world’s most cosmopolitan areas from 14th to 18th century. Now, it showcases many archaeological ruins that will give us a glimpse to its glorious past.

To visit all its major attractions, you’ll have to spend a day here. But two days or more will give you a more satisfying experience.

How to get here

Assuming you are in Bangkok, there are three ways to get here:

By Bus
Terminal location: (Northern Bus Terminal) – Moh Chit BTS Station
Ride duration: 1 – 2 hours

  1. Ride BTS Airport Link to Phaya Thai
  2. Ride another train from Phaya Thai to Mo Chit

By Train
Terminal Location: Hua Lamphong Station
Ride duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Fare: 15 Thai Baht (Economy/Third Class)

  1. Ride BTS Airport Link to Makkasan
  2. Walk your way towards the subway – Phetchaburi station
  3. Get off on Hua Lamphong Station

By Minivan
Terminal Location: Victory Monument
Ride duration: 1 – 2 hours
Fare: 60 Thai Baht

Since we went there straight from BKK airport, we opt for this option as this is  the easiest route for us.

  1. Ride the BTS Airport link to Phaya Thai Station. You’ll pay for 45 Thai Baht.
  2. From here, you can walk to Victory Monument or ride another train. If you prefer the later one, you’ll  have to pay 15 Thai Baht.
  3. Mini Van terminal to Ayutthaya is a little difficult to find. From Victory Monument train stations, walk straight to the actual Victory Monument.  The terminal is right in front of the Victory Mall. It’s the first mini-bus from the lane.

  4. The ride will take around 1 hour and 30 minutes (no traffic).

This is your drop off point in Ayutthaya. There are many tuktuk drivers waiting for tourists like us.

 

Where to stay?

Despite having many options, it was difficult for me to look for a place where we can spend our night here. Why? Not all has an official website / Facebook page and I’m already lucky to see their page translated in English! So I chose to book thru a third party booking website.

 

I’m very reluctant to try this method before due to the rampant scams all over internet. But since I have no other option, maybe now is the best time to try it. Moreover, many travel bloggers have already attested that it’s safe and at the same time cost-efficient. Out of many hotel booking platform, I opted to use Booking.com

 

What I liked about them is that:
We will not shell out for the reservation. Payment will be settled when we are about to check in.

Here are my two shortlisted stay-ins:

Stockhome Hostel

FB Page: Stockhome Hostel
Private room per night: 670 – 750 Thai Baht

Offering a chic and boutique facilities, Stockhome Hostel is a popular choice among the backpackers. The hotel is situated near Ayutthaya city center and old ruins.

Note: This hotel easily gets fully booked esp during high to peak season. So book in advance – best if more than 6 months.

Baan Luang Haarn

Website: Baan Luang Haarn
FB Page: Baan Luang Haarn
Private room per night: 1400 Thai Baht

Strategically situated meters away from the old ruins, this hotel boasts cute traditional Thai houses. It was a love at first sight when I checked in. For our review, click here.

 

Note: With only 5 cottages for occupancy, make your reservation way ahead. But right now, they are expanding their room numbers to 10!

Where and What to eat

Just like in Bangkok, there are many dishes that you must try during your stay in this old city. Some of them are the following:

Fresh Palm juice in bamboo tube
(Num-Tan-Sod)
30 Thai Baht

 

Thai’s locally produced sweet juice from palm

Coconut Ice Cream

(I-dtim Mat Phrao)

35 Thai Baht

 

One of the favorite local desserts in Thailand. Its simplest form are three scoops of sorbet served in coco shells with coconut meat  and peanuts

Thai Cotton Candy Burrito

(Roti Sai Mai)

35 Thai Baht for the smallest

 

A product in Ayutthaya, this sweet delicacy is made up of candy floss which tastes like cotton candy and thin colorful crepes. To eat this you’ll roll the crepe filled with candy floss.

Noodle Houses

40-60 Thai Baht per order

 

As an Asian country, Thailand has a lot to offer when it comes to noodles. There are many options to choose from their menu.

Ayutthaya has few restaurants by the river and road, where you can try on these local foods, fresh sea foods and other popular Thai foods. But if you want to be fully immersed with their culture, food and at the same time, shopping – I am highly recommending Ayothaya Floating Market. This is a local man-made floating market for tourists.

Getting around the place

The mode of transportation within the area is fairly easy. Few temples are clustered together in one location.

Walk! If you’re up to the challenge 🙂

 

 

By TukTuk taxi

They’ll charge you around 200 Thai Baht per hour (if you wanted to do Wat Tour)

 

 

By Bicycle

We rented our bicycle from the hotel and it cost us 50 Thai Baht for the whole day.



By Motorcyle / Rent a Car

Tips and more

Photo Gallery

Did you like this blog?
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok, and be updated on my latest posts.

 

Work with me?
I love collaborations and I enjoy working with various brands. See my portfolio here.

3 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.