Sukhothai Historical Park

Sukhothai - from the Sanskrit sukha and udaya - meaning dawn of happiness. This historical town was the original capital of the Sukhothai kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries. With its ruins of Buddhist temples, moats, and palaces, this park marks the beginning of Thai architecture.

Getting There

Living in Phitsanulok, Thailand, we were lucky that this historical park was only an hour bus ride away. If you’re traveling from one of the bigger cities - Bangkok or Chiang Mai - a combination of trains, buses, and/or taxis must be taken for a total of 6-8 hours. The good news is, Thailand is very affordable and a long bus ride like that would cost less than $25 USD!

Entrance Fee

The ruins are divided into 3 different zones and each of them cost 100 TBH ($2.85 USD) to enter, plus 10 TBH ($0.29 USD) to bring a bike in.

What To Do

The ancient temples in Sukhothai are true masterpieces and definitely worth the visit. The park encompasses almost 200 ancient ruins, as well as 4 ponds, so there are plenty of unique sites to see.

While you have the option to take a guided tour throughout the ruins, we chose to explore Sukhothai on our own. Since the park is so large, we rented bikes to get around more efficiently. I definitely recommend this option, especially since it only costs about $1/day to do this!

We stayed until just after sunset and got to see Sukhothai illuminated, which made it even more special.