Getting to Sukhothai

I actually had a flight booked from Bangkok but I missed it when I decided to fly to Chiang Mai for their Yi Peng Lantern Festival instead.  Since I was not in a rush, instead of booking a flight from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai I decided to take the 5 hour air conditioned bus ride.  Buses from Bangkok are also available but it takes much longer than 5 hours.

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Once you arrive in Sukhothai you will most likely want to take a bus or taxi into the town but you can also stay at accommodations which exist near the airport.  The reason you could want to stay near the airport is because it is located in between Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai Historical parks.  Since Sukhothai historical park was more appealing to me I decided to stay closer to it.

Where to Stay in Sukhothai

I actually made paid a reservation for a hotel on Sawadee.com for a hotel which was close to the airport.   Immediately upon arrival to the bus station I was approached by touts for J&J guest house who told me the hotel I booked was away from Sukhothai so I stupidly followed their advice and went to J&J guest house which was in the new Sukhothai town.

While J&J Guesthouse was a pretty nice set of Bungalows along a river I was awaken by bed bugs so I decided to change hotels the next day.  I switched to Pailyn Hotel which seemed to be the largest hotel in Sukhothai and was a lot closer to the Historical Park which is where I would be spending most of my time.

I noticed some guest houses a bit closer to the historical park so if you’re into that style of accommodations you may want to look into it.  If you want to stay in a legit hotel with all the standard amenities then Pailyn Hotel is probably the best place to stay in Sukhothai if the historical park is your prime interest.

Things to Do:  Sukhothai Historical Park

Sukhothai is not Bangkok.  Most people who decide to go to Sukhothai are going there to visit the 2 historical parks.  Sukhothai Historical Park is a very large park which has numerous sections.  There is an admission for each section of 50 baht.  The park was a very peaceful and quiet place the time I went (End of November).  There was a fair amount of tourists but the park was so bit it was easy to find a place without tourists.

The reason I always mention areas without tourists is because of my interest in photography.  If you’re not a serious photography enthusiast you may be content to snap a few shots of the temples & Buddhas  even if the overweight western guy with the red “Same Same but Different” shirt in your shot but I am not.  It doesn’t bother me if people are sharing the tourist attraction with me as I can wait to get a shot without them in it, but it does bother me if there are so many tourists that getting a shot without any people is impossible.

Other than a few instances of large tourist groups and fellow photographers with their tripods at sunset, I was able to get all the shots I wanted weather permitting.   Sukhothai Historical Park is a fabulous location for any photographer and anyone interested in history.

Sun Setting Behind one of the many temples in Sukhothai Historical Park

Getting Around in Sukhothai

You can get around Sukhothai and the historical park on foot, bicycle or motorcycle.  I opted for taking my scooter I rented from the hotel.  In order to take the scooter into the park there is another fee of 20 baht which didn’t bother me.  There are numerous bicycle rental places very close to the entrance of the park which you can see when driving from the town.

Your main “problem” with going to Sukhothai is going to be deciding your mode of transport around the park.  If you would like to spend all day in the park, and like to move around at a leisurely pace a bicycle would probably be your best option.  You can either ride it to the park from your hotel/guesthouse if it is nearby or take a form of public transportation to the bicycle rental places close to the park.

I personally opted to take my motorbike in the park because I wanted to try to get numerous shots from different vantage points during sunrise and sunset.  The motorbike allowed me to go from one temple at the beginning of sunset to another shortly after sunset.  While this is not the best method for getting the best photo possible, it allowed me to get more photos in my couple days there.

Overall Impression

Sukhothai was exactly what I expected.  It was the average small Thai town with historical park and of course temples, waterfalls, nature treks, caves and more in the various areas surrounding it like most of Thailand.  Unlike the newer shiny gold temples of Bangkok and other part of Thailand you can really sense the history in the temples around Sukhothai.

Anyone staying in Thailand for an extended period of time should plan a trip to Sukhothai .  I would say 2-3 days in Sukhothai would be sufficient for 99% of travelers.  In addition to the Sukhothai Historical Park the nearby Si Satchanalai Historical Park is another must-do for anyone who travels to Sukhothai.

Read Part II:  Places to Visit from Sukhothai – Si Satchanalai Historical Park

For More Photos from Sukhothai and all around the World Visit:

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