Ayutthaya and Sukhothai are both UNESCO world heritages sites in Thailand that have fascinating historical parks, displaying old temple ruins dating back to 1238 in places. It can be hard to know which one to visit if you are short on time but they both have their advantages.
Sukhothai is probably the better of the two I’d say. Although situated a little out from the main town, everything is in one place and the ruins are more intact and in better condition.
Ayutthaya however has temples spread out all over the place, but it does also have a historical park where you can see lots of temples in one place. The ruins are not as intact as Sukhothai, with most of the Buddha’s heads being chopped off. It is however only 2 hours from Bangkok, where as Sukhothai is much further out (around 4-5 hours by bus).
Instead of picking one over the other, why not see both. They both have something different to offer and I enjoyed seeing both of them. I visited Sukhothai on my way back down from Chiang Mai, stopping at Ayutthaya after that, before taking a train down to Bangkok. Below is a helpful guide to both historical parks.
Sukhothai Historical Park
This was super fun for me, and you can rent a bicycle or moped to drive around on your own (I would recommend this as the park is huge). I rented out a cute little moped and enjoyed driving around the old temple ruins, parking my bike at each one and exploring- it kind of felt like I was Lara Croft or something!
Not only does Sukhothai Historical Park have over 190 temple ruins, but it also has lovely grounds. You can ride through pretty trees and lily covered ponds and lakes. The ruins are in quite good condition and there are so many, you could spend the day here. Sukhothai was the first capital of the Siam kingdom and the ruins date back to the 13th century.
In the park you will see many antient temples with intricate carvings and beautiful statues, including some huge Buddha statues. My favourite was Wat Si Chum, where by chance, I happened to spot a group of monks, dressed in their bright orange robes. Quite amusingly they were taking photos of each other with their phones!
Sukhothai Town
You can either stay in the Old Town of Sukhothai, which is situated right next to the historical park or in the New Town, which is located 12km away. The old town has not much to do and only a handful of accommodation options, but great for visiting the temples and for a more authentic stay.
I stayed in the new town, which still feels small compared to the likes of Bangkok. Here you are a little further out but have access to more accommodation, shops, a night market and nightlife (however still very mellow). You can easily rent a tuk tuk to take you to the historical park or drive yourself as its pretty much just one straight road.
I must recommend Poo Restaurant in Sukhothai new town, which is a lovely little setting and popular with tourists for its relaxed vibe and nice food. I met a local Thai man who was very friendly and regularly goes to the restaurant to talk with and practice his English speaking with the foreigners!
Ayutthaya Historical Park
Ayutthaya is situated just North of Bangkok and will take around 2 hours by bus or train (I’d recommend the train). You could do this in a day trip if short on time, but it would be a little rushed. I would recommend spending the night and getting there early the following day.
I opted to rent a bicycle for Ayutthaya, which has ancient ruins dotted all over the city, sometimes right by the road! Ayutthaya became the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai and was destroyed in the 18th century. It’s an interesting town to cycle around in, there’s a lot happening, I even had to overtake around 5 elephants walking on the road! A strange but exciting experience to cycle next to a huge elephant.
I saw a few temples spread out around the city, as well as a visit the Ayutthaya Historical Park (in the centre of the city). This is similar to Sukhothai in that the ruins are situated in one place. Although not as well preserved as in Sukhothai, there are a lot of interesting things to see here from the bigger statues, to small cornered walls and little ornaments, full of detail.
The temples date back from 1350 to 1529 and give an insight into the ancient way of life in this area. I got given a helpful map from my guesthouse that showed where all the temples were with numbers. This was pretty easy to follow and cycle to each one.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram is a very impressive and large temple ruin situated on the West side of the Chao Phraya River. You can walk through the different passageways and see something new around each corner. A lot of the giant Buddha statues have orange robes draped over their backs- a cool sight when they are blowing in the wind. There is also Wat Lokaya Sutha, which has a huge reclining Buddha, draped in bright orange cloth.
Ayutthaya Town
You will find plenty of restaurants and accommodation options in Ayutthaya, as well as a relaxed nightlife, with a night market and casual bars (it’s not really a party place, but that’s probably a good thing in my books!). You can also visit Bang Pa-In Palace, the floating markets, the toy museum or go on a boat trip along the river.
Whether you choose to visit one or both cities, there are plenty of things to do in Ayutthaya and Sukhothai and both Historical Parks are worth a visit. Hope you liked this post, please share along 😊
