My family is interested in going to Ayutthaya for the day from Bangkok. Has anyone taken a bus or train to Ayutthaya from Bangkok? If so, how far are the major sights from the bus station or train station? Which is better to take the bus or train? Can you rent bikes from the bus or train station? We are going with our two kids 13 and 17 and was wondering how safe is it to ride bikes? What other ways to get to the sights other than bikes? What are the major sights to see there? Also, where do you get a boat either a ferry or long tail boat from Ayutthaya to Bangkok? How much does it cost?
Has anyone taken the bus or train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya?
We took the train to Ayutthaya. The train station is off the island. If you exit the train station to the east, you cross street and then follow an east-west street to the river. There you take a ferry across the river. There is a bike rental place right after you get off the ferry.
There are not bike lanes, so when you are riding the bikes, you are on the street with all the traffic. It was not too bad though, and your teenagers will probably be fine with it.
The major sights are of course all the ruined temples. http://wikitravel.org/en/Ayutthaya lists some of the more popular ones.
Have a great time!
-A.
Has anyone taken the bus or train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya?
Ayuttayah is very nice.
1 hour North of Bangkok by train, if I remember correctly. At the time, you could catch the train at the %26#39;old%26#39; airport; if you are in the north of Bangkok that is actually a good idea (no need to go to the main station to catch the train). But check the case now.
Bikes are fun; the old sites are spread over old Ayuttayah, and moving from site to site is much easier with a bike. The traffice was not bad at all.
Took the tran from Bangkok to Ayutthaya and it was a really good experience. Very civilised and having travelled on Thailands trains before they are pretty reliable.
We got the 8:30 (left a bit late) from Hua Lamphong and were in Ayutthaya for just before 10:00.
The guards on the train were really pleasant and kept an eye out for us and told us when our stop was. All seats are numbered and I think we paid something like
We walked from the station to the ferry mentioned above, but once across we sort of got lost. So we flagged down a tu tuk who chared us 500 baht per hour to ferry us around verious places (we chose which ones by pointing at the map in the Lonely Planet).
Ended up seeing about five temples (all fantastic and varied) and think we got the 4:00 train back which was abit slower (about 1hr 45mins).
I%26#39;m sure we paid something like 50baht and got a seat in 2nd class with air con.
A reat day out.
Hi..How do you book tickets..? We r plng to go there this weekend fm BKK.
What are the train timings/ frequency fm BKK %26amp; back?
Here%26#39;s the state railway of thailand site. Along the top you%26#39;ll see a link you can click on for the time table. It lists all the trains leaving bangkok to Ayutthaya ( and beyond) and back again. :)
http://www.railway.co.th/English/index.asp
Oh, and how to book, you can either go right to the station and book it or phone and book it and pick up the tickets, or you can book online at:
www.thairailwayticket.com
You can also buy tickets direct at:
passenger-ser@railway.co.th
Or you can book them through another company such as
www.traveller2000.com, www.thaifocus.com, www.asia-discovery.com .
hope this helps!
Bleh, nm. Never checked the dates on your postings.. I%26#39;m waaaay late! Sorry.
You do not need to book tickets to Ayutthaya. It%26#39;s sort of almost a suburb of Bangkok.
If you%26#39;re taking the train, go to the station, buy a ticket and board the train. The trains are cheap but very slow.
Otherwise, the easiest and fastest way is to take a minivan from Victory Monument. 70 baht per person and under one hour. Go to Victory Monument on the BTS, get on the walkway and you%26#39;ll see the minivans from above, near a restaurant called ';Victory Point.';
In addition, buses for Ayutthaya leave Bangkok%26#39;s Morchit Northern Bus Terminal at frequent intervals.
In Ayutthaya, you can engage a guide with a tuktuk to take you around to the various ruins and explain what they%26#39;re about, for about 1000 baht for the whole day.
Go as early as you possibly can. At midday Ayutthaya can get frightfully hot. You%26#39;ll want to take off some substantial time for lunch.
Hey Bill, would the minivans at Victory monument be a good option for us? There will be 6 of us ( 2 adults and 4 young/er children) and all our luggage. We plan on heading out early afternoon as we just arrive in bangkok at midnight so will want to sleep in a bit. We then plan on spending the night in Ayutthaya.
From there, we would like to go from Ayutthaya to lopburi and spend a few hours in Lopburi. However, we%26#39;re not sure the best way to go about that. Would it be better to take a train or bus.. or is it possible to get private transportation ( and if so, how or who?). Again, remember we have kids and all our luggage. Then from lopburi, we are planning on taking the night train to chiang mai.
Any suggestions would be sooo greatly appreciated!
Also, any suggestions to hotels that are in around the $50/night/room range around the victory monument area for us to spend our first night?
Thanks!
The public minivans may not really be the best choice for a group of six with a lot of luggage, I%26#39;m afraid. Or you could rent a van and driver for about 1500 baht to take you there and drive you around for the afternoon.
Regular buses from Morchit have luggage bays if you want to go the budget way. Or... maybe the train IS a good idea in your case.
For a hotel near Victory Monument, Abloom Executive Apartments at Sanam Pao (one stop north on the BTS). 1900 baht for a studio through Asiarooms.com.
You need at least a full day to see Ayutthaya. The ruins are magnificent and quite spread out.
To Lopburi, bus or train. You can reach all major Thai cities on the very good government-licensed bus network. But the train between Ayutthaya and Lopburi is quite convenient.
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