Sukhothai is a small city located 427km north of Bangkok. During the 13th Century, Sukhothai was the first capital of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand). A city full of historical importance, Sukhothai is most well known for its historical park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
We spent time in Sukhothai as a family of 2 adults and 2 kids (ages 10 and 7). Below is our Sukhothai family trip itinerary.
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Is it worth going to Sukhothai?
The rich history and culture of Sukhothai make it a worthy stop during a trip to Thailand’s North. It was a highlight of our family trip due to the heritage sites, our wonderful accommodation and a fun family bike ride.
Read our full 3 week Thailand itinerary.
How many days do you need for Sukhothai?
We spent three nights and two days in Sukhothai and it was perfect for our family. I suggest spending at least one full day in Sukhothai to fit the best things in.
How to get to Sukhothai?
Sukhothai is located 427km north of Bangkok and about 300km south of Chiang Mai. This location means Sukhothai is an ideal stop between the two cities. You can take a flight, bus, train, private taxi or do as we did and rent a car to drive yourself.
Drive to Sukhothai from Bangkok
We wanted a car for Chiang Mai so, we decided to rent a car in Bangkok, drive to Sukhothai and then to Chiang Mai. We picked up the rental car in Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport and drove for about 5.5 hours to our accommodation in Sukhothai’s old city, with a brief stop on the way to stretch our legs and switch drivers.
The drive was straightforward and mostly on highways. The hardest parts were getting into the correct lane for the toll booth amongst the traffic and when coming into Sukhothai it must have been the end of school as there were lots of families on scooters.
Check out Rentalcars.com for all the car rental options.
Where to stay in Sukhothai?
Assuming that you will be visiting the Historical Park, it’s best to stay within the old city of Sukhothai.
We stayed at the Thai Thai Sukhothai Resort. This was our cheapest accommodation during our Thailand trip and also ended up being our favourite. It included a buffet-style breakfast with fresh fruit, toast, pancakes, yoghurt, fried rice and more. You could also order freshly cooked eggs.
Our room was our own cute little bungalow which I think is why it won the best of the trip. The grounds of the resort are full of beautiful green plants and a short walk took us to the pool.
Sukhothai family trip itinerary
Arrive in Sukhothai
We arrived at our accommodation in Sukhothai in the late afternoon. After we had been shown our room and the nearby breakfast area we walked along the road to a local restaurant for dinner.
Day 1
Renting bikes in Sukhothai
We rented bikes from a shop directly opposite the entrance to the historical park. The lady helped us choose a bike each, letting the kids test theirs on the driveway. We paid 120THB for 2 adults and 2 kids bikes and could have them until 5:00 pm. We were given two locks and keys and sent on our way.
Sukhothai Historical Park – Central and Northern zones
Of all the things to do in Sukhothai, this is the most famous. The UNESCO World Heritage site has a large number of ruins from when Sukhothai was the capital. The park is large and we were glad to have bikes to ride around to each of the sites. The historical park is divided into five zones. On this day we rode our bikes around the Central zone and then over to the Northern zone. The entrance fee for each zone was 100thb per adult and 10thb per bike, we weren’t charged for the kids or their bikes. This was a definite highlight from our trip and riding bikes together around historical sites is something we will all remember.
Sukhothai Historical Park Central Zone
Sukhothai Historical Park Northern Zone
Lunch/drinks/pool
We decided that we didn’t feel comfortable having the kids ride bikes along the main road back to our accommodation so, we returned our bikes once we had finished in the park.
Cafe Thammada is located on the corner near the bike rental shop so we popped in thinking we would get something for lunch. We didn’t want the sweet pastries they had so chose to get an iced coffee and a passion fruit juice and both of these were delicious. We came back here a couple more times during our stay in Sukhothai.
A little further up the road, we chose the little restaurant called Janthong from Google Maps and I had their Sukhothai noodles for lunch.
We walked back to our accommodation and had a rest and a swim in the pool before heading back out for dinner.
Sukhothai Night Market
We drove the car to the Sukhothai Night Market and followed other cars into a parking lot across the road. The market is open Friday and Saturday nights from 5:30 pm. The market is located on the grounds of the historic park however you don’t need a ticket to enter the market. The location is beautiful and you can look out over the pond and watch the sunset behind Wat Sa Si.
We ate dumplings on sticks, fried sweet potato balls, coconut pancakes and crispy Thai pancakes and the kids used their spending money to buy bracelets.
Day 2
Western zone of Sukhothai Historical Park
On this day we drove the car to the western zone and paid a 200thb entrance fee. We parked at the bottom of Wat Saphan Hin, the ruins of a sacred hilltop site. A rock path leads all the way up the hill which makes for a fun walk up. At the top are the remains of columns surrounding a large Buddha statue.
We continued to drive along, stopping to view the various ruins within the Western zone. We were worried that this day would be too similar to the previous day and that we would be tired of seeing ruins but the Western zone area had a different feel. The ruins here were more secluded and most of the time we were the only ones at them. Walking up hills and through trees made it feel more like we were exploring lost ruins.
Sukhothai Historical Park Western Zone
The Holy Heartland
A heart-shaped island built within a heart-shaped reservoir. We saw this on google maps and as it was only about a twenty-minute drive we went to have a look. There is a Buddha statue here from the 14th century that was found submerged in a river. We could only view the building in which it is protected. This area felt like something that was built and expected to be popular but never took off. It wasn’t really worth the extra drive although we did pass by some lovely rice fields on the way.
Noodles in Sukhothai
As we were already in the car we decided to drive to a restaurant closer to the new city area of Sukhothai. I had noted down Jay Hae Sukhothai Noodles after seeing it recommended. We ordered four of the pork noodles and were asked if we wanted it not spicy so ordered not spicy for the kids and a little bit spicy for us adults. It was a delicious combination of sweet, sour and spicy. The total cost was 160thb.
Ice creams/iced drinks/pool
Stopping on the way back to our accommodation, we got iced coffee and a delicious iced Thai milk tea from Cafe Thammada. The kids chose to get ice creams from 7-11. Back at the hotel, we went for a dip in the pool.
Dinner
We returned to the restaurant we visited on our first night in Sukhothai. This was only because a lot of the good Thai restaurants are only open for lunch and most of the others seemed to have a lot of Western food on the menu. The food was OK but lacked the flavour we were hoping for.
Sukhothai to Chiang Mai
After spending three nights in Sukhothai, we drove just over four hours to Chiang Mai. Stopping at Cafe Thammada first for an iced coffee of course.
