Ayutthaya - tourist information, weather, seasons, time

General information

Ayutthaya (also Ayutthaya, Ayutthaya, Muay Ayutthaya, English Ayutthaya, full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya) is an ancient the capital of Thailand, and currently a modern city 75 kilometers north of Thailand.

The name of the city should be pronounced correctly with emphasis on the letter "I am", i.e. Ayutthaya. Pronouncing two letters "T" or one does not matter much, they will understand you anyway.

Ayutthaya is one of the most significant attractions in Thailand. If you do not manage to visit it while traveling around the country, then for the sake of Ayutthaya it is worth returning to Thailand once again. In 1991, the city was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Many travelers compare Ayutthaya with the temples Angkor in terms of architecture and historical significance, although the scale and age of the ruins here, of course, are not as impressive as in Cambodia.

The city of Ayutthaya itself is not very popular among tourists as an independent resort, and is most often visited as a separate attraction – the ancient capital of Thailand. Although there are all possibilities for a tourist stay in the city for several days, and it will not be possible to explore all the ruins of the ancient city in a short trip, few tourists stop in Ayutthaya. It is better to allocate two or even three full days to explore the city. There are a large number of hotels of various categories and prices, attractions and museums, cafes and restaurants. In general, the tourist infrastructure of the city allows you to spend a few days here, immersed in exploring the sights, although it (infrastructure) is not very diverse. If you can't include a few days to explore Ayutthaya in your travel itinerary, take a look here at least for a day on your own (transport easily allows you to do this from Bangkok and almost easy from Pattaya) or as part of a group excursion.

There is practically no entertainment in the city, except for ruins and functioning temples. Restaurants and bars here can be counted on the fingers, there are no large shopping centers either. There is no beach holiday in the city either, because the city is located a hundred kilometers from the coast. Nevertheless, the city is interesting for its originality and atmosphere. It is strikingly different from all the others popular tourist towns of Thailand. The city seems to live and develop its own life, regardless of tourists, at the same time warmly welcoming any guests of the city. You will not feel like an outsider and uncomfortable here. This is the peculiarity of this city.

The roads in the city are very wide, and in general the layout of the city, with the exception of the "new city" part, is very spacious. Most of the time of the day, you might even think that you are not in the city, but in the countryside. In the evening, apart from going to night market or to one of the few cafes, there is nothing to do. With the arrival of darkness, after 19 o'clock, the local population on the street quickly disappears, and by 21 o'clock there is almost no one on the streets. The only lively place remains at the night market, where you can dine in eateries with the local population. In the afternoon, you should definitely take the time to visit the main market of Chao Phrom Market. It is focused mainly on locals and souvenirs for tourists are difficult to find there, but you can buy very cheap clothes and very cheap and tasty food.

Unfortunately, in such a relaxing semi-rustic atmosphere, it is easy for tourists to lose their vigilance, which often happens. Therefore, theft of things from tourists during walks happens here. Motorcyclists can snatch valuables from their hands, rip a bag off their shoulder, or steal a backpack from the basket of a rented bike. In this regard, everywhere in the city you can find warning signs for tourists. Do not neglect basic security measures, and everything will be fine.

A bit of history

The city of Ayutthaya was founded around 1350 by the prince as the new capital of the Kingdom of Siam, replacing the old capital Sukhothai, and remained so until 1767. During this period, thanks to the wise rule of the monarchs, Siam became the most powerful and richest state in Asia, and the capital became one of the richest and largest cities in the world. In the 1700s, the population of Ayutthaya was more than 1 million inhabitants. 400 temples, 3 palaces were built in the city, and all this was surrounded by 12 kilometers of wall. The reason for the fall of the city as the capital in 1767 was the arrival of the Burmese, who almost destroyed the city to the ground, leaving only ruins. The Siamese army, as a result of fierce battles, still drove the Burmese out of the city, but the city, as the capital, could not be restored.

Layout, map

Most of Ayutthaya is located within the island formed by three rivers: Chao Phraya, Pa Sak and Lopburi. The size of the island is 2.5 by 4.5 kilometers. Also, the territory of the island is crossed by canals with a total length of 50 kilometers. The entire island is surrounded around the perimeter by the ring street U Thong Rd.

The city is divided into two districts: new town and old town.

In the new city in the north-eastern part of the island there is a large part of the tourist infrastructure, including all Ayutthaya hotels. New city on the map.

In the old town, occupying the northwestern part of Ayutthaya, there is a large part of the sights - the ruins of the ancient city. Old Town on the map.

Ayutthaya Hotels

There are a sufficient number of hotels and guest houses in Ayutthaya. Basically, accommodation in the city is represented by inexpensive guest houses and a number of mid-level hotels. There are practically no particularly luxurious hotels here.

If you do not plan to book a hotel in Ayutthaya in advance, but look for affordable accommodation on the spot, you can immediately head to the Soi 2 area between Naresuan Road and Pamaphrao Road, opposite Chao Phrom Market (area of cheap hotels on the map).

You can find and book accommodation in Ayutthaya on these sites or through the search form. All sites have a Russian interface and Russian-language customer support, a lot of reviews from real guests.

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Ayutthaya on Trip.com (💳 Mir cards work)
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Ayutthaya on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Ayutthaya on Booking.com
• 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru

How to get to Ayutthaya?

As we have already mentioned, you can visit Ayutthaya with a group tour. A group one-day excursion from Bangkok costs about 800 baht (currency of Thailand, exchange rate), from Pattaya from 2000 baht. An excursion purchased from guides of Russian companies with a Russian-speaking guide will cost about 500-1000 baht more expensive. An excursion is the easiest way to get to know the city for inexperienced travelers or if you have limited time. You can buy such excursions from travel agencies or from guides at the place of rest.

The most convenient starting points for excursions are Bangkok and Pattaya due to their geographical proximity to Ayutthaya, but also in other tourist places of Thailand you can find similar excursions.

If you want to visit Ayutthaya on your own, you can use the train, bus, car or boat for this.

An excellent option for visiting Ayutthaya for one day may be an independently organized trip from Bangkok: you can come to the city by train in the early morning; rent a motorcycle or bicycle right next to the railway station and get acquainted with the city; return by train to Bangkok in the evening. Everything for such a route is available here in the best possible way.

• By train

  

  This is the cheapest way to get to Ayutthaya. A railway line passes through the city, which connects Bangkok with the cities of northern Thailand. So you can get here by direct train from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi and other cities in the north. There are quite a lot of trains (at least 38 from Bangkok! daily). Information about the schedule and cost can be found on the website https://www.railway.co.th/ (English is available).

  The most popular route is from Bangkok. Trains depart from the main station Bangkok's Hualamphong Train Station and travel from 1 hour to 2 hours. There are a lot of flights, they depart from 4:20 in the morning and almost until midnight. So, you can get from Bangkok to Ayutthaya and back in one day. Moreover, this kind of visit is perfectly organized in Ayutthaya, and you can immediately rent a motorcycle or bicycle near the railway station (we still recommend a motorcycle, because the distances are not small) for a day, explore the city and return on the same day by evening train to Bangkok.

  This route is used by both long-distance trains and trains of the type of our electric trains with seats (3rd class). The cost of tickets is on average from 15 baht for the 3rd sitting class, 35 baht for the 2nd sitting class and up to 300 for the 2nd air-conditioned class. You can book tickets through the above sites, but there is no special reason for this: you can safely come to the station and buy a ticket even to the 3rd class for the next train, because it's only an hour and a half to go.

  For longer trips from the north of Thailand, we recommend choosing air-conditioned cars in the sleeper class.

  The railway station in Ayutthaya is not located on the island itself, but nearby, on the east side (position of Ayutthaya station on the map). Getting from the station to the city will not be difficult: when you get off the train, cross the road and go down to the river. A ferry departs across the river every few minutes to the island and back, which costs 4 baht (3 baht for children, 2 baht for a bicycle).

  

  Immediately after leaving the railway station you will see the rental of motorcycles and bicycles. You can rent them for a day for 150-200 baht (motorcycle) and for 40 baht (bicycle). This rental is open from 6 am to 7 pm. So if you use this rental, then I will return a motorcycle or bicycle at 19 o'clock and you will be able to leave for Bangkok on one of the three trains at 19:05, 19:14 or 21:46. If you take a bike here, you can transport it by ferry to the city for 2 baht, which is better than driving around on the way to the city across the bridge.

  When you cross the ferry to the city, you will also immediately stop at the rental of motorcycles and bicycles, but the price tag for a motorcycle there will already be 200-300 baht and 40 baht for a bicycle, and this rental works only until 18:00.

  Even from the railway station you can get to the city by tuk-tuks, which are constantly on duty there. But payment for them is usually hourly (300 baht per hour, bargaining is possible). The real price for a one-time trip to the hotel zone in the city is 50-70 baht, and you need to bargain up to this price.

• By bus/ minibus

  

  Ayutthaya can be reached by regular intercity buses, tourist buses and mini buses (they are also minivans and minibuses). Buses have one drawback compared to the train – the possibility of getting stuck in traffic jams, which happens quite often. Therefore, the declared one and a half hour journey by bus is often delayed by two or more.

  The main bus station of Ayutthaya, where most buses from Bangkok come, called BKS bus station, is located on the main street of Thanon Naresuan (bus station on the map).

  But there is another station called the North bus station (North Terminal). Buses from northern Thailand arrive at this station. This station is located outside the city (northern bus station on the map), and you can get from it to the city for 100-150 baht by tuk-tuk.

  With tourist buses and mini buses, everything is simple: tickets are purchased in tourist areas at travel agencies or offices and sent from them (from offices or places of sale) or pick you up from hotels. With regular buses, everything is a little more complicated:

  • 

    From Bangkok. Large buses depart from Mo Chit North Station approximately every 30 minutes to Ayutthaya during the day. The ticket price is 53 baht. Travel time is an hour and a half, and buses run from 5 am to 6:30 pm. There is no need to book tickets in advance. Large buses to Ayutthaya arrive and depart at the BKS bus station (see above), and some depart from Ayutthaya from the ticket kiosk on Thanon Naresuan Street 500 meters west of the station.

  • From Pattaya. You can't get from Pattaya to Ayutthaya by direct bus. We'll have to transfer via Bangkok. We do not recommend going this way from Pattaya to Ayutthaya for one excursion day: you will spend almost the whole day on the road and you will not see much. The cost of the route will be about 250 baht one way (200 baht from Pattaya North station to Mo Chit station in Bangkok + 53 baht to Ayutthaya). In terms of time, it can take up to 5 hours there and the same amount back.

    According to some information, there is a direct flight from Pattaya to Ayutthaya from the Nakhonchai station.

  🔍 Задайте условия поиска

  💲 Оплатите билет онлайн

  ✉ Получите маршрут-квитанцию на email

  🚌 Прибудьте к месту отправления

  При поиске билетов на автобусы и поезда на 12go.asia обращайте внимание на рейтинг билетов/перевозчиков (отмечен звездочками по пятибальной шкале) и отзывы реальных пользователей, путешествовавших по данному маршруту. Выбирая перевозчиков с высоким рейтингом по отзывам пользователей, вы обезопасите себя от возможных проблем во время путешествия.

  Реклама

  Реклама. 12Go Asia Pte., Ltd.. ИНН 201228224R

• By boat

  According to our data, there is no regular boat service to Ayutthaya. However, in Bangkok travel agencies you can purchase a boat tour from Bangkok to Ayutthaya or back along the Chao Phraya River. The cost of such an excursion is about 1350 baht, and the travel time is almost a whole day.

Transport. How to move around the city?

• Knock-knock

  

  In Ayutthaya, three-wheeled tuk-tuks are constantly "swinging" like Bangkok ones, but here they are of an unusual streamlined shape, can accommodate up to 6 people. As a rule, Ayutthaya tuk-tuks are hired on time, from 250 baht per hour, but you can also arrange for one-time trips. The tuk-tuk driver can offer you a ride with stops along one of the proven and popular routes in the city, but you can also make up your own route.

• By boat

  If you have time, we highly recommend a boat ride along the rivers around the city. You can hire a personal boat (400 baht), or you can buy a ticket for a group walk.

• By bike

  The city is small, so a great way to explore the city and see the sights is by bike. You can rent a bike from 40 baht per day. You won't have to search for a long rental: they are located near the railway station, in almost every hotel or near them in the new town area. There is only one drawback when renting a bike: it will not be possible to see some distant temples and ruins outside the city, it is too far to go.

• By rented transport

  If you know how to drive a motorcycle or a car, then renting it will be an ideal option for exploring Ayutthaya. On a motorcycle you will be able to see everything you want in the city and its surroundings and you will have to pay for it from only 150 baht per day. You can rent a motorcycle both for a day and for a day (it will be a little more expensive for a day). There are plenty of rentals in the city, especially in the new town area. One of the cheapest and most convenient is located right next to the railway station (150 baht for rent from 6 am to 7 pm).

  Learn more about renting transport in Thailand here.

Useful information

Maps. It is difficult to find a colorful free city map in Ayutthaya hotels, as is usually the case at popular resorts. At best, in Ayutthaya, you can get a photocopy or printout of a card in black and white of poor quality. Therefore, it is better to take care of this issue in advance and make a map yourself at home. We have some good map options in the Ayutthaya Map section.

Night markets. The night markets in Ayutthaya are a very interesting place, especially considering that there is practically nothing to do in Ayutthaya in the evening. But night markets are not always located in the same place. Find out at the hotel reception where the nearest local market is located.

Bike rental. Hotels rent bicycles mostly in terrible condition. You can find a bike for rent in the best condition and cheaper by walking a little through the streets of the New City.

Ayutthaya will disappear. According to the forecasts of scientists for several decades (some sources call 30 years) All the monuments of Ayutthaya will completely disappear under water due to climate change. So hurry up if you want to catch its ancient sights.

Bus schedule to Ayutthaya

🕒 6 June, 2025