The Complete 3D2N Sukhothai Itinerary Including the Sukhothai Historical Park

Sukhothai may not have Bangkok’s shopping malls or Chiang Mai’s bustling cafe scene, but that is precisely what makes it such a refreshing escape. Once the centre of the Sukhothai Kingdom, this laid-back northern province is filled with ancient ruins, rural landscapes and communities preserving traditions passed down through generations.

While Sukhothai Historical Park is undoubtedly the headline attraction, there is plenty more to discover beyond its old city walls. From colourful street art and morning markets to village workshops and organic farms, this 3D2N Sukhothai itinerary offers a little history, culture and countryside adventure.

Getting to and around Sukhothai!

The quickest way to reach Sukhothai from Bangkok is by air, with Bangkok Airways operating the route to Sukhothai Airport. Flight schedules and fares vary, so check directly with the airline before planning the rest of your itinerary.

Travelling overland is also possible. Sukhothai does not have a railway station in its main town, so train passengers typically alight in Phitsanulok before continuing by road. Direct buses also connect Sukhothai with Bangkok and other cities in northern Thailand.

Tuk-tuks and songthaews are useful for shorter journeys, while hiring a car with a driver is more practical for places farther away, including Ban Na Ton Chan and Si Satchanalai. Within Sukhothai Historical Park, cycling remains one of the most enjoyable ways to explore the ruins at your own pace.

Day 1:

Chinatown

One of the two graffiti artworks on display by Singaporean Artist, Ceno2.

As the flight to Sukhothai from Bangkok is only slightly over an hour, we’d highly recommend dressing your best and head straight to Chinatown to grab some fantastic Instagram-worthy shots!

 Image credit: Tourism Authority of Thailand

The entirety of Walking Street is decorated with graffiti art done by talented artists from all across the ASEAN region. Not only is this a popular spot among travellers, but locals too. Though we were only there for a short while, there were plenty of locals taking their #ootd shots for one another. In fact, there was even a couple taking their pre-wedding photos too! Perhaps you too could consider having your special photo shoot here?

 Image credit: Tourism Authority of Thailand

The artworks don’t stop at just the big pieces. Look a little further and you’ll see how the artworks bleed into everyday life here, perfectly in line with the TAT’s ‘Amazing Thailand Go Local’ campaign”.

Sukhothai Historical Park

(Left) The sun setting over Wat Mahathat, the most important and impressive temple in Sukhothai Historical Park.
(Right) Exterior shot of Wat Si Chum.

Trust us when we say you will want to dedicate at least half a day, if not longer, to Sukhothai Historical Park. The UNESCO World Heritage Site preserves more than 190 archaeological remains, including temples, city walls, reservoirs and the remnants of the royal palace.

The central zone is relatively easy to explore by bicycle, with major landmarks such as Wat Mahathat, Wat Si Sawai and Wat Sa Si located close to one another. Wat Si Chum and its monumental seated Buddha lie farther outside the old city walls, so factor in additional travel time.

Opening hours vary between the park’s different zones, with some outlying monuments closing earlier than the central area. Check the latest operating information before visiting, especially if you plan to stay until sunset.

Wat Si Sawai – One of the oldest temples in Sukhothai. A rare combination of structures featuring originally Hindu-style prangs with the lower half done in Khmer-style, before a vihara(assembly hall) was added to the central prang to adapt to the needs of the Buddhist faith.

Our guide gave us an incredibly informative rundown of each of the temples we visited, as well as more insights with regards to the history of the Sukhothai Kingdom. It might be biased of us as we’re history nerds ourselves, but walking through all these temples definitely sent positive shivers down our spines. Everything is incredibly well preserved, and the sights were nothing short of breathtaking.

Wat Si Chum – A massive Mandapa with the largest seated Buddha statue called Phra Achana.

Our favourite attraction was definitely Wat Si Chum. At a whopping 11 metres wide and 15 metres high, the Buddha statue is the largest seated statue around. Even the fingers of the Buddha are taller than us! What we really loved about it is that from afar, the statue looked as though the eyes were closed; yet when we stepped into the mandapa, the statue is actually bestowing a faint smile upon you.

Another view of the statue of Buddha at Wat Si Chum, where the statue looks as though their eyes are closed in peace.

We visited Wat Si Chum during the later hours of the morning when there were lesser people around, which allowed us to take our time to walk around the place. Outside the mandapa are ruins of vihara as well as smaller images of Buddha too. What’s truly amazing though, is this hidden passage in the southern wall containing over 50 slates in which the lives of Buddha are engraved on, and are the oldest surviving examples of Thai art.

Wat Sa Si – One of the most beautiful places in Sukhothai, situated in the middle of Traphang-Trakuan lake northwest of Wat Mahathat.

Needless to say, we weren’t able to cover the entirety of the park due to the extreme April weather condition and the sheer size of it, which is why we’d highly suggest dedicating an entire day to exploring the ruins. Of course, don’t forget to pack along sunscreen, hats and a water bottle!

Not to fear though, as they’ve also got an airconditioned welcome centre with videos and displays to introduce you to the Historical Park. Take our word for it though, catching the sunset shining down on the ruins is definitely not something you’d want to miss.

Day 2:

Wat Traphang Thong

Wat Traphang Thong – Here you can find the iconic bell-shaped Chedi, and a modern mandapa housing the most important artefact, Buddha’s Footprint.

No sane human would wake up at 5am on a holiday except for two things – to chase a sunrise, or for a completely unique experience. Here, we did it for both.

Wat Traphang Thong is the only temple in the Historical Park where an active community of monks live. These monks spend the entire sundown reciting prayers till day break before they journey out to receive blessings from the people. As the monks do not indulge in any worldly desires, they subsist entirely on alms.

Images of a Merit Making Session in progress.

We joined the locals and lined up along the bridge connecting the temple to the city, with bags of food and necessities packaged into individual bags. Once the bells rang, the monks made their way out and past us, where we would carefully put the bags into their baskets and offered our well wishes. It’s also important to note physical contact with the monks, their baskets or even the strap is completely forbidden, so do take extra care when presenting the offerings.

At the end of it, the monks lined up in front of all of us to express their gratitude before returning back to their duties.

Wat Traphang Thong Market

A “Salted Eggyolk” Sunrise viewed from just outside the morning market.

Just next to the temple is the morning market, with tons of fresh local produce for you to peruse from. From flowers to temple offerings, fruits to different cuts of meats, there were plenty that we had never seen before. The Thai Mangoes, however, was something some of our more eagle-eyed travel mates spotted from across the market and happily bought at least 3kg’s worth.

Interior of Wat Traphang Thong Market.

For breakfast, we had a delicious bag full of delightfully sweet and savoury pork strips on sticks, with another bag of glutinous rice while walking around the entire market. When we headed back out, we realised there were plenty of backpacker inns and homestays along the area. Our guide informed us that this area is popular with foreign tourists, in particular, so if you’re looking for a place to stay that’s close to the city centre, you know where to hit up!

Workshops, Workshops Galore

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, so that’s how we found ourselves spending our afternoon hiding away from the midday heat and dabbling in local art.

The tools, drinks and snacks provided for our amulet making workshop.

We were warmly welcomed into a local artist’s private museum where he introduced us to the various types of Phra Phim (Buddhist Votive Tablets), some of which are so incredibly dated that they were worth well into the hundreds of thousands. Of course, we also got a chance to make our very own amulets! The artist definitely made it look easy, as we all struggled left and right to form the terracotta images of Buddha.

The artist also showed us the art of starting a fire using ancient methods.

He also offered us the opportunity to try out an ancient style of archery, as well as starting a fire without any modern lighting tools. With a spark from striking a flint, he quickly blows at a handful of fine dried straw and almost immediately does it start burning. The smoking straw is then stuffed into a wooden carrier with more dried straw, and suddenly he handed it to us!

We were tasked with swinging the entire contraption to encourage the burning. Don’t be fooled though, it takes a lot more strength than you’d expect.

We received an in-depth step-by-step guide on how to draw the traditional Sukhothai fish at Ganesha Sukhothai Thailand. These fishes are said to bring good luck!

Next up, our painting skills were put to the test as the teacher over at Ganesha Sukhothai Thailand presented us with a clay plate and a pot of ink. While she guided us pretty much stroke by stroke, controlling a finicky brush on a curved surface proved to be quite a daunting challenge. Our creations turned out looking more like deformed goldfishes, but we all had a good laugh anyway.

Our attempt at drawing a fish and a lotus, with a Marian Plum smoothie to reward ourselves with.

With our stomachs rumbling by now, a cupcake decorating workshop was a welcome change. The bakers demonstrated how to decorate two different designs (Sukhothai fish and a Lotus) with a remarkably professional flair. Our attempts on the other hand… looked more like a rose and a crayon scribble. Nonetheless, we stuffed our faces with the cakes. Even with our dismal decorating skills, it didn’t mask the moist fluffy sponge below at all.

Baan Na Ton Chan

 Image credit: Bangkok101

For a real taste of rural village life, head on down to the village of Nan Ton Chan. Over the years the village has transformed itself into a tourist attraction in its own right, without having to sacrifice any of its traditions.

Taking an E-Taek to get around the village.

We were taken around the village on an E-Taek – a multi-purpose farm tractor. It was incredibly cool to see how it was driven!

(Left) Bamboo Chopsticks straight out of the machine. (Right) Intricately hand-woven traditional cloth.

Hardly anyone thinks about where chopsticks come from, but here we were treated first hand to how they turned bamboos into chopsticks and skewers! We even got to use some freshly made skewers to feast on salted lime slices with.

Over at Suntree Thai Weaving Centre, the guides explained to us about the hand-woven fabric of the Thai Puan Tribe. Due to the intricacies of the fabric, as well as how time-consuming it is to harvest and dye the cotton, the average time it takes to make a piece of cloth is around two months! We tried our hand at weaving the cloth too, but our handicraft was really nothing compared to the experts. Indeed, every individual piece of fabric is a piece of artwork made with the weaver’s heart and soul.

Should you be interested, they’ve repurposed the cloth into modern office day wear, as well as furniture items! Even the smallest scraps of cloth weren’t wasted and turned into adorable accessories.

Baan Thong Somsamai Gold Shop

Of course, you can’t visit Sukhothai without checking out their locally assembled gold accessories. Somsamai Gold Shop, in particular, creates preciously exquisite design ornaments by hand. There, they brought us to the back of the shop where the factory was, and everyone was diligently putting together a range of accessories. Some of the gold pieces were so small and delicate, we didn’t even dare to breathe while peering close.

Day 3:

For a year-round Day 3 activity, make your way to Si Satchanalai Historical Park. Located beside the Yom River, the park preserves the remains of another important city from the Sukhothai era and forms part of the same UNESCO World Heritage listing as Sukhothai Historical Park.

Its temples and ruins are spread across a peaceful, forested landscape that receives fewer visitors than Sukhothai’s main historical park. Highlights include Wat Chang Lom, known for the elephant sculptures surrounding its chedi, and Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo, where numerous stupas display different architectural influences.

The park is also close to communities known for traditional weaving and Sangkhalok ceramics, making it easy to combine the historical sites with the village experiences already featured in this itinerary.

Si Satchanalai Elephant Back Ordination Procession

A monk-to-be riding colourful elephants as they parade down the street.

Travellers visiting in early April may be able to witness the Thai Phuan Elephant Ordination Procession at Ban Hat Siao. This annual cultural tradition normally takes place around 7 and 8 April, when ordination candidates dressed in colourful clothing join a ceremonial procession through the community.

The monks-to-be awaiting their ordination procession.

As the procession is only held on specific dates, it should be treated as a seasonal addition rather than a standard stop on every Sukhothai itinerary. Confirm the year’s programme with local tourism authorities before travelling.

Organic Agriculture Project Sukhothai Airport

Their welcome sign!

After exploring Si Satchanalai, slow things down at the Organic Agriculture Project near Sukhothai Airport. The project’s fields are used to grow rice, fruit and vegetables while demonstrating organic agriculture and Thailand’s sufficiency-economy philosophy.

The view overlooking the farm, there’s even a live water buffalo ambling around the vicinity!

Depending on the programme available, visitors may be able to try activities such as rice planting, harvesting, collecting duck eggs or preparing food using produce grown on the farm. Some experiences may require advance arrangements, so contact the project before arriving rather than assuming every activity is available daily.

Need a place to stay?

There are accommodation options near Sukhothai Airport, the modern town and Sukhothai Historical Park, so choose your base according to the attractions you plan to prioritise.

 Image credit: Sukhothai Heritage Resort

Sukhothai Heritage Resort and Sabai Sabai Sukhothai are both located near the airport, making them convenient for early flights and visits to the Organic Agriculture Project. However, they are farther from Sukhothai Historical Park than properties in the old-town area.

 Image credit: Sabai Sabai Sukhothai

 Image credit: Sukhothai Treasure Resort & Spa

Sukhothai Treasure Resort & Spa is better positioned for travellers splitting their time between the modern town and the historical park. Those who want to explore the ruins early in the morning may also prefer one of the smaller resorts or guesthouses surrounding Old Sukhothai.

Three days may be enough to see Sukhothai’s best-known landmarks, but the province rewards travellers who take their time. Between its centuries-old temples, quiet villages, local markets and rural landscapes, there is plenty here to experience beyond the historical park.

Whether you come for the history or simply want a peaceful change from Thailand’s busier destinations, Sukhothai offers a journey into a slower and more traditional side of the country.