Getting there
By plane Bangkok Airways
There's 1 plane a day from CM and from BKK with Bangkok Airways. From CM, the plane arrives at 12.25, from BKK at 10.20 am.
They now have a good deal saying you can book the BKK-CM flight for 1.400 Bht, and stop in Sukothai and spend 1 to 3 nights there before flying through (3/99).
The Sukothai airport is really very small with I guess not more then 20 to 50 passengers a day (of the 72 passengers on our plane, only 8 got off). So, there are no touts or taxi drivers waiting for you there. The only option you have is taking a shuttle charging between 80 to 160 Bht pp depending on which hotel you go to.
With Thai Airways Thai doesn't fly to Sukothai, but only to
Phitsanulok, about 60 km from Sukothai. They have several flights.
If you're in a hurry, you could take a morning flight. Then you could rent a car with driver to visit the Sukothai ruins for about 1.000 Bht ( a 1 way taxi trip costs 600 Bht) (3/99).
A bus into town costs 50 Bht.
By bus There are buses from CM to
Sukothai taking 4 to 6 hours.
There are also several buses to
Phitsanulok. These are the schedules (3/99):
- From CM 27 buses a day from 5.50 am till 1.30 am. 4 AC buses at 5.50 am, 7.25 am, 2 pm and 4 pm. Fare is 86-106 Bht and 146-155 Bht for AC.
By train Trains stop at Phitsanulok, not at Sukothai. The night train coming from CM stops here at 23.34 (express) and at 1.07 am (special express).
Accommodation
Sukothai Resort We stayed at the Sukothai resort which is a nice place, but I don't recommended it for independent travellers because it's too far from the ruins (27 km), although they did really help us out giving us a lift with 1 of their employees and afterwards picking us up in New Sukothai.
The hotel is set amidst a nice garden with pond and suspension bridge.The rooms are spacious and have fridge, TV and telephon
e. The AC was not strong enough for the room. Bathroom with private bath and shower.Safe at reception. Transfer to Sukothai airport costs 80 Bht, to Phitsanulok 600 Bht. The restaurant lacks atmosphere with neon lightning and can be overrun with tour groups.
Price for a double is 1.800 Bht, in low season 1.000 Bht, but you can get it with a broker for 900 Bht (3/99).
Thai village A better option for independent travellers on a midrange budget is the Thai Village at 1 km of the ruins. They charge 500 to 600 Bht for a double room with AC, fridge, TV, bathroom, breakfast is extra at about 100 Bht. The rooms are in teak wooden bungalows surrounded by a moat. I think it's a little bit overpriced, but the location is good.
The attached restaurant is OK according to the guidebooks, but we weren't impressed with their chicken noodle soup.
Transfer from Sukothai airport costs 160 Bht pp.
Rajthanee hotel It's situated in the center of New Sukothai (at 12 km of the ruins) and it's really to be avoided. They charge 650 Bht for a double with bathroom, but the place is really rundown. Their leaflet of the hotel looks good, but wait until you see the rooms. They also have tourgroups.
Paylin Hotel This is a luxury hotel at 4 km of the ruins, but I didn't go inside.
Visiting the ruins
The ruins are quite nice, but I strongly advise from a photographer 's point of view to visit it
in the morning. Most Buddha statues are facing east. One exception is the sunset behind Wat Sa Si (see picture at LP guide) which is very beautiful.
The best way to visit is of course to rent a bike, this costs 20 Bht.
There are motorbikes costing 100 Bht for 1 hour, 200 Bht for 3 hours, but you only need this if you want to visit temples further away like Wat Saphan Hin. Wat Phra Pai Luang can be done by bike also.
Entrance to the temples is 40 Bht pp. It's not really worth going to Wat Saphan Hin, the view is not that good.
If you have time you can also visit Si Satchanalai at 50 km from Sukothai.
Go to Bangkok
Article Comments:
| 03/14/2006 |
| Suzanne (5) |
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Hey! I have been living in Bangkok for about 3 months now and I had some Thai friends show me around Chiang Mai. If possible go to Mount PhuChiFah to see the sunrise over Laos. It has by far been the most breathtaking experience my husband and I have had as of yet. (dress warmly most people get there around 4am so they can hike up the mountain) get there earlier if you want a really good spot there are usually a few people there but it's about as far from a "touristy" spot as you can get, trust me the view is worth the exhausting hike.
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/suzysworld/changrai/
there's a link to a small photo album of pics from our trip with pics of the Royl botanical garden also if you'd like to look around. Mail me if you have any more questions.
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