| How to get from Bangkok to Sukhothai by bus |
To get to Bangkok Bus Terminal (Chatuchak), we hailed a taxi after getting off at MRT's Kamphaeng Phet Station, the second last station just after Chatuchak Park. The 5-minute taxi ride cost 50 baht, probably cheaper if you insist on using the meter.
Taking the subway from Sukumvit MRT Station is 36 baht per person, plus a 50-baht taxi ride from Kamphaeng Phet MRT Station to the bus terminal - subway plus taxi took us about 30 minutes in total. Alternatively, a taxi ride from Sukumvit MRT Station directly to Bangkok Bus Terminal (Chatuchak) took us 55 minutes with traffic and cost 180 baht using the meter + 50 baht for the motorway.
Bangkok Bus Terminal is a very big orange building |
Many shops inside the air-conditioned terminal |
Right outside the terminal, there are many booths selling tickets to various places in Thailand. Although we found an online timetable for buses to Sukhothai operated by Wintour, we could not find its ticket booth. We noticed the following 2 booths selling bus tickets to Sukhothai :
We were told to buy tickets from Window 5 |
Window 27 also seems to sell tickets to Sukhothai |
We got to the bus station at 11 am but were sold tickets for 12:45, for 358 baht each. Because it was raining, it took 8 and a half hours to get to Sukhothai! I think normally, it's supposed to be just 7 hours. On the way, the bus stopped at 2 bus terminals (at 4:20 pm and 7:44 pm at Phitsanulok Bus Station) and made numerous random stops to drop people off. There was also a rest stop around 5:30 pm.
Our bus to Sukhothai left from Platform 32 |
an air-conditioned bus with a western toilet |
Sukhothai Bus Terminal |
At Sukhothai Bus Terminal, there were a couple of men wearing red/yellow vests, supposedly taxi drivers. At 9:30 pm, with no other options, we got a pickup truck taxi driver to take us to our hotel in New Sukhothai. The 4-minute ride cost 100 baht for 2 people, bargained down from 150 baht.
Normally, you can just ride the wooden pickup truck bus into New Sukhothai at the exit (painted "Bon Voyage" above) for 10 baht per person or get a tuk tuk for 50 baht per car. It's a 5-minute ride, but you can also walk there in 35 minutes. |
Catch the bus at the exit! |
tuk tuk |
taxis parked on the side |
