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| How to get to Old / New Sukhothai |
transportation fares |
Sukhothai Bus Terminal is about a 5-minute car ride to New Sukhothai or a 15-minute ride to Old Sukhothai.
⇦ 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 vehicle. A songtaew pickup truck taxi charges 40 baht per person. A fare chart is posted on the wall, or go to the Tourist Assistance Center to get a copy. If you don't mind the heat, you can walk to New Sukhothai in 35 minutes. Follow the map — free copies are available at the bus station. |
Catch the wooden bus at the exit! |
tuk tuk |
songtaew taxis parked on the side |
| How to get to Si Satchanalai Historical Park |
Bus Stop #15 |
the ticket guy |
To get to Si Satchanalai Historical Park, catch the bus from Bus Stop #15.
It's 50 baht and takes over 1 hour (depending on traffic). We were told these air-conditioned buses with reclining chairs depart at 6:30 am, 9 am, or 12:30 pm — ask the staff at any Wintour ticket booth for the schedule, as it's not posted anywhere. Buy tickets from a guy in a blue shirt sitting near the stop — tell him you want to go to Si Satchanalai's Muang Kao (Old City). |
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Once on the bus, another staff member also in a blue shirt will come and collect the ticket. Just to be sure, tell him/her once again you're going to Si Satchanalai's Muang Kao (Old City). S/he will tell you when you've arrived, probably by pointing at you and then the door, shouting, "You!"
The way there took an hour and 20 minutes, but the way back took just a little over an hour. I think it's better to take the 9 am bus so you will have enough time to explore Si Satchanalai Historical Park — at least half a day. |
50 baht one way |
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⇦ Si Satchanalai's Muang Kao bus stop
tourist map |
The bus stop is 3 km away from Si Satchanalai Historical Park, a 12-minute bike ride. At the shop right behind the bus stop, you can rent a bicycle for 40 baht (or 20 baht at the shop across the street).
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Enter through the gate next to the bus stop and ride across a wooden suspension bridge. Within 3 minutes, you'll arrive at Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat Chaliang. With the temple on your left, keep on riding for a couple of minutes and you'll see signs for Wat Chom Cheun Archaeological Excavation Pit and Wat Chao Chan on your left. Another 7 minutes riding down the same road will take you to Si Satchanalai Historical Park where most of the temple ruins are. There are English signs directing you to the sights. |
The bus stop back to Sukhothai is directly across the street. Even though there are "bus schedules" posted, they're not necessarily accurate. We were told by 3 different people that the last bus to Sukhothai Bus Terminal was at 4 pm, but we waited over an hour until the air-conditioned double-decker bus arrived at 5 pm. We also saw another returning bus going past at 3:45 pm.
When we went to Hat Siao, 14 km past Si Satchanalai on the same bus route, we were told the last bus back was 4:30 pm, so it wouldn't really make sense for the last bus at Si Satchanalai to be 4 pm. Just make sure you do catch the last bus, because there are no taxis around so you might get stuck. You can buy tickets on the bus.
Supposed returning buses |
Supposed bus schedule |
Returning bus stop |
| Sukhothai to Chiang Mai : Bus Schedule |
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Going north to Chiang Mai takes around 5 hours.
There are a few operators so go to the ticket booths to ask for more information. |
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| Sukhothai to Bangkok : Bus Schedule |
Government bus |
⇓ Wintour also operates buses from Sukhothai to Bangkok. Here's a link to their bus schedule. The ride to Bangkok Bus Terminal (Chatuchak) should be 7 hours including a food/bathroom break, but ours took almost 8 hours because of traffic. You can buy tickets for 356 baht at Ticket Booth #1 near the exit — the bus departs from Bus Stop # 2. |
There is also a shop to buy some snacks and drinks for your long bus journey.
Wintour ticket/info booth |
Stop # 2, Wintour bus to Bangkok |
Shop with drinks and snacks |
| Other Bus Timetables |
