How to do a day trip to Ayutthaya from Bangkok?

The DIY version of this day trip costs very little and is straightforward to plan.

Getting there

The early trains leave from Krung Thep Aphiwat (MRT Bang Sue). The 07:10 or 07:50 rapid takes a little over an hour and third class is about 20 baht. The air-conditioned Bangkok Connex (09:05, about 75 minutes) costs 50 baht until 31 October 2026, with tickets sold at the station only. Timetables disagree on whether it runs every day or only at weekends, so on a weekday take the rapid instead. The cheap ordinary trains from Hua Lamphong take about two hours, but the first one after dawn leaves at 10:15 (some timetables still say 09:30). You don't need to book ahead for third class or the Connex. Turn up 20 minutes before departure, buy a ticket at the counter, get on.

If the train schedule doesn't work, minivans run from the Mo Chit 2 van terminal every 30 to 60 minutes for 70 to 100 baht. Faster if the timing lines up, but cramped and no view. The train is better.

From the station to the ruins

Ayutthaya station is on the east bank of the Pasak River, a few minutes' walk from a small pier. The ferry across to the island is 5 to 10 baht and runs through the day (the last boat is reportedly around 5:30pm). From the landing, bicycle hire shops are within 50 metres; 50 to 100 baht for the day gets you a decent bicycle with a basket. Grab a temple map when you hire it or screenshot one before you leave Bangkok.

The day on the ground

Front-load the temples you want to see in the morning. Start at Wat Mahathat (the Buddha head in the tree roots) and walk across to Wat Phra Si Sanphet (the three royal chedis). Each is 50 to 80 baht, or covered by the combined ticket. These two are close together in the centre of the island and take a combined two hours to do properly.

Break during the worst of midday heat. Boat noodles for lunch: small, dark, intensely flavoured bowls of beef or pork broth sold at stalls near the central market. Order three or four bowls at a time, that's how it's done.

In the afternoon, cycle west to Wat Chaiwatthanaram on the opposite bank of the river. It's outside the main island, about 10 minutes on a bicycle. This is the temple with the Khmer-style central prang, and the light on the brick chedis in the hour before sunset is what most people come for. Get there by half past four: tickets stop around 5pm and the gates close around 6pm.

Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon is a 10-minute tuk-tuk ride east of the station and closes around 5pm, so fit it in straight from the morning train or in the afternoon before sunset. It's worth the detour: a large chedi you can climb, surrounded by rings of saffron-robed seated Buddhas.

Getting back

Check the evening train times before you go, because there's a gap with no ordinary trains between lunchtime and about 6:20pm. After sunset you have the ordinary 210 around 6:20 to 6:50pm to Hua Lamphong, the Rapid 102 around 7pm and the Bangkok Connex at 7:45pm (check at the station that it runs that day) to Krung Thep Aphiwat, and the last train, the Special Express 22, around 9:20pm. Most people take the 7pm rapid or the Connex and are back in Bangkok by 8 or 9pm.

For more detail on which temples are worth your time and what to skip, see our full Ayutthaya day trip guide. For whether the whole trip is worth your time, see Is Ayutthaya a day trip from Bangkok worth it?