Any tips/must-see's for a 1-day trip to Ayuthaya?

[Peter Denis]

Hi, next week I will be with my thai wife and adult son/daughter for a couple of days in Bangkok.

And we also plan to do a 1-day trip to Ayuthaya.

Me and my wife went there 3 years ago on a 1-day tour booked from a travel agency.

Although that is the easiest way to do it (pick-up and drop-off at your hotel), we prefer to do it on our own this time.

I read some travel tips and looked at tour-programs to figure out how to do that, but not sure if the info on getting tour is not outdated or that we - through sheer ignorance - would miss out on Must-sees.

Therefore a couple of questions:

1. Read that it was possible to take one of the regular white mini-vans near Victory Monument which takes approx 1 hour to bring you to Ayuthaya.

Is that correct or are there better transport options?

2. Read that you can charter one of the many Ayuthaya tour-tuktuks on arrival there.

Any tips on how to pick a good one?
3. I guess that the tour-tuktuks follow a program which is most convenient to them.
Therefore are there any Must-See Items than can be added to the program if they are not already on it?

4. When I did a package tour 3 years ago, there was also a sunset boat-trip included to view the scenic temples on the shore.

Any recommendations on that one, e.g. can this be booked when chartering a tour-tuktuk?

5. If we do the sunset boat-trip, would we have difficulties finding transportation for going back to Bangkok because of evening time?

 

Thanks for any tips or suggestions!

[Peter Denis]

Hi, I did not get any responses on my request for tips/suggestions for a 1-day Ayuthaya trip.

But it was a very nice trip we did, and want to share my experience so that others can benefit.

 

We did plan to take the mini-bus to Ayuthaya at the Victory Monument and then rent a tuk-tuk for the day to drive us around.

I had made a print-out of Ayuthaya day-trip info I found on the Internet.  And the posting on these sites

> https://onestep4ward.com/ayutthaya-bangkok-day-trip/

> https://www.myfavouriteescapes.com/ayutthaya-day-trip-itinerary-tour-bangkok/

contained all the info I needed (recommended). 

However, a staff-member from the Hotel where we stayed saw me with the papers waiting downstairs for my son and daughter before our leave, and asked if we would be interested to go with a taxi.  Price would be 2000,- THB for a full day and the chauffeur would be well acquainted with the Ayuthaya sites. 

We agreed, as the total transportation cost for our party of 4 would be same or higher if we arranged it ourselves.

And that was a very good decision, as we were picked-up 10 minutes later at our hotel by an air-con taxi.

It was good that I had done some up-front preparation, so that I knew which sites we wanted to see.

Here is an overview of the sites we visited:

1. Wat Chaiwatthanaram

2. Wat Lokaya Sutha

3. Wat Phukhao Thong

4./5.  Wat Mongkhon Bophit / Wat Phra Si Sanphet

6. Wat Phra Mahathat

7. Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon

8. Wat Phanan Choeng

We did visit all the highlights and saw in fact much more than what you would do on a standard tour.

My favorites were 1, 6, 8, 5 and 7 > so our trip went almost crescendo in Wow-factor.

Don't miss out on those ones if you visit Ayuthaya.

Have a Wonderful Trip!

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Sorry I didn’t see your original post Peter as I live in Ayutthaya and could have given you some tips about the temples here.

But, it seems you sorted out a good arrangement and had a good visit.

 

Another time you could try getting the train or the boat trip ( which docks at Wat Yai Chaimongkol ).

A little slower but interesting and more relaxing than the “ death race “ vans, very pleasant if you have small children.

[Peter Denis]

HI Andrew,
Thanks for the tip.  Would be nice to do the trip by boat.

Probably means that you would have to stay overnight when doing so.

Cheers!

 

Peter Gromit ????