Travel from Chiang Rai to Sukhothai

By bus the journey from Chiang Rai to Sukhothai is scheduled to take 8 hours. The alternative way to travel by public transport is to take a bus to Chiang Mai, then train to Phitsanulok, and finally by local bus to Sukhothai.

Bus Times from Chiang Rai to Sukhothai

There is currently 1 direct bus service a day from Chiang Rai to Sukhothai available to book online.

Buy Tickets from Chiang Rai to Sukhothai

Use the Search Box below to buy your tickets from Chiang Rai to Sukhothai.

Chiang Rai Bus Station

Bus services from Chiang Rai to Sukhothai depart from Chiang Rai Bus Terminal 2.

Sukhothai Bus Station

Bus services from Chiang Rai to Sukhothai terminate at Sukhothai Bus Terminal.

About Travel to Sukhothai

Sukhothai is a popular visitor destination because of its historical park which covers 70 square kilometres and features 198 ancient monuments. The historical park is located 12 km by road to the west of Sukhothai Bus Terminal.

Sukhothai Old and New Towns

Sukhothai was an important city from around 1238 to 1438, and is often described as the first capital city of Thailand as the land controlled from Sukhothai extended from the lower Northern Region of Thailand, through parts of Central Thailand, and as far south as Nakhon Si Thammarat. The original city, however, was largely abandoned in the late 16th Century because of frequent invasions from Burma.

At the end of the 18th Century a new royal family, which had established its capital in Bangkok, created a new town close to the original Sukhothai which later became known as Sukhothai Thani. This new town is much larger than what is now referred to as Sukhothai Old Town, and has more facilities including the nearby long distance bus station, Sukhothai Bus Terminal, a large food market, and a good range of hotels. Visitors can stay in Sukhothai Old Town, however the hotels are generally more expensive and the selection of places to eat and drink fewer than they are in Sukhothai New Town.

Travel to the Historical Park

The entrance to the Central Zone of Sukhothai Historical Park is located in the western part of Sukhothai Old Town. The easiest way to get there from Sukhothai Bus Terminal is to use the shared taxi service which departs from platform 22 of Sukhothai Bus Terminal. The shared taxi service from Sukhothai Bus Terminal to Sukhothai Historical Park operates every day from 06:00 to 17:00 and costs 30 THB per person.

About Sukhothai Historical Park

Sukhothai Historical Park is split into 5 sections, with a separate entrance fee of 100 THB per person (foreign visitors only) charged for each section along with an additional fee of 10 THB for those entering with a bicycle.

The historical park is very large and visiting all 5 sections in a day, even with a bicycle, would be challenging because of the sometimes long distances between the various ancient structures. Most visitors to the park focus on just 2 sections: the Central Zone and the Northern Zone. The Central Zone contains almost all of the most spectacular ruined temples in the park including Wat Mahathat, Wat Si Sawai and Wat Sa Si. The Northern Zone has one very well known temple, Wat Si Chum, which features a striking 15 metre tall statue of the Lord Buddha.

Also worth visiting is the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum, which is located in Sukhothai Old Town close to the entrance to the Central Zone of the park. The museum has an impressive collection of artefacts relating to the early history of Sukhothai as well a number of item discovered in other parts of the region.