Bangkok to Chiang Mai Heritage Route: Ayutthaya & Sukhothai (3D2N)

Highlights

• Explore Bang Pa-In Summer Palace.
• Discover Ayutthaya Historical Park.
• See the bronze Buddha at Wat Phanan Choeng.
• Visit Wat Mahathat and Wat Phra Si Sanphet.
• Explore Wat Mongkol Bophit and Yai Chai Mongkol.
• Admire the Khmer-style Wat Chaiwatthanaram.
• Visit Phra Prang Sam Yot and San Phra Kan.
• See Buddha Chinnarat at Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat.
• Explore Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai historical parks.
• Ride a horse carriage through Lampang.
• Visit Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao.

1. Day 01Tour departs 07:00Bangkok / Bang Pa-In Palace & Ayutthaya Historical Park

   Pick up from your hotel lobby and depart to Ayutthaya Town (1½ hour drive) north of Bangkok. Visit Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, first used as a royal summer retreat in the 17th century, with structures in a variety of architectural styles set around ponds and waterways.

   Continue to Ayutthaya Historical Park, covering the ruins of the old capital founded in 1350 and destroyed by the Burmese army in 1767, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

   Visit Wat Phanan Choeng, home to the oldest large cast-bronze Buddha image in Ayutthaya.

   Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

   Visit Wat Mahathat, believed to date to the 14th century, and Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the most important temple within the Royal Palace compound and the original from which the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok was modeled, marked by three Ceylonese-style pagodas from the 15th century.

   Visit Wat Mongkol Bophit, home to one of the largest bronze Buddha images in Thailand, and Wat Yai Chai Mongkol, with its large reclining Buddha and golden-clad chedi.

   Conclude at Wat Chaiwatthanaram, one of Ayutthaya’s most imposing monasteries, built in 1630 in Khmer architectural style reminiscent of Angkor Wat. Afterwards, transfer to your hotel for check-in and leisure time.

   Meals

   Lunch

   Overnight location

   Ayutthaya

2. Day 02Tour departs 08:00Ayutthaya / Lopburi, Phitsanulok & Sukhothai Historical Park

   Pick up from your hotel lobby and depart to Lopburi Town (1½ hours’ drive). Visit Phra Prang Sam Yot, a former Hindu shrine built in the 13th century in classic Bayon-style Khmer architecture, and San Phra Kan nearby, dating to around 1157.

   Continue to Phitsanulok Town and visit Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat, home to the revered Phra Buddha Chinnarat image, one of Thailand’s most celebrated Buddha statues.

   Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

   Depart to Sukhothai Town (1 hour drive) and visit Sukhothai Historical Park, the birthplace of the first independent Thai kingdom, with ruins of royal palaces, temples, city gates, walls, and canals preserved under UNESCO cooperation. Afterwards, transfer to your hotel for check-in and leisure time.

   Meals

   Lunch

   Overnight location

   Sukhothai

3. Day 03Tour departs 08:00Sukhothai / Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Lampang & Chiang Mai

   Pick up from your hotel lobby and depart to Si Satchanalai Historical Park (1 hour drive), its ruins laid out along the Yom River in a classic Thai cosmological plan of temple complexes, city walls, rivers, and forest.

   Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

   Drive along the mountainous road to Lampang Province (2 hours’ drive). Ride a colorful Horse Carriage around town and visit Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao, where the Emerald Buddha was enshrined for 32 years.

   Depart to Chiang Mai town (2 hours’ drive), then transfer to your hotel for check-in and leisure time.

   Meals

   Lunch

   Overnight location

   Chiang Mai