Bangkok has impressive temples, beautiful canals, fantastic restaurants, stunning viewpoints, and it’s a great “home base” for exploring Southern Thailand. So I recommend getting out of the city for at least a couple of days while you’re here. Any (or all!) of these day trips would enhance you Bangkok itinerary.

Here are the best Bangkok day trips!

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya is an ancient city about 80 kilometers north of Bangkok. Today, the ruins of the original city are now part of the Ayutthaya Historical Park. This archaeological site contains palaces, Buddhist temples, monasteries, and statues, including the famous Buddha head in tree roots.

The city is on an island between three rivers. And even though there’s only ruins left, the beauty and grandeur of this ancient site have endured.

Other than exploring the temples, the must-do activity when you’re in Ayutthaya is to see the ancient city from the water. So make sure your tour or itinerary includes a cruise!

It’s only about an hour’s car ride from Bangkok to Ayutthaya. But it takes about three and a half hours and multiple train or bus switches to get here via public transportation. So if you’re not renting a car, I recommend doing a guided tour that provides transportation.

By itself, the ancient city of Ayutthaya would probably only be a half-day trip, but you could add the nearby Ayutthaya Floating Market to your itinerary for a full-day excursion. The Ayutthaya Floating Market is a more authentic and less-crowded alternative to the touristy Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.

Koh Sichang

Koh Sichang is an island in the Gulf of Thailand. Unlike most of Thailand’s other islands, this one is still relatively unknown to tourists, so you’ll feel like you’re one of the only visitors on this hidden gem of an island.

To get here on your own, you’ll take a bus from Bangkok to the fishing town of Sri Racha. Buses leave Bangkok every half hour, and the drive takes an hour and a half. Then from Sri Racha, you’ll take a ferry to Koh Sichang. Boats leave hourly for Koh Si Chang, and the trip takes about 45 minutes.

When you’re here, make sure you visit the Chinese shrine of Chao Por Khao Yai Shrine, Tumpang Beach, Chuthatuth Palace, Asadang Bridge, Asadang Mountain, and see the incredible views from the Hellfire Pass.

Khao Yai National Park

Khao Yai National Park is Thailand’s first national park. This park is about 2,000 square kilometers of forest and grassland with more than 50 kilometers of hiking and biking trails. Here, you’ll find lots of waterfalls and wildlife such as bears, gibbons, elephants, and hornbills.

You need a permit to enter the park, and you’ll want a local guide to navigate the park safely and to give you the best chances of seeing wildlife. So, I’d recommend going with a guided tour that includes transportation to and from your hotel, as well as a guide, water, and lunch in the park.

Highlights you’ll see on the tour are the viewing point at Thanarat Road, Haew Suwat Waterfall – which appears in Danny Boyle film ‘The Beach,’ and Nong Park Chi, where there’s a salt lick and lake for your best chance at seeing wildlife. If you go on your own, these are still highlights you’ll want to see

Camping is also allowed here if you want to spend more time in the park. You can find more information on camping in Khao Yai National Park here.

Samut Prakan

Samut Prakan, also called Pak Nam, is part of the greater Bangkok metropolitan area, making for a relatively short and easy day trip. It’s about 30 minutes by car or 1 hour and 15 minutes by public transportation from the center of Bangkok.

When you’re here, you’ll want to explore the Muang Boran Ancient City (pictured above). This ancient city is actually a park with one of the world’s largest open-air museums. The “ancient city” is really replicas of the country’s important architectural sites.

The entire city/museum is shaped like an outline of Thailand, with building replicas placed in their original geographical positions’ relative location. Some of these replicated buildings were even built to scale.

Other attractions and sites in Samut Prakan worth visiting are the Erawan Museum and the three-headed elephant statue, reclining Buddha of Wat Bang Phli Yai Klang, Bang Pu Seaside Park, and Wat Asokaram.

You could easily do a self-guided tour of Samut Prakan to see the sites that interest you the most. But if you didn’t want to coordinate your transportation to, from, and around Samut Prakan, you could do a guided tour.

Pattaya

Pattaya is a coastal city about 100 kilometers southeast of Bangkok. I loved exchanging Bangkok for a beach-side town for the day!

To reach Pattaya by public transportations, it takes about 4 hours, but it’s only an hour and forty minutes by car. So, I recommend hiring a driver or doing a guided tour to Pattaya to save time on transportation.

Must-do’s when you’re here are visiting the Sanctuary of Truth (the wooden temple pictured above), lounge on Pattaya Beach, and see the city from Khao Pratamnak – the best viewpoint in the city. All of these activities are included in my recommended tour.

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Have you been to any of these places? What other Bangkok day trips would you add? Share below so we can work together on continuing this list!

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