Sukhothai: Cycling Through Thailand's First Kingdom

Sukhothai was the first capital of the Thai kingdom, flourishing from the 13th to 15th centuries, and the historical park that preserves its ruins is one of Southeast Asia's most atmospheric places. Its significance runs deeper than the ruins themselves: the Ramkhamhaeng inscription, held in the park's museum, is the earliest known document written in the Thai script, and the political and artistic template Sukhothai established shaped every Thai kingdom that followed it. Unlike Ayutthaya, Sukhothai sees relatively few visitors — you can cycle between temples in near-silence, especially if you arrive early, through parkland and lotus ponds rather than a tightly packed cluster of ruins, which gives the whole visit a more contemplative feel.

The historical park is flat and mostly shaded by ancient trees, making cycling genuinely pleasant, and bicycles can be rented outside the park entrance for ฿30–50 per day — about as good value as transport gets anywhere in Thailand. An electric tram also runs for anyone who'd rather not pedal the whole circuit. The park has three zones — the central zone covered by entry fee (฿100 for foreigners), and north, south and west zones each ฿100 separately — and once the gates close for the evening there is genuinely nothing left in or near the park, so plan to already be settled in New Sukhothai, or somewhere else, before dark.

The must-see temples are: Wat Mahathat (the spiritual heart of the ancient city, with a massive seated Buddha), Wat Si Chum (an intimate mondop concealing a 15-metre Buddha visible only through a narrow slit), and Wat Sra Si (on an island in a lotus-filled lake, beautiful at sunrise). A full day covers the main sites comfortably; a second allows a trip to Si Satchanalai Historical Park, 60km north and even less visited than Sukhothai itself, for anyone after more of the same atmosphere without the crowds Sukhothai now attracts at peak times.

Sukhothai is 5 hours from Bangkok by bus (฿210, first class) or accessible from Phitsanulok by minivan (1 hour). Two minor scams are worth knowing about rather than worrying over: someone occasionally starts guiding you around a ruin near the ticket counter before agreeing a price, easily avoided by declining clearly before they start walking with you, and the shared songthaew between New Sukhothai and the park sometimes quotes a higher fare to foreign passengers than the standard local rate, so it's worth asking a guesthouse what the going rate is before your first ride. Eating here is remarkably cheap even by Thai provincial standards: a 2026 count of Sukhothai's listed restaurants found nearly three in four charging under ฿200 a head, and not a single one above ฿400 — the lowest upper-tier figure recorded anywhere in that survey.