Ayutthaya day trip from Bangkok boat and train adventure

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n6*Before heading south to the Thai islands, I booked four days in Bangkok. I was going to use this time to rest up after a week in Taiwan and the 15-hour flight over. In the meantime, I wanted to do at least one day trip during my four days here. I settled on an Ayutthaya day trip from Bangkok adventure.6

The Ayutthaya day trip from Bangkok begins on a train

The most difficult aspect of getting to and from Ayutthaya is not that there is a shortage of options, and that they are hard to find. The difficult part is choosing from so many choices. You can take a bus, train, taxi, personal bus, and even a boat. Depending on how much you wanted to pay, you could settle on the comfort and convenience of your trip.

Related: Singapore night cruise a perfect way to see the city

Getting to Ayutthaya from Bangkok

I was staying near the old train station, Hua Lamphong. Searching the web, I discovered there were a number of daily ordinary trains that left from the old station. I decided to leave on the 9:30 a.m. ordinary train. When I arrived at the station, a greeter met me outside and asked me where I was going. When I told him Ayutthaya, he said there is a 9:30 a.m. train that takes 2.5 hours. This is why I love Thailand. It is very easy to get assistance while traveling with friendly Thai people. I bought my ticket, and it was only 15 baht, which is fifty cents. This was the same price as my one stop on the MRT from Sam Yan to Hua Lamphong.

Train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya

I got on board. The ticket person punched my ticket and asked that I put my adidas backpack overhead. Th83ere was a metal ledge to place my backpack on. There was no A/C, but my window opened up all the way down, so I had a nice breeze. It was actually not that hot in Bangkok.5

Ferry across to the ancient ruins of Ayutthaya

The train actually only took two hours, and we were dropped at Ayutthaya station. From there, a ferry across the river was only 100 feet away. If you don’t know the way, just follow where the foreigners are going. Before hitting the ferry, I rented a bike to visit the ruins of Ayutthaya. It probably would have been better to cross the ferry and then rent the bike.

Touring the ruins of Ayutthaya by bicycle

It was only a 15-minute bike ride to the first temple. The first temple was called Wat Mahathat. This is most famous of the temple ruins of Ayutthaya as it has the iconic ruin of an ancient buddha head in the roots of a tree. This is one of the most instagrammable spots in Thailand. In fact, I had to wait about five minutes to get my own selfie there.

After the obligatory selfie, it was off to visit the ruins. Ayutthaya used to be the capital of the Siamese empire for 400 years between the 14th and 18th century. You could spend days in Ayutthaya and go deep and see many temples. I chose to only spend hours on this trip. I had been to Ayutthaya before, so I did not need to spend all day here. Plus, it was freaking hot in Ayutthaya.

Slow boat back to Bangkok from Ayutthaya

I am a big fan of boats, so I was intrigued about the slow boat option. Ayutthaya lies on the Chao Phraya River, which is the same for Bangkok. I had always wanted to take a boat as my mode of transportation. On Get Your Guide, I found a slow boat option. I booked a boat ride back at 3 p.m.*

This only gave me two hours to tour the temples, but after two cool temples, I was good as it was hot, hot, hot. I returned my bike, got a snack, had a pineapple smoothie, and went to search for the pier for my boat ride back.

Unfortunately, Ayutthaya, being a tourist city, is full of the worst kind of tuk-tuk touts. They wanted to charge me double or triple to go 1.5 km. In the heat, I did not have patience and just walked. I got to the river with ten minutes to spare, but I had to cross the river. Fortunately, there was a 5 baht ferry to get me to the other side.

Sabai Sabai slow boat tour

As soon as I paid the ferry dude, a friendly Thai person pointed to the boat. I don’t know how he knew that I was going on a boat. I boarded the boat, and I met Roger, who is the owner of Sabai Sabai slow boat tours. I am including his direct link as there is no need to use Get Your Guide.

It was the low season, so not many tourists at this time of the year. I was the only passenger on the boat back to Bangkok. It was over four hours. Despite the long trip, I found it incredibly relaxing and enjoyable. I would have paid just for the boat tour alone, but having two hours to see beautiful Thai ruins made this one incredible day of travel.

What was the best part of the Sabai Sabai tour

There were so many cool aspects about this part of my day. There was so much to see as the Thai countryside floated by. I am not sure what I enjoyed the most. Highlights included seeing other boat traffic on the river like barges, and as we got closer to Bangkok, tourist boats with evening dinner cruises. There was also many beautiful wats or Thai temples to see. The most outstanding one was a giant Buddha likeness with hands around it as if protecting it. This was right at sunset, so it was an even cooler experience.

I also enjoyed seeing many beautiful birds. I saw white-throated kingfishers, herons, egrets, Asian openbill storks, and so much more. I brought my big camera, but I chose not to try and take photos of birds. Maybe the coolest thing was just seeing everyday Thai life along the river. All the houses were on stilts. There were some really ratty houses, but also some very cool houses. We also saw a house that looked exactly like a southern plantation house.

Dropped off in Bangkok at 8 pm

After an enjoyable dinner of chicken satays, fried rice, and a Leo beer, we arrived in Bangkok. Sabai Sabai also owns a houseboat that they rent out. We stopped there but then continued down river to see Wat Arun light up in nighttime lights and the Iconsiam shopping center. We then turned around to go back to the houseboat, and this is where the tour ended. I ordered a $5 Grab to take me back to my hotel room. What a great day trip adventure.

Adventure on!