Is Sukhothai worth the extra trip?
 

We will be at the Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang so I figured maybe we would get a driver and drive down to Sukhothai which would only be 127 miles and then taking the plane the next evening to BKK, instead of driving all of the way back 47 miles to Chiang Mai to catch a plane.

It looks great in my guidebooks, but maybe their are comprable areas around Chaing Mai or maybe within driving distance of BKK.

Any suggestions would be helpful.
Of course I don't know how fast the flight fill up back down to BKK. That could also be a factor. Our trip is in the middle of Sept. I am toying around with an Airpass from Bangkok Airways, but I was unsure if you are able to book all of your flights before you leave. I don't want to leave things like that up to chance, since we will be traveling with kids. Is it really hard to actually get the airpass seats? There will be 5 of us.

Thanks, Heather

I was not terribly impressed with Sukothai. It seemed a bit like a theme park with manicured lawns all around the ruins. Having said that it was quite a plesant renting a couple of bikes and riding around the ruins. we also drove out into the countryside to some of the temples which was a nice way to spend a few hours. in essence, I would not go out of my way to visit.

We had a mix up with the rental car at Sukothai airport (they got the wrong day!) and being a Sunday we spent a lot of time at the airport waiting for them to turn up. A number of budget airlines operate from sukothai. When we were there was empty apart from the crowd of peole who had been told that their budget airline flight wasn't going to operate that day! Not sure about the airpass seats but suggest that if travelling with kids that you book before you go.

I thought Sukhothai Historical Park was one of the more impressive sights we saw in Thailand. If you think you would be impressed by seeing the Roman Forum you will be impressed by seeing Sukhothai. Sukhothai is extensive and spread out so if you go, I would plan to spend a minimum of 4 hours there,( but you could easily spend more.) I recommend seeing it with a guide , or at least a good guidebook, so you know what you are looking at. You will need transportation within Sukhothai, as it is very spread out. When I was there, I saw people bicycling through the site, but they looked hot and tired, so I would think twice about using this mode of transportation if you are really interested in concentrating on seeing the ruins. I can't help with the flight logistics as I saw Sukhothai as part of a bus tour through Thailand. As for comparable areas within driving distance to Bangkok, the only site that comes to mind is Ayuthea(?spelling), but IMO Sukhothai is much more impressive.

I loved it!
Was just there in january.

Thank you for all of your replies. I am still trying to decide. We are so tight on time, that I would have to cut short our sight seeing in Bangkok and Siem Reap to go here. Thank you for all of the information, because it will help me to mull it over. There are so many interesting places to see In Thialand, but then we only have 1 week.
Thanks again, Heather

As interesting as I think Sukhothai is, I would not take time away from Bangkok or SR if you only have one week.

If you are going to Siem Reap to visit Angkor, don't go to Sukothai this trip. It would really be anti-climactic after the temples at Angkor. Do make sure you've allowed anough time at Angkor. It takes a full three days just to see the major temples at Angkor. We spent a week at Angkor and din't see all of the accessible temples. Save Sukothai for another trip.

If you're heart and itenerary is set on the other areas, then I would recommend you spend more time in those areas than trying to squeeze in an extra side trip. That said, Bangkok's charm is lost on me, so I would definitely cut short time there for Sukothai - I loved my two days there and second the recommendation to rent bikes and pack a lunch. As for Angkor Wat, it was a completely different kingdom and culture (though there's at least Khmer era ruins at Sukothai).

http://www.brucegcollier.com/galleri...level2_all.htm -- Sukothai photos at top of list

Regards, Bruce
www.brucegcollier.com -- Fine-art Travel Photography