Top Bangkok Walking Tours

🇹🇭 AYUTTHAYA DAY TOUR FROM BANGKOK — TEMPLES, HISTORY & THAI CULTURE After visiting Thailand multiple times over the years, there are still plenty of places and pieces of Thai history I haven’t experienced. This time, we decided to take a full-day tour from Bangkok to the ancient city of Ayutthaya. Our day started with pickup at our hotel and transportation to the tour meeting point near Chatuchak in Bangkok. From there, we joined a group of about 30 people on a bus with our driver and English-speaking Thai guide, AJ. 🚌 OFF TO AYUTTHAYA The drive took about 90 minutes, with one stop along the way for drinks and a toilet break. Our itinerary included four major historical sites: 🏯 Wat Mahathat 🏯 Wat Phra Sri Sanphet 🏯 Wat Chaiwatthanaram 🛕 Wat Lokayasutharam — Temple of the Reclining Buddha FIRST STOP — WAT MAHATHAT Wat Mahathat is one of the oldest and most historically significant temples in Ayutthaya and once housed sacred Buddha relics. This is also where you'll find one of the most famous images associated with Ayutthaya — the Buddha head surrounded by the roots of a Bodhi tree. It’s something I had seen many times in photographs, so seeing it in person was definitely one of the highlights of the day. SECOND STOP — WAT PHRA SRI SANPHET Wat Phra Sri Sanphet was part of the royal palace complex and was used by Thai royalty for important ceremonies and rituals. It is considered one of the most important temples in the old capital and gives you a much better understanding of just how important Ayutthaya once was. THIRD STOP — WAT CHAIWATTHANARAM This was another impressive complex. The architecture shows influences associated with Khmer design, and walking around the grounds gives you a good idea of the scale and grandeur of Ayutthaya hundreds of years ago. 🍜 LUNCH BREAK Lunch was included at a tour restaurant and consisted of a buffet of Thai dishes. Simple, not spicy, and nothing particularly memorable, but there was enough variety to satisfy everyone. It did the job. FINAL STOP — WAT LOKAYASUTHARAM Our last temple visit was Wat Lokayasutharam, famous for its enormous reclining Buddha. The giant Buddha image is one of the few major structures remaining at the site and makes for an impressive final stop before heading back to Bangkok. 🚌 Afterward, we made the approximately 90-minute drive back and were dropped off at the MBK shopping complex. ⭐ OUR GUIDE AJ AJ did an excellent job throughout the day. He made a real effort to explain Thailand's history, including how the country's centers of power and capitals changed over the centuries before modern-day Bangkok became the capital. At every stop, he explained the history and significance of what we were seeing. There weren't many questions from the group because, quite frankly, AJ had already covered most of them! MY CONCLUSION Even after visiting Thailand multiple times, this tour filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge about Ayutthaya. Seeing these ruins in person helped me better understand the wars that devastated the old capital and the damage and looting that occurred at many of these sites over the centuries. You see row after row of Buddha statues that have lost their heads, ruined temples, and remnants of what was once one of the great cities of Southeast Asia. 💰 The price included: • Transportation from Bangkok • English-speaking guide • Admission to all the temple sites • Buffet lunch • One bottle of water • Insurance For an entire day out, I thought the price was reasonable. Would I call Ayutthaya an absolute must-do on your first trip to Bangkok? Probably not. I'd put it more in the "nice to do" category, especially if you're interested in history, temples, architecture, or Thai culture. And having a knowledgeable guide like AJ makes a big difference. Instead of simply walking around looking at ancient ruins, you actually learn the stories behind what you're seeing. Another piece of Thailand's history checked off my list. 🇹🇭