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The Best Day Trips from Bangkok

Bangkok's day trips split cleanly in two. Ayutthaya you can do alone on a train that costs less than a coffee. The floating markets you probably should not, because the whole trip hinges on arriving before the tour buses, and the public transport does not get you there in time. Here are eight trips worth the day, with the real costs, the arrival times that decide whether you enjoy them, and an honest verdict on doing it yourself.

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By Oliver9 min readPublished
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Wat Pho in Bangkok
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0

In Brief

What are the best day trips from Bangkok?

The best day trip from Bangkok is Ayutthaya, the ruined former capital, about 80 minutes north by train with 24 departures a day and fares starting near 40 THB. After that: the Damnoen Saduak floating market and the Maeklong railway market, usually done together as one trip southwest; Kanchanaburi for the River Kwai bridge and Erawan Falls; and Amphawa, the weekend floating market Thai families actually go to. Ayutthaya is easy alone. For the markets, take a tour - they run at dawn and the timing is the whole trip.

Key takeaways

  • Best overall: Ayutthaya - about 80 minutes by train, fares from around 40 THB, 24 trains a day.
  • Floating markets: be at Damnoen Saduak between 6:30 and 9am, before the coaches arrive.
  • Maeklong railway market: the train pushes through the stalls at 8:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40.
  • Group tours to the markets run about 700 to 1,500 THB including hotel pickup.
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The 8 best day trips, ranked

Ordered by how well they repay a full day - factoring travel time, what you can actually see, and how easy they are without a car.

  1. Ayutthaya, a day trip from Bangkok

    80 km north · ~1 hr 20 by train

    Ayutthaya

    Ruins of the old capital, cheaply

    The capital of Siam for four centuries until it was sacked in 1767, now a UNESCO-listed field of brick temple ruins, collapsed stupas and rows of headless Buddhas. Wat Mahathat has the famous Buddha head grown into a fig tree, Wat Phra Si Sanphet has the three restored chedis, and Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon has the reclining Buddha and a climbable central tower. The site is spread out and flat, so hire a bicycle at the station or take a tuk-tuk by the hour. Go early: there is very little shade and the middle of the day is punishing.

    Getting there
    Trains run from Bangkok to Ayutthaya about 24 times a day, taking roughly an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. Fares start around 40 THB for the basic classes and climb to about 1,050 THB for the fastest air-conditioned seats, so this is one of the cheapest good day trips anywhere. The fastest morning departure leaves at 8:30 and takes about 1 hour 17. Minivans and river cruises also run; guided tours start near 30 USD with hotel pickup and lunch.
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  2. Damnoen Saduak floating market, a day trip from Bangkok

    100 km southwest · ~1 hr 30 by road

    Damnoen Saduak floating market

    The postcard, if you arrive by 9am

    The classic photograph: wooden boats stacked with fruit, hats and noodles nudging along a narrow canal. The single fact that decides your day is the time. Between 6:30 and 9am it is a working market and it is wonderful. After that the coaches arrive, the canal jams, and the vendors switch to selling souvenirs to a captive audience. If your tour arrives at 10am you will see a different, much worse place than the one in the photos.

    Getting there
    Roughly ninety minutes by road. Group tours run about 700 to 1,500 THB including hotel pickup and air-conditioned transport, and almost always pair it with the Maeklong railway market fifteen to twenty minutes away. At the market itself, a traditional rowing boat runs about 400 THB per boat for an hour, seating up to six; a motorised long-tail costs roughly 600 to 800 THB.
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  3. Maeklong railway market, a day trip from Bangkok

    70-80 km southwest · ~1 hr 30 by road

    Maeklong railway market

    A train through a vegetable market

    A produce market laid out on and beside a live railway track. Minutes before a train, the vendors fold back their awnings and slide their baskets clear, the train grinds through inches from the tomatoes, and then everything slides back. It takes about ninety seconds and it is genuinely startling. Outside those four moments it is a normal, good, hot market - so the whole point is arriving for one of the four times above.

    Getting there
    About ninety minutes southwest of Bangkok, and only fifteen to twenty minutes from Damnoen Saduak, which is why nearly every tour does the two together. Trains pass through the market at 8:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40 - the schedule is the attraction, so check it against your tour's timing before booking.
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  4. Amphawa floating market, a day trip from Bangkok

    80 km southwest · ~1 hr 30 by road

    Amphawa floating market

    Where Thais go, weekends only

    The floating market Bangkok residents actually visit. The crowd is mostly Thai families and young couples down for the weekend, the food is the reason people come rather than the souvenirs, and grilled river prawns cooked on the boats are the thing to order. It has an authenticity Damnoen Saduak lost some time ago. The trade-off is the schedule: weekends only, afternoons and evenings, which does not suit every itinerary.

    Getting there
    Similar run to Damnoen Saduak, roughly ninety minutes by road, and often bundled into the same tours. The crucial difference is timing: Amphawa runs Friday to Sunday afternoons and into the evening, not at dawn. Evening firefly boat trips leave after dark.
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  5. Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai, a day trip from Bangkok

    130 km west · ~2 hr 30 by road

    Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai

    History and waterfalls, in a long day

    The bridge over the River Kwai and the Death Railway, built by Allied prisoners of war and conscripted labourers under the Japanese occupation, with a museum in town covering the human cost. Many tours combine it with Erawan National Park, where a waterfall drops through seven bathable tiers of turquoise pools. It is a genuinely moving half of a day and a genuinely lovely other half, but be realistic about the twelve to fourteen hours.

    Getting there
    About two and a half hours by road each way. Full-day tours typically run twelve to fourteen hours door to door, which is the honest headline: this is a long day, not a half day. Trains also run from Bangkok on the surviving stretch of the wartime line.
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  6. Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, a day trip from Bangkok

    60 km north · ~1 hr by road or rail

    Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

    A polished pairing with Ayutthaya

    The royal summer retreat, a formal lakeside park mixing a Thai pavilion on the water, an Italianate mansion and a Chinese palace, which sounds incoherent and somehow works. It is manicured and calm, a useful contrast to the raw brick ruins up the road. Dress code is enforced: covered shoulders and knees, and it is applied strictly.

    Getting there
    Just south of Ayutthaya, which is why most Ayutthaya tours stop here on the way. Independently it is a short hop from Ayutthaya by taxi or tuk-tuk, so it slots neatly into a self-guided train day.
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  7. Pattaya, a day trip from Bangkok

    150 km southeast · ~2 hr by road

    Pattaya

    The closest beach, with caveats

    The nearest proper beach resort to Bangkok, and the most divisive place on this list. The city centre's nightlife reputation is entirely earned and puts many people off. What redeems it as a day trip is everything just outside: the Sanctuary of Truth, an enormous all-teak carved temple on the shore, and the quieter beaches south towards Jomtien. Go for those and it works; go expecting a calm beach town and it will not.

    Getting there
    Buses run frequently from Bangkok's eastern terminals and take roughly two hours; a train also serves the route. Minivans are quicker but cramped.
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  8. Ko Kret, a day trip from Bangkok

    20 km north · ~1 hr by road and ferry

    Ko Kret

    A half-day escape without the drive

    A car-free island of Mon communities known for hand-thrown terracotta pottery, with a leaning riverside stupa and a circuit you can walk or cycle in a couple of hours. It comes alive at weekends when a food market fills the lanes and is very quiet midweek, which you may consider a feature. This is the trip for a spare half-day when you do not want another two-hour drive.

    Getting there
    A river island in the Chao Phraya on the northern edge of the city, reached by road to Pak Kret and then a short ferry crossing that costs a few baht. No tour needed, and it is the cheapest trip here by a wide margin.

Do it yourself or book a tour?

Bangkok splits unusually cleanly. One trip is better alone and cheap enough to be almost free; the market trips are better booked, for one specific reason that has nothing to do with convenience.

  • Do it yourself: Ayutthaya. Trains run 24 times a day, take about 80 minutes, and start near 40 THB. Hire a bicycle or a tuk-tuk by the hour at the other end and you have a better day than a coach gives you, for a fraction of the money.
  • Do it yourself: Ko Kret. Local transport plus a few-baht ferry, and there is nothing a guide adds.
  • Take a tour: the floating and railway markets. The trip depends entirely on arriving at Damnoen Saduak before 9am and hitting Maeklong at one of the four train times, and public transport will not get you there for either. Tours run about 700 to 1,500 THB with hotel pickup.
  • Take a tour: Kanchanaburi, if you want Erawan Falls in the same day. Twelve to fourteen hours door to door either way, and the tour at least removes the driving.
  • Boat fares at Damnoen Saduak are separate from your tour price: about 400 THB an hour for a rowing boat seating up to six, or 600 to 800 THB for a motorised long-tail.

Day trips from Bangkok: FAQ

The questions travelers ask most when planning day trips from here.

Ayutthaya. It is about eighty minutes by train, runs 24 times a day, costs from around 40 THB, and delivers a UNESCO-listed field of temple ruins you can explore by bicycle. It is the rare day trip that is both the most rewarding and the cheapest option available.

By train, in about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. There are roughly 24 departures a day and fares run from about 40 THB for basic seats up to around 1,050 THB for the fastest air-conditioned classes. The quickest morning train leaves at 8:30 and takes 1 hour 17. Minivans, river cruises and guided tours also run the route.

Yes, if you get the timing right, and largely no if you do not. Damnoen Saduak is a real market between about 6:30 and 9am and a souvenir bottleneck afterwards. Amphawa, which runs Friday to Sunday afternoons, is the more authentic option and draws mostly Thai visitors. Booking a tour is mainly about arriving early enough.

Four times a day: 8:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40. The vendors fold their awnings back, the train passes within inches of the produce, and everything slides out again afterwards. Check your tour's schedule against those times, because outside them it is just a hot market.

Ayutthaya by train costs from about 40 THB each way. Group tours to the floating and railway markets run roughly 700 to 1,500 THB including hotel pickup, with boat rides charged separately at about 400 THB for a rowing boat or 600 to 800 THB for a long-tail. Guided Ayutthaya tours start near 30 USD with lunch included.

You can, but plan for twelve to fourteen hours door to door. It is roughly two and a half hours each way by road, and most tours add Erawan Falls to the River Kwai bridge and the museum. If that sounds like too much for one day, it is a good candidate for an overnight instead.

Every trip on this page starts in Bangkok

Each of these is a day out and back, so the thing that decides the whole trip is where you sleep between them and how far that is from the station. These go into the detail:

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Photos via Wikimedia Commons, used under their respective licences.