Weekend Getaways from Bangkok, Thailand

The capital of Bangkok is on the list for most travelers who visit Thailand, especially since your international flight will most likely bring you to this ever-moving city first. Bangkok has a lot to offer! However, what a lot of people don’t realize is that there are some great travel destinations just outside this bustling capital. Whether you are visiting Thailand for the first time or planning a return trip, here are three weekend getaways only a short distance from Bangkok that should be on your list of places to visit in Thailand.

Ayutthaya

How to get there: Take a train from Bangkok directly to Ayutthaya. Depending on which Bangkok train station you depart from, the trip can take around an hour to two hours.

When visiting Ayutthaya you can’t help but be in awe of the ancient ruins scattered inside and outside of the town. This old capital of Siam, Thailand’s old name, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temples here are very different from the wats in Bangkok; stepping onto temple grounds here feels like stepping back in time thousands of years. My favorite activity was to walk around the temples at sunset. The sunsets in Thailand hardly ever disappoint, and seeing the temples with a blazing sunset in the background was the highlight of my trip. While there are many temples to visit, my favorites were:

• Wat Phra Mahathat– This is where the Buddha head in the tree roots is located. It is also in central Ayutthaya, right across the street from a lively night market with great food!
• Wat Phanan Choeng– This temple is located along the river and has a very large Buddha statue called Phra Phuttha Thrai Ratana Nayok.
• Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon– People can climb up the tall stairs to the top of this temple. It is a great way to explore the temple and presents a beautiful view of the surrounding area.
• Wat Ratchaburana– I loved walking around this temple at sunrise. While you cannot get onto the temple grounds until 8 am, this temple is surrounded by a park that you can walk around no matter what time of day. 
• Wat Chaiwatthanaram– You may find a few Thai people dressing up in historic clothing and taking pictures at these ruins. Being here and seeing other tourists dressed up makes you feel like you stepped through a time machine.

Pattaya

How to get there: Take a bus from Bangkok directly to Pattaya. The trip is around 2 hours and you can buy tickets when you get to the train station. However, if you are traveling on a holiday weekend, get your tickets online beforehand. Many Thais travel from Bangkok to Pattaya on holiday.

If you are looking for a short beach trip or a change of nightlife outside the capital, then Pattaya is where you should go. The nightlife on Pattaya’s walking street can be just as lively as Bangkok’s nightlife and it’s next to the beach. 

Beaches

If you are looking for more of a relaxed beach scene, then I suggest taking a short boat from Pattaya to a nearby island called Koh Larn. You can always swim at Pattaya’s beaches, but I thought the water surrounding the island was much clearer and cleaner. I highly suggest going to Monkey Beach on Koh Larn, it is a secluded and much less crowded beach than the main beaches of the island. You can also rent a motorbike for a good price and travel around the rest of the island from Monkey Beach.

Temples

Just a short drive outside the main area of Pattaya are a few other attractions that are worth visiting. Just North of Pattaya city is the intricate Temple of Truth. While the cost to enter is a little pricy (500 baht) it is a really beautiful temple with amazing detailed carvings all throughout. 

South of Pattaya city is three attractions that you can make a day visiting.  

First, there is Anek Kusala Sala (Viharn Sien), a temple that honors the Chinese heritage in some Thais. This lakeside temple has a lot of beautiful artwork and statues.  There are also a few other temples near the lake that you visit.  Only a few minutes drive from Anek Kusala Sala is a site named Khao Chi Chan. Here there is a very large Buddha carving on a cliffside.  It’s so big you can actually see it from the windows at the top of Anek Kusala Sala.

Gardens

Lastly, there is a botanical garden named Nong Nooch Tropical Garden.  While I love visiting gardens when I travel, this was by far the craziest garden I have ever been to. A local Grab driver told me to go here, and I hadn’t done any research about it before I went. I was in for a huge surprise!  If gardens aren’t your thing, I still recommend visiting.  The garden has multiple sections with different themes. The most surprising area was the dinosaur valley.  Here you will find a multitude of life-sized dinosaur statues that you can walk around and learn about the different dinosaur species.  It was really cool and a lot of fun! I was also a huge fan of the garden section that had a catwalk where you can walk high off the ground to experience a lush and decorative hanging garden. 

The only aspect of the gardens I didn’t like was the section where tourists can ride elephants.  Elephant riding is cruel to the elephants and it is something that is slowly disappearing in Thailand because of the cruelty related to it.  However, there are still attractions that allow this activity. If you do go to the gardens, please don’t ride the elephants. If you want to see elephants, you can look up many of the elephant sanctuaries that Thailand has.  They are a more ethical choice because the sanctuaries take good care of these beautiful creatures.

Kanchanaburi

How to get there: Take a minibus from Bangkok. The minibus can take 2 and a half hours to 3 hours depending on the time of day and traffic.

I love Kanchanaburi because a visit here means you get to learn about the important history of the area and it is a great spot for outdoor activities! Kanchanaburi is a town along the Death Railway that was built during World War 2. While this history is quite sobering, it is still important to learn about it.

Museums

There are multiple museums in town that educate tourists about the Death Railway. For example, the Death Railway Museum and Research Center is a great museum to visit. You can find their website here. Other museums like the JEATH Museum educate tourists about the Death Railway as well as Thai culture and history. This museum has a lot of artifacts on display from World War 2. This museum doesn’t have a website. However, you can find up-to-date information on their LonelyPlanet page here. When exploring the town you can walk on a bridge that was part of the Death Railway. The bridge was bombed during WW2 and eventually reconstructed, but walking along, still really brings the history in the museums to life.

National Parks

Besides the history, Kanchanaburi also offers different outdoor activities in town and a little outside of town. The town is along a river so you can kayak, paddleboard, jet ski, or ride a speedboat with gorgeous mountain silhouettes as your backdrop. If you are willing to venture outside of town, which I highly recommend, you can visit either of the two National Parks nearby.

Erawan National Park and Sai Yok National Park are two beautiful parks you don’t want to miss! You can either take a bus to the parks or rent a driver and car for a few hours. You can negotiate the price of a driver, and if you have multiple people, the price really isn’t bad. I would recommend the driver because they can take you to multiple locations without the hassle of trying to figure out the bus system. (I have had multiple Thai people tell me that they don’t even understand the public bus system in Thailand.) 

Erawan National Park

If you only have time for one National Park, I recommend Erawan National Park. Here, you will find a hiking trail with some of the most beautiful waterfalls! There are 7 main waterfalls along the trail that you can stop at, take pictures of, and even swim in. As someone who loves hiking, and tries to go as often as I am able, the trail wasn’t very hard. It is even paved for part of the way and you can hire a golf cart driver to drive you to the first waterfall. Therefore, part of the trail is accessible for elderly people and people with disabilities. The further up the trail you go, it does get a little harder, but I saw many young kids hiking the trail and doing just fine.

Going to all seven waterfalls is worth it if you can do the trip! As you get closer to the last waterfall you will be rewarded with scenes that feel like you are in a different world! Walking along the wooden boardwalks, surrounded by mini waterfalls of the most amazing blue color, and seeing the monkeys play in the trees and water made me feel like I was in a movie! It was a much-needed getaway from the hustle of Bangkok.

With Thailand making it easier for travelers to enter the country, now is the perfect time to see what this amazing country has to offer! When traveling to Thailand, you can expect friendly people, delicious food, and cheap travel prices. There is a lot to do in Thailand, so it is important to know what you want to see and do before you touch down here. These weekend getaways help you experience all of what Thailand has to offer and they are only a short distance outside of Bangkok.

Which of these weekend getaways would you want to visit?