During our three days in Bangkok, we knew we wanted to take a day trip to Ayutthaya but we were short on time. Most of the tours we saw were full-day tours, which didn’t work with our schedule. However, it’s actually very inexpensive and easy to travel from Bangkok to Ayutthaya by train. We decided to skip taking a tour and instead just made our own DIY day trip to suit our itinerary!
In this guide, we’re sharing exactly how we did it, what the train was like, how much we spent, how we got around once we arrived, and whether we’d recommend doing Ayutthaya on your own instead of taking a tour. 
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DIY Day Trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya By Train
Is It Possible To Visit Ayutthaya Without a Tour?
Of course! If you value flexibility, and don’t mind figuring out transportation yourself, it’s actually a very easy and inexpensive option. Commuter trains from Bangkok to Ayutthaya depart multiple times throughout the day, making it easy to visit at any time of day you wish.
For even greater flexibility and comfort, you can opt to take a Grab taxi from Bangkok to Ayutthaya – it’s not as expensive as you might expect. We actually chose this option to return from Ayutthaya back to Bangkok.
Once in Ayutthaya, it’s easy to hire a taxi or tuk-tuk off the street to take you around to all the sites. Or you can rent a bike to really go at your own pace.
Why We Chose The Train Over a Group Tour
Most group tours we found left Bangkok in the morning and returned in the afternoon. However, we already had plans with a friend in the morning so we wanted to visit Ayutthaya later in the day. Since the train departs multiple times throughout the day, it gave us the flexibility we needed.
Visiting on our own also allowed us to see the temples we wanted to see at our own pace, without having to keep up with a group. Since we also had our young daughter with us, this was especially important. If she got too tired or hot, we wouldn’t feel stressed about having to stick to the group itinerary.
Bangkok to Ayutthaya By Train: What You Need To Know
Where To Catch The Bangkok to Ayutthaya Train
There are two train stations in Bangkok from which you can catch the train to Ayutthaya.
One is the very large and modern Krung Thep Aphiwat Station, located in the northern part of the city. From here, you can catch a long-distance rapid/express train. These are the more comfortable trains with three classes of service.
The other is the historical Hua Lamphong Station located in central Bangkok, close to Chinatown. From here you can catch an ordinary commuter train which only has 3rd class train cars with no A/C – just fans and open windows.
Where To Buy The Tickets
You can buy tickets for the rapid/express trains online in advance on the official State Railway of Thailand website. Select Krung Thep Aphiwat as the departure station to search for trains to Ayutthaya.
You can also purchase train tickets through the popular agencies 12Go or Baolau. The advantage of going through an agency is the websites are all in English and more user-friendly, but you do have to pay an extra service charge.
For the ordinary commuter trains, you just buy the tickets at the station before boarding. You can’t book them online in advance. Bring cash as they have a minimum charge to use credit card (we bought three tickets and did not meet the minimum charge).
Ticket Prices
The ordinary commuter trains are very inexpensive at just 15 THB/adult ($0.50 USD) and 8 THB/child ($0.25 USD).
For the rapid and express trains, the cost depends on the class of service you choose. Tickets range from 20 THB ($0.60 USD) for a 3rd class fan seat to 61 THB ($1.84 USD) for 2nd class with fan or 241 THB ($7.26 USD) for 2nd class with AC.
First class is much more expensive (1000+ THB) and unneccesary for the short journey since you won’t have hardly any time to sleep anyway.
How Long It Takes To Get From Bangkok to Ayutthaya By Train
The duration of the journey depends on departure time and which type of train you catch.
The rapid trains departing from Krung Thep Aphiwat can get you to Ayutthaya in less than one hour at the quickest. On the other hand, the ordinary commuter trains can take up to two hours.
Bangkok to Ayutthaya Train Schedule
There are 16 trains departing daily from Krung Thep Aphiwat to Ayutthaya and 11 trains departing daily from Hua Lamphong to Ayutthaya. You can check the most up to date schedules on the official Thailand Railway website.
Krung Thep Aphiwat to Ayutthaya Schedule:
| Departure Time: | Arrival Time: | Duration: |
| 6:10am | 6:58am | 48 minutes |
| 7:10am | 8:27am | 1 hour 17 minutes |
| 7:30am | 8:57am | 1 hour 7 minutes |
| 8:45am | 9:41am | 56 minutes |
| 10:35am | 11:30am | 55 minutes |
| 2:15pm | 3:18pm | 1 hour 3 minutes |
| 6:40pm | 7:43pm | 1 hour 3 minutes |
| 7:25pm | 8:25pm | 1 hour |
| 8:05pm | 9:07pm | 1 hour 2 minutes |
| 8:25pm | 9:38pm | 1 hour 13 minutes |
| 8:45pm | 9:48pm | 1 hour 3 minutes |
| 9:05pm | 10:01pm | 56 minutes |
| 9:25pm | 10:29pm | 1 hour 4 minutes |
| 10:30pm | 11:36pm | 1 hour 6 minutes |
| 11:05pm | 12:16am | 1 hour 11 minutes |
Hua Lamphong to Ayutthaya Schedule:
| Departure Time: | Arrival Time: | Duration: |
| 4:15am | 5:50am | 1 hour 35 minutes |
| 5:05am | 6:45am | 1 hour 40 minutes |
| 10:15am | 12:15pm | 2 hours |
| 11:15am | 12:58pm | 1 hour 43 minutes |
| 12:00pm | 1:39pm | 1 hour 39 minutes |
| 12:55pm | 2:35pm | 1 hour 40 minutes |
| 2:20pm | 4:08pm | 1 hour 48 minutes |
| 4:45pm | 6:39pm | 1 hour 54 minutes |
| 5:00pm | 6:53pm | 1 hour 53 minutes |
| 5:30pm | 7:14pm | 1 hour 44 minutes |
| 6:20pm | 8:09pm | 1 hour 49 minutes |
What The Train Ride To Ayutthaya Was Like
As mentioned above, we already had morning plans so we needed to catch a train mid-day. There were more trains departing mid-day from Hua Lamphong so that’s where we headed to buy our tickets.
First, we took the metro from our hotel at Lumphini Station to Hua Lamphong Station, which is conveniently connected to the Hua Lamphong Train Station. We arrived at 12:15pm and bought tickets for the next departing train to Ayutthaya, which was at 12:55pm.
Hua Lamphong Train Station has a few food outlets so we bought some iced drinks to bring with us on the train in hopes they would keep us cool.
The train station also has public toilets which you need to pay a few baht to use.
Boarding
We made our way to the train platform about 10 minutes before departure time to board the train.
In 3rd class, the seats are all first come, first serve. We noticed that most of the seats by the fans were taken first, as were the seats on the right side of the train (turns out, the sun hits the left side).
Seats
The seats were bench style leather seats that were somewhat padded and facing each other so people could sit in groups of four. There were racks above the seats where people could store their luggage.
The windows were wide open, but it was so hot outside that it didn’t really help. Instead, it just felt like hot air blowing in our face whenever the train picked up speed. But for the most part, the train moved so slowly that we didn’t get any breeze.
We later realized there was a window shade that we could close which helped block the sun and keep us a tiny bit cooler.
Stops
Since this is a commuter train, it makes a lot of stops so there were many people getting on and off throughout the journey.
At each stop, vendors would hop on and sell Thai food and drinks. The food and drinks actually looked quite good and inexpensive, but sadly we didn’t have any small change on us to buy anything. I really wanted a cold iced Thai tea!
A lot of people were buying from them though, and they often sold out of whatever they were offering.
Our Overall Experience
While the journey was indeed very hot without AC, I was happy to get a taste of this very local experience. There were absolutely no other foreigners on the train with us – just locals.
I was impressed that the train departed exactly on schedule and arrived only five minutes late. The train was old but relatively clean.
For an almost two-hour ride that cost only 50 cents, it was honestly pretty great! Just ensure you have an ice cold drink and a portable electric fan, and you’ll be good!
Getting Around Ayutthaya Without A Tour
Once we arrived at Ayutthaya Train Station, we needed to get ourselves to the temples. We could either catch the 5-minute boat across the river and then take a tuk-tuk from there, hire a tuk-tuk/taxi from outside the station, or order a Grab taxi.
Since we wanted to get out of the heat and eat lunch ASAP, we opted to order a Grab taxi. While we were waiting for it to arrive, we were approached by multiple tuk-tuk and taxi drivers offering to give us tours of the temples, but they weren’t overly pushy.
It only took seven minutes in the taxi to get from the train station to the restaurant by Wat Mahathat. From there, we explored by foot as we were only interested in seeing one or two temples.
If you arrive earlier in the day and have more time to explore, I’d suggest renting a bicycle (available from many shops surrounding the temples) or hiring one of the tuk-tuk drivers to take you around (the prices they quoted seemed pretty reasonable).
I honestly think this is a much better way to see Ayutthaya than taking a group tour as you can really just go wherever you want and at your own pace.
Getting Back from Ayutthaya to Bangkok
There are many trains running throughout the day from Ayutthaya to Bangkok, with the last train departing Ayutthaya at 9:22pm. We are only listing the afternoon and evening departure times below, as these will be the most relevant for people planning a day trip.
| Departure Time: | Arrival Time: | Arrival Station: |
| 12:14pm | 2:05pm | Hua Lamphong |
| 12:35pm | 2:25pm | Hua Lamphong |
| 1:08pm | 2:10pm | Krung Thep Aphiwat |
| 2:40pm | 3:55pm | Krung Thep Aphiwat |
| 3:39pm | 4:35pm | Krung Thep Aphiwat |
| 4:04pm | 5:10pm | Krung Thep Aphiwat |
| 4:41pm | 6:00pm | Krung Thep Aphiwat |
| 4:50pm | 5:40pm | Krung Thep Aphiwat |
| 6:48pm | 8:35pm | Hua Lamphong |
| 6:59pm | 8:05pm | Krung Thep Aphiwat |
| 7:45pm | 9:00pm | Krung Thep Aphiwat |
| 9:22pm | 10:15pm | Krung Thep Aphiwat |
If you decide taking the train one way is enough for you, or if the train departure times don’t work for your schedule, you can order a Grab taxi back to Bangkok.
Our DIY Ayutthaya Day Trip Itinerary
Here’s exactly how our Bangkok to Ayutthaya day trip went:
12:55pm Bangkok to Ayutthaya Train
We took the ordinary commuter train from Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Train Station to Ayutthaya Train Station.
2:40pm Arrived in Ayutthaya
We arrived at Ayutthaya Train Station and took a Grab taxi to the famous Pa Lek Boat Noodle Restaurant.
2:50pm Lunch at Pa Lek Boat Noodle
Pa Lek closes at 5pm so we opted to eat here for a late lunch before heading to the temples. This simple open-air restaurant is famous for their boat noodles.
All three of us absolutely loved them and ordered all of the options. We understood what all the hype is about. Inexpensive noodles but absolutely delicious!
Note: There are no toilets at the restaurant. Staff will direct you to use the ones at Wat Mahathat.
4:00pm Visit Wat Mahathat
After our leisurely lunch, we walked across the street to Wat Mahathat. This is one of the most popular temples in Ayutthaya, known for the Buddha head wrapped in tree roots.
Before entering, we stopped at the air conditioned cafe by the parking lot to cool down. Our daughter ordered her favourite drink in Thailand: pink milk. They also have free Wi-Fi here, if you need it. Next to the cafe there are also a few souvenir shops.
We paid our entrance fee and began exploring the temple grounds. The afternoon heat was thick and our daughter was grateful to have her umbrella to use to shield her from the sun.
However, there were also umbrellas available at the entrance for people to borrow, which was nice!
The temple was not very crowded so it was easy to explore and take photos without anyone in the background. It seemed most of the tour groups had already left by this time of day.
We spent an hour walking around the grounds, which was more than enough time to see everything we wanted to see. We thought we would visit another temple afterwards but our daughter decided she had enough of the heat and wanted to go back to the hotel.
5:30pm Grab Taxi Back to Bangkok
For our return trip, we decided to take a Grab taxi rather than wait for the next train. We decided this would be quicker and surprisingly wasn’t too expensive. And we had AC 🙂
The drive was all along the modern highway and took less than one hour.
6:25pm Arrive at Don Mueang Airport
We got our taxi to drop us off at Don Mueang Airport since we were spending the night at the airport hotel before our flight early the next morning.
How Much Our DIY Ayutthaya Trip Cost
| Train Tickets for 2 adults & 1 child | 38 THB |
| Cold Drinks from Train Station | 185 THB |
| Grab Taxi from Ayutthaya Station to Restaurant | 75 THB |
| Lunch | 300 THB |
| Wat Mahathat Entrance Fee for 2 adults | 160 THB |
| Grab Taxi from Ayutthaya to Bangkok (Don Mueang Airport) |
573 THB |
| TOTAL COST FOR AYUTTHAYA DAY TRIP |
1331 THB/$40 USD |
As you can see, this was a very affordable day trip for our family of three!
Final Thoughts – Is Taking The Train to Ayutthaya Worth It?
We were very happy with our DIY Ayutthaya day trip. It was a fun experience taking the local train, we loved our delicious local lunch, and enjoyed exploring the temples at our own pace. Once we felt we had seen enough, it was easy to catch a Grab taxi and leave when we wanted.
Arranging our own transportation around Ayutthaya was not a problem at all. The town is fairly small with not much traffic, so it’s easy to get around. I definitely felt like it was worth it to arrange everything ourselves rather than pay for a group tour.
However, if you don’t want to have to plan absolutely anything, you can book a half-day tour or full-day tour on Klook!
DIY Day Trip vs Group Tour Comparison
| Choose DIY if you want: | Choose a tour if you want: |
| To save money | To have everything arranged |
| A more local experience | Seamless transportation |
| Flexibility | Someone else to organize the day |
| To spend more time at sites that interest you | A tour guide to explain the history of everything |
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