Bang Pa-In Summer Palace and Ayutthaya ruins - Day trip

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace and Ayutthaya ruins - Day trip

Depart from Bangkok and drive to visit the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace. Then continue to Ayutthaya, the ancient Thai capital to explore the best sites and learn more about its history. The city was founded in 1350 and ruled Siam for 417 years. Enjoy a Thai lunch and drive back to Bangkok.

Brief itinerary:
• 7.00 AM we leave from meeting point / hotel
• 9.30 AM sightseeing at the Bang Pa-In Summer palace and Ayutthaya’s ruins
• Thai lunch
• 2.30 PM head back to Bangkok
• 4 PM approximately back at the hotel / meeting point

Bang Pa-In Summer palace

The Bang Pa-In Royal palace was originally a village, only later converted into a palace. It is known for its beautiful gardens and scenery and was constructed by King Prasat Thong in 1632. King Mongkut (Rama IV) and King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) extended the site between 1872 and 1889.

Ayutthaya, founded in 1350 and located a little north of Bangkok, was the ancient Thai capital. In 1767, after ruling for 417 years, the city fell to Burmese invasion. It has been enlisted as world heritage since 1991.

Wat Pra Sri Sanphet used to be the king’s palace and state temple. It once had a golden Buddha but when the Burmese invaded and burned down the city, it was melted into nuggets to take back to Burma.

Wat Yai Chaimongkol has a 67 meter high pagoda which is the tallest in Ayutthaya. It was built to announce Ayutthaya’s regained independence after the Burmese were defeated by prince Naresuan’s army.

Wat Mahathat has the biggest pagoda foundation in Ayutthaya and used to house Buddha relics which are now kept in Bangkok. You can find a Buddha head embedded in the Bodhi tree in this temple.

Wat Chaiwatthanaram, built in early 17th century and burial site for Thai ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Wat Lokaya Sutha is a massive temple ruin stemming from the late Ayutthaya period with a prang build in Khmer-style. The reclining Buddha image is 37 meters long and 8 meters high and lays on the temple ground. The vertical arm is a characteristic of reclining Buddha images made in the Middle Ayutthaya period.