SUKHOTHAI TOUR

The Sukhothai Kingdom is considered by traditional historians to be the foundation of modern Thailand. In this tour we discover why as we explore, on foot and bicycle, the Sukhothai Historical Park, a World Heritage Site which covers the ruins of Sukhothai, the capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries. The old city walls form a rectangle about 2 km by 1.6 km and like Chiang Mai, there is a gate in the centre of each wall. Inside the wall are the remains of the royal palace and twenty-six temples, the largest being Wat Mahathat. The park is maintained by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand with help from UNESCO, which has declared it aWorld Heritage Site.

Day One:          

We leave from Chiang Mai and travel to Sukhothai. Lunch is in wonderful restaurant just outside of Sukhothai and we spend the rest of the day visiting the Ramkamhang National museum and then begin our exploration of the Sukhothai Historical Park. We spend the first night in a hotel in Sukhothai and if the timing is right, we will enjoy dinner at the Light and Sound Show, a fun filled evening of Historical pageantry, folkdance, fireworks, and great food all brought together against the backdrop of the Sukhothai Historical Park.

Day Two

After breakfast, we continue with our tour of the magnificent Sukhothai ruins and we get to ride bicycles as we continue to explore this fantastic World Heritage Site. We depart from the Sukhothai Historical Park and head to Si Satchanalai, sister city to Sukhothai and also famous for its restored historic sites. For dinner, we have a special treat, a home style Thai dinner at our home stay in Banna Tonchan village, where we will get an intimate look at how the people of Banna Tonchan live. We are sure that you will really enjoy this unique experience and have some precious memories to take away with you.

Day Three

Before breakfast we will offer morning food for the monks. Then after breakfast with our home stay family, they we will take us on a walking tour through the village to meet their neighbors, see the local mobile farmers’ market, the temple, , and learn about village life. We say goodbye to our home stay family and after some leisure time for shopping and last minute sightseeing we have a late lunch and embark on our return trip to Chiang Mai.

This tour can be easily combined with other tours or can be booked as a standalone tour.

Additionally, the home stay portion of this tour can be extended by a day or two to include Thai cooking lessons, where we learn to make the local specialty, Banna Tonchan noodles, which are made according to a century’s old recipe and done in real Sukhothai style. Also, fabric weaving and coconut shell jewelry lessons can be arranged. This can be especially suitable for high school and university students and others who wish to experience and participate in cultural exchange activities.