Spending 2 days in Ayutthaya? Here’s our in-depth itinerary on how to plan your trip to the ancient capital of Thailand! Spend your days exploring crumbled ruins and watching sunsets over what was once the biggest city in the world.
Ayutthaya is filled with ancient archaeological ruins that were once beautiful temples, palaces and buildings in the 1350s. The city was attacked by Burmese troops in 1767 and fell really fast with all buildings being destroyed.
After this, the capital city moved and eventually became Bangkok, so the city was never rebuilt. The stone palaces and temples were the only remains of the city which is why Ayutthaya is now an open-air museum with some of the best ruins we’ve ever seen in Thailand. Honestly, it was better than we expected!
The Ayutthaya Historical Park is the most popular area to see and is located on an island in the centre of the city. However you can find temple ruins absolutely everywhere, it will take more than 2 days in Ayutthaya to see them all!
Without overdoing the temple viewing, we’ve created a 2 day Ayutthaya itinerary so you know which temple ruins are worth visiting on your trip! Here’s the best things to do in Ayutthaya in 2 days!
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Why was Ayutthaya destroyed? Burma attacked and burned down Ayutthaya due to a long territorial battle with the Siamese Kingdom (Thailand). It was purely for land and power as Ayutthaya was the heart of Southeast Asia.
Here’s a quick list of things to know before visiting Ayutthaya:
- Wat means Temple in Thai! This is important, as almost all the things to do in Ayutthaya are Wat’s (temples).
- As all of these are religious sites, females need to cover their shoulders, chest and legs. Wear trousers, a long skirt, a long dress or bring a sarong.
- Most of the ruins have entry prices and we’ve included the prices throughout this travel guide.
- All paid temple ruins will close around 5pm or 6pm and it’s likely the free ones will not have any lights anyway.
2 Day Ayutthaya Itinerary: Best Things To Do
Now let’s jump into this Ayutthaya itinerary! We’ve included tips on how to get around, where to stay and some of our favourite places to eat. Here’s our tried and tested 2 day Ayutthaya itinerary.
Where to stay? We highly recommend Siri Guesthouse in Ayutthaya!
Need a Sim card? We use Airalo for our E-sims or buy from 7/11.
Need Travel Insurance? – Check out Safetywing to plan your flexible travel adventures!
Day 1 – Ayutthaya Historical Park, Cafe & Markets
When you arrive drop your bags off and head straight into the city. Try to arrive in the morning so you can make use of the first day of your Ayutthaya itinerary. We stayed close to the Ayutthaya Historical Park so we could head there straight away.
Day one will be spent exploring the temple ruins on the island and then resting in the late afternoon before exploring any possible Ayutthaya night markets!
Explore Wat Phra Si Sanphet
The first stop on your 2 day Ayutthaya itinerary is a visit to Wat Phra Si Sanphet, one of the ruins on the west side of the Ayutthaya Historical Park.
We arrived here around 10 am and it was still really quiet so we roamed around the temple ruins peacefully.
Wat Phra Si Sanphet is one of the most important buildings in the historical park as it was once a royal chapel that held ceremonies. It’s also built on the Grand Palace complex. The three iconic stupas were built to contain the ashes of previous kings!
💰 50 baht
See the Buddha at Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit
Right across from the exit of Wat Phra Si Sanphet is a beautifully modern temple with a huge bronze Buddha! Sadly it was under renovation when we visited so we couldn’t see the Buddha! But the exterior was amazing and it’s one of the few modern temples on this 2 day Ayutthaya itinerary.
Hopefully, the large Buddha will be on show again when you visit!
💰 Free
Head to Wat Lokkayasutha
Make your way off the island on the west bridge to visit the ruins of Wat Lokkayasutha. It’s a 20-minute walk or a quick cycle if you’re riding a bike!
The main reason to visit Wat Lokkayasutha is to see the incredible 42-metre-long reclining Buddha (this isn’t the only reclining Buddha on this Ayutthaya itinerary)! It’s named Phra Buddha Sai Yat.
Similar to the previous temple, when we visited the Buddha was being renovated, which isn’t a surprise as it has been restored several times since the 1950’s. It’s now painted white instead of the original brick colour.
If you’ve already visited Bangkok, you may have seen a similar reclining Buddha at Wat Pho!
The Buddha truly is the main thing to see here as Wat Lokkayasutha is one of the most demolished temples we saw during our 2 days in Ayutthaya.
💰 Free
Discover Wat Worachettharam
Whilst you’re in this area of Ayutthaya, make a quick visit to Wat Worachettharam. It was almost empty when we visited! These temples aren’t as popular as the others on our Ayutthaya itinerary, so we had them almost all to ourselves!
Look inside the ruins of the roofless building to find a beautiful smiling Buddha. You can also see Wat Wora Pho nearby.
💰 Free
Explore Wat Phra Ram
Head back over the river into the Historical Park to explore Wat Phra Ram before lunch. There’s plenty of street snacks on your journey if you’re hungry!
Wat Phra Ram is a lovely ruin close to the original Palace grounds. There’s a few more Khmer influences to this one and it’s a little smaller than other temples in the area.
The entrance was a little confusing and we ended up entering from a random side. This one ended up being Dan’s favourite of our 2 days in Ayutthaya!
💰 50 baht
After a busy morning of temples, we were starving! Most of the best places to eat seem to be on the east side of the historical park. We headed to Youta Jay Vegetarian for a wholesome bowl of rice, curry, veggies and mock meat!
They also do incredible vegan brownies. Two meals and brownies came to 130 baht, you can’t go wrong!
Chill at Chirp Cafe
Now that it’s the heat of the day, we decided to take a quick break before exploring some more temples. Although they don’t have any vegan-friendly food, they have oat milk, so we got matcha each and sat by the koi pond.
It was the perfect opportunity to rest after the temple-hopping and lunch. Feel free to continue with the rest of this Ayutthaya itinerary earlier if you don’t need a break!
See the famous Wat Mahathat
Next up on our Ayutthaya itinerary, we visited the infamous Wat Mahathat.
Wat Mahathat was another important temple in the Royal Palace, which housed Buddha relics and other valuables.
However, the most unique part about Wat Mahathat is the stone Buddha head that’s nestled inside the roots of a tree!
No one truly knows how this happened but the tree simply grew around the Buddha’s head! It was possibly buried after the area was destroyed. The face of the Buddha has been restored over time.
This is one of the most popular sights we saw during our Ayutthaya 2 day itinerary.
💰 50 baht
You can also book a day trip from Bangkok to visit Ayutthaya.
Walk around Wat Ratchaburana
The final temple of the day is Wat Ratchaburana and it’s one of the only temples in the Historical Park that you can climb. The views are pretty awesome too!
We visited around golden hour to admire the beautiful architecture of the ruins in the orange light.
Wat Ratchaburana has some beautifully preserved buildings although still ruins. There are some more Khmer influences here too!
The temple was built to honour the older brothers of King Borom Rachathirat II who died fighting over the throne (before the younger brother received it).
Lots of important relics that were stored in the temple were stolen by thieves and only some were recovered and placed in the local museum.
💰 50 baht
Find the Night Markets
After exploring seven temples on day one of your Ayutthaya itinerary, it’s time to end the day. Head to one of your local night markets to find food, a fruit shake or browse for some affordable clothes!
Our recommendation is Ong Gaan Tolasap Night Market close to Wat Ratchaburana.
When we visited Ayutthaya, there was a huge festival with lots of food stalls and clothes! We managed to find some coconut pancakes!
We’ve listed some recommended places to eat at the end of this travel guide!
Day 2 – Temple Hopping, River Cruise & Sunset
For day two of our Ayutthaya itinerary, you’ll need to rent a bicycle, or scooter or simply catch tuk-tuks to reach a few places a little further away.
There are only two temples to visit so a scooter won’t be needed unless you want to visit Bang Pa-In Palace.
We recommend renting a bicycle and if your accommodation has bike rentals you’ll be able to use it for the evening too. Prices can range from 60-80 baht for the day.
Using Grab or catching a tuk-tuk is another good option as there are minimal stops.
Start your morning with some local breakfast and fruit or grab some snacks at a convenience store.
Visit Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon
Once you’ve sorted out your transport, head to Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon to see the beautifully preserved temple ruins and reclining Buddha.
Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon is a super beautiful complex and some of it has been restored over the years. You can climb inside this temple and there’s a lovely view of the surrounding area.
The temple has many rows of Buddha statues with some of them wearing orange robes. The huge reclining Buddha also has an orange robe sometimes! It was one of our highlights!
There’s also a small moat around part of the temple with loads of catfish and turtles!
It’s definitely worth visiting during your 2 day Ayutthaya itinerary.
💰 20 baht
Explore Wat Kudi Dao
Next, we headed to more ruins in Ayutthaya on the east side of the moat, just north of Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. If you’re cycling, you’ll have to tackle a roundabout a few times during this journey!
Wat Kudi Dao is a lesser-known temple ruins compared to the Ayutthaya Historical Park. We’re so glad we visited! You can see the ruins of a large main hall and walk inside. There’s stupas half buried in the ground and lots of crumbled buildings to explore.
It honestly feels like a museum! Plus Wat Kudi Dao is free!
There are so many more temple ruins in the area such as Wat Maheyong and Wat Ayothaya but we chose to go grab some lunch before we out-templed our heads!
💰 Free
Go on a River Cruise
The guesthouse we were staying at offered a boat tour to visit three beautiful temples south of the river. We originally wanted to rent a scooter and visit them ourselves but the boat trip was a unique way to see them!
The Chao Phraya River cruise starts at 3:30pm so it was the perfect way to end our 2 days in Ayutthaya. Especially as we had these temples on our bucket list already.
We booked this river tour for 250 baht at Siri Guesthouse which included a pickup and drop off to the pier in a tuk-tuk!
The boat stopped at these three temples for 20 minutes each with an extended 30-minute stop at Wat Chaiwatthanaram for Golden Hour. We then circled around the whole river moat.
Here are some more details of the temples we visited during this boat trip.
Visit Wat Phanan Choeng Worawihan
The first stop on our boat trip was a beautiful non-ruined temple! Wat Phanan Choeng Worawihan has been renovated and restored over the years since it’s original build date in 1324.
The main highlight is the beautifully golden 19-metre Buddha. We also bought a little lotus candle based on the day of the week we were born and sent our wishes to the temple. It was a quick and lovely experience!
💰 20 baht
Admire Wat Phutthaisawan
Next up during our Ayutthaya boat trip, we visited Wat Phutthaisawan. 20 minutes wasn’t enough time for this one but we did the best we could.
Wat Phutthaisawan is absolutely beautiful. We loved the white central prang in the centre of the complex. You can see the bell-shaped prangs from the water too!
Walk to the end to find another reclining Buddha in a ruined building amongst other ruins. Honestly, we wish we had more time as there was so much to admire!
💰 Free
See Wat Chaiwatthanaram for Sunset
We saved a lovely temple until the end of our 2 days in Ayutthaya. Wat Chaiwatthanaram is one of the best temples in Ayutthaya for sunset.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram is a big temple ruin built in 1630, a little later than more of the temples on this Ayutthaya itinerary. There’s lots of Khmer-style architecture here and beautiful prangs and stupas. It really reminded us of the Angkor Wat complex
The highlight of this temple is the symmetrical layout which makes for good photos and an incredible backdrop for sunset.
💰 50 baht
Now you know what to do in Ayutthaya! We have a few more helpful tips for you in this travel guide.
Alternative Ideas for 2 days in Ayutthaya
Our 2 days in Ayutthaya were pretty busy, but if you need some more things to do or maybe some alternative plans. We’ve got a few more ideas for you:
- Bang Pa-In Palace – used by the Thai royal family as a summer residence
- Ayutthaya Floating Market – sadly we’ve heard this isn’t really worth it anymore and it costs 200 baht.
- Chantharakasem National Museum – see some artefacts from the Ayutthaya period and learn some more history! It’s 100 baht per person.
- Wat Maheyong – stop by a temple ruin!
- Wat Thammikarat – we saw this from the side of the street and it’s another beautiful temple ruin.
- Wat Phukhao Thong – another temple ruin to visit!
Where to stay in Ayutthaya
The best area to stay in Ayutthaya is on the island close to Ayutthaya Historical Park! Although you can rent bikes from guesthouses, it was so helpful to be able to walk to our accommodation after a hot day!
Siri Guesthouse – We spent 3 nights here and loved it! A great location and we met some other travellers in the common area! The rooms are super comfy and it’s affordable. Find out more on Booking.com here!
Tamarind Guesthouse – Another great place to stay in Ayutthaya right next to the Historical Park. The room decor is so colourful and it’s another affordable hotel. Find it on Agoda here!
Zleepinezz Hostel – The perfect place to meet other travellers and they have free breakfast! although a hostel, they have both dorms and private rooms Find it on Booking.com here!
💤 Find more hotels in Ayutthaya here!
Best Restaurants in Ayutthaya
- Youta Jay Vegetarian – affordable Thai veggie food & cakes!
- Malakor Kitchen and Cafe – a great dinner spot next to the temples, mainly for tourists but good food!
- Chirp Cafe – a cute Japanese-themed cafe with a Koi pond and plant milk options.
- Ranahat Je Vegan Restaurant – another affordable Thai buffet!
How to get around Ayutthaya
We ended up walking around Ayutthaya a lot! Our accommodation (Siri Guesthouse) was only a 15-minute walk away from the temples on the east side of the historical park.
Walking – The ultimate way to get around Ayutthaya. You won’t be able to take vehicles or bicycles into the temples, so walking is perfect, especially in the Historical Park.
Cycling – An affordable way to get around if you need to travel a little! Join a bicycle group tour in Ayutthaya!
Tuktuk’s – You’ll see unique frog-faced tuk tuk’s in Ayutthaya! Generally, if you want to hire a driver for some of the day, it can be 1,000 – 1,500 baht. This gives you enough time to see the main highlights of Ayutthaya
River Boat – There’s a few temples on the south side of the river and our guesthouse offered a boat tour to visit three temples just before sunset.
How to get to Ayutthaya
As Ayutthaya is a popular day trip from Bangkok, it’s very popular to catch the train! We actually caught a minivan from Kanchanaburi booked with Paddle & More that you can book on 12.Go!
Check times and prices for transport to Ayutthaya on 12.Go Asia.
Train – One of the best ways to get to Ayutthaya is by train! There’s trains from Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Lopburi. You can book tickets at the station on the day or for peace of mind, book them on 12.Go. The tickets are really affordable and the journey is really smooth.
Bus – An alternative idea to catching the train is to catch a local bus or minivan. You can find these at the Mo Chit Northern Bus Terminal in Bangkok.
You can also catch a local taxi or book via a travel company, but honestly the train was pretty easy and affordable!
Only want to do a day trip to Ayutthaya? Check out day tours with GetYourGuide from Bangkok!
Should I get the Ayutthaya Temple Pass?
There are six temples included in the Ayutthaya Temple Pass. The pass costs 220 baht and the ticket is only valid for one day. For a foreigner, each temple costs 50 baht, so you save 80 baht by getting the temple pass. You’ll have to visit at least 5 temples on this list in one day to start saving money. We spread our temples over 2 days in Ayutthaya, so we didn’t get the temple pass.
Temples included in the Ayutthaya Temple Pass:
- Wat Phra Mahathat
- Wat Ratchaburana
- Wat Phra Si Sanphet
- Wat Phra Ram
- Wat Chai Watthanaram
- Wat Mayehong
Best Time to Visit Ayutthaya
The best time to visit Ayutthaya is from November to February as the weather is usually more manageable. We visited in December and the weather was perfect for us! Sometimes the evenings had a touch of breezy air which is a nice feeling after a hot day!
If you visit anytime after March, the weather will likely be really hot so make sure you bring a hat and use the free umbrellas at the paid temples. It’s not going to be too fun spending 2 days in Ayutthaya in the rain!
Travel Insurance – Check out Safetywing for your flexible adventures!
How many days to spend in Ayutthaya
2 days in Ayutthaya is the perfect amount of time to spend in the ancient city! We would have felt a little sad to leave after one day, so it was perfect to be able to stay the night. We recommend either staying 2 nights or 3 nights depending on your mode of transport!
Day Trip to Ayutthaya from Bangkok
If you’re doing a day trip to Ayutthaya from Bangkok, you can try your best to merge this whole 2 day Ayutthaya itinerary together. It will be a squeeze of a day and you won’t have time to visit some of the temples on our list. Stick to the main Ayutthaya Historical Park and go on the river cruise to visit Wat Chaiwatthanaram. Double-check for train times on 12.Go!
Is Ayutthaya worth visiting?
Yes, Ayutthaya is worth visiting! It’s our third time in Thailand and we can’t believe we didn’t visit sooner! It’s a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site that should be on any Thailand bucket list.
Ayutthaya is a very laidback city with everyone temple-hopping at their own pace. We didn’t find that larger tour groups overcrowd any of our destinations but this can happen at any time. We loved our time here and would recommend it to everyone!
That’s the end of our 2 Day Ayutthaya Itinerary! If you need any more help planning – send us a message on Instagram (@thesunrisedreamers) or leave a comment below!
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