Fun and easy Ayutthaya day trip from Bangkok: Klook tour review
An honest review of my experience with Klook in Thailand
I was in Bangkok for a few days by myself after I had just spent a month travelling around the islands in the south of Thailand, and I thought it would be fun to get out of the big city for a day. I was also interested in seeing the historic temples in the ancient city of Ayutthaya, which is just a few hours north of Bangkok, so I joined a day tour by Klook Thailand which stopped in both Ayutthaya and at the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace.
You can take the train to Ayutthaya yourself as an alternative, but I preferred to be on this day trip because it included multiple stops and I was concerned about any train delays trying to return to Bangkok since I was flying to Taipei later in the evening.
I had a fairly good experience with Klook in Vietnam previously, so I decided to try their services in Thailand as well. I booked this tour in November 2019 using the Klook App and I paid for it myself, so this is a completely independent review.
Some highlights of the day were visiting the beautiful gardens at the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, trying some candy floss pancakes at the floating markets, visiting the UNESCO listed ancient Ayutthaya Historic City temple ruins, and ending with a sunset boat cruise down the Chao Phraya River.
You can read a detailed summary of all the experiences I had on this Klook Thailand tour or jump straight to the end where I share what I liked, what could have been better, and my final recommendation for this Ayutthaya day trip.
Quick Overview of the Klook Ayutthaya Day Tour
Highlights: the temples in the Ayutthaya Historic City area were the major highlight of this tour, I also enjoyed the gardens at the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace and trying candy floss pancakes, which are an Ayutthaya speciality !
Destinations: On this Klook tour, we visited the Bang Pa-In Royal Palace, the Ayutthaya Floating Market, the Ayutthaya Historic City World Heritage Site which has the famous temples, the Reclining Buddha at Wat Lokaya Sutha and a sunset boat cruise on the Chao Praya River to see the temples from another view point.
Who was on the trip: There were about 30 people on this English speaking tour. Myself and two other girls from China were travelling alone, there were a few backpacker couples, there was an American family, people from the Philippines and Singapore, a few retired couples as well from Australia and New Zealand.
Who was the guide: This Klook tour had one guide and one driver, the guide was easy to understand and was very energetic and engaging and provided facts and commentary about the sites we visited.
Read More: An independent review of the Klook Travel App
How did we travel: On a coach bus that fit about 35 people, there were seatbelts and air conditioning, and it was clean. I do not believe there were restrooms on the bus itself. You could leave items (like a sweater or umbrella) on the bus between stops.
Bang Pa-In Summer Palace
The Klook bus departed in front of large shopping complex in Bangkok which was specified in the pre-departure information. The first stop on this Klook Thailand tour was the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, built in the 1600s and restored in the late 1800s by a king who was inspired by the great palaces of England and France. There are a real mix of styles at the palace complex, including a Chinese temple and ornamental gardens along with the European style statues and buildings.
We had about an hour and a half at this stop. There is a gift shop and café area with restrooms, but you will want to spend most of your time walking around the palace grounds. The tour guide will point out the main sites on a map, but you really just follow the path around the grounds. They do have a golf cart rental service if you have mobility issues or just don’t want to walk, as the grounds are extensive.
Travel Tip: you need to have your shoulders and knees covered to enter the complex, you will have to purchase or rent a sarong to cover yourself if your outfit is deemed inappropriate, be aware that tight or ripped jeans may not be acceptable, as I overheard a security guard chase down a Chinese tourist in ripped jeans yelling “Stop right now sir, those trousers are too sexy !.”
Bang Pa-In Summer Palace Gardens
Many of the buildings are closed to visitors, or have limited information and exhibitions inside. There is an observation tower, throne room and temple you can enter inside.
I really just enjoyed wandering around the paths and bridges, over the waterways, past all the different architectural styles, the ponds and flowers. It really felt like a nice change from the busy city of Bangkok and it was nice to walk around without worrying so much about traffic and pollution. Make sure you don’t miss the decorative shrubberies shaped into different animals, the elephants in particular are a lot of fun !
Tour Tip: Remember you will be out in the open, wear sun protection and bring water, as humidity levels can he high, and keep an eye on the time, since you don’t want to be stuck on the far side of the palace complex when it is time to meet the Klook bus in the parking lot.
Ayutthaya Floating Markets
I actually was not sure what to expect from this floating market, after visiting an authentic floating village on my Cambodia tour, I have to say, the Ayutthaya floating market was more of a tourist experience than anything. When the bus arrived, the tour guide lead people who were interested to a recommended restaurant (which was quite average). I had a pad Thai there because I knew for sure it was vegetarian, but I think you would be better off skipping the recommended restaurant and finding somewhere else or eating at the market.
During the drive to Ayutthaya, I spoke with the two other girls who were travelling alone, they happened to both be from China and we made plans to meet up after lunch to explore the floating markets together. You don’t always meet people on these types of day tours, but there will often be other solo travellers you can connect with.
I will mention here, that very sadly, nearby the market there was (at the time of visiting in late 2019) an elephant riding business and it was very hard to see that, especially a mother and baby elephant chained together.
Earlier during my Thailand trip, we visited an ethical elephant experience where we just gave them snacks and took pictures and they were able to roam freely around the property. I didn’t really think there were still many riding experiences left and the Klook tour I was on did not in any way promote the elephants but it was still upsetting to see a place where people were still riding them rather than choosing an ethical experience. Please try and be aware of how animals are treated in tourist activities and choose not to ride elephants.
Ayutthaya Floating Market
Anyway, the market is artificially built around a canal and the experience starts with a boat ride so you can get an idea of the different sections of the market, for clothes, food etc. and after you disembark, you can wander around. The market stalls themselves are not moving, this is not like some of the other floating markets in Thailand like Damnoen Saduak or the Amphawa floating markets where the vendors actually go around on boats.
Many stalls will offer samples (though this might change with the COVID situation) and you can go around sampling different foods. Make sure you specify the quantity you want once you are ready to buy, I was attempting to buy one mochi cookie and I ended up with a pack of 8 because the vendor thought I wanted one box !
The specialty dessert of Ayutthaya is ‘Roti sai mai’, a very thin, green coloured, crepe style pancake which you roll and fill with cotton candy or candy floss. I shared a bag of each with two other girls on the tour, since it is quite sweet, so you likely won’t want a whole bag to yourself. Check out this article from Atlas Obscura to learn more about this unusual dessert.
We didn’t make it through the entire market as we had to return to the bus on time, so I recommend that you decide at the beginning of the lunch stop if you want more time at the market then don’t bother with the suggested restaurant.
Ayutthaya Historic City Temples - Wat Mahathat
It was a short drive to the Ayutthaya Historic City area which consists of 67 temples and is probably second only to Angkor Wat in Cambodia if you are looking to visit historical temple ruins. Ayutthaya was actually one of the biggest cities in the world around 1700, functioning as a trade centre of Southeast Asia. This UNESCO Heritage site contains temples built in many different styles, from different time periods and in various states of restoration.
We started off at Wat Mahathat ‘Temple of the Great Relic’ which is famous for the face of Buddha visible through the roots of a tree. You are able take a photograph with it if you follow the guidelines of keeping your feet pointed away and remaining lower than the statue, and there is a security guard there to enforce the guidelines.
Ayutthaya Historic City Temples - Wat Ratchaburana
Signage was quite limited throughout the area, though there were a few informational panels, I mostly just enjoyed seeing the different architecture and decoration styles then spent some time on the internet later to better understand what I was looking at.
We visited the Wat Ratchaburana, built in 1424, right next to the first stop, before reboarding the bus for the next temple.
Ayutthaya Historic City Temples - Wat Phra Si Sanphet
The next stop was the Wat Phra Si Sanphet, which was considered to be possibly the grandest and most beautiful temple in the area, until it was destroyed by the Burmese armies in 1767. The bell shaped formations with pointy tops are called ‘stupas’ and are the only part of this temple complex that is really still standing.
It was the middle of the afternoon at this point, and it was very warm to be out in the open sun, as I mentioned earlier, make sure to have sun protection and water and take a break in the shade if needed, because it really can get quite hot !
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The Reclining Buddha and temple at Wat Lokaya Sutha
If you have seen the golden reclining buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok, this next stop will probably look familiar !
The Reclining Buddha statue at Wat Lokaya Sutha is 42 metres long and 8 metres high and was constructed in the 14th century and restored in the 1950s. ‘Wat Lokaya Sutha’ means ‘The Temple of the Earth’ and besides the Buddha statue and ruins, there is an actual functioning temple nearby as well, where we were able to go inside.
I purchased a small buddha icon from the temple to turn into a pin later, you can check out more of my collection on Instagram. It was late afternoon at this point, and thankfully the hot afternoon sun was finally starting to go down while we re-boarded our bus to the last stop on the Klook Thailand tour.
Sunset Boat Cruise and Night Market
The Klook bus stopped in a large parking lot area hosting a night market, which was a good opportunity for a snack since we had approximately a two hour bus ride back to Bangkok afterwards. This is a good chance to use the restroom as well before the long drive back to the city.
Our final activity was boarding a traditional style “long tail” boat for a short cruise down part of the Chao Praya River to see the sun set over the historic temples. I really enjoyed this, after a very disappointing sunrise visit to Angkor Wat on my Cambodia tour, we were lucky to get a good, colourful sunset here in Ayhutthaya. The cruise lasted maybe 20 minutes and I believe there were life vests on board the boat.
After we disembarked the boat, we started the drive back to Bangkok and I enjoyed my remaining candy floss pancakes and night market snacks until we reached the original departure point at a large shopping mall in Bangkok. I did choose to tip the guide as I felt he provided helpful information throughout the day and was overall very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the places we visited.
Final Recommendation for the Klook Ayhutthaya Day Tour
What I liked :
I enjoyed having several different experiences in one day, without having to navigate trains, taxis or car rental. It was easy to just get on the Klook bus in the morning in Bangkok and then go directly to the various stops. I enjoyed the historical contrast of visiting the more modern Bang Pa-In Palace in the morning and the Ayutthaya Historic City in the afternoon.
As a solo traveller at this point of my Thailand trip, if I had paid for transportation between Bangkok and all these activities plus the entrance fees, I hardly would have saved any money doing this myself. The bus seemed safe and clean and I enjoyed the social aspect of meeting some other solo female travellers on this tour, although that was just up to chance of who was on the bus that day.
I thought that having the guide did add value in terms of understanding the historical context for what we were experiencing, as English signage and information is often limited in Thailand. The instructions for meeting the Klook tour group were clear from the email confirmation and I had no issues finding the meeting point on the morning of the tour.
What could have been better:
I think the biggest concern for me was the stop in Ayutthaya for lunch. If you take this tour, I think you need to be prepared for the fact that it’s a ‘tourist’ stop, the floating market is still lots of fun and we had some fun food, but it’s not particularly ‘authentic’ if that is what you expect from this stop. Also, just the fact that there were businesses providing elephant rides in the town (not associated or promoted by the Klook tour in any way) I found upsetting, and I think it raises difficult questions about visiting a place that allows that.
You may wish to do your own research on this topic, and hopefully elephant riding will be phased out in the near future. I also found the lunch stop a bit short for time if you wanted to have a sit down meal in a restaurant and also visit the floating market, I personally wouldn’t waste time at the restaurant they recommend and just get some street food or go straight to the market.
Final Recommendation:
I think this Klook Ayutthaya day tour could make sense for someone who wants to experience some activities outside of Bangkok without renting a car or motorbike or without relying on the train service. For a solo traveller, it may be easier or more affordable to visit Ayutthaya and the Bang Pa-In Palace with this Klook tour rather than paying for taxis and entrance tickets yourself.
However, it is a fast paced day, and if you would like a more relaxed timeline, or you are only really interested in seeing the historic temples, you could consider visiting by yourself or even staying overnight if you really wanted to do an in depth exploration of the Ayutthaya Historic City temple ruins.
Overall, I felt that this Ayutthaya tour provided the experience and service as advertised by Klook Thailand and I enjoyed the range of activities I was able to do in one day to experience more of Thailand outside of Bangkok.
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