3 Low Cost, Incredible Day Trips Close to Bangkok, Thailand
- by Ari Travels
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There is SO much you can do just in Bangkok alone, but why not go a little further? I have three incredible, low-cost day trips that I am excited to share with you! For more Thailand travel advice and recommendation, you can book a call with me and I will tell you everything you need to know about exploring this beautiful country!
1) Erawan Waterfalls
Have you ever seen Gatorade blue-colored waterfalls? Well, now you will! The Erawan waterfalls are a hiking trail near Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The hike consists of 7 different blue waterfalls that are perfect for swimming and one even has a natural water slide!
The hike itself is pretty easy. Between all 7 waterfalls, there is plenty of exploration that you can do! I recommend hiking to the 7th waterfall, hiking down the waterfall itself and then from there get out of the pool at the bottom of the falls, and get back on the path to the rest of the waterfalls on your way down. Stop at waterfall tier #4 for a natural water slide! lastly, when you’re done swimming & hiking, there is a cute lunch place right by the park entrance where you could grab a bite to eat if you are hungry.
Make sure to bring a waterproof dry bag and a microfiber quick dry towel
How to get to Erawan Waterfall National Park
My friends set out at 6 am for this adventure. Erawan National Park is a little less than 3 hours from Bangkok. We booked a shuttle van with 12goasia. If you have a group of friends, I highly recommend getting the shuttle and splitting the cost. The total for the shuttle (Split between 8 of us) plus the park entry fee was about $20 USD.
If you don’t have a squad to split a shuttle with, you can easily get to Erawan by bus/train. Just be aware that it can take up to 5 hours of travel.
There are also plenty of guided tours of Erawan National Park that include transportation from the Bangkok area as well if you’re interested in that.
2) Ayutthaya Ancient City
Perfect for the temple hopping enthusiast. Marked as one of the UNESCO heritage sites this ancient city is SO cool! Ayutthaya used to be the old capital before Bangkok. There are lots of different old ruins you can explore.
Each temple is about $1-$2 to enter. There are about 8 temples within the ancient city ruins. I would for sure recommend visiting
Wat Chaiwatthanaram
Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon
Wat Ratchaburana
Wat Thammikarat
Tip for the ladies: Make sure you are wearing appropriate clothing (shirts must cover shoulders, no crop tops, pants or skirts must be below knees)
How to get to Ayutthaya Ancient City
From Bangkok, you can either do a shared shuttle or take the train then call a taxi.
Again, I was in a group so my friends and I all split a shared shuttle van using 12goasia. It ended up costing about $10 per person split between 8 people.
There are small group tours as well to Ayutthaya from Bangkok that includes transportation and lunch. You can book one here if that interests you.
3) Hua Hin Beach
Hua Hin is perfect if you’re looking to see a beautiful southeast Asian beach, but don’t want to travel too far to do so. It’s only 4 hours from Bangkok, so it can be done in a day trip. Of course, I would always recommend taking the time to visit an island or two in Southern Thailand, but Hua Hin is a great option for something close to Bangkok. I would consider Hua Hin Beach more of a Miami of Thailand. It’s pretty busy with lots to do such as eating, water sports, shopping at markets and swimming of course. Make sure to bring sunscreen. Thailand's sun gets HOT!
How to Hua Hin Beach
You can easily book a van from Bangkok on 12goasia for less than $20 for a round trip!
Leave early in the morning to get there by mid-morning and then stay for sunset and take the last van available at night to get a full day's worth at Hua Hin!
Need Help Planning your Next Trip to Thailand?
So which place are you going to go to? Let me know in the comments! If you ever need advice or have questions about your upcoming trip to Thailand, you can reach out to me by heading to this page or requesting a custom itinerary. Happy traveling!
