Ayuthaya Travel Forum

We will be visiting Bangkok in February on a cruise ship - staying nearly 2 days. We will at the port of Laem Chabeng - about 2 hours out of Bangkok. We would like to visit Ayuthaya and are thinking of getting a hire car (& driver) to go directly from the port to Ayuthaya to spend a few hours and then into Bangkok for the afternoon, stay overnight in Bangkok and sightsee in Bangkok before returning to the ship the next afternoon. Does anyone have any advice whether Ayuthaya would be time well spent or is it better to just spend the 2 days in Bangkok? We haven't been to Bangkok before so am really trying to see as much as possible in a short time. In Bangkok we were wanting to see the Grand Palace, canals, the teak house and some shopping. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I recommend staying in Bangkok. While the sites are lovely in Ayuthaya, there is much more to see in Bangkok especially with as short of a stay as you have. You can get up early, take the bus or taxi to Ayuthaya. At the bus stop there is little trucks with guides who will take you around to all the sites with picture albums "here you will see...." written in english. Go early and you will have plenty of time to still sightsee back in Bangkok. Taxis are very cheap. If you go on the, weekend there is the Chattuchak market (very large). Wat Po is right beside the Grand Palace. Wat Arun is on the other side of the river, but also very near.