The distance from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai is approximately 290 km by road. Since Sukhothai doesn't have a train station, I would recommend taking the direct bus. Win Tour offers this service from Chiang Mai's Arcade bus station via Lampang. The journey takes about 5.5 to 6 hours and costs around 300–500 baht. The first bus departs at 7:30 am with 12Go. Some buses stop at the historical park in Old Sukhothai, while the rest stop at the bus station outside New Sukhothai, 12 km to the east. Please check this before booking.
Check the latest flight times and seat availability for Chiang Mai → Sukhothai on 12Go.
The train only goes as far as Phitsanulok, where the daytime train arrives at 1:16 PM. A public bus covers the last hour. By car, the journey takes about 4 to 4.5 hours and costs from approximately 3,500 Baht (via 12Go). You can stop at the Si Satchanalai ruins along the way.
Where to stay in Sukhothai
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Key facts
It's approximately 290 km by road.
OSRM describes the route from the Arcade Terminal to the Historical Park (approx. 286 km) and to New Sukhothai (approx. 297 km), which corresponds to a driving time of just over 4 hours without breaks. The 150 km stated by some booking portals refers to the distance as the crow flies.
The direct bus is called Win Tour and takes 5.5 to 6 hours.
The bus departs from the Arcade Terminal in Chiang Mai and, according to 12Go, runs between 7:30 AM and 3:00 PM. It stops in Lampang for a lunch break. On 12Go, it appears under the names Sukhothai Wintour and Sukhothai Thani, alongside buses from Tour with Thai, which also depart from the same station.
Old Sukhothai or New Sukhothai
The historical park is located in Old Sukhothai, about 12 km west of the modern city. Some Win-Tour buses terminate at the park, while others terminate at the bus station about 1.5 km outside of New Sukhothai. A songthaew ride between the two locations costs approximately 30 baht.
The train stops in Phitsanulok, an hour away.
Special Express No. 8 departs Chiang Mai at 7:30 a.m. and arrives in Phitsanulok at 1:16 p.m. in air-conditioned second-class seats. From there, buses depart for New Sukhothai approximately every hour and take about an hour.
A car journey takes 4 to 4.5 hours and costs about 3,500 Baht.
12Go offers car rentals with door-to-door service starting at around 3,500 baht for an SUV and 4,025 baht for a compact car. The ruins of Si Satchanalai are on the way there, about an hour north of Old Sukhothai.
There are no direct flights.
Sukhothai airport only offers flights to Bangkok, so flying means a layover via Suvarnabhumi, which takes longer than the bus journey.
All routes from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai compared
Bus schedules and fares are from the 12Go display board dated November 18, 2026, and include the booking fee; tickets purchased at the Arcade terminal are usually cheaper. Train schedules and fares are from the State Railway timetable dated December 5, 2025. Rental car prices are also from 12Go for the same day. Road distance and travel time were determined using the OSRM route via OpenStreetMap.
Bookable departures · updated daily
Chiang Mai → Sukhothai: Departure times you can book now
All flights currently bookable via 12Go on this route, sorted by booking class. The prices shown are distributed across the different booking classes; the exact price for a seat and a specific date can be found on the booking page.
bus
12Go timetables and fares are updated daily. Services that operate only locally—regular trains, weekend trips, and ferry terminal tickets—are not listed; these can be found in the table above. Sponsored link: We may receive a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.
Check the bus and car connections from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai.
12Go lists the Win Tour, Esarn Tour, and Tara Tour buses departing from the Arcade Terminal, as well as door-to-door car services with e-tickets. Prices include a booking fee, and each bus listing indicates whether it terminates at the Historic Park or the City Terminal, so choose the bus that best suits your accommodation.
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The direct bus from the Arcade Terminal in Chiang Mai
Win a tour of Lampang and Tak and find out which bus route you should book.
Buses to Sukhothai depart from the Arcade Bus Station in Chiang Mai, which consists of two buildings opposite each other. Win Tour sells tickets from the original Terminal 2, while Tara Tour sells from the newer Terminal 3. Therefore, before traveling by tuk-tuk or Grab, check which terminal is indicated on your ticket.
Win Tour serves most of this route. 12Go lists it under the names Sukhothai Wintour and Sukhothai Thani and offers tickets with reserved seating for Thais from the same Win Tour station. According to 12Go, buses depart at 7:30 a.m. (approx. 500 baht), 8:45 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 3:00 p.m. (approx. 300–450 baht) and take 5.5 to 6 hours. First-class departures are at 10:00 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. for approximately 720 baht. Esarn Tour offers one bus at 8:00 a.m. for approximately 324 baht, and Tara Tour operates five buses starting at 8:40 a.m. for approximately 695 baht. Other online timetables list Win Tour buses at earlier and later times, so I recommend relying on 12Go's information and the ticket counter on the day of travel.
The bus stops at Lampang bus station for a lunch break. Some buses then continue south via Tak, reaching Sukhothai from the west. According to recent reviews on 12Go, there are two to three restroom breaks and a meal voucher included in the ticket. Outside of Loy Krathong week in November, you can usually buy a seat at the counter on the same morning. For this week, advance booking is recommended.
Where the bus drops you off, in old or new Sukhothai
Sukhothai consists of two parts. Old Sukhothai comprises the historical park and the guesthouses along the road outside its gates. New Sukhothai, about 12 km to the east, is the modern city with its night markets, most of the hotels, and the central bus station, which is located about 1.5 km outside the city center.
Buses from Tak arrive at the park first. Some Win Tour buses terminate at a dedicated stop at the historical park; according to 12Go, these reach the Sukhothai Historical Park. The remaining buses continue to the New Sukhothai bus station. A recent 12Go review mentions that the driver offers a stop near guesthouses before the bus station. If you are staying near the ruins, take a park bus or tell the driver your accommodation when boarding. From the bus station, songthaews take about 30 minutes to reach the park (approximately 30 baht).
The daytime train to Phitsanulok and the bus onward
Slower than the bus, but the route through the hills is the more scenic drive.
There is no train connection to Sukhothai. The nearest station on the northern line is Phitsanulok, about 60 km east of New Sukhothai. I would book Special Train No. 8, an air-conditioned daytime train that departs Chiang Mai at 7:30 a.m., travels over the mountains to Lampang, and arrives in Phitsanulok at 1:16 p.m. It only has air-conditioned second-class seats. Express Train No. 102 departs earlier, at 6:25 a.m., has fan-cooled carriages with open windows, and arrives at 1:40 p.m.
From Phitsanulok train station, you can reach the bus station by tuk-tuk after about 2 km. From there, buses to New Sukhothai depart approximately hourly, and the journey takes about an hour and costs less than 100 baht. The Line 8 bus will get you to Sukhothai in the early afternoon, about two hours later than the direct bus. However, you'll enjoy the views and an onboard toilet. Evening trains arrive in Phitsanulok between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am, long after the buses to Sukhothai have finished running.
Phitsanulok covers approximately 48% of the Chiang Mai–Bangkok route, therefore tickets for this section should be available about 30 days in advance according to SRT's booking rules, rather than 90 days in advance.
Trains from Chiang Mai to Phitsanulok
For train times, please refer to the timetable of the State Railways of Thailand dated December 5, 2025. Booking portals charge a fee in addition to the SRT station fares.
The best-rated hotels in Sukhothai
Here is my ranking of the 10 best hotels in Sukhothai. Each button will take you directly to the hotel's page on Booking.com, where you can enter your travel dates.
What about Uttaradit or Sawankhalok?
Both places appear closer together on the map, but aren't really helpful. Uttaradit is on the main line, an hour before Phitsanulok, but every timetable and guidebook directs travelers from Sukhothai via Phitsanulok, where buses depart roughly hourly. Sawankhalok, north of Sukhothai, is on a short branch line with only a single slow local train service per day from Sila At – too limited a service to base a trip on.
By car, with a stopover in Si Satchanalai
Traveling by car is the fastest option, taking approximately 4 to 4.5 hours door-to-door, and you can stop along the way. 12Go offers cars starting at around 3,500 baht for an SUV and 4,025 baht for a small car for up to three people; other vehicle classes are available from around 4,600 baht. Divided between three people, this works out to approximately 1,200–1,350 baht per person, roughly three times the usual bus fare, for a journey that is about 1.5 hours shorter and includes a direct door-to-door transfer.
My tip for a stopover: Si Satchanalai, the second largest city in the Kingdom of Sukhothai and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is significantly less crowded. It's located about 250 km from Chiang Mai and about an hour north of Old Sukhothai. This adds about 40 minutes to the journey, plus the time you spend there. It's best to arrange the stopover when booking, as drivers calculate the price based on the route.
More about Sukhothai and the north
Sukhothai to Chiang Mai
Morning buses from the park or the terminal, or the midday train from Phitsanulok
The direct bus connection is the most convenient way to return. The 12Go timetable shows Win Tour buses departing between approximately 7:00 AM and 4:30 PM, as well as at 11:30 PM. Most buses depart from the New Sukhothai bus station, with two more leaving at 9:45 AM from the stop at the historical park. The journey to the Arcade Terminal (Terminal 2 or 3) in Chiang Mai takes about 6 hours and costs approximately 290–460 baht according to the 12Go timetable. Some tickets are available online for around 700 baht. Esarn Tour offers departures from the terminal at 4:50 PM and 11:50 PM. If you are staying in Old Sukhothai, ask at your accommodation which buses stop at the park. This will save you the trip to the terminal by songthaew (shared taxi).
The best way to reach Phitsanulok by train is by taking a bus (approximately a 1-hour journey) and then a tuk-tuk. The train departs Phitsanulok at 11:58 AM and arrives in Chiang Mai at 5:50 PM. The seats are the same as on train number 8 and are second class. Overnight trains heading north depart Phitsanulok between 12:17 AM and 4:30 AM and arrive in Chiang Mai between 7:15 AM and 11:40 AM. This option is only practical if you are already staying overnight in Phitsanulok.
The return journey by car costs about the same as the outward journey, from around 3,450 Baht with 12Go, and the Si Satchanalai stop also works in the opposite direction.
Sukhothai → Chiang Mai: Departure times you can book now
Check the bus connections back from Sukhothai to Chiang Mai.
On the 12Go website you will find information about returning journeys using Win Tour buses from the city train station and the historic park, Esarn Tour evening buses, and rental cars. Prices include a booking fee.
More about traveling in Northern Thailand
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions about the route from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai.
The direct Win Tour bus from the Arcade Terminal in Chiang Mai takes approximately 5.5 to 6 hours and costs around 300–500 baht. If you are staying in Old Sukhothai, choose a bus that terminates at the historical park.
Not directly, as Sukhothai has no railway connection. Take the special train No. 8 from Chiang Mai at 7:30 a.m. to Phitsanulok, arriving at 1:16 p.m., and from there a bus to New Sukhothai. Buses run approximately hourly and the journey takes about an hour.
The journey takes approximately 5.5 to 6 hours, including a lunch break in Lampang. 12Go buses depart from the Arcade Terminal between 7:30 am and 3:00 pm.
Either at the Win Tour stop by the historical park in Old Sukhothai or at the bus station about 1.5 km outside of New Sukhothai, depending on the bus route. The two locations are about 12 km apart, and a ride in a songthaew costs approximately 30 baht.
The route is approximately 290 km long, and the journey time without breaks is just over 4 hours. A private car costs from around 3,500 Baht on 12Go.
Not directly. Sukhothai airport only offers flights to Bangkok, so you would have to fly via Suvarnabhumi, which takes longer than the bus journey.
Yes, by car. Si Satchanalai is about 250 km from Chiang Mai and about an hour north of Old Sukhothai. Therefore, ask the driver to make a stop there when booking.
Take a Win-Tour bus from the New Sukhothai bus station or the historical park (departures approximately 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM, journey time approximately 6 hours). Alternatively, you can take a bus to Phitsanulok and board the special train No. 7 at 11:58 AM, which arrives in Chiang Mai at 5:50 PM.
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I lived in Bangkok for four years and traveled throughout the country from there. The guidebooks reflect my personal opinion and are written as I would explain things to a friend planning a trip.
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