Is Ayutthaya worth visiting, and is the floating market?

A typical day covers three or four sites. TAT picks out Wat Yai Chai Mongkon, whose 62-metre chedi was built around 1357 and can be climbed by steep steps for views over the city.⁷ It also singles out Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, which stood within the Royal Palace grounds, was battered when Ayutthaya fell in 1767 and later inspired Bangkok's Emerald Buddha temple.⁸

The picture everyone takes is at Wat Maha That, where a stone Buddha head sits cradled in Bodhi tree roots; the same source calls the temple the oldest of the major ones, begun around 1374.⁹ On the day tour sold here, you also reach the market in the middle of the day, with lunch and free time for 1 hour, and spend 45 minutes at each of the last two temples.

That pace is brisk but workable. Seeing every temple and ruin would take several days, the tourism board says, so one day is always a selection.¹⁰ Accept that going in. Pick the temples with the strongest pull, enjoy the ones you reach, and treat the rest as a reason to come back or to stay a night. A good guide does the choosing for you.

The main cost of the day is not money but sun. At the weather stations behind this guide, January afternoons average 32.2 °C, while April, the hottest month, reaches 37.3 °C.^2,2 Ruins offer little shade, and the brick radiates heat, so even a cool-season day can feel long. Early starts help, and so do long pauses for cold drinks whenever the guide offers a break in the shade.

For general travel, the tourism authority points to November to February, when temperatures drop and the air is less humid.¹² The rain comes later in the year, and September is the wettest month, averaging 293 mm.² When it is wet, a shower can arrive in any afternoon, so pack a light rain layer and protect your camera.

Walking adds up. Beyond the central temples, walking is not practical according to the tourism board, which suggests bicycles, tuk-tuks or minivans and reminds visitors to wear sunscreen and a hat.¹⁴ On the guided day, the coach does the moving between sites, so your legs only cover the ruins. Wear comfortable shoes with grip, because the brick steps and uneven paths can be hard on unprepared feet.

You can frame the choice as a question: Ayutthaya or floating market? The temple-only day with lunch lasts 7 hours and has 11,871 reviews, from $33, but it skips the market. The market-and-temples day lasts 8 hours and adds an hour at the market for a modest step up in fare. Think of the market as a rest stop with shopping rather than a destination on its own.

If the market is your priority, a combined day with the canal markets west of Bangkok exists, at the cost of 11 to 12 hours. If temples are your priority, the market is a pause between them. For more depth, stay a night or get on two wheels: a bike ride with a guide around the city and park runs 3 to 3.5 hours and starts at $45.

There is no wrong answer here, only a question of what you want to remember. A traveller who loves ruins will be happiest with the temples-first day and a lunch at the market. A traveller who loves canal life will choose the markets west of the capital. Both can be booked with free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, so you can compare freely.