Private: Giant Buddha and the Ayutthaya Afterlife Tour
Highlights
- Stand under Luang Pho Yai at Wat Muang, the tallest Buddha statue in Thailand
- Walk the temple’s life-size sculpture garden of the Buddhist hells
- See the brick prangs and ruined royal temples of Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage site
- Private van, private guide, hotel pickup and drop-off in Bangkok
- A private group: no strangers on the van, minimum two people and maximum twelve
Description
Two very different kinds of religious spectacle in one private day, neither of them on the usual Ayutthaya circuit. The first is scale. Luang Pho Yai, the seated Buddha at Wat Muang in Ang Thong, is the tallest in Thailand: a gold figure so large that the people at its base read as specks in a photograph. You approach it across open rice country with nothing else on the horizon, which is most of the effect.
Pricing
2 to 12 people
per group
per person
- Step 1
Pickup from your hotel
Your guide and driver collect you from your hotel lobby; be down ten to fifteen minutes early. The exact time depends where you are staying and is reconfirmed by WhatsApp the day before. If you are in Pratunam or Ratchaprarop the pickup is often set early, because the traffic out of those streets is unforgiving.
An hour and a half here, and it is the heart of the day. Luang Pho Yai, the tallest Buddha statue in Thailand, sits gold and enormous above open rice country. In the same grounds your guide walks you through the sculpture garden of the Buddhist hells: life-size, explicit, and intended as a moral lesson rather than a spectacle.
Forty minutes south by van to the old capital. Forty minutes at Wat Mahathat, where a sandstone Buddha head sits held in the roots of a fig tree, left where it fell after the sack of 1767.
The royal temple of the Ayutthaya kings, and the model for Bangkok’s Wat Phra Kaew. Three restored chedis stand in a row over the old palace ground. Another forty minutes, with the guide.
About an hour in the van, returning you to your hotel or to Khaosan Road.
Included
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with hotel pickup and drop-off
- Licensed English-speaking guide
- All admission fees
- Thai lunch at a local restaurant
Not included
- Alcoholic drinks
- Personal expenses
- Gratuities
- Clothing that covers shoulders and knees for the temples
- Comfortable shoes - there is a lot of walking on uneven ground at Ayutthaya
- Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, the ruins have almost no shade
- A camera
A driver collects you where you're staying. Your area sets the collection time.
Free pickup · 41 areasSee all 41 areasHide areas
Your exact pickup time depends on your area and departure time. You'll see it at checkout and we confirm it with your booking.
This is a private booking, so it is your group on the van and nobody else, and the pace is yours: if you want longer at the Buddha and less time in Ayutthaya, say so on the day. Ang Thong is about a hundred kilometres north of Bangkok and Ayutthaya sits between the two, so the driving is a real part of the day even with a private vehicle and no other pickups to make. The hell garden is the part to think about before you book. The sculptures are explicit about bodily punishment and some of them are disturbing; the temple intends exactly that, and it is not screened off or optional if you walk the grounds. Families with young children should decide in advance whether to walk that section. Both stops are active places of worship rather than museums, so shoulders and knees stay covered and shoes come off where signed. Lunch at a local restaurant and every admission fee are already in the price, so the only money you need on the day is for anything you buy yourself.
FAQs
The private vehicle with hotel pickup and drop-off, a licensed English-speaking guide for the day, every admission fee at Wat Muang and the two Ayutthaya temples, and a Thai lunch at a local restaurant. Alcoholic drinks, anything you buy for yourself and tips are not included. The tour runs for a minimum of two people and a maximum of twelve.
Luang Pho Yai is the tallest Buddha statue in Thailand. It is a seated golden figure in the grounds of Wat Muang in Ang Thong province, north of Bangkok, and it is visible from a long way off across flat rice country. Standing at the base is the point of the stop: the scale does not come across in photographs taken from anywhere close.
Wat Muang’s grounds contain a walk-through garden of life-size sculptures depicting the Buddhist hells and the punishments believed to follow particular sins. It is a traditional form of Thai temple art meant as a moral lesson rather than entertainment, and Thai families visit it with their children. It is vivid and quite confronting, which is why it gets its own billing on this tour.
The travelling and the temples are fine for children, and a private van makes a long day easier with a family than a shared coach would. The hell garden is the part to consider: the sculptures show bodily punishment in explicit detail. Thai parents use it as a teaching visit, but plenty of visitors would rather their younger children did not see it. Tell your guide on the day and that section can be skipped.
Both Wat Muang and the Ayutthaya temples are active places of worship. Shoulders and knees covered for men and women, and shoes off where signed. Much of the day is outdoors with little shade, particularly around the ruins at Ayutthaya, so bring a hat, sunscreen and water.
Yes. Cancelling or moving your booking to another date is free up to 24 hours before the tour starts, and anything you have paid is refunded in full. Cancellations made less than 24 hours before the start time are non-refundable, and no-shows are not refunded. If we have to cancel, for example for weather or safety, you can move to another date or take a full refund.
