Central Thailand Travel Guide

The Central Plains is the central region of Thailand, an endless plain dominated by the giant urban agglomeration of Bangkok. Most visitors to Thailand will arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand's largest airport 19 miles east of Bangkok. It is roughly a 45 minutes ride from the center of Bangkok, but heavy congestion could make that trip into an 1.5 hour journey or more. The Central Plains has good road connections with the east, south, north and northeast of the country. Two main roads connect the Central Plains with Eastern Thailand. The main road is Sukhumvit Road, also known as Route 3, which starts in Bangkok and via Pattaya reaches all the way to Trat and the Cambodian border. Another route goes east to Aranyaprathet from which the border with Cambodia can be crossed to Siem Reap and Angkor Archaeological Park (but don't even think about driving on the Cambodian part). From Phuket, Krabi Province and other destinations in Southern Thailand, take Route 4 that enters the Central Plains right after Chumphon. Passing Hua Hin, Cha-am and Samut Songkhram, the long ride reaches Bangkok.