2 Day Khao Yai Itinerary – The Ultimate Tranquil Getaway Just Three Hours From Bangkok

This is my 2 day Khao Yai itinerary! This rural district in Thailand home to many tourist attractions like animal farms, themed attractions, vineyards, sunflower fields, etc. In recent years, it has become a popular destination for tourists looking for a tranquil getaway within easy reach of Bangkok.

My family booked a private customised tour with Klook, and arranged the itinerary with the driver over email before the trip. On the whole it was a convenient and fuss-free experience.

I do not recommend self-driving in Khao Yai because the rural roads are not very well developed. It is especially dangerous at night because many places do not have street lamps.

2 Day Khao Yai Itinerary

Day 1	Day 2
Arrive in Bangkok	Strawberry Picking
Ban Mai Chay Nam	The Bloom By TV Pool
Primo Piazza	Thames Valley Khao Yai
Pak Chong Night Market	Palio Village
Midwinter Green	The Chocolate Factory
dusitD2 Khao Yai	Manee Sorn Sunflower Field

– Day 1 –

Arrive in Bangkok

Our flight arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport at around 12.30pm. First, I went to collect our Klook DTAC Happy Tourist SIM cards from the Klook counter in the airport. At THB131, this was the cheapest Thailand SIM card I could find online. It provided fast and reliable data throughout my holiday.

After that, we met up with our Klook driver outside the airport. It was easy to spot him with his orange Klook signboard. He loaded our luggage up the van and off we went!

Ban Mai Chay Nam

After a three-hour drive, we arrived at Ban Mai Chay Nam for lunch. This is a Thai restaurant, museum, and hotel rolled into one. It is located by the river, offering pleasant views for customers while they dine.

The highlight of Ban Mai Chay Nam is its whimsical museum. Walking around, I saw an incredible variety of childhood toys, antiques and pop culture artifacts.

My nieces and nephews had fun here too!

The restaurant offers delicious traditional Thai food, with the price of most dishes ranging between THB150 and THB200. We had a very satisfying and affordable meal here.

Address: 21 Mittaphap Road, Tambon Pak Chong, Amphoe Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima, 30130, Thailand
GPS: 14.6972883,101.408026 / Google Map
Phone: +66 4431 4236
Opening Hours: Daily 9am to 9pm

Primo Piazza

Next, we headed to Primo Piazza. This popular attraction is a recreation of a rural Italian town – complete with cobblestone streets, sprawling green fields, farm animals, and all the other trappings of a quaint Tuscan village.

For me, the highlight was definitely the beautiful scenery. I simply loved the lush meadows, colourful flowers beds and vivid foliage, all set amidst a tranquil mountainous backdrop.

I also had fun feeding the alpacas and sheep. The adorable animals rushed to the fence immediately whenever they saw visitors with food.

Address: 200/2 หมู่ที่ 10 Mu Si, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30130, Thailand
GPS: 14.5430415,101.3346868 / Google Map Link
Phone: +664 400 9900
Opening Hours: Daily 9am to 6pm (last entry 5.30pm)
Entrance Fees: THB100 (Adults), THB50 (Child)

Pak Chong Night Market

Before heading for dinner, we decided to kill some time at Pak Chong Night Market, a small night market selling street food, local produce, cheap clothes, and other fashion accessories.

There were plenty of vendors selling sumptuous street food. These included barbecued seafood, waffles, skewered meats, mango sticky rice, pork trotter rice, and more. I was especially impressed by the huge prawns!

Around half of the night market is home to clothes stalls. The clothes were cheap, but they were not as trendy as the ones sold at Bangkok night markets.

Address: 2422 Tambon Pak Chong, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30130, Thailand
GPS: 14.7045011,101.4116617 / Google Map Link
Opening Hours: Daily 5pm to 10pm

Midwinter Green

After spending around 30 minutes at the night market, we headed to Midwinter Green for dinner. This beautiful restaurant is designed like a medieval European castle. It serves a wide variety of Thai and Western Food, including pizzas, pastas, pork knuckles, fish & chips, etc.

I was very much impressed by the wonderful ambience here. We dined outdoors in the cool night air, surrounded by charming stone castle walls and majestic towers.

The Spaghetti Aglio with Garlic, Chili and Bacon (THB295) was a simple but delicious dish. The noodles were nicely al dente, and you can’t really go wrong with savoury bacon bits!

The Ham & Mushroom Pizza (THB490) was very satisfying too. The thin crust was crispy, the cheese had good stretch, and the ham and mushroom chunks were really tasty.

dusitD2 Khao Yai

After a long tiring day, it was finally time to rest for the night! Our Khao Yai accommodation was the dusitD2 Khao Yai, a modern resort-style hotel. It offers spacious rooms with wonderful views, a beautiful swimming pool, a treetop private dining pod, fun outdoor activities, and even an alpaca farm.

After our driver dropped us off at the hotel, we proceeded to the stylish high-ceiling lobby for check-in. The receptionist greeted us warmly and completed our check-in quickly.

After that, the hotel buggy transported us directly to our rooms. This was a nice touch because our legs were really sore after a whole day of exploring Khao Yai.

– Day 2 –

dusitD2 Khao Yai

The next morning, I woke up to a beautiful view of Khao Yai National Park through my floor to ceiling windows.

The hotel surroundings were beautiful too. I was enamoured by the sprawling green fields, lush greenery, and vivid foliage. This was the perfect escape from hectic city life!

We had our international breakfast buffet at Musi Grill, a spacious restaurant in the hotel. The buffet spread was rather limited but the food was delicious.

Beside the restaurant is the hotel’s beautiful infinity pool.

After breakfast, we went to check out the small farm with adorable alpacas and rabbits. However, there were only two alpacas and two rabbits, and they looked rather lonely.

Strawberry Picking In Khao Yai

Our first destination of the day was Strawberry Picking in Khao Yai, a small beautiful farm that lets visitors pick strawberries for a fee.

Unfortunately, when we visited it wasn’t the strawberry season yet so there weren’t any strawberries to pick. Luckily, the scenery was beautiful, so we took plenty of pretty pictures here.

If you wish, you can buy strawberries, strawberry wines and other strawberry products at the shop on the farm.

Address: Mu Si, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30130, Thailand
GPS: 14.5425006,101.3769041 / Google Map Link
Opening Hours: Daily 7.30am to 6pm

The Bloom by TV Pool

The Bloom by TV Pool is a large flower park where visitors can admire beautiful flowers against a backdrop of majestic mountains.

Other than the flowers, the park offers plenty of photo opportunities such as a floral archway, a large ferris wheel, a floral carriage, giant paper windmills, and more.

We spent less than one hour here, because there wasn’t much to do other than taking pictures. In addition, it was really hot because there are very few sheltered areas in the park.

Address: 357 หมู่ที่ 5 บ้านโนนกระโดน, Phaya Yen, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30320, Thailand
GPS: 14.5762566,101.2368738 / Google Map Link
Phone: +66 92 279 1666
Opening Hours: Daily 8am to 8pm
Entrance Fees: THB100 (Adults), THB50 (Child)

Thames Valley Khao Yai

Thames Valley Khao Yai is a charming hotel designed like a traditional English manor. The hotel grounds are beautifully landscaped, complete with quaint English architecture, lush trees, a koi pond, and stone arch bridges.

Even though we were not staying here, we made a quick stop here to check out the beautiful architecture and scenery.

After that, we had tea break at “The Castle”, which is the only restaurant in the hotel. The menu offers a variety of Western dishes, Afternoon Tea Set, alcohol, and sweet beverages. We ordered some cold drinks and smoothies to cool down in Khao Yai’s hot weather.

Address: ถนน ธนะรัชต์ Mu Si, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30130, Thailand
GPS: 14.5351231,101.3808169 / Google Map Link
Phone: +66 44 009 999
Hotel Reservations: Click here

Palio Village

Palio Village is another Italian-themed tourist attraction. Similar to Primo Piazza, it is home to cobblestone streets, terracotta buildings, water fountains, creeping ivy plants, and all the other trappings of a quaint Italian town. However, unlike Primo Piazza, it does not have any farm animals.

Walking around the premise, it felt like I was inside a real Italian village. The designers have definitely done a good job of recreating the rural Italian vibe here.

For me, the highlight of Palio Village was the entertaining street performances. My favourite was the golden “living statue” – I didn’t even know “it” was a real person until he started moving!

I saw many souvenir shops, clothing stores, craft shops, and toy stores. Therefore, this is a good place to buy some last minute “Khao Yai souvenirs” such as key chains, fridge magnets, etc.

Address: 146/1 ม.4 Palio Khaoyai ถ.ธนะรัชต์, กม.17, Mu Si, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30130, Thailand
GPS: 14.5379964,101.400176 / Google Map Link
Phone: +66 44 365 888
Opening Hours: | Sun to Thurs: 9am – 7pm | Fri: 9am – 8pm | Sat: 9am – 9pm |

The Chocolate Factory

For lunch, we headed to The Chocolate Factory, which is a complex made up of two buildings. One building houses a restaurant serving Thai-Western fusion food, while the other is home to a fun chocolate shop. There is also a small playground on the premise.

The restaurant menu offers a wide variety of Western and Thai dishes, including pizza, pasta, BBQ pork ribs, steaks, Tom Yum Soup, Fried Shrimp Cake, Green Curry, etc.

My favourite dish was the Spaghetti Kee Mao Seafood (THB320), a Thai-Western fusion dish that comprises tomato spaghetti served with seafood, vegetables, and Thai herbs.

The noodles were cooked nicely al dente, and were infused with the rich flavours of tomatoes and Thai herbs. The seafood were very fresh, and I especially enjoyed eating the succulent prawns.

Address: 2 Mu Si, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30130, Thailand
GPS: 14.5622038,101.4036166 / Google Map
Phone: +669 2443 8881
Opening Hours: | Mon: 9.30am – 9pm | Tue to Sun: 9.30am – 10pm |

Manee Sorn Sunflower Field

Our final stop in Khao Yai was Manee Sorn Sunflower Field, which is a huge sunflower plantation. It is a popular tourist attraction and is also known as “Rai Manee Sorn”.

I enjoyed coming here very much! The sunflower fields were gorgeous and it was my first time seeing something like this.

The surrounding scenery was beautiful too. We were surrounded by sprawling green fields and lush palm trees against a backdrop of mountains in the distance. This was the perfect end to our Khao Yai adventure!

Address: Mu Si, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30130, Thailand
GPS: 14.572517,101.4410162 / Google Map Link
Opening Hours: Daily 6am to 6pm
Entrance fee: THB60

Travel to Bangkok

From the sunflower farm, we began our three-hour ride to our next stop: Bangkok!

Conclusion

I hope you found our 2 day Khao Yai itinerary useful! I’m glad we booked the Klook private tour because it was really convenient. Our driver was very friendly and drove safely too. We gave him a generous tip at the end of the trip.

However, he was unclear of the directions sometimes and I actually had to serve as his navigator a few times using Google Maps. This was a little unnerving especially when we were travelling along the rural roads at night.

Also, we had requested to visit Farm Chokchai and PB Valley Khaoyai Winery, but were informed by him that these attractions were “fully booked”. We later found out that while these places did offer tours, it was actually possible to explore the premises for free.

Instead, he brought us to other less popular attractions like The Bloom By TV Pool and Strawberry Picking.

Therefore, my advice is to be to be as clear as possible on the attractions you want to visit when planning your itinerary with the driver over email before the trip. If you wish to visit Farm Chokchai and PB Valley Khaoyai Winery, make sure you mention this explicitly. Also, while it is possible to visit these two places for free, I’m not sure if the driver will prefer you to prebook the tours.