Things to do in Nakhon Ratchasima
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Nakhon Ratchasima
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best: cool and dry, park greenest, waterfalls flowing early in the season, fullest festival calendar, highest prices.
Hot season. City sightseeing becomes morning and evening only and park waterfalls shrink in April and May.
Rainy season. Lush park and strongest waterfalls by September and October, with leeches, slippery trails and closures.
What's on
- Thao Suranari Victory Celebration 23 March to 3 April
Korat city's biggest fair honouring Ya Mo, with performances, parades and food around the monument.
- Songkran 13 to 15 April
Thai New Year water festival, celebrated in Korat and Phimai and a national transport peak.
- Phimai Festival second week of November
Long boat racing, a period market and a nightly light and sound show in Phimai Historical Park.
- Jim Thompson Farm opening mid December to early January
Flower fields, Isan village and silk culture at the farm's only opening of the year.
Best things to do in Nakhon Ratchasima
Thao Suranari Monument
Korat's beloved heroine shrine where locals still offer flowers daily, the essential first stop in the city.
Phimai Historical Park
One of Thailand's best preserved Khmer temple complexes, in the middle of a sleepy town an hour from Korat.
Wat Phayap
Old city royal temple with a junk shaped hall and an unusual dripstone cave holding a sacred Buddha image.
Wat Ban Rai
A vast elephant shaped temple covered in mosaic, spectacular modern Buddhist art worth the half day drive.
Khorat Fossil Museum
Petrified wood, dinosaurs and ancient elephants from the Khorat Plateau, the city's best museum by far.
Maha Wirawong National Museum
Compact survey of Korat from prehistory to the Khmer period, the right context stop before Phimai.
Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo
Large green regional zoo with big cats, reptiles and a water play area, priced for Thai families.
SaveOne Korat Market
Huge local night market with a free internal shuttle, hundreds of food stalls and local prices.
Where to stay in Nakhon Ratchasima
Old City / Terminal 21 area, Korat city
first trip, walkable sights and food
Walk to Ya Mo, Wat Phayap, the national museum and Wat Boon Market, with the widest food choice.
Mittraphap / Central Korat corridor, Korat city
drivers, families and long stays
Newer big hotels with parking and facilities, a short Grab ride from the old city sights.
Pak Chong town
budget park trips without a resort
Station, night market and practical hotels, the working base for early park starts.
Thanarat Road / Mu Si, Khao Yai
park access, couples and resort weekends
The resort belt to the park gate, with wineries off side roads and no walkable life outside resorts.
Think twice about
- Outer Mittraphap Road highway frontage, Korat
Fast traffic, patchy pavements and unlit stretches make it a poor base on foot at night. It is a car corridor, not a neighbourhood.
- Outer Thanarat Road resort strip, Khao Yai, without a car
Dark, fast road with no walkable life between walled resorts. Fine with a car, impractical and isolating without one.
Best restaurants in Nakhon Ratchasima
Laab Som Pith
Long established Isan canteen famous for grilled pork neck, laab and papaya salad, lunch only.
Kai Yang Nai Mueang
In town benchmark for charcoal grilled chicken with som tam and sticky rice at local prices.
Wat Boon Night Market
Clean, calm old city night market where pad mee Korat is the dish to order first.
Chez Andy Swiss Restaurant & Steak House
Swiss steak house running for about 25 years, the city's best Western dinner and expat institution.
House of Kin
Centara's all day restaurant doing modern Isan cooking, buffets and noted desserts in comfort.
The Grill Room Restaurant
French steakhouse at Kantary, the city's top rated fine dining room and celebration dinner.
Pak Chong Night Market
Nightly town market by the station with chicken rice, grilled meats and Thai sweets at local prices.
Dairy Home
Organic dairy stop famous for ice cream in a take home ceramic cup, perfect on the drive in or out.
Best coffee in Nakhon Ratchasima
The Birder's Lodge Cafe
Design led barn cafe and farmers market, the scheduled coffee stop before the park gate.
Outdoor things to do in Nakhon Ratchasima
Khao Yai National Park
Thailand's first national park, with wild elephants, gibbons, hornbills, trails, waterfalls and high viewpoints.
Haew Narok Waterfall
The park's tallest three tier waterfall, thunderous after the rains and reached by a steep forest stair.
Pha Diao Dai Cliff
Boardwalk through mossy high forest to a cliff platform over unbroken jungle towards Khao Rom.
Night spotlighting drive in Khao Yai National Park
Official ranger led night drive spotlighting deer, civets, porcupine and sometimes elephants after dark.
GranMonte Vineyard and Winery
Family estate making Thailand's most respected wines, with a structured tour and seated tasting.
PB Valley Khao Yai Winery
The area's largest and cheapest winery visit, a buggy tour through vines and orchards ending in a tasting.
Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club
Resort golf under the hills with a hotel on site, ideal for society golf and stay and play weekends.
Kirimaya Golf Resort & Spa
Jack Nicklaus championship golf at the forest edge, with the park side's most polished spa and resort.
Best hotels in Nakhon Ratchasima
Centre Point Hotel Terminal21 Korat
Mall connected chain hotel with the easiest logistics in the city for a first Korat stay.
Koranaree Courtyard Boutique Hotel
Quiet courtyard boutique hotel with Thai touches, the character option at a budget price.
B2 Korat Boutique & Budget Hotel
Reliable Thai budget chain doing clean, air conditioned essentials consistently for transit stays.
Centara Korat
Modern hotel with pool, gym and kitchenette rooms, the city's best all rounder for drivers and families.
Kantary Hotel Korat
Spacious serviced apartment style hotel with three restaurants, best for long stays and families.
The Pino Hotel Pak-Chong
Clean practical town hotel near the station and night market, the sensible budget park base.
InterContinental Khao Yai Resort
Railway carriage suites and villas around a lake, the luxury splurge base on the park side.
Hotel Labaris Khao Yai
Labyrinth themed luxury resort with maze gardens, built for romantic and celebratory weekends.
Is Nakhon Ratchasima expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | THB 1,200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | THB 2,800 a person |
| Splurge | THB 7,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Jim Thompson Farm: weeks ahead
- GranMonte Vineyard and Winery: a few days ahead
- Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club: a few days ahead
- Kirimaya Golf Resort & Spa: weeks ahead
- Farm Chokchai: a few days ahead
- Scenical World Khao Yai: a few days ahead
- InterContinental Khao Yai Resort: weeks ahead
- Hotel Labaris Khao Yai: weeks ahead
- Thanarat Road resorts, Kirimaya golf and GranMonte weekend tours need weeks in the cool season.
- Book the park night drive at the visitor centre on the morning of the day itself.
- Jim Thompson Farm tickets in its short mid December to early January opening.
Is Nakhon Ratchasima safe?
- Traffic is the main risk. Take care as a pedestrian on Mittraphap and Thanarat roads, especially at night.
- Keep distance from wild elephants, do not feed macaques, stay on marked trails and respect closures after rain.
- Use leech socks in the park in the rainy season. Emergencies: tourist police 1155, general 191, medical 1669.
Nakhon Ratchasima travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Themed photo villages on Thanarat Road charge for photographs and are no substitute for the national park.
- Unofficial ticket or guide offers at the park gate. The official foreign adult fee is 400 THB at the park booth.
- Mall food courts are the least interesting eating in a great Isan food city.
Getting around Nakhon Ratchasima: public transport and more
- Walk the old city core. Use Grab, songthaews and taxis for the zoo, fossil museum, malls and SaveOne.
- Trains from Bangkok take about four and a half hours and buses about four hours. Pak Chong has a station too.
- You need a car, hotel transfer or hired driver for the park gate, wineries, golf and Thanarat Road resorts.
- Carry cash for park and site fees. Card acceptance at gates is not guaranteed.
Who Nakhon Ratchasima suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Nakhon Ratchasima your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store