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Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Surin
สุรินทร์
Give Surin one night for the Khmer prasat and the night market; add a second only for the November Elephant Roundup or the silk villages.
Surin is a small Isaan provincial capital of about 40,000 people, 450 km east of Bangkok and 50 km from the Cambodian border. It is a base for Khmer-era temple ruins, silk-weaving villages and the November Elephant Roundup. The town itself is quiet and walkable; most sights sit outside it and need a songthaew, tuk-tuk or hired car.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- สุรินทร์
- Best months
- Nov–Feb
- Avoid
- Mar–May (hot and dry), Sep–Oct (wettest)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- THB
- Money
- Currency is the Thai baht (THB, ฿). Cards work in malls, hotels and many restaurants; street food, markets, boats and small taxis are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget ฿700–1,200 excl. bed · Mid ฿1,200–2,500 excl. bed · High ฿2,500+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Ambulance and rescue 1669 · Tourist police 1155
- Plugs
- Types A, B, C, O · 220 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US pins and round European pins; type O is the Thai three-pin standard. UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Leave ฿20–100 or the coins; skip it if a 10% service charge is on the bill.; Taxi / Grab: Round up to the next ฿10 or ฿20.; Massage: ฿50–100 per hour to the therapist, in hand.; Guide / driver day: ฿300–500 for the guide, ฿200–300 for the driver.; Hotel porter / housekeeping: ฿20–50.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Street refill machines charge about ฿1 a litre; bottled water everywhere.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in malls and hotels; squat toilets with a water bucket in rural stops. The hose ('bum gun') replaces paper; paper goes in the bin in older buildings. Some public toilets cost ฿3–5.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or iced drink | ฿40–80 |
| Noodle soup or rice plate | ฿50–100 |
| Isaan sausage or gai yang at the night market | ฿30–80 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / can at a shop | ฿70–120 / ฿35–60 |
| Samlor ride in the centre | ฿40 (check) |
| Tuk-tuk, short hop | ฿50–60 (check) |
| Songthaew to the National Museum | ฿10 (check) |
| Taxi return to Ta Meuan ruins | about ฿2,000 (check) |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- BFV · Buriram Airport
- Nearest commercial airport, about 1.5–2 h by road; limited flights. Check schedules.
- BKK · Bangkok Suvarnabhumi / Don Mueang
- Most travellers arrive by bus or train from Bangkok, about 6–8.5 h.
Typical fares
- Samlor in the centre
- ฿40 (check)
- Tuk-tuk short hop
- ฿50–60 (check)
- Surin to Chong Chom minibus
- ฿60
Get around
The centre is small enough to walk. Samlors (rickshaws) and tuk-tuks cover short hops; agree the fare first. Songthaews run to outlying sights such as the National Museum. For the Khmer ruins and silk villages, hire a car with driver through your hotel or use local buses.
See and do
Known for
- Surin Elephant Roundup (November)
- Khmer-era prasat ruins
- Silk weaving villages
- Isaan night market food
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Prasat Sikhoraphum | Train or bus towards Sikhoraphum, then a short ride to the ruins | About 1–1.5 h |
| Elephant Study Centre, Ban Ta Klang | Bus or hired car to Tha Tum, about 60 kmBus or hired car to Tha Tum, about 37 mi | About 1.5 h |
| Phanom Sawai Forest Park | Hired car or songthaew from town | About 45 min |
| Khwao Sinarin silk village | Hired car or local bus, about 20 km northHired car or local bus, about 12 mi north | About 45 min |
Sleep
- Town centre near the railway station
- Guesthouses and small hotels, walkable to the night market and City Pillar Shrine.
- Thong Tarin Hotel area
- The main cluster of bars, restaurants and larger hotels; a short tuk-tuk ride from the station.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดีsawatdee |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณkhop khun |
| How much is it? | เท่าไหร่tao rai |
| Too expensive | แพงไปphaeng pai |
| Not spicy, please | ไม่เผ็ดmai phet |
| Where is the toilet? | ห้องน้ำอยู่ไหนhong nam yu nai |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: A wai (palms together, slight bow) to return a greeting; a smile and nod for shop staff; avoid: Waiing children or service staff first — it confuses; hugging strangers
- Head and feet: Keep feet on the floor, sit with legs folded to the side in temples; avoid: Touching heads (even children's), pointing feet, stepping over people or food
- Temples: Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off, sit lower than monks; avoid: Women touching monks or handing them things directly; climbing Buddha images
- Monarchy: Stand for the royal anthem in cinemas and at 08:00 and 18:00 in public places; avoid: Any joke or comment about the royal family; stepping on a banknote
- Keeping calm: Stay polite and smiling when things go wrong ('jai yen' — cool heart); avoid: Raising your voice; public anger loses the argument
- Names: Khun plus first name ('Khun Somchai'); nicknames are normal; avoid: Using the family name alone
- Home visit: Shoes off; bring fruit or sweets; step over the threshold, not on it; avoid: Sitting with feet towards the family shrine
- Beckoning and pointing: Palm down, fingers waved towards you; point with the whole hand or chin; avoid: Pointing at people with a finger or with your foot
Scams and watch-outs
- Fares quoted to foreigners run higher than local rates: agree the price before you get in.
- Some Khmer ruins near the Cambodian border are remote and unsigned; land-mine warnings apply off the paths at Ta Meuan — stay on marked ground.
- The November Elephant Roundup fills every room in town: book weeks ahead.
- English is limited outside hotels; signs at bus and train stations are mostly in Thai.
Surin is a low-crime provincial town; the real issues are overcharging on tuk-tuks, hot-season heat, and remote border ruins where you should stay on marked paths.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Surin yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Surin Elephant Roundup (November)
- Khmer-era prasat ruins
- Silk weaving villages
- Isaan night market food
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand — Surin: www.tourismthailand.org/
- Surin municipality: www.mosurin.go.th/
- State Railway of Thailand: www.dticket.railway.co.th/DTicketPublicWeb/home/Home
- Wikivoyage: Surin, revision 5237260 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5237260
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Printed from Voykit (/surin). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.