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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
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
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 km (37 mi)Bus or hired car to Tha Tum, about 37 mi (60 km) | 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 (12 mi) northHired car or local bus, about 12 mi (20 km) 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.