Udon Thani A Complete Travel Guide - An Isan Adventure
The Isan city of Udon Thani is a great spot to base yourself to explore some of Thailand’s lesser known attractions. Home to night markets, great food and the incredible Red Lotus Lake, find out everything there is to see, do and eat in the city as well as where to stay and why Udon Thani should be on your next Thai itinerary!
From the outside, Udon Thani looks no different to any other Thai city. A big, sprawling metropolis full of busy roads, streets lined with huge shops, garages and warehouses. But if you dive underneath its industrial shell and delve a little deeper into the city, you'll be welcomed to a different side of Udon Thani. A city that’s full of character, incredible night markets and plenty of things to see and do.
We arrived in Udon Thani with very little idea about what we wanted to do in the city. We knew we had to plan a trip out to see the famous Red Lotus Lake, but apart from that, we had no idea what to expect. So, as soon as we arrived, we did what we always do. We dumped our bags and headed out onto the streets. In a matter of hours we had wandered our way across nearly the whole of the city, passing markets piled high with fresh produce and stopping at ornate temples thick with incense. We feasted on delicious Thai street food and soaked up the laidback charm and buzzing energy of the city. After our one day walk around the city, we knew Udon Thani had a lot to offer!
We only had a few days to explore the city, but absolutely loved our time there. Udon Thani is a city where you need to go with no plan, an empty stomach and a sense of adventure! It’s a place that really requires travellers to plunge into its busy streets and explore. The city is a great starting point to visit more of Thailand’s lesser known northeastern region of Isan. Udon Thani could also make a fantastic springboard for adventures in Laos. The nearby border giving quick and easy access to the Laotian capital of Vientiane.
Here’s our complete travel guide on what to see and do where to stay and what to eat in the Isan city of Udon Thani!
In this Udon Thani travel guide:
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If you can, try and plan a trip to Udon Thani in December to catch the colourful Thung Sri Muang Festival!
What to do in Udon Thani?
Take a walk around Nongprajak Public Park
Nongprajak Park is a beautiful green oasis amongst the dense urban sprawl, made up of several islands all sitting on a big lake and connected to each other by bridges. The park is a great spot to head to for a bit of peace and calm. It’s full of shaded lawns, play areas and gym equipment (if you’re insane and feel like a sweaty workout in the humid heat!).
There’s also an art trail to follow, with lots of different sculptures to spot including a transformer robot (complete with guns), a massive pot that looks like it has been dug up and placed like some archaeological find, as well as Udon Thani’s famous, enormous yellow, rubber ducks!
The park is a great spot to head to before or after visiting the museum or city pillar (see later).
Learn about local history at the Muang Udon Thani Museum
Set in a beautifully renovated, mustard yellow and red tiled colonial-style building, the Udon Thani City Museum is stuffed full of exhibitions showcasing the history, art, culture and archaeological finds of the city as well as the wider Udon Thani province.
Most of the information is written in Thai, but there is an interesting section (with English translation) about the US armed forces, their use of Udon Thani as an airbase and their involvement in the Vietnam War. There’s even an old US airbase located a short drive outside of town (find it here) which you can visit!
Entrance fee: The museum is free to enter.
Opening times: The museum is open every Tuesday to Sunday from 9 - 11:30 AM and from 1 - 3:30 PM. The museum is closed on Mondays and on public holidays.
Eat and shop at one of Udon Thani's Night Markets
Udon Thani is an absolute mecca for foodies with night markets and restaurants galore. Once the sun starts to dip below the horizon, the city comes alive with the smells and sounds of BBQ’s grilling and woks spitting. The most famous night markets in Udon Thani, stretch the length of the railway tracks to the east of the city.
We would recommend heading to one end and just grazing from stall to stall. One evening, we decided to have our very own street food crawl, where we walked down through the busy stalls of the market, picking up bags of grilled pork satay, deep fried chicken skin, slices of sai oua (Northern Thai sausage) and finishing with a huge plate of chicken and rice at the end! We love dining at a Thai night market. It’s always so much fun just turning up hungry and seeing what you find. Depending on what you’re after for dinner, you can choose to pick up small snacks or full meals as well as smoothies, sushi, puddings and more. As with any night market in Thailand our only advice is go hungry and be adventurous!
It’s also a great place to pick up cheap souvenirs, mobile phone accessories, sportswear of questionable providence and more.
Thai-style market sushi is one of our guilty pleasures!
Visit the City Pillar Shrine (San Lak Mueang Udon Thani)
Udon Thani’s city pillar shrine or, San Lak Mueang, sits in the middle of a huge square full of grass lawns, flower beds and ornate yaksha guardian statues. Just next door to the pillar, sits a beautiful Chinese temple studded with hanging red lanterns and intricately carved wooden pillars, all covered in dragons! A short walk on from the temple sits the Tea Kappa Chinese Gate, a gateway made up of three squared wooden entrances all covered in carvings and painted in red and gold.
The park and square around the city pillar is also where the enormous market and fairground sets up during the Thung Sri Muang Festival (read more below) in December.
From all three sites listed above, it is only a short walk to the museum and Nongprajak Park.
Visit Kromluang Prachak Sinlapakhom Monument
Another popular pilgrimage spot for locals, the Kromluang Prachak Sinlapakhom Monument pays homage to Prince Pajak, founder of the city. Sitting in the middle of the roundabout and surrounded by offerings, a statue of Prince Prajak looks out over the busy roads. Make sure to pass by at night where the monument is lit up with colourful lights!
Stock up on Vietnamese goods at Udon Thani’s Vietnam Town
We stumbled upon Udon Thani’s Vietnam Town completely by accident. As we were heading north, walking along Srisook Road, we came to a yellow and red gateway marking the entrance to Srisuk Soi 2, the home of Udon Thani’s Vietnam Town.
We moved through the gate and wandered down the street, passing under colourful silk lanterns and walking past mustard coloured buildings. Above us, hanging from the rooftops, the red and yellow star of Vietnam hung next to the red, white and blue stripes of the Thai flag. As we walked along, gone were the restaurants advertising traditional Thai dishes, but instead, huge laminated signs advertised offerings of banh xeo, bun cha and banh mi. It felt as though we had been transported to the streets of Hoi An!
Udon Thani’s Vietnam Town was the first Vietnam Town to be recognised in Thailand and the city is home to over 60,000 people of Vietnamese descent.
If you're planning a trip around Isan, and fancy delving deeper into Thailand’s close-knit relations with Vietnam, then don't miss out on visiting Nakhon Phanom.
If you’re planning a trip to Udon Thani and want to dabble in trying some delicious Vietnamese cuisine, make sure you’ve check out our food guide to Ho Chi Minh and our food guide to Hanoi to give you some ideas on what to try!
Escape the Thai heat and shop in the Central Plaza Shopping Mall
We would never usually recommend a shopping mall in a travel guide, but as pale Westerners, there comes a time on any trip to Thailand where you need to escape the intense Thai heat and Thailand’s shopping malls are godsends in these situations!
The Central Plaza shopping mall is your typical, huge and super modern shopping centre full of department stores, clothes, sportswear, electronics, camera and mobile phone stores. If you’re in need of a wardrobe update they have the Western favourites of H&M, UNIQLO (every backpackers favourite), Levi’s, Skechers MUJI, Adidas and more. We popped into the mall in search of a new memory card and somehow came out with a new GoPro instead!
In terms of eating there’s everything from steak to sushi and even a McDonalds in the basement. Upstairs there’s a big cinema complex which shows films in English.
Opening times: The mall is open every day from 10:30AM until 9PM. On Saturday and Sunday it is open from 10:00AM until 9PM.
Enjoy the colourful festivities at the annual Thung Sri Muang Festival
We very luckily, and completely by chance, timed our trip to Udon Thani during the middle of the Thung Sri Muang Festival. This fortnight long festival, held at the beginning of December, is celebrated to honour King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The festivities kick off with a large parade that starts at Rajabhat University and finishes at Nongprajak Public Park. Next door to the park, surrounding the city pillar a huge market sets up showcasing local delicacies, arts and crafts alongside a massive fairground full of rides. It’s a humongous festival and one of the cities most important.
On the 5th December (the day of the King's Birthday) there is another city wide procession followed by a small fireworks display in the evening. We were very lucky to be in the city on this day and watched as the streets were filled with locals dressed in colourful silk attire, waving huge flags and dancing. Behind the dance troupes came huge floats filling the whole width of the street. Tailing them, huge Chinese dragons and golden serpents danced their way through the city. It was a dazzling spectacle of noise and colour. With long strings of firecrackers being set off and huge drums being beaten. It was amazing to see and something we didn’t expect when we booked our trip to the city.
Visit the Red Lotus Lake
Perhaps Udon Thani’s most famous tourist attraction, the Red Lotus Lake explodes into a sea of bright red and vibrant pink lotus flowers that blanket the entire lake's surface each morning. The best time to see the Red Lotus Lake is early in the morning (around sunrise) from November until February, where the flowers are at their best.
You can, like us, easily arrange a driver to take you to and from the lake. We did just this, starting pre-dawn, watching the sunrise from the lake before arriving back in Udon Thani in time for breakfast. We will have a full blog about our time on the lake coming soon!
If there is one thing you have to do in Udon Thani, make sure it’s a visit to the Red Lotus Lake - it’s absolutely stunning and one of our favourite mornings we’ve ever had!
Where to Eat and Drink in Udon Thani?
If you haven't filled up on tasty Thai treats at one of the city's night markets, then there’s plenty more spots to dine at. The city is literally stuffed full of great restaurants, street side eateries and markets. Here’s just some of our favourite spots we ate and drank at!
Restaurants and street food - Our favourite places to dine
Beef noodles - Michelin recommended Pa Noi Noodles
This Michelin recommended beef noodle joint is highly rated for a reason.
From the outside there is nothing to give away its lofty accolades; it is a humble, typical Thai-style shophouse restaurant. Aunty in the front, metal tables and bubbling cauldrons, all as usual. The food however was incredible! Rich broth with meltingly tender beef was topped with deep fried garlic and fantastic meatballs. All this deliciousness was turbocharged by the jeaw or chilli sauce. The little dish of sauce almost looked like a jam but was an incendiary bomb of flavour, spicing and singing in every bite.
Seriously, if you are looking for an amazing bowl of noodles in Udon Thani, do not miss this place!
Pork tom yum noodles (หมิว บะหมี่เกี้ยว)
This super popular streetside restaurant is exactly the type of restaurant we love to find in Thailand. A non-stop meat carving, noodle dunking machine of a restaurant that serves up all your Thai porky favourites; from roast pork to red pork, noodle soup to wonton. When we visited every table was full of locals slurping up steaming bowls of noodles and there was a long queue of people waiting for takeaway bags (always a good sign).
We dove in, bagged the last table and ordered two plates of roast pork tom yum with egg noodles. The bowl was incredible! We’ve eaten our fair share of tom yum in Thailand and this is up there with some of the best. Super crispy roast pork, still juicy and moist, sat on a bed of perfectly cooked yellow egg noodles. Topping the noodles was a soup of creamy, bright orange tom yum topped with a sticky chilli sauce that we stirred in at the last minute to give an additional spicy kick. It was a stunner of a bowl and one we’ll remember for a long time. In fact writing this is making us want to jump on a plane back to Udon Thani just to have another slurp!
Pork rice porridge (ร้านน.นก ข้าวเปียกฮอดเซ้า)
Another one of our favourite Thai breakfasts, rice porridge or jok as it is known in Thai, is one of the best ways to start a day of exploring. Hearty, warm and super filling it’s a fantastic breakfast that will keep you full all morning.
We stumbled upon this small hole-in-the-wall streetside restaurant after a very early start at the Red Lotus Lake. Serving only a small menu of either jok or noodle soup, we ordered up two bowls of jok each topped with a soft boiled egg, slices of Vietnamese sausage, ground minced pork, deep fried garlic and diced spring onion. Our bowls were delicious, very delicate in taste but still full of that rich and super comforting congee flavour. They also had the option of having your jok served with chicken feet if you’re feeling adventurous!
Pan eggs (นำพรอาหารเช้า)
On both our trips around Isan, pan eggs have become one of our go-to breakfast staples. This super simple, yet super tasty protein rich breakfast dish is made up of fried eggs, slices of Vietnamese sausages, ground pork and sweet Chinese sausage all served in a piping hot metal pan. It’s a rich and hearty start to the day, and the pan eggs from this small stall were superb - plus the old lady serving was super friendly and very excited to see us each morning!
Food court near Rajabhat University
This very popular food court felt like the local student hangout with group after group piling in on scooters to order up a feast of steaming Thai-style fast food. There’s plenty of places to choose from, just take a look around and find a stall that you like the look of, place your order and sit down. We enjoyed a delicious pork pad kra pao that was spicy and generous. If you’re after a cheap but hearty meal, make sure to head here!
University street food stalls
Wherever you find students in Thailand, you’ll also find an abundance of street food stalls selling everything from fresh fruit to grilled meat and this is no different in Udon Thani. All along the main road just outside the gates of Rajabhat University are lots of different street food stalls open from mid-afternoon till late. These are perfect if you’re after a pick-up-and-munch kind of evening meal! We love eating a selection of Thai style tapas, and one evening shopped our way up and down the main road, picking up bags of sliced watermelon, grilled sausages, spicy som tam and a delicious mango sticky rice!
The best coffee shops in Udon Thani
Roast Cup
Set close to Udon Thani’s busy university district, Roast Cup is a super sleek, ultra modern coffee shop that serves up some fantastic coffee. We ordered two lattes, but were very tempted by the coffee mocktail menu featuring americano orange, matcha, coconut coffee and more. They also serve delicious looking sweet treats, including an amazing looking banoffee pie! Roast Cup is the perfect spot if you’re looking for super laidback coffee shop vibes, with friendly baristas and chilled out tunes playing from their antique stereo!
Roskhom "Bitter Taste" Coffee & Bar
This small and compact coffee shop doesn’t look like much from the outside, but inside it’s a super modern cafe where concrete chic meets neon novelty. Filled with funky artwork, industrial lights and contemporary furniture scattered around the tiny space. We stopped by for two quick iced lattes which were silky smooth and the ideal pick-me up! It looks as though the coffee shop becomes a bar at night and next time we’re in the city, we’d love to head here for a cheeky beer!
Udon Thani Essential Travel Information
Where is Udon Thani?
Udon Thani is located in Thailand's northeastern region of Isan about 600 KM away from the Thai capital of Bangkok. Udon Thani is the name of both the province and the provincial capital. Udon Thani can be translated as “northern city” with Udon meaning “northern” and Thani “city”.
The city sits directly in the middle between Nong Khai to the north, Sakon Nakhon to the east, Khon Kaen to the south and Nong Bua Lam Phu to the west.
How to get to Udon Thani?
Depending on your budget, there's plenty of different ways to get to Udon Thani. The city is very well connected with bus, rail and flight links to Bangkok and beyond. You can even hop across the border and catch a train straight from Udon Thani to Vientiane in Laos!
By bus
Catching a bus will be the cheapest option for you to get to Udon Thani, that is unless you're planning to travel by 3rd class on a train!
Buses depart Bangkok's Mochit Bus Station every day, with journeys taking around 9 hours to reach the city. To book your Bangkok to Udon Thani bus tickets in advance, click here.
If you're staying in Chiang Mai and fancy an Isan exploration, there is one overnight bus departing every evening from Chiang Mai’s Bus Terminal 2. Book your tickets here.
For those already on an Isan adventure, mini buses and vans criss-cross the region, connecting the provincial capitals with the smaller market towns. Travelling by bus in Isan is super easy, cheap and very convenient! We’ve spent about four months over two separate trips exploring the length and breadth of Isan, travelling just by mini van and have never been stranded. To get to Udon Thani, we just headed to Khon Kaen’s bus station, hopped on a mini van and a couple of hours later we arrived in the city!
There are two bus stations in the city. The main bus station, where the majority of buses will arrive / depart from is Udon Thani’s Bus Terminal 1 located in the heart of the city (here), just next door to the large Central Plaza Shopping Mall. The much smaller, almost abandoned and completely deserted, second bus station is Udon Thani’s Northern Bus Terminal (located here). This bus station is not as popular as the bus station in town, but if you’re heading to Loei afterwards (like we did) this is where you’ll need to go!
As with all Thai cities we’ve visited, there’s lots of street art to spot in Udon Thani!
By train
Udon Thani’s Railway Station (location) sits in the heart of the city, right next door to some of the city's colourful nightmarkets.
Trains depart Bangkok’s Krung Thep Apiwat Railway Station (also known as Bang Sue) everyday, taking around 9 hours to reach Udon Thani. To book train tickets from Bangkok to Udon Thani, click here.
From Udon Thani you can also catch a direct train to Vientiane in Laos once a day from Bangkok. The train heads north, passing through Nong Khai and from there the train crosses the border and heads straight to Khamsavath Railway Station in the Laotian capital of Vientiane. We did this ourselves, not from Udon Thani, but from Bangkok all the way to Vientiane. We travelled overnight, passing through Udon Thani and Nong Khai early in the morning and arrived in Laos in time for breakfast! Once you’re in Vientiane you can catch a fast train to northern Laos to explore Vang Vieng or Luang Prabang, or you can catch a bus south to ride the famous motorbike loops of Thakhek or Pakse.
To find out more about crossing the Thailand / Laos border at Nong Khai, check out our full blog here where we cover everything you’ll need to know!
The trains in Thailand can sell out extremely quickly, so to secure your seat in advance, we would recommend booking your trip on 12Go.
By air
If money's no object, then the quickest way to reach the city is by flying from Bangkok. Flights depart multiple times a day from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport and Don Mueang and take around an hour and fifteen minutes to reach Udon Thani.
To book your flights, we would recommend using Skyscanner to give you a list of the best flight times and prices for your date of travel. Just enter your departure / return date on the search form below:
Udon Thani’s International Airport sits to the southwest of the city (located here), around a 15 minute (6 KM) drive to the centre.
Where to stay? Accommodation in Udon Thani
As budget backpackers, we booked a stay at a very cheap guesthouse, but if you’re after something a little more luxurious, then there’s plenty of choice in the city.
We stayed at Chanathinat Place and slept in a basic, but comfy double bedroom with en-suite bathroom and small balcony. The room was not fancy at all, but it was clean and comfy and was in a perfect location only a short walk away from lots of street food, the night markets and the Central Plaza Shopping Mall. The staff were also super friendly and could help with arranging bike rental, excursions or onward transport. Plus there were plenty of seats downstairs for you to bring back food from the markets.
To book a stay at Chanathinat Place, click here.
For those looking for a fancier bed, then why not check out the Hotel MOCO, the Centara Udon, the Pannarai Hotel or the Banbua Grand Udon Hotel. If you’d prefer some more sociable vibes and a hostel stay, then make sure to check out Whereder Poshtel Udon Thani.
Whatever your budget, bed style or dates, to check out all the accommodation available in Udon Thani during your trip, just enter your dates in the map below and click search!
Where to go next? Travel plans after Udon Thani
Udon Thani is a great starting city to begin a much bigger exploration of Thailand’s lesser known Isan region. From the city, you could head north to Nong Khai and begin a Mekong loop, stopping to visit the incredible Three Whale Rock, and the vertigo-inducing Wat Phu Tok at Bueng Kan. Or you could head inland to Isan’s countryside and visit the city of Sakon Nakhon before heading east back towards the Mekong to visit Mukdahan and then onto the popular riverside town of Nakhon Phanom.
If you’re coming to the end of your Thailand visa, you can easily head from Udon Thani and cross the border into Laos. You can either catch the early morning direct train (only one service a day) from Udon Thani to Khamsavath Railway station in Vientiane. Or you can catch a bus from Udon Thani’s Bus Terminal 1 that will take you to the border, over the Thai/Laos Friendship Bridge 1 and straight into the heart of Vientiane.
To book your tickets from Udon Thani to Vientiane in Laos, click here. There is also the option to catch the train to Nong Khai and cross the border from there.
Final Thoughts
Is Udon Thani worth a trip?
Absolutely!
The city is full of things to see and do, incredible eats and a personality all of its own. At first glance, the city feels like any other Thai city, a big urban metropolis full of busy roads, shopping districts and markets, but if you delve a little deeper and get underneath its skin, you find a city that's full of history, culture and food. The city rarely features on any Western tourists Thai itineraries, but it’s a great spot to base yourself in to really explore the lesser known region of Isan.
We only touched the surface on what there is to do in the city, and outside in the wider province there’s so much more to see! Udon Thani is somewhere we need to come back to. Somewhere where we need to base ourselves for a good amount of time and deep dive into what the region has to offer.
Until next time Udon Thani, until next time!
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
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