Khon Kaen Travel Guide: City, Dinosaurs, Silk and the Dam

Khon Kaen is the big city of central Isaan, and most visitors treat it as a stopover on the way to Udon Thani, Loei or Laos. That undersells it. Wikipedia says Khon Kaen University and the provincial hospitals make the city a medical and educational centre of Isaan, which gives it a busy, young feel. Within a day's drive are one of Thailand's best-known dinosaur fossil areas, villages that weave silk by hand, and a reservoir built in the 1960s. This guide covers the city and those three day trips. Hotels are in our where to stay in Khon Kaen guide, or in Thai, ที่พักขอนแก่น.

Everything here was checked on 16 October 2026 against the sources listed above. Most come from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, which are secondary sources, so we say where a figure is dated or where two sources disagree, and we could not confirm any opening hours or fees from an official page except where stated.

Getting to Khon Kaen

The 12Go page for Bangkok to Khon Kaen was titled 'Bangkok to Khon Kaen by bus, train, van, flight, taxi' when we opened it in a real browser on 16 October 2026. It listed operators including AEC 168, Budsarakham Tour, Chan Tour, Easyride, Gosafe, Jiratkan Kemarat, Kim Transfers, Rung Prasert, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air, Thai Railway, Torch and Ubon Air. It showed 40 departures a day, the earliest at 7:00 AM and the latest at 9:42 PM. We do not quote its prices. Some links on this site may earn us a commission; that does not change the times or fares you see.

Where the sources disagree

Treat the shorter distance as a best case and confirm times on the day.

The bus terminal

Wikivoyage says long-distance buses have used the Khon Kaen Provincial Transport Station (Baw Kaw Saw 3) on the ring road, about 8 km south of the centre, since 1 December 2017. It adds that city administrators do not want buses downtown and that a taxi from the terminal can cost more than some bus tickets, so check how you will cover that last stretch. Hotel pages that say 'near the bus terminal' may describe an older terminal.

Getting around

Wikivoyage describes the centre as a strict grid of wide streets and long blocks that makes walking fairly unpleasant. It lists numbered songthaew routes (signage in Thai only), tuk-tuks and taxis, and says the Grab ride-hailing app is available. We have not tested any of them, and its fares are dated, so confirm a price before you ride.

The city: the lake, the stupa and the museums

• Bueng Kaen Nakhon: Wikivoyage describes a lake of 603 rai in the south-east of town, with a shady park decorated with sculptures and a monument to Chao Phia Mueang Phaen, the city's founder. Thai Wikipedia adds exercise areas, a fishing zone and a fish-conservation area. Wikivoyage says one of the town's night markets sometimes doubles as a carnival here.
• Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon: the nine-storey stupa at Wat Nong Waeng on Klang Mueang Road. Wikivoyage says it was built to mark the golden jubilee of King Bhumibol's accession and the 200th anniversary of the province, that its doors and windows are carved with the life of the Buddha, and that visitors can see a panorama of the town from the top.
• Khon Kaen National Museum: on Lang Sun Ratchakan Road. Wikivoyage says it is open daily from 09:00 to 16:00, shows finds from Ban Chiang and Khmer lintels, and charged 30 baht, or 100 baht for foreigners, in February 2024. Check before you go.
• Treasure Hall Museum (Hong Moon Mang Mueang Khon Kaen): a museum on local history and culture. Wikivoyage lists it as open 09:00 to 17:00 except Sundays and public holidays, at 90 baht; Thai Wikipedia puts it on the ground floor of the 200 Years Park building at Bueng Kaen Nakhon.
• Wat Pa Saeng Arun and Wat Chai Si: two temples for mural lovers. Wikivoyage says the Sim Isan at Wat Pa Saeng Arun carries murals in the mudmee patterns of the province's tie-dyed silk, and that the murals at Wat Chai Si, a national ancient monument since August 2001, were painted by a folk artisan from Maha Sarakham.
• City Pillar Shrine: Wikivoyage says free films are shown on large projectors outside most nights at about 20:00, mostly dubbed in Thai.

Phu Wiang and the dinosaur sites

Wikipedia says Phu Wiang National Park covers 203,125 rai, about 325 square kilometres, roughly 85 km north-west of Khon Kaen, and is best known for its dinosaur bone sites, calling it one of the world's largest dinosaur graveyards. The B2 Khon Kaen page gives 85.0 km from that hotel, so most visitors go as a day trip. Thai Wikipedia says the park was declared in 1991 as Thailand's 63rd national park.

The story starts in 1976. Wikipedia says a geologist, Sudham Yaemniyom, found a piece of bone in a streambed that was later identified as part of a sauropod femur, the first dinosaur find in Thailand. It adds that a Thai-French palaeontological project later recorded vertebrae, teeth and footprints from rock of the Early Cretaceous Sao Khua Formation, about 130 million years old, and that in 1996 the remains of Siamotyrannus isanensis, a carnivorous dinosaur, were unearthed in the park. Wikipedia says the Tourism Authority of Thailand funded shelters and walking trails at four developed sites, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 9.

The Phu Wiang Dinosaur Museum is run by the Department of Mineral Resources and sits in Wiang Kao district. Thai Wikipedia gives opening hours of 09:30 to 16:30, Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays. We could not verify fees or the current opening hours from an official page, so check the museum before you drive out.

Chonnabot and Khon Kaen silk

Wikivoyage says Khon Kaen is a historic centre of silk production and that in Chonnabot, mudmee silk is woven by hand and then tie-dyed. Thai Wikipedia calls mudmee silk the best-known product of Chonnabot district and says the weaving there is known for a three-heddle technique and for twisting different coloured silk threads together. On 16 October 2018, it says, the World Crafts Council named Khon Kaen a World Craft City for mudmee silk.

For a visit, Thai Wikipedia lists two museums in the district: the Sala Mai Thai Museum inside Khon Kaen Vocational College and the privately run Chin Mai Thai mudmee museum. It says Si Bun Rueang Road in the district town is the shopping street for silk. We could not verify opening hours or distances from the city for these places, so ask your hotel or check on the day.

Ubolratana Dam

Wikipedia puts Ubol Ratana Dam about 50 km north of Khon Kaen, calls it the first hydroelectric project in Isaan, and says it is an earth-core rockfill dam built in 1964, 885 m long and 32 m high, managed by EGAT. It says the dam was renamed in 1966 after Princess Ubol Ratana, and that a 24 MW floating solar array was added in 2024. It also records that in April 2016 the reservoir ran dry for the first time since the dam was built, so water levels can change a lot between seasons.

EGAT hosts the Khun Saichol Villa website, which offers three houses beside the reservoir in Thai only; see our stay guide. The photo of the reservoir below was taken at sunset by a Commons photographer.

The seasons

We found no climate table for the city itself. Thai Wikipedia describes Phu Wiang National Park as having a hot season from March to April with an average maximum of 36.5 degrees in April, a rainy season from May to October with about 1,199 mm of rain a year, and a cool season from November to February with an average minimum of 16.6 degrees in December. Treat these as a guide for the Phu Wiang area and check the forecast for your dates.

Where to stay

Our stay guide checks 13 hotels against their own websites, in four areas:

• Srichan Road: Kosa Hotel, Ad Lib Khon Kaen, B2 Khon Kaen, Charoen Thani Princess and HOP INN Srichan Building A.
• Central Nai Mueang: Heritage Grand Khon Kaen, Khon Kaen Hotel, Nadee 10 and B2 Khon Kaen Premier.
• West side: Rachawadee Airport Hotel, Green Hotel & Convention and HOP INN Mittraphap.
• Ubolratana Dam: Khun Saichol Villa.

Open where to stay in Khon Kaen for the area table and the hotel cards.

Nearby destinations

• Isaan: the wider north-east
• Udon Thani: north on Highway 2, about 90 minutes by bus according to Wikivoyage
• Loei: north-west on Highway 12, with Phu Kradung halfway
• Phetchabun: west on Highway 12 towards Lom Sak
• Ubon Ratchathani: further east in lower Isaan
• Bangkok: where most trips to Khon Kaen start
• Thailand overview

FAQ

Prices, schedules and entry rules change. Figures here are approximate as of 2026; always confirm on the official or operator page before you book. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.