I visited this WHS in December 2017. During my long weekend stopover in Bangkok (before heading to Oceania), I managed to fit in a day trip visit to Sukhothai thanks to Philip's precious info regarding the daily flights with Bangkok Airways.

By around 08:45 I was already exploring the well kept Sukhothai Historical Park. Bangkok Airways is no longer in charge of the shuttle service but the only car rental agency in the 'airport' provides this service. The departures are timed to coincide with the flights, even though I was quite uneasy to allow only 45 minutes before my 17:45 return flight to Bangkok. Everything worked out fine though and I managed to see quite a lot of the park and allow for some revisits too.

The term park here is very appropriate as there are lawns, palm trees, ponds, hedges and flowers separating each complex of wats. In a way it reminded me of my visit to Khajuraho, India. The atmosphere is very serene and bicycles are the main means of transport around, unlike Ayutthaya. I opted to visit on foot but there were longish walks/hikes I could have avoided especially when visiting the western and northern sections. The restoration works of some of the wats is a bit shoddy and it reinforces my conviction that there is no valid reason not to inscribe Myanmar's Bagan in the forseeable future.

That said, in my opinion Sukhothai is Thailand's best cultural WHS and still well worth visiting. The central section is obviously the most visited, although there weren't any significant crowds when I visited; just a couple of tour groups racing from one wat to the next to make it in time for lunch (most of the time more than 30 minutes away by car!). The highlights of the central section were Wat Mahathat, Wat Si Sawat, Wat Sa Si and Wat Tra Phang Ngoen which are all conveniently next to each other, even though quite a lot of walking is involved.

The highlight of the Western section was Wat Saphan Hin but I wouldn't venture this far if you're not so fit. I could appreciate the different gate remains and some sections of the walls/enclosures too. The highlights of the Northern section were Wat Si Chum (separate ticket) and Wat Phra Phai Luang. On the way to visiting the Northern section, I really enjoyed the minor temples (especially Wat Sorasak) and the different shrines built in the Khmer style.

There is a big UNESCO sign close to the ticket office of the Sukhothai Historical Park but the actual inscription plaque can be found at the associated historical city of Si Satchanalai (same format as the one in Ayutthaya). Unless you're a completionist, the OUV of this WHS can easily be appreciated by visiting Sukhothai only. Like most temples in South East Asia, sunsets and sunrises would be a plus point when staying for at least a night and there's also a sound and light show in the evening but apart from that, there isn't much more on offer in Sukhothai.