Street sign depicting the name of Sukhumvit Road (Thanon Sukhumvit) in Thai and English
(,
Thanon Sukhumwit), or
Thailand Route 3 (), is a major
highway in
Thailand, and a major surface road of Bangkok and other cities it winds through. It follows a coastal route from
Bangkok to
Trat and is just over 400km in length.
Sukhumvit Road is named after the fifth chief of the Department of Highways, Phra Bisal Sukhumvit. It is one of the four major highways of Thailand, along with
Phahonyothin Road (Route 1),
Mittraphap Road (Route 2) and
Phetkasem Road (Route 4).
Route
Sukhumvit Road begins in Bangkok, as a continuation of Rama I Road and Phloen Chit Road roads which span
Pathum Wan district. Starting from where the boundaries of the
districts of
Khlong Toei, Pathum Wan and
Watthana meet, it runs the entire length of the border between Khlong Toei and Watthana, then passes through
Phra Khanong and
Bang Na districts.
It then crosses the border between Bangkok and
Samut Prakan Province and subsequently continues east through
Chachoengsao Province, south through
Chonburi Province, east through
Rayong Province, south-east through
Chanthaburi Province, and ends in the town of
Trat, capital of
Trat Province, about 100km short of the
Hat Lek border crossing with
Cambodia.
In Chonburi Province it passes through the towns of
Chon Buri City,
Laem Chabang,
Bang Lamung township,
Sri Racha, and
Pattaya.
Bangkok
In the capital, Sukhumvit Road serves as a main commercial street, and this section is often congested, even at late evening hours. The Chalerm Mahanakhon Expressway has an exit at Soi 1. Ratchadaphisek Road crosses Sukhumvit at the
Asok (Asoke) intersection.
The Sukhumvit area of Bangkok is easily accessible on the
Skytrain Sukhumvit Line, which runs from
Mo Chit through the
Silom Line interchange at
Siam Square up to
On Nut on
Soi (side-street) 81. The
Bangkok Metro's Sukhumvit Station interchanges with the Skytrain at Asok.
The Sois are numbered from West to East, with odd numbers branching off North-East of Sukhumvit, and even numbers branching off South-West.
The area between Sukhumvit Soi 1 and Sukhumvit Soi 63 is popular as residential area for western expatriates. Japanese nationals tend to prefer from Soi 21 Asok intersection upwards, especially Soi
Thong Lo. Rentals tend to be higher in the even numbered streets between Soi 8 and Soi 28 and in the odd numbered streets between Soi 15 and Soi 39. Soi 12 is occupied mainly by Indian expatriates, see
Phahurat.
The areas of
Soi Cowboy (between Soi 21 Asok and Soi 23) and
Nana Entertainment Plaza (Soi 4) are packed full of
go-go bars and other places of
prostitution. Restaurants of various levels of luxury exist all along the road, as well as hotels including famous names such as
The Westin,
JW Marriott and
Sheraton. Also several
shopping malls are found, like the upscale
The Emporium shopping center. It also harbours the eastern bus station at Soi 63 Ekkamai.
Major sois off Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok:
See also
