Khon Kaen is an under-rated city with some great markets and street art. There is accommodation here to suit every budget. These are the best hostels in Khon Kaen.
To reach Khon Kaen, we took the bus from the previous town. We had already made most of the journey east on our previous bus trip, so this ride only took around an hour. What we hadn’t realised until we were on the bus is that Khon Kaen’s two central bus stations are now closed and have been replaced by Bus Terminal 3 (map), which is a good few kilometres away from the actual town centre.
How To Get From Bus Terminal 3 Into Khon Kaen
Joanna did some research and found an air-conditioned City Bus that connects Bus Terminal 3 to the city for only 15 Baht per person. There are also older buses without air-con for 10 Baht.
We arrived at the station and asked a couple of people how to get the City Bus. Neither of them spoke English but we were able to communicate enough for them to understand. We were taken to wait at a bus stop with assurances this was the bus stop for the city bus.
Friendly Locals
A young Thai girl began to speak to us in broken English and she confirmed that we were in the right place. The girl and her mother sat with us on the bus and explained where we needed to be and other things we could do in this city. They even offered to take us for dinner and pay as we were “visitors” to their city. What a wonderfully positive start to our time in this small city.
Once we got off the bus, we found out that our hotel, which was advertised as being located in “the heart of the city” was actually 25 minutes walk from the main centre. It was a long, straight and dull walk, which was made more bearable by breaking it up with a nice coffee at ‘April’s Sweet Bakery’ (map). The cakes looked delicious too so, if you’re around this area, definitely check them out.
Where To Stay In Khon Kaen
Click here for all accommodation in Khon Kaen!
These are some of the best budget hostels in Kohn Kaen, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I found Agoda to be much better than booking.com in Southeast Asia. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.
- D-Toys Homestay
- Dm Inn
- Khon Kaen Ruenrom Hotel
- Paiboon Apartment
- Lay Day
- Sirin Hotel & Resident
- Baan Suan Thanwalai Khon Kaen
- Saowaluk Place
Cactus Resort & Hotel
We booked a stay at ‘Cactus Resort & Hotel’ (map). Check-in was quick and hassle-free. We made our way to our room and was pleasantly surprised. The room was airy and clean and the aircon worked well. WiFi was as good as we’d had it and the bathroom was in good working condition. It was a lovely place to spend a couple of nights. The only down side was that it was a little far out of the centre. Grab is available in Khon Kaen though so it doesn’t have to be a problem.
Click here to book a room at Cactus Resort.
Joanna eyes up the sushi delivery menu
