Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai

The Green Bus, for almost everyone, with 13 daily departures from Chiang Mai's Terminal 3 (Arcade) between 07:00 and 18:00, taking 3h20 in VIP and 3h45 in Express, at ฿260–290 for Express and ฿360–400 for VIP. Minivans (about ฿520–780 a seat) and private cars (฿1,950–3,000) cover the rest.

3 hours 20 minutes in VIP class and 3 hours 45 minutes in Express, on a good divided highway with one rest stop near the halfway mark. Vans are marginally quicker point to point, but they lose the difference in hotel pickup rounds. There's no rail line between the two cities, so the road is the only way short of flying via Bangkok, which nobody should do.

฿260–290 for Green Bus Express class and ฿360–400 for VIP, with the Terminal 3 counter at the low end of each range and the booking sites at the high end. Minivans cost about ฿520–780 a seat, and a private car ฿1,950–3,000 for the whole vehicle. Booking online adds ฿20–40 and guarantees a seat in high season.

No, scheduled Green Bus services run through without a sightseeing stop. The clean workaround is to ride to Chiang Rai's downtown Terminal 1, then take the local bus from platform 8 back out to Wat Rong Khun (19 a day, 06:15–17:50, ฿20–25 paid on board, 20–30 minutes, stopping in front of the temple). Or book a private transfer with a temple stop written in.

Terminal 1, the downtown station beside the Night Bazaar, walkable to most old-town hotels. Buses call first at Terminal 2, seven kilometers south on the superhighway. Only get off there if you're staying nearby, otherwise stay seated for the final run into town.

Three ways. The Terminal 3 counters sell the cheapest fares (฿260 Express, ฿360 VIP at the last check) and same-day seats are usually there in low season. The Green Bus website and app take a card and reserve a seat. 12Go issues an e-ticket in English and accepts foreign cards without the operator's site's occasional card rejections; the confirmation tells you whether to board with the e-ticket or exchange it at the Green Bus counter first.

Same-day walk-up usually works in low season, but book a day or more ahead in December–January and around festivals. Yi Peng weekend and New Year sell out the VIP class first. Online booking costs a little more than the Terminal 3 counter and buys you a reserved seat.

No. Thailand's northern rail line terminates at Chiang Mai and no railway reaches Chiang Rai, so the road is the only way, 3h20–3h45 by Green Bus, minivan or private car. Flying means backtracking through Bangkok and takes longer door to door than the bus.

No. There is no scheduled flight between the two airports, which are only 180 km apart. Every itinerary the booking engines show connects through Bangkok, which makes it 5 to 7 hours door to door from about ฿1,500, against 3.5 hours and ฿290 on the bus.

Yes, but it's a long one. The road is 3–3.5 hours each way, so the day tours that loop the White Temple, Blue Temple and Black House spend seven hours in the van and get back to Chiang Mai around 19:00, for about $40–55 with lunch. It's the right call only if Chiang Rai isn't otherwise on your route. If it is, relocate on the Green Bus and see the temples from town.

Yes, for two nights rather than a day. The White Temple, the Blue Temple, the Black House and Wat Huay Pla Kang are a day and a half from a town-center hotel, the Night Bazaar's food square covers the evenings, and a third day opens Doi Tung, Mae Salong's tea hills or the Golden Triangle. It's quieter and cheaper than Chiang Mai, which is the point of it.

Chiang Mai for a first visit, which has more temples, food, markets, cooking classes and nightlife in walking range. Chiang Rai for a second one, or for anyone who wants the north slower and emptier, with the more surprising temples. The honest answer for most trips is both, in that order, with the Green Bus between them; the full side-by-side is on the Chiang Mai vs Chiang Rai comparison page.

Two nights covers the three famous temples, Wat Huay Pla Kang and the Night Bazaar without rushing. A third night buys one out-of-town day, Doi Tung and Mae Salong to the north, or the Golden Triangle and Chiang Saen on the Mekong. Day-trippers from Chiang Mai see the temples and nothing else.

Five to six nights for both. Give Chiang Mai three or four, for the Old City temples, Doi Suthep, a cooking class or Doi Inthanon and one Sunday evening, then take the Green Bus north for two nights in Chiang Rai, which covers the White Temple, the Blue Temple, the Black House and the Night Bazaar. A third Chiang Rai night adds Doi Tung and Mae Salong or the Golden Triangle. With four nights or fewer, base in Chiang Mai and do Chiang Rai as a long day trip.

Yes, Grab works in town. Terminal 1 sits beside the Night Bazaar, so most town hotels are a short walk or a cheap ride from the bus, the airport to the center is about ฿150–200 and 15 to 20 minutes, and the Blue Temple is a short Grab ride from the Night Bazaar. For the White Temple, 13 km out, the ฿20–25 local bus from platform 8 at Terminal 1 is the cheaper way and stops at the gate.