Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai

Chiang Rai's two bus stations are 7 km apart and named as if they were interchangeable. Terminal 1 is the old station in the middle of town, a few minutes on foot from the Chiang Rai Night Bazaar and the clock tower, and it's where the Green Bus to Chiang Mai boards, along with the local buses to the White Temple, Mae Sai and Chiang Khong. Terminal 2 is the long-distance station out on the superhighway to the south: Bangkok, Phitsanulok, the overnight services. Some Chiang Mai buses call there after leaving Terminal 1, but a driver told only 'the bus station' will often take you to Terminal 2 by default, so ask for Terminal 1, the old station, by name.

Buy at the Terminal 1 counter (Green Bus has its own window), on the Green Bus site or app, or on 12Go if you want the seat held from abroad. Be at the platform 30 minutes before departure; 20 kg travels free in the hold. If your hotel is out by the airport or on the Bangkok side of town, a shared songthaew between the two terminals costs pocket change and runs all day, and the first Chiang Mai bus of the morning still leaves from Terminal 1.

Chiang Mai Bus Terminal 3 is the Arcade complex on the Superhighway northeast of the Old City, about 3 km from Tha Phae Gate. The Grab pickup point is outside the terminal and the ride to the Old City or Nimman is ฿100–150; the red songthaews parked along the frontage take you for ฿30–50 a head if you share, more if you want the truck to yourself. Allow 20–25 minutes to the airport (฿150–200 by Grab) and a full 5 hours between a Chiang Rai departure and a flight out of Chiang Mai, because the 3h45 Express plus the crosstown ride plus check-in eats a whole afternoon.

Onward the same day: the sleeper trains to Bangkok leave Chiang Mai station, 3.7 km east of the Old City, at 17:05 (No. 14) and 18:20 (No. 10, the modern one), so only buses leaving Chiang Rai by 13:30 connect with time to spare. The Pai minivans leave from the Arcade itself, from Terminal 2 next door, hourly until about 17:30; take a bus that lands by 15:00 and you can be in Pai for dinner, though the 09:00–11:00 vans are the ones that sell out.

Wat Rong Khun sits on Route 118 on the southern edge of Chiang Rai, so in this direction it is literally on the way. The Green Bus passes it without stopping. A private car will stop for as long as you like (an hour is plenty at the 08:00 opening, before the coaches from Chiang Mai arrive) and continue south, which for two or three people sharing ฿1,950–3,000 is a fair way to fold the temple into a travel day. On a bus budget, go the evening before, or take the 06:15 or 07:10 local bus from platform 8 at Terminal 1 (฿20–25, 20–30 minutes, back on the same route), then catch a midday Green Bus to Chiang Mai with the temple done and your bags still in the hotel.