Day Trips From Chiang Mai

The Best Half-Day Trips From Chiang Mai

Out after breakfast and back by mid-afternoon. Ranked from the one I'd do first.

1. 1. The Sticky Waterfall (Bua Tong), Mae Taeng, about 60 km north

   Best half day

   Mineral springs rich in calcium carbonate run over limestone terraces and coat them in a hard, chalky crust that grips like sandpaper, so instead of admiring the falls you climb them, tier by tier, barefoot, with a fixed rope where it steepens. The white rock is the grippy part. The dark patches are the slippery ones, so step around them. It sounds like a gimmick, and I think it's one of the most purely fun mornings in the north.

   A staircase takes about ten minutes down to the base, and two hours is about right for the whole visit. Bring swimwear, a towel and a change of clothes, and leave valuables behind, because you'll be wet to the waist. Food isn't allowed on the falls, so eat at the picnic tables by the entrance. The Chet Si springs nearby show off the same odd mineral coloring.

   Getting there

   About 90 minutes up Route 1001 by scooter or car. A Grab or red songthaew charter is about ฿1,000–1,400 round trip with the driver waiting, or take a half-day tour with hotel pickup.

   When to go

   A weekday morning, before the tour vans. The gates close at 16:30.

   

   Bua Tong Sticky Waterfall

   4.7(7,457)Daily 08:30–16:30

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2. 2. Doi Suthep and the Monk's Trail, On the mountain above the city

   Best close to town

   Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the north's holiest temple, sits 1,000 m above the city at the top of a 306-step naga staircase, with a gilded chedi and the valley laid out below. It opens at 06:00 and the coaches arrive around 09:00, so the two hours between are the visit. Entry is ฿30, and the cable car beside the stairs is ฿20–50.

   Walk down the Monk's Trail to Wat Pha Lat, a forest temple by a stream, and you're back on the edge of town by mid-morning. Foreign adults are now asked for a ฿100 trail fee. The road carries on past the temple to Doi Pui's viewpoint and Hmong village if you have a scooter.

   Getting there

   Shared red songthaews from Chang Phuak Gate, ฿40–50 a person when full, or ฿300–500 to charter one round trip.

   When to go

   06:00, before the coaches. The things-to-do guide has the full morning.

   

   Doi Suthep Temple

   4.7(12,029)Daily 05:00–21:00

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3. 3. The Mae Sa Valley and Mon Jam, Mae Rim, 27 km northwest

   Best quick escape

   Mae Sa is a chain of ten small falls up a forested stream at km 7 of the Mae Rim to Samoeng road. The first tier is a few minutes from the parking lot, and a trail of a little over 2 km climbs past the rest, so the higher you go, the fewer people you meet. Foreign adults pay ฿100 and children ฿50, and the gate is open 08:30 to 16:30. Be through it by about 14:30 if you want the top tiers.

   Further up the same hills, Mon Jam is a highland farming community turned flower gardens, viewpoints and cafés, open 07:00 to 20:00. Each garden charges separately, around ฿50 each, so I'd pick two or three and enjoy the drive. With a scooter and a full day, the Samoeng loop, about 100 km, carries on over the hills and back.

   Getting there

   40 to 50 minutes each way by Grab or scooter. Shared songthaews from Chang Phuak run to Mae Rim town, but you'd still need a charter for the last stretch.

   When to go

   Morning for the falls, late afternoon for Mon Jam's light.

   

   Mae Sa Waterfall

   4.4(2,513)Daily 08:30–16:30

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4. 4. San Kamphaeng Hot Springs, Mae On, about 30 km east

   Best easy afternoon

   A geothermal park built around a jet fountain that throws boiling water into the air all day, with gardens, picnic lawns and baskets of eggs you dangle in the springs until they cook, about nine minutes. Foreigners pay ฿100, which includes soaking your feet in the mineral stream, and it's open 07:00 to 18:00.

   The private mineral baths get mixed reviews for upkeep, so I'd treat it as a park with a foot soak rather than a spa. It's the easy one with kids.

   Getting there

   About an hour by car or scooter. A shuttle from Chiang Mai runs four times a day for ฿150.

   When to go

   An afternoon, or on the way back from Mae Kampong.

   

   San Kamphaeng Hot Springs

   4.4(11,512)Daily 07:00–18:00

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5. 5. Lamphun, Lamphun, 26 km south

   Best for history, close by

   The old capital of the Mon kingdom of Hariphunchai, and now a small, quiet town. Wat Phra That Hariphunchai, in the center, is the reason to go, open 06:00 to 18:00 for a small fee, with the Hariphunchai National Museum across the road.

   It's a short morning, and it combines well with Lampang further down the same road if you have a driver.

   Getting there

   About 30 minutes south on Route 11 by Grab, car or scooter. Local buses and the train also run, more slowly.

   When to go

   Morning, before the heat. Cover your shoulders and knees.

The Best Full-Day Trips From Chiang Mai

These need the whole day, leaving by 08:00 and back around dark. Ranked for a first visit.

1. 1. Doi Inthanon National Park, Chom Thong, about 100 km southwest

   Best overall

   Thailand's highest mountain, 2,565 m. The summit itself is a marker, a shrine and the Ang Ka boardwalk, a 360 m loop through dripping cloud forest that takes 20 to 30 minutes. The twin royal pagodas below it, built for King Bhumibol's 60th birthday in 1987 and Queen Sirikit's in 1992, are all about the view from their gardens, so go on a clear day, because cloud turns them into two pretty buildings and not much else.

   The walk worth planning around is the Kew Mae Pan trail, a two to three hour loop along an open ridge, open only from 1 November to 31 May with a compulsory local Hmong guide, ฿200 per group. Wachirathan Waterfall is a minute from its parking lot, and Mae Ya, on the park's southern edge, takes the same ticket at its own checkpoint. Pack a jacket, because December and January nights at the top drop to a few degrees above freezing.

   Getting there

   About two hours each way, the last 48 km a steep climb from the Chom Thong junction. Yellow songthaews run from Chang Phueak and Chiang Mai Gate to Chom Thong, but there's nothing inside the park, so take a tour (฿1,200–1,800), a driver or a scooter you're confident on.

   When to go

   November to February, on a clear day, leaving by 07:00.

   

   Doi Inthanon National Park

   4.7(3,669)Daily 05:00–18:00

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2. 2. An ethical elephant sanctuary, Mae Taeng, Mae Wang and the Inthanon hills

   Best with elephants

   The north's signature day, and the one to get right. Choose a sanctuary where you watch the elephants rather than ride or bathe them. Elephant Nature Park in the Mae Taeng valley, about 60 km north, is the original rescue project and runs an observation-led full day for ฿3,500. Half days elsewhere are ฿1,600–2,500 with hotel pickup.

   The good ones sell out two to four weeks ahead in the cool season. The ethical elephant sanctuaries guide sorts every Chiang Mai sanctuary by the welfare criteria, with prices and the camps to skip.

   Getting there

   Hotel pickup is included in every program worth booking, about 1.5 hours each way.

   When to go

   Book before you arrive between November and February.

   

   Elephant Nature Park

   4.8(5,131)Daily 08:00–17:00

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3. 3. Chiang Dao, Chiang Dao, 70 km north

   Best by public transport

   A valley under Doi Luang Chiang Dao, Thailand's third-highest peak, with a cave temple running into the foot of the mountain. The first chambers are lit and lined with Buddha images. The dark passages beyond are the best part, and you can only enter them behind a local guide carrying a paraffin lantern, about ฿200 per group plus a tip. Entry is ฿40, and the cave is open 07:00 to 17:00.

   Allow about two hours for the cave, then climb the 510 steps to the forest monastery of Wat Tham Pha Plong. If you like it, stay. The bungalows under the mountain are what turn this into the quieter alternative to Pai.

   Getting there

   The orange bus from Chang Phueak terminal toward Tha Ton, about ฿46 and 90 minutes, or an air-conditioned bus for about ฿83. A songthaew takes you from town to the cave.

   When to go

   Morning, with an afternoon bus back.

   

   Chiang Dao Cave

   4.5(4,506)Daily 07:00–17:00

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   Hotels in Chiang Mai

4. 4. Mae Kampong, Mae On, 50 km east

   Best for cool air and coffee

   A hill village at about 1,300 m, wooden houses along a stream in a narrow valley, where families who once lived on fermented tea leaves now run homestays and cafés. Walk the lane, stop at Wat Khantha Phueksa, the carved teak temple with an ordination hall standing in the stream, then take the jeep up for about ฿20 to the seven-tier Mae Kampong Waterfall, open 08:00 to 17:00 for a small community fee.

   Kew Fin, the viewpoint at 1,517 m above the village, is the sea-of-clouds sunrise, which means staying the night. On a day trip, arrive before 09:00 on weekends, because the lots fill.

   Getting there

   An hour to an hour and a half by road via San Kamphaeng and Mae On, up a steep last stretch with no fuel station. Without a car, a shared van takes about 2 hours, booked online.

   When to go

   A weekday between November and February.

   

   Mae Kampong Waterfall

   4.5(2,930)Open 24 hours daily

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5. 5. Lampang, Lampang, 109 km southeast

   Best for Lanna temples

   The town most people skip. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, about 18 km southwest of town, is the finest Lanna temple in the north. In town, horse-drawn carriages still run, and the old teak-merchant quarter along the Wang river is quiet in a way Chiang Mai stopped being years ago.

   The train is the easy way. Take the 07:30 from Chiang Mai, arrive at 09:27, and hire a songthaew or a driver out to Lampang Luang. With a car, stop at Lamphun on the way.

   Getting there

   The 07:30 day train, about two hours, or a minibus in under two. Back by minibus in the late afternoon.

   When to go

   Any day outside burning season.

6. 6. Chiang Rai's White Temple, Chiang Rai, 3 to 3½ hours north

   Only if it isn't on your route

   Possible in a day, but most of the day is in the van. Tours leave around 07:00 and get back around 19:00, and cover the White Temple (฿200), the Blue Temple and usually Huay Pla Kang, for about $40–55 with lunch.

   If you're heading north anyway, take the Green Bus instead, 13 a day for ฿260–400, and give Chiang Rai two nights, so you're at the White Temple at opening time rather than with every tour from Chiang Mai.

   Getting there

   A day tour with hotel pickup, or the Green Bus from Arcade (Terminal 3) if you're staying.

   When to go

   Only with no other way to fit Chiang Rai in.

   

   Wat Rong Khun

   4.6(25,149)Daily 08:00–17:00

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   Hotels in Chiang Rai

Every Day Trip From Chiang Mai, Compared

Fees are for foreign adults. A car with a driver is about ฿800–1,200 for half a day and about ฿2,000 for a full day, split between everyone in it. The longer mountain day to Doi Inthanon runs about ฿2,700–3,200.