Chiang Mai International Airport

Chiang Mai's airport, CNX, is about as close to town as an airport gets. It sits just southwest of the Old City, and the ride to the moat, Nimman or the Night Bazaar takes 10–15 minutes, which makes it the easiest arrival in Thailand. Most of its traffic is the hour-long hop from Bangkok, to Don Mueang on Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air and to Suvarnabhumi on Thai Airways, Thai VietJet and Bangkok Airways. There are nonstops south to Krabi and Phuket too, and international flights to cities such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, from a separate international hall.

There are four ways into town, and none of them is expensive. The taxi counter in the arrivals hall sells fixed fares, so you know the price before you get in. Grab runs about ฿150–250 to the Old City or Nimman from the marked pickup point. The cheapest is the RTC city bus, whose red and yellow R3 loops leave from outside the international terminal for ฿30 a ride and call at Nimman, the Old City gates, Tha Phae Gate and the Night Bazaar. The airport's own shuttle buses charge ฿40 to Nimman and the moat (route A1) or to the Night Bazaar hotels on Chang Klan Road (A2), and ฿60 out along the Second Ring Road (A3).

Both bus loops also stop at Central Chiangmai Airport, the big mall about 1.5 km east of the terminal, which is the place to eat or wait out a long gap between check-out and a flight.