Chiang Mai – quick travel guide

Mountain jungle town in northern Thailand with temples, elephants, and sticky waterfalls.

Anybody visiting Thailand has heard many praises of Chiang Mai. That it’s a MUST SEE. Laidback dirt-road town built in nature, many accommodations with big yards and gardens/greenspaces. Lots of temples (almost every corner). Lots of nature jungle activities…elephant sanctuaries being the most popular but also sticky waterfalls, hiking, rafting, ziplines, visiting the long-neck tribe, farther out palaces/temples, national parks and safaris, and more.

But the real beauty of Chiang Mai is its smooth balance between jungle nature and human city, old culture and new lifestyle, peaceful vibe and lively town-life, low prices but many high-quality food options. It’s a lovely place to entertain or rejuvenate any kind of person.

Timing for Chiang Mai is key. Definitely avoid monsoon season May-Oct (low season) as lots of sudden rain can ruin your dayplans. Aalso recommended to avoid burning season late-Feb to Apr, as the air is extremely polluted. However, I came during burning season in mid-Mar and things seemed fine to me.

You can see the main things (temples and nature, elephants) within 3 days…but to do all the nearby activities could easily stretch out to 10 days. Some people just love the vibe and keep extending. It’s that kind of place. Where you stay for accommodation will also add greatly to your experience.

You’ll quickly understand that the vibe of Chiang Mai is to chill. Stay out of the heat and wait until night time. Your first couple days may be running off to jungle activities (elephants or waterfalls) but the heat and town vibe soon beats you into submission. And you’ll spend more and more time at your accommodation.

Even though there’s a city population of over 100k, the Old City or old town central tourist area where you’ll be feels very much like a small chill town. The Old City area is surrounding by a big square moat and remnants of the old city walls from the Lanna Kingdom.

Lots of open space and greenery, many shops and restaurants (catering to both locals and foreigners), many accommodations have their own big yard and garden space. Except for the main street packed with commercial establishments, all side streets are you walking past big hotel/hostel yards and little cafes within the jungle.

Not many people walking the streets during the day (except for first day European travelers) since it’s so darn hot, everyone usually hides inside at home or nice cafe with AC. Which helps the peaceful vibe. Then they all come out at night when it’s cooler and more lively. It’s a stereotypical hot weather dirt-road “hippie” destination except only that it’s not that hippie (thank goodness). The hippiest town in Thailand is actually Pai (about 3.5-4hrs drive away).

Where to stay:

• Old City – most convenient for first-time visitors. Centrally-located and easy (also lively) to walk around. Has a slight hippie vibe and dusty roads with temples on every corner, and many cute shops restaurants cafes, night markets and also a bar/club nightlife area. Even though it’s small, you can easily spend a month exploring just the old city.
  • Old City (east) – any place between the Tha Phae Gate (east gate) and Prapokklao Road main street next to Wat Chedi Luang Varaviharn temple. Busy area and close to nightlife.
  • Old City (southwest) – around Wat Phra Singh temple going south. Very lively and many shops and businesses, etc. Still walkable to the east side or also north.
  • Old City (northwest) – around Wat Lok Moli going east. Lively as well but also slightly more local vibe, also closer to the Nimman area…which is very nice and probably the more popular nice area for true locals of Chiang Mai.
• Nimman – refers to the Nimmanaha Road (“Nimman” for short) in the Mueang district. Looks more like a modern city, good for night time. You can think of it as a smaller version of modern Bangkok but way less hectic. Nice modern buildings, developed roads, everything clean and more posh-looking. Busiest area is probably around the One Nimman shopping mall and Camellia Cafe, but you could really be anywhere since you’ll rely on motobike if you’re this far out. It’s a lovely modern city vibe and only locals or longtime foreigners living in Chiang Mai (since the backpackers only stay in old city).

Chiang Mai is much smaller and far less traffic than what you experienced in Bangkok. You already know if you flew into the airport (only 15min drive from the city). You can get from any part of town to another in 10mins GrabBike, most trips even less than that. Which gives you more freedom to stay in the accommodation you really like.

Distance only matters if you want to be SUPER close to the main roads (like 500m or less)…because again, it’s super hot during the day and walking distances just ain’t fun. Don’t forget tours usually pick up from your accommodation so again, you don’t need to be anywhere specific.

Hostels & Hotels:

• STAMPS – #1 best social vibe. This should be your first choice to stay if you want to socialize and have people to do activities with. Book early to guarantee your spot.
• Revolution Hostel Chiang Mai – very social party hostel. Good for meeting people and always have group activities. All the party folks leave the hostel at night so you can still sleep if you wanted to stay in.
• The Yard Hostel
  • Beautiful place in great location, nice big garden and green spaces, excellent facilities and cleanliness, professional staff, usable internet and mostly-available laundry machines.
  • My complaint is it’s too zen and too big of a space. Everybody spreads out into their own peaceful corner and there’s awkwardness of interrupting someone’s personal space to be social. Even when people talk, they’re doing it so low and respectfully as if trying not to wake up grandparents sleeping upstairs (metaphorically speaking).
  • Also, it’s very female-heavy to the point of feeling like a women’s retreat. And I say this as a very extroverted guy who likes being around women.
  • I loved my private room. It was a nice hotel-vibe one at the front of the property, and not the metal bungalow one in the back by the dorms. Beautiful and big, kinda luxurious even. And being by the front makes it easier if you wanted to sneak outsiders into your room. 😉 The dorms in the bungalows seem nice as well.
• Hidden Garden Hostel – my friend stayed here and said while it was bougie nice, it was also lacking in socialness just like mine. She said it was “cult-like”.
• Bed and Terrace Guesthouse Chiang Mai – very budget-friendly and nice. Good location, good wifi, homey feel, friendly staff, cleanly, nice view and balcony.

Pick the right hostel for your vibe:

• Social and activities – this should be your #1 priority, as Chiang Mai can seem boring for first-time tourists. All the nature adventures require some driving or a tour, which means you’ll have to arrange into groups for better pricing or to have more friends to enjoy it with.
• Peace & relax – Chiang Mai does really well for this vibe but most solo-travelers soon realize, they wish they were in a more social hostel. Because again, all the activities are farther out so going alone feels inconvenient and not as fun.

Again…make sure you book early because the popular ones fill up quickly.

Neighborhoods, walking areas, public squares:

• Old City (day time) – you walk past the busy streets and temples.
• Old City (night time) – you go to night markets. If you want to sit by yourself by the water (away from the bustling noise), you can simply go sit next to the moat.
• Nimman area – hang around the corner where One Nimman mall (outdoor space & live music), MAYA mall (panoramic view on rooftop), and Camellia Cafe (live music & good food). Lots of things to explore around here. Also a fancy Think Park night market for fancy handcrafts. Lively alternative way to spend your nights in a nice place as opposed to the usual dusty old city, also no backpackers here.
• Three Kings Monument – the statues have historical significance (the 3 kings who united the Lanna Kingdom). But the space is an open square for the community…people sitting outside at night, dancers, skateboarders, exercising, and people doing whatever recreational activities.

During the day, you can walk to the temples, using the busy streets as exploration along the way. At night, you will simply follow the lights and noise of the busiest streets.

Activities to do:

• Viewpoints, landmarks, sunsets, hikes:
  • Monk’s Trail (Wat Pha Lat Trail):
    • Classic tourist hike starting early in the morning. Usually sold to you as a tour that handles the transportation for you. It’s not far away but the transportation for yourself alone using Grab will cost 3-4x more than if you join a group tour at your hotel/hostel. Also more fun to do it with people and make friends, right?
    • 20min ride to trailhead, then 25min hike up to Wat Pha Lat temple on mountain with view of Chiang Mai below. Easy and very rewarding. Some people aim to get there at sunrise, others just after sunrise. As long as you arrive before the crowds, you’ll have a peaceful experience and not too many people in your shots.
    • Once you reach the top, you can go straight back…or continue further to Doi Suthep (via taxi/rideshare or hiking).
  • Random hiking – do not randomly hike around in Thailand or SEA jungle. Very undeveloped, easy to get lost and many dangers. Elephants, bears, big cats, venomous snakes insects plants, aggressive feral dogs, heat & dehydration, falling, drowning, running into illegal drug operations (they’ll kill any witnesses), sudden rains, falling coconuts, etc.
• Buildings & architecture:
  • Temples:
    • Chiang Mai is full of temples (literally every corner), known for its history as the center of Buddhism in Thailand, had a Buddhist king who built many temples.
    • Don’t stress to see the temples. You’ll naturally pass many walking around. These are nice, but nothing compared to more iconic temples you’ve seen in Thailand, or Asia…also nowhere beautiful as White/Blue temples in Chiang Rai (3hrs drive away).
    • I disagreed with other guides listing their favorites…so I wrote my own list. I pick the prettiest ones (regardless if it’s more crowded). Go earlier or later if you want less busy. Temples take only 5-30mins to visit…super easy stop, free or up to 100baht. These are temples around Old City. Not destination temples where you drive and hike to a viewpoint, I list those elsewhere on this guide.
    • Wat Phra Singh – probably most popular, one of the prettiest with many structures of different architectural designs. Walk to the back and see more back there as well. Also lights up at night. Far more visually stimulating than other temples. As most other temples are just 1 or 2 structures.
      • Wat Chedi Luang – cool entrance gate with demons, decorative main structure, and pretty interior around main buddha statue. 10min walk from Wat Phra Singh
    • Wat Lok Moli – local favorite, beautiful wood-carved temple and ancient bricks. Very picturesque, also lights up at night. Wat Rajamontean is just across the street and takes only 2mins to look at.
    • Wat Saen Mueang – beautiful with nice color palette and floors, definitely one of the nicest. Probably the favorite for people who explored many temples.
      • Wat Chiang Man – one of the nicer ones and with many elephants on its architecture. 4min walk from Wat Saen.
    • Wat Jed Yot – Nice because of the distinct architecture and 600 year old ruins. Located outside northeast of old city, maybe a good “park stop” if you’re in the Nimman area.
• Elephant sanctuaries, parks, tours:
  • One of the biggest reasons to visit Chiang Mai or Thailand, is to see elephants. You’ve heard for many years, exciting stories of travelers interacting with elephants in Thailand. But a lot has changed. The days of elephant rides, elephant tricks (circus movements or painting), elephant touching (bathing or feeding)…are coming to an end due to growing consciousness of ethical treatment for animals.
  • Your biggest concern today will be choosing an ethical elephant experience. This means either a wild national park where elephants roam freely, most ethical but less likely to view let alone interact up close with elephants. Or a more enclosed private park where they rely on humans to some degree for survival. Private parks often call themselves sanctuaries today, caring for rescued elephants who were exploited for labor or circus tricks and now unable to survive in the wild. Or at least that’s the story they tell you.
  • Knowing which sanctuaries are actually ethical is difficult, since they ALL advertise themselves as ethical. Fancy websites, brochures, over-the-top displays of animal affection by tour guides can sell any image to you. Only way to know is by working at the sanctuary. I suspect many sanctuaries charge high tourist fees and rely on animal-enthusiast volunteers to maximize profit.
  • “Ethical” or “sanctuary” are just today’s marketing words by the same old elephant tourism industry. The reality is elephants are still bought and bred. They are still trained, not for obvious tricks but to greet you in the morning or bathe in a pool surrounded by tourists. Even worse, you realize the families that own elephant sanctuaries still own their original elephant businesses just next door on the farm up the street still doing rides and circus tricks. People wonder if the same elephants are being corralled around at both.
  • Generally, you avoid places where elephants display unnatural behavior. Starting with #1: being close to humans, wild elephants do not like humans. Them being close to you is an obvious sign of exploitation. #2: elephants doing tricks like being human-fed, greeting you, or allowing you to bathe them. #3: you see keepers nearby with a stick forcing elephants to stay in certain areas nearby you. #4: sanctuaries are only accessible via an expensive tour bought from Chiang Mai city center. You can’t just drive up to the sanctuary on your own unannounced and pay entrance fee. You MUST have a guided tour. Suspicious, right?
  • Chai Lai Orchid Eco Lodge and Cafe – recommended to me by local Thai girl who used to work here. She said the property is so beautiful and they really care for the elephants. You can do a day tour, but it’s better to go out there (90min drive) and spend the night and wake up in the morning to a breakfast experience with the elephants.
  • Elephant Nature Park – many great reviews, but honestly…you should read the bad ones and see.
  • There are probably more…but I’ll let you research for yourself.
• Parks, gardens, green spaces:
  • Doi-Suthep Pui National Park:
    • big park with
    • Temple
    • Bhubing Palace
    • Viewpoint
  • Huai Tueng Thao Reservoir*:
    • Peaceful lake with huts along the swimmable water and numerous outdoor activities, also fun little sculpture park (with giant animal sculptures). 30min drive from Chiang Mai old city, and only locals (I saw maybe 8 foreigners the entire afternoon). Some fun photo-ops as well. Overall, a good place to go for groups and families. Takes only ~3hrs of time.
    • Driver can drop you off at the gate. But most time-efficient is pay his entry, drive all the way through and drop off at the sculpture park. Then you walk back (along the water) towards the front of the gate and eat lunch at one of the huts. They may charge double-entry for foreigners but price is low anyway.
    • Main tourist activity is walk along the water, see Huai Tueng Thao Sculpture Park (big animal sculptures & can climb up), and have lunch in one of the huts. You can also treat it like a beach day, jumping in the water as you wait for your food. (Fun for kids while adults talk.) And/or do ATV rides, ziplines, etc.
    • Reading GoogleMaps reviews, some restaurants had far better ratings than others. Eat earlier if you want to guarantee a hut right by the water, they get full around mid-late afternoon. If you go later or are only one person, they give you one of the huts in the back row (on the dirt), still nice but view somewhat blocked by the huts in front.
  • Doi Inthanon National Park:
    • Popular national park with hiking trails to waterfalls, gardens, and scenic temples at Doi Inthanon (highest peak in Thailand). Incredible views from this beautiful forest. Recommended as a day tour to fully enjoy. Weather is much colder up there. 2hr drive from the city, then several more hours to hike and see everything. Weekends are crowded.
  • Hidden Village Chiang Mai – great place for kids. Animal-theme play park with lots of stations and exhibits. Plenty of trees and shade.
  • Chiang Mai Zoo – low price but requires add-on for many parts (like the aquarium). Generally a nice experience to walk around a big park and see animals, but compares poorly against other zoos in the world. This one is not as well-maintained, many exhibits closed or empty, certain highly-expected animals not there, too much walking and poor organization of the space.
• Beaches, bridges, water-points:
  • Common water points to hang out is the moat around the Old City. Many restaurants are set up with outdoor seating. It’s not particularly picturesque but the moat being there means fewer buildings and people can be there, so it’s more chill than if you hung out on a regular street.
• Arts, museums, culture:
• Markets, shopping:
  • Night markets** – are super fun and lively in Chiang Mai as that’s where the whole town goes once it gets dark. Different ones are more popular on different nights. Unless you want a quiet intimate dinner at a certain restaurant, eating at the night markets will be more enjoyable and visually-stimulating. Great for groups, and everyone can order different things for their taste but still sit together.
    • Chiang Mai Night Bazaar** – is better during the weekdays, opens at 5pm. Just across the street is the Kalare Night Bazaar…the 2 combine for a very lively night area with many people, shops, restaurants, live music, arcades, etc.
    • Wua Lai Walking Street** – best and only on Saturdays. The Silver Temple nearby also illuminates on Saturdays. Long street of vendors, food, clothes, souvenirs, etc. Many people.
    • Tha Phae Walking street** – best and only on Sundays. Same idea as Wua Lai. Probably the absolute best one in Chiang Mai.
• Villages:
  • There are several small villages around Chiang Mai. Offering you a chance to see different kinds of local life and interesting photography. Some are more ethical than others.
  • Mae Kampong Village – scenic rural mountain village that gets very cold. Designed for tourists but still keeping its rustic charm. Many shops for food and souvenirs, also accommodations. Recommend to arrive mid-late afternoon and stay into the night when lights turn on. Lively to walk around and take photos. May be challenging to find parking, but can offer locals money to park at their house.
  • Long neck tribes – often offered on tours. Long neck tribes such as the “Karen” tribe are ethnic groups living in government-designated places in Thailand, seemingly forced to serve as human zoo specimens. I heard many people feel it’s totally unethical so I don’t recommend it as a tour. You can help them out by visiting on your own. But be prepared for underwhelming if not outright sad experience. Overpaying 300-500 baht to see these tribes of people huddled around in staged positions or forced to sell souvenirs.
• Tours:
  • Elephant tours –
  • Doi Inthanon – visiting the park and hike up to the top and see many scenic stops.
  • Other hiking – waterfalls, other some kind of peak with temple and/or view at the top.
  • Combo tours – usually combining elephants, waterfall, longneck village, etc…all together in one day.
  • Water rafting tours –
  • Zipline – I’m sure you’ll be fine, but tourists have died due to poor safety measures. Also their ziplines are built for smaller Thai people.
• Massages:
  • Many places in old city charge 15-20% more than in Bangkok while others charge same price as Bangkok.
  • Chiang Mai Thai Massage 1 – absolute amazing place. I went back multiple times and each time seemed like the best massage of my life. Sure you can get the regular one but I got the Thai Massage with Oil for 2 hours and it was heaven! (Make sure you go to the one I linked.)
  • ex-convict massage
  • blind massage
• Cooking Class – many people do cooking classes in Chiang Mai. I don’t cook so I don’t know anything about them.
• Muay Thai (kick)boxing shows:
  • Many people enjoy the kickboxing events in Chiang Mai, but beware…many stadiums here do rigged fights. Where one side (usually the foreigner) is always winning against overmatched smaller local Thai opponents. Sometimes fights are mismatched in size/ability, other times they’re outright fake and knockouts happen by the slightest touch. Fights also seem determined by the bets…which is another story in itself, they may refuse to let you bet on certain fighters (who are already scripted to win).

Restaurants & Cafes:

• So many good foodie places here. Explore and try. Or lookup online guides if you wanna see the best of the best. But my favorite is really to just go to the night markets…most of those local stalls are really good and cheap.
• Baan Landai Fine Thai Cuisine* – fancy Michelin star restaurant.
• Khao So-I* – absolutely delicious. Perfect everything, nice place. Came mid-afternoon and it was full but they were able to squeeze me in without any wait. Located northeast outside old city, good to pair it up with.
• Tsuneki – legit good ramen and open later than others nearby. I was scared it wouldn’t be good enough but it totally hit the spot.
• Shu Homemade – delicious Thai-fusion pasta. High quality and reasonable price.
• Khao Soi Khun Yai – super busy, go early before 11am if you can or else it’s super crowded. Everyone says it’s so delicious. Read reviews and see for yourself (what to do order, etc).
• Khun Kae’s Juice Bar – cheap and delicious IG-beautiful fruit bowls and smoothies. Very popular. Some people say it’s overhyped and overcrowded, recommended Waffle Square (1 block away) instead.
• To try:
  • La Casita – Mexican food.
  • Umakute Gokyo Ramen –
  • Ruen Tamarind Restaurant
  • Chennai to Rangoon Indian
  • The Haus 224

Food scene in Chiang Mai is really good. Lots and lots of delicious options! From local to western, to fusion, and everything in between.

Bars, clubs, and nightlife:

• The general backpacker nightlife, bar/club area is by the Havana Bar Chiang Mai. Go there and you’ll find many bars around making noise at night, lots of young people and foreigners running around trying to make things happen. At night the water sprinklers in the street burst. A photo there would definitely give away that you’re in Chiang Mai.
• The local expat nightlife is in the Nimman area. More fancy and posh, people dress nicer, behave like they live there.

Miscellaneous tips:

• Thailand – quick travel guide
• Safety:
  • Crime – I’ve never heard or seen or felt any danger of crime, but did see warnings about not going too far off main areas. Even still, Chiang Mai is one of the safest places in the world and everyone I see acts that way.
  • Grab helmets – Grab mototaxi drivers don’t automatically give you a helmet like the ones in Bangkok. Since distances are so short. But still, I always ask for it and they give it. Better to be safe!
  • Street dogs – beware of very aggressive street dogs. Usually around temples in old city, or in rural areas and parks. It’s very strange…they seem friendly to locals, or when you walk past them at a certain angle. But one time I walked in from another angle and the people-friendly dogs suddenly start barking and charging at me. None actually tried to bite me, but my presence was calm. Had I ran, they might have chased and bitten for sure.

Itinerary:

• DAY 1 – arrive and switch to nature chill mode after check-in. If it’s daytime, walk to nearby food place and stop by temples you see along the way. Get a massage or do some other activity to stay out of the heat. At night, go to a night market and then tranny show or even the bar area after.
• DAY 2 – do a tour. People usually do something with sticky waterfalls, elephant sanctuary, long-neck tribe, hiking, white-water rafting. Good way to make friends for other activities in Chiang Mai later. At night, try a nice restaurant and then bar with live music.
• DAY 3 – do a bigger national park hike (like Duthep Soi or Inthanon), or just hang out in town. At night, check out the Nimman area. Walk around the busy area, eat dinner, check out live music.
• DAY 4 – take a lazy morning, then go to Huai Tueng Thao Reservoir (walk along lake & eat lunch in a hut).

Nearby towns:

• Chiang Rai – famous White & Blue temples.
• Pai

Unfiltered notes:

• What to do in Chiang Mai, Thailand – Travel Like Anna
• Where to Stay in Chiang Mai: Neighborhood Guide + Best Hotels – Two Wandering Soles
• Why we Decided NOT to Visit the Long Neck Karen Tribe in Chiang Mai – Voyage in Style
• Long Neck Village: One of the worst attractions in Northern Thailand – Blond Travels