A backpacker’s guide to Chiang Mai, Thailand

If you’re looking to visit Northern Thailand, chances are you’ll have come across Chiang Mai, one of the region’s greatest cities. Temples, nature, culture: this city has it all.

I travelled to Chiang Mai as part of my backpacking trip around South-East Asia in December 2023, and generally liked the city.

In this guide, I’ll tell you more about how to visit Chiang Mai. I hope it helps you to decide whether this city should be on your itinerary, and gives you the information you need to plan your own trip.

About Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is the largest city in Northern Thailand.

As you’d expect from one of the largest cities in Thailand, Chiang Mai has a lot of attractions on offer. It’s not just about what’s inside the centre: it’s about the outside, too. The city is surrounded by lush forest and rice paddies, with waterfalls and other natural delights to explore.

It doesn’t surprise me at all to see it on so many visitors’ itineraries!

The culture capital of Thailand

Chiang Mai is often known as the cultural capital of Thailand. As the former capital of the Lanna kingdom, it has a long and vibrant history. There’s still evidence of this In the city centre, where you’ll find over fifty Buddhist temples: both old and new. Spending time locating and exploring them was so interesting, as they’re often pretty and their architecture varies a lot.

If you want to do some non-beach activities whilst in Thailand, such as trekking or exploring the countryside, you can’t find a better base from which to explore the north.

However, this is still Thailand, and Chiang Mai is one of the most popular places for tourists to visit. Don’t expect to go to Chiang Mai and get a traditional, authentic experience. Tourists and backpackers are plentiful and often outnumber the locals in the centre.

In light of this, I found it quite hard to connect with the more authentic side of Chiang Mai. I’m pretty sure other backpackers will struggle with this too.

A good place to party

For many people, visiting Thailand is not about the culture and is more about the nightlife, experiencing backpacking, and having fun.

For those people, Chiang Mai isn’t half bad. The city contains many bars catering to tourists, as well as many party hostels with social events, so even if you’re on your own you can find a tribe.

Cannabis was legalised in Thailand in 2022, so when I visited in December 2023, weed shops and cafes were numerous – I found it incredible how many could be squeezed into each street! However, towards the end of 2024, the Thai government have begun to restrict the use of recreational cannabis, so the situation on the ground may now be different.

Surrounded by natural beauty

Chiang Mai is surrounded by lush forest, so when visiting the city, many people find themselves heading outside the centre quickly! I can understand why; the greens and browns of the forest make for stunning scenery, and there’s a lot of it to explore.

Travellers find themselves particularly enamoured by one of the inhabitants of this forest: Asian Elephants. You can find wild elephants across Thailand, although spotting them in the area surrounding Chiang Mai might be difficult. Nowadays, it’s popular to visit an elephant sanctuary or similar whilst in the city.

Meanwhile, the forest is home to waterfalls, some of which are popular to visit. Activities such as watersports and trekking are plentiful.

Ratings

As part of this blog, I give every place I visit a rating so that I can easily compare destinations and decide whether they’re worth a visit. Those are the scores you see at the top of the page!

This is how Chiang Mai rated:

• Accessibility: 5/5 – Chiang Mai is one of the most accessible cities in Thailand. It has an airport close the centre, with bus and rail links to Bangkok and other cities in Northern Thailand. However, many of the most popular attractions aren’t possible if you have mobility issues.
• Safety: 5/5 – I felt completely safe in Chiang Mai. As with any city, I would exercise caution late at night, but I never had any problems myself.
• Enjoyment: 4/5 – I liked exploring Chiang Mai, but it was a little too touristy for my taste.
• Value: 4/5 – I found Chiang Mai to be good value in terms of food and accommodation. However, the day trips can add up.

Overall: 4.5/5

If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.

How long should you spend in Chiang Mai?

Chiang Mai is one of those cities that you could easily explore for a couple of weeks, if you have the time to do so. There are many attractions in and around the city so you can easily, although not necessarily cheaply, fill your days.

I’d recommend staying for at least three days or you just won’t have enough time to do everything. Dedicate at least a half-day to exploring the city centre, as well as at least one day to get out of the city – whether it’s an elephant sanctuary, jungle trek, temple visit or waterfall trip which beckons. If you have the time I’d recommend adding in a day or two to relax or do other activities, such as cooking classes, in the surrounding area.

If you want to see all the top sights, you’ll need to budget for more time. Therefore, in my opinion, four to five nights would be the perfect amount of time to spend in Chiang Mai. That gives you three to four full days to explore.

Personally, I spent 5 nights in Chiang Mai, and there were still things I wanted to do that I didn’t have time to tick off my list!

How to get to Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is arguably one of the best connected places in Thailand. It’s easy to get to by plane, train and bus; you have many options.

Getting to Chiang Mai by plane

Chiang Mai has an airport only 3 km from the city centre. It serves both international and domestic destinations, with direct connections to Bangkok and the beach resorts of Southern Thailand, as well as Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

Flying is a great option if you’re heading in or out of Thailand from Chiang Mai, or if you don’t want to have to travel via Bangkok. When leaving Chiang Mai, I flew to Surat Thani in preparation for visiting Khao Sok, which made my onward travel easy.

Getting to Chiang Mai by train

Chiang Mai is at the end of the line from Bangkok, so getting the train to Chiang Mai is an option. It’s only useful if you are heading to Bangkok, or somewhere on the line between them, such as Sudokthai or Ayutthaya.

However, I enjoyed taking the train between Chiang Mai and Bangkok. I’ve heard it described as a ‘must do experience’, which is a bit much; but in any case it is a more interesting journey than taking the bus.

To get to Bangkok, you’re looking at a 13-14 hour train journey. Fortunately, there are sleeper coaches. I got a surprisingly decent sleep in my 2nd class bunk bed.

Just make sure to book the train early as they do sell out.

Getting to Chiang Mai by bus

Chiang Mai is connected by bus to Bangkok. The journey takes around 9 hours and can be completed by day or overnight. Having not done this journey, I’m not sure of the quality of the sleeper buses, but they were generally good throughout South-East Asia, so I’m sure it’ll be the same here too.

It’s also possible to get minibuses from nearby destinations such as Chiang Rai and Pai, with departures every day. Some of these can get full a few days in advance, so buy your ticket once you’re sure of when you’re travelling!

How to get around Chiang Mai

To get around Chiang Mai, there are a range of options.

Most organised tours will pick you up from your hotel, so you probably won’t need any transport for those.

If you’re doing your own excursion, taxis can be useful. One option is songthaews; you’ll see these red trucks all over Chiang Mai. Theoretically they should only cost 30 baht ($0.90 / £0.70) to get you to most places in Chiang Mai, assuming the songthaew is already going in that direction, but I never tested this. For the most part they seemed to just act like regular taxis!

Grab and Bolt are both used in Chiang Mai. I found that Bolt had significantly cheaper fares, so it’s worth downloading the app before you go out exploring.

If you can drive a scooter, it’s also possible to rent one here. There was a lot of traffic on some roads so I wouldn’t recommend it to beginners, but riders with some experience will be okay. Make sure to have the correct documentation as I saw a few people being pulled over!

Where to eat in Chiang Mai

As one of the biggest cities in Thailand, and a very touristy city at that, you have a lot of options for food in Chiang Mai. It’s hard to know where to start!

In the evening, check out the night market on Chang Khlan Road. There are multiple food courts off it offering a range of Thai and international meals, drinks and snacks. I particularly liked the vibe at Ploen Ryder Night Market, which made me feel like I was visiting a trendy part of Manchester; they often have live music on for you to listen to whilst you eat.

Meanwhile, Wua Lai Walking Street, open on Saturdays, is a good option for snacks and souvenirs, and also has its own night market offering a variety of meals.

If you want international cuisine, check out By Hand Pizza Cafe. They cook the pizza in a brick oven which you can watch. Their Hawaiian pizza was divine! Prices are a bit higher compared to the markets, at around 250 to 300 baht ($7 to $9 / £6 to £7) per pizza.

I also had a great breakfast at Breakfast World. They have a tranquil outdoor patio and offer breakfast sets. At 150 to 250 baht ($4.50 to $7 / £3.50 to £6) per set, they are expensive compared to local standards, but you get a lot of food for the price. I loved the American breakfast I ordered.

Tip: make sure to try khao soi, a Northern Thailand dish consisting of curry soup with noodles and fried onions. You’ll find it everywhere and it’s soooo good!

Where to stay in Chiang Mai

There are so many places to stay in Chiang Mai!

Location wise, I’d recommend staying in the Old Town (i.e. in the section of the city surrounded by the moat), or close by. Personally I think that staying in or close to the south and east of the moat is best, as it places you close to the night markets whilst also being in a good location in town.

I stayed at Stamps Backpackers, which is a hostel to the east of the Old Town. I loved their dorms, which contain “alcoves” that feel more like private rooms. It was a little too party for me – I prefer a more chill vibe – but is a great option if you prefer a social atmosphere.

What to do in Chiang Mai

There are a lot of things to do in and around Chiang Mai. I’ve summarised some of the options below:

• Head out on a trekking tour
• Visit an elephant sanctuary
• Go to Sticky Waterfalls
• Visit Doi Suthep (Monks’ Trail)
• Explore Doi Inthanon National Park 
• Take a day trip to Chiang Rai
• Explore the temples in the Old Town
• Sample Thai dishes and snacks at a night market

Of course, this list is non-exhaustive; there are plenty of other places to visit in and around Chiang Mai.

Conclusion

Chiang Mai, the largest city in Northern Thailand, has a lot to offer backpackers. It’s no surprise that it’s made its way onto many itineraries. Want temples, nature, culture or history? This city has it all. Plus, as with most places in Thailand, the hostels are social and the locals are welcoming.

I’d definitely recommend a visit to Chiang Mai as part of your trip through Thailand. Just make sure to leave enough days to fully explore the region.

Do you have any questions about visiting Chiang Mai? Let me know in the comments.