Doi Suthep at first light. Elephants in the river by noon.
Which sanctuary lets the herd set the pace. What a farm cooking class costs once the market walk is added. Whether the White Temple justifies twelve hours in a minivan. Reviews of every tour you can book out of the northern capital.
Four Chiang Mai half-days for the gaps between the big trips.
A morning inside the moat, a waterfall you climb barefoot, a Lanna supper on the floor, a street-food crawl. Short, cheap, and easy to fit around anything.
01Inside the moat3 Hour Old City and Temples Guided Walking TourWat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Singh and the lanes between them on foot, before the heat settles over the Old City.
02The climbable fallsBua Thong Sticky Waterfall & Huge Cave & BuffetBua Thong’s limestone stays grippy under bare feet, so you walk straight up the cascade. Lunch and a cave come with it.
03The Lanna supperKhan Toke Traditional Meal & Dancing PerformanceSmall dishes on a low rattan tray, sticky rice by hand, and a stage of northern dancers while you eat.
04After darkEvening Local Street Food Market TourGrilled sai oua, khao soi and mango sticky rice from the evening stalls, with someone who knows which queues are worth it.
Sanctuary, summit or waterfall: how to spend a day in the hills around Chiang Mai.
Most of what people fly here for sits within two hours of the moat. Five kinds of hill day, what each costs to join, and what you come back having done.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · Elephant Sanctuary & Waterfall Group Tour
Sanctuary daysFeeding, a mud bath, a slow walk with the herd. No riding.
Doi InthanonThailand’s highest summit, the twin royal pagodas, a cloud-forest boardwalk.
Sticky WaterfallMineral-crusted rock you can climb, an hour north of town.
Jungle treksRidge trails, rice terraces and a night in a Karen village if you want it.
Hill-tribe villagesHmong and Karen communities in the hills west and north of the city.
All 246 hill days out of Chiang Mai →
The Chiang Mai trips most travellers book.
Every Chiang Mai tour we have reviewed →The days out that carry the most bookings in the north, and the reason each one earns it.
1
Half-Day Thai Cooking Class at Organic Farm in Chiang Mai
Start with hotel pickup and a short visit to a Chiang Mai market, then head to Smile Organic Farm Cooking School. Choose dishes to make across five categories, explore the herb garden, and cook with guidance from instructors such as Luna, Love, K, or Cici. Vegetarian, vegan, mild, and spicy options are available.
From · $29
Read our review →
2
Elephant Sanctuary, Waterfall & Bamboo Rafting
from $60
3
Doi Inthanon National Park Eco-Friendly Tour
from $46
4
Elephant Sanctuary & Waterfall Group Tour
from $50
5
Chiang Rai Temples, Karen Tribe and Hot Springs
from $35
6
Cooking Class, Market & Thai Herbs Garden Tour
from $31
7
Authentic Cooking Class with Market & Farm Visit
from $34
8
Elephant Sanctuary Feeding Program Half-Day Tour
from $27
Doi Suthep looks down on three hundred Chiang Mai temples. Pick your three.
Every Doi Suthep tour →
Climb the naga staircase to the gilded chedi before the coaches arrive, walk down past the forest shrine at Wat Pha Lat, then spend the afternoon inside the moat. These three are the ones most people book.
Doi Suthep, sunrise or sunset
The temple sits about a thousand metres up, fifteen kilometres from the Old City. Sunrise brings the alms round and empty terraces; sunset brings the city lights and a cooler climb.
The Old City temples on foot
Wat Chedi Luang’s broken spire, the Lanna murals at Wat Phra Singh and the oldest temple in town, Wat Chiang Man, all inside one square kilometre and a half.
Monk chats and morning meditation
Several temples invite visitors to sit and talk with novice monks, and a handful of retreats teach walking and sitting meditation over a morning or a weekend.
Khao soi, sai oua and a farm class: the Chiang Mai food worth a booking.
The north cooks differently from Bangkok: more herbs, more grilling, curry noodles at breakfast. Start with a market walk, end with the dishes you cooked yourself.
Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai: three hours each way for the White Temple.
Wat Rong Khun in white plaster and mirror glass, the sapphire hall of the Blue Temple, the dark timber of Baan Dam, and on the longer runs a boat on the Mekong at the Golden Triangle. Leave at seven, back after dark.
Chiang Mai after dark: night bazaars, ringside seats and a khantoke supper.
The heat drops, Chang Klan Road fills with stalls, and the boxing stadiums start their undercards. On Sunday the walking street takes over Ratchadamnoen Road from Tha Phae Gate.
Every Chiang Mai night tour →
What a day out of Chiang Mai costs.
Every tour on the site sorted by price. The north is cheap even by Thai standards, and plenty of the best days cost less than a hotel dinner.
Temple walks, half-day sanctuaries, cooking classes, the Sticky Waterfall and nearly every evening out.
Full days with lunch: the Inthanon summit, Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle, sanctuary-plus-rafting combinations.
Private drivers, multi-day treks and the overnight trips to the far north.
Three Chiang Mai experiences you will not find in the rest of Thailand.
Beaches and night markets are national. A waterfall you can walk up, a Lanna supper eaten off a rattan tray and a morning spent talking with novice monks belong to this valley.
The Sticky Waterfall
Spring water rich in calcium has coated the falls at Bua Thong in a rough, porous crust, so bare feet hold on the rock even with water running over it. You climb the cascade from the bottom tier to the top. The spring that feeds it rises in a clear pool a short walk upstream, and the site sits about an hour north of the city.
- 1Elephant Sanctuary, Long Neck & Sticky Waterfall★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 2,262 reviews
- 2Sticky Waterfall & Angel Waterfall Park Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 1,371 reviews
- 3Bua Thong Sticky Waterfall & Huge Cave & Buffet★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 1,049 reviews
The Khantoke Dinner
A khantoke is the low round tray northern households ate from, set with small bowls of curry, chilli dips, crisp pork skin and baskets of sticky rice. The dinner shows pair it with the old court dances: fingernail dancers, candle dancers and a sword routine. You sit on the floor, and the bowls get refilled.
- 1Khan Toke Traditional Meal & Dancing Performance★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 864 reviews
- 2Traditional Khantoke Dinner and Show from Chiang Mai★★★★★★★★★★ 3.5 · 103 reviews
- 3Chiang Mai Traditional Khan Toke Meal & Cultural Performance★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 55 reviews
Monk Chats and Meditation
Chiang Mai has more working temples than almost any city in the country, and several open their doors to visitors who want more than a photograph. Novice monks practise their English at monk chats, and the meditation programmes teach walking and sitting practice over a morning, a day or a weekend.
- 1Wat Phra That Doi Suthep spiritual Sunrise Tour with an Ex-monk★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 798 reviews
- 2Spiritual Sunrise Wat Doi Suthep, Pha Lat, Alms & Meditation★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 674 reviews
- 3Elephant Sanctuary, Monk Trail & Doi Suthep Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 563 reviews
Four Chiang Mai bookings that should not be left to the night before.
Most of the north can be sorted from a guesthouse lobby the evening before. These four run on capped numbers, fixed pickups or a calendar that ignores your flight times.
- 01Elephant Sanctuary, Waterfall & Bamboo RaftingThe ethical parks cap the number of visitors each day, and from November to February the best-known ones fill several days out.
- 02Half-Day Thai Cooking Class at Organic Farm in Chiang MaiFarm classes cook at a fixed number of stations, and the morning sessions with the market visit are the first to go.
- 03Doi Inthanon Park with Kew Mae Pan Hike Day TripThe Kew Mae Pan trail on Doi Inthanon closes for the rainy season, roughly June to October. Out of season the summit tours skip it.
- 04Chiang Rai White Temple and Blue Temple Day TourHotel pickups start around seven and the routes are planned the evening before. Book late and the minivan has already filled.
When smoke hides Doi Suthep from the Chiang Mai moat, head indoors.
From about February to April the hills burn and a haze settles over the valley. The mountain viewpoints lose their views and long hikes lose their appeal. Spend those weeks at the cooking stations, on a massage mat or ringside.
By place: the city and the hills around it
Moat, mountain, herd, summit: the order most first Chiang Mai trips run in.
Cooking classFresh from the north: the latest Chiang Mai reviews.
All the fresh reviews →
Walk With Monks Collecting Alms(meeting point maybe change)
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Chiang Mai Zipline White Water Rafting and Elephant Sanctuary
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Zipline+Sticky waterfall+Long Neck Village Private Tour
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2 Hours Wow hatcha lanna package – Free transportation
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Full Day Yoga, Meditation, and Thai Cultural Immersion in Chiang Mai
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Long Neck Village, White & Blue Temple, Black House Day Tour From Chiang Mai
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White Temple, Black House Museum and Hot Spring Tour from Chiang Mai (SHA Plus)
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Wat Phra That Doi Suthep & Hmong Village Half Day Tour From Chiang Mai
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