Plan your trip · Chiang Mai
How to Travel Chiang Mai
From the airport to taxis and the next city — the practical way to move around Chiang Mai without overpaying. Then check the money & budget guide.
By Touristoo · Updated
Local notes for Chiang Mai
The red songthaews are the city's public transport: flag one, say where you are going, and pay a small fixed fare per person when you get out. They run everywhere in the old city and up Doi Suthep, and they are the answer to the mountain road.
The old city is a square about 1.5 km on a side, ringed by a moat, and walking it is realistic outside the hottest hours. Everything within it — Chedi Luang, Phra Singh, the Sunday market — is on foot from everything else.
Doi Inthanon is a 100 km drive and a full day, best done with a driver or a tour rather than a rented car, because the summit road and the two chedis and the waterfalls are spread along it.
The overnight sleeper train from Bangkok takes 12–14 hours and a second-class air-conditioned berth is a genuinely comfortable way to arrive, saving a night's hotel. Book well ahead; it sells out. Flights take an hour and often cost less.
Getting around Chiang Mai
Getting to and around Chiang Mai: arrive by air and rail, then work a city that is spread out - long, flat distances.
The short version of the city: The capital of the Lanna kingdom for five centuries before it was ever part of Thailand, and it still does not feel like the rest of the country
✈️ Arriving in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is served by an airport with connections to major hubs - check which terminal your flight uses before leaving, and allow generous time on departure days.
Long-distance trains serve Chiang Mai, and the station area is where the local transport options gather - app cabs, taxis and the local modes below.
The recommended season shapes the arrival experience: November to January — cool, dry and before the burning season, which fills the valley with smoke from mid-January to mid-April is when the city is at its most comfortable.
🚕 Getting around town
The city runs on buses and taxis/ride apps, and visitors manage comfortably with either once oriented.
Fares are metered or app-priced by default - no negotiation expected, and tipping follows the local norm rather than a rule.
🚶 Walking and distances
Flat ground, long distances: walk the old quarters, ride between them, and the day balances itself.
💡 Local know-how
Transport here is punctual and legible - schedules are honored, signage is clear, and buffer time is rarely needed.
A day pass or stored-value card, bought at the first station, usually beats single tickets for a sightseeing day.
The first-day rule that never fails: a single ride in, a local walk, an early night - the second day, with bearings, is when the city opens up.
🗺️ Orientation
Orient on the city's main roads first - in spread-out plains cities, knowing two arterial roads and how they cross is most of the mental map.
If you arrived by train, the station is usually the practical anchor of the map - the first ride from it sets your bearings, and returning to it is the simplest fallback in any city.
🕐 Planning the day
The comfortable shape: two anchored stops a day, unhurried, with the transport between them as rest rather than ordeal - the local systems make this easy.
In the November to January — cool, dry and before the burning season, which fills the valley with smoke from mid-January to mid-April season, add the weather to the plan - the pleasant months widen the comfortable hours, and the off months concentrate the day into mornings and evenings.
✅ The one-minute checklist
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Arriving: by air - confirm the terminal before departure day
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Arriving: by train - the station forecourt has the local modes
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A day pass or card at the first station beats single tickets
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Contactless is accepted nearly everywhere
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On foot: walk the centres, ride between them