Destination · Northern Thailand

Chiang Mai

Airport
Chiang Mai (CNX)1 hr from Bangkok, or the sleeper train
Best months
Nov–FebCool and clear. Avoid Mar–mid Apr
Temperature
15–33°CGenuinely cold at night in December
Nights to allow
3 to 4Take the hills as a day trip, not extra nights
Money
Cards widelyCash for markets and songthaews

The old capital of the Lanna kingdom, ringed by a square moat and set against mountains that actually get cold. Chiang Mai is the counterweight to Bangkok: slower, cooler, greener, with three hundred temples inside the city and a food culture of its own. One caveat, and we will not bury it — do not come in March.

Decide second

When to come, month by month.

Thailand does not have one season. Bar height is that month’s typical rainfall here, the symbol above it is the weather to expect, and the figures below it how busy it gets.

Pick a month to read it in full.

Peak season

January

Genuinely cool, especially at night and in the hills. Clear skies, clean air and the best month of the year up here.

Typical rain
8 mm
Conditions
Cool, clear
Crowds
Busy

Very good

February

Still cool and dry, though haze can begin to build late in the month as the first fields are cleared.

Typical rain
5 mm
Conditions
Cool, clear
Crowds
Busy

Avoid

March

Burning season. Agricultural smoke fills the valleys and air quality is among the worst in the world for weeks at a time. Views disappear and it is genuinely unpleasant for anyone with a chest complaint. We will say so rather than sell you the month.

Typical rain
15 mm
Conditions
Smoke haze
Crowds
Quiet

Poor to fair

April

Very hot, and the haze usually persists into the first half of the month before the first rains clear it. Songkran is celebrated harder here than almost anywhere.

Typical rain
50 mm
Conditions
Hazy, hot
Crowds
Quiet

Clearing

May

The rains arrive and wash the air clean. The landscape turns green within a fortnight and the hills come back into view.

Typical rain
160 mm
Conditions
Green
Crowds
Quiet

Green season

June

Warm and wet, with rain mostly in the afternoon. The countryside is at its most beautiful and the rooms are cheap.

Typical rain
130 mm
Conditions
Green
Crowds
Quiet

Green season

July

Reliably green, reliably wet in the afternoons, and reliably good value.

Typical rain
160 mm
Conditions
Green
Crowds
Moderate

Wettest

August

The wettest month. Waterfalls are at full force and mountain roads can be washed out.

Typical rain
230 mm
Conditions
Wet
Crowds
Moderate

Wet

September

Still very wet, and the last month before the season turns. Quiet and cheap.

Typical rain
200 mm
Conditions
Wet
Crowds
Quiet

Turning

October

Rain easing through the month and the air clearing. Loi Krathong and Yi Peng usually fall in late October or November.

Typical rain
110 mm
Conditions
Clearing
Crowds
Moderate

Peak season

November

The month everybody wants: cool, dry, clear air and the festival season. Book months ahead.

Typical rain
45 mm
Conditions
Cool, clear
Crowds
Busy

Peak season

December

Cold at night in the hills, sometimes near freezing on the peaks. Bright, dry days and the busiest fortnight of the year at new year.

Typical rain
15 mm
Conditions
Cold, clear
Crowds
Busy

Decide third

How long, and what shape.

Three shapes we actually sell. The nights are real and so is the pace — each one is a starting point we rebuild around who is travelling, not a fixed menu.

1 night · 2 days

Touch & Go

One night is the old city on foot and Doi Suthep in the morning. Both are close, and neither needs a full day.

Best for
A night between Bangkok and the far north
Base
Inside the old city
On foot
Most of it

  1. Day 1

    Land, and walk the old city

    CNX is fifteen minutes from the moat. Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh on foot, then the night bazaar, which is a short walk from everything.

  2. Day 2

    Doi Suthep, then out

    Up the mountain early: three hundred and six steps, a gold chedi, and the view down over the whole plain before the haze settles. Afternoon flight.

Do not come in March or early April. The burning season fills the valley with smoke and Doi Suthep looks down on nothing. We will send you elsewhere rather than sell you the view.

2 nights · 3 days

Quick Getaways

Two nights makes room for a full day with elephants, which is what most people actually come north for.

Best for
A first trip north
Base
Inside the old city
Day trips
One

  1. Day 1

    Arrive, the old city

    The temples inside the moat on foot, and the night bazaar in the evening.

  2. Day 2

    An ethical elephant sanctuary

    Observation and feeding, no riding and no bathing shows. A full day out in the Mae Taeng valley, and the thing people remember.

  3. Day 3

    Doi Suthep, then out

    Up the mountain early, and the Sunday walking street if the day falls right — or a cookery class if it does not.

There are places here that call themselves sanctuaries and are not. We book two we have visited ourselves, and we will explain exactly what makes the difference if you ask.

4 nights · 5 days

Destination Deep Dive

Five days is what it takes to add the mountain properly — Doi Inthanon is a whole day before you have looked at anything.

Best for
The north as the trip
Base
Old city or Nimman
Day trips
Two

  1. Day 1

    Arrive

    The old city, slowly, and no schedule on the first evening.

  2. Day 2

    The elephant sanctuary

    The full day in the valley.

  3. Day 3

    Doi Suthep and Doi Pui

    The temple early, then the Hmong village and the royal gardens at Phu Ping further up the same road.

  4. Day 4

    Mae Sa, or a cookery class

    The Samoeng loop and the waterfalls, or a morning learning to cook the food you have been eating and an afternoon at Wat Umong.

  5. Day 5

    Doi Inthanon, or the walking street

    The highest point in Thailand, the twin chedis and the Karen villages on the way — or Chiang Mai’s weekend market if your dates suit it better.

Doi Inthanon is three hours of driving before you have seen anything. It is a whole day rather than an afternoon, which is why it only appears in this shape.

What you came for

Three things worth the day.

  • Doi Suthep

    The temple on the mountain above the city, up three hundred and six steps flanked by naga. Go at first light for the view before the haze and the coaches.

    Time
    Half day
    Best at
    Sunrise
    Entry
    ฿30

  • An ethical elephant sanctuary

    No riding, no bathing shows, no bullhooks. There are several genuine ones near Chiang Mai and a great many that only use the word; we book the former.

    Time
    Full day
    Look for
    No riding, no bathing
    Cost
    From ฿2,500

  • The old city temples on foot

    Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chiang Man are within a square kilometre inside the moat, and walking between them is the best morning in the city.

    Time
    Half day
    Where
    Inside the moat
    Entry
    ฿20–50 each

For Indians

Entry requirements

Route
Visa exemption
Maximum stay
30 days
Fee
None

When this starts India was moved to this 30-day exemption by the Thai Cabinet on 16 July 2026. It commences 15 days after the Ministry of Interior announcements are published in Thailand’s Royal Gazette. We confirm in writing which rule applies to your travel dates before you fly, and we will not let you travel on the wrong one.

Every traveller must also file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online within 72 hours of arrival. It is free, and airlines check it at the gate — without it you will not be allowed to board.

Applies to Indian passport holders. Last reviewed 12 August 2026. Entry rules change; we confirm the current position at the time of booking.

Packages through Chiang Mai

Nothing published through here yet, which usually means the trips we run to this part of Thailand are built to order. Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and we will price one.

Plan my Thailand

Worth knowing

What we would tell you on the phone.

  • March is the burning season

    Air quality in the valley regularly becomes the worst in the world for weeks. If your dates are fixed to March we will tell you honestly and suggest somewhere else.

  • It gets cold

    December and January nights drop to around 15°C in the city and near freezing on Doi Inthanon. Bring something warm; most people do not.

  • Elephant camps are not equal

    If an operator offers riding or a bathing session, it is not a sanctuary. We will not book one.

  • The Sunday walking street is enormous

    It closes the main street through the old city from about four. Wonderful, and impossible to drive anywhere near.

Pairs well with

Where most people go next.

  • Chiang Rai

    Three hours north by road, and a very different, quieter province.

  • Pai

    Three hours through 762 bends. Beautiful, and not for anyone who gets travel sick.

  • Bangkok

    An hour in the air, or a genuinely enjoyable overnight sleeper.

Chiang Mai, built around you.

Tell us who is travelling and when. We will build the rest around the season.

Plan my Thailand