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Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Chiang Mai
เชียงใหม่
Choose Chiang Mai for temples, food and mountain day trips in northern Thailand: three to four nights, best outside the burning season.
Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand, founded in 1296 as the capital of the Lanna kingdom. A moated old city holds dozens of temples, and the surrounding hills support trekking, waterfalls and mountain temples. It is cooler and slower than Bangkok.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- เชียงใหม่
- Best months
- Nov–Feb (cooler and dry)
- Avoid
- Feb–Apr (crop-burning smoke and poor air quality)
- Stay
- 3–4 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- THB
- Money
- Currency is the Thai baht (THB, ฿). Cards work in malls, hotels and many restaurants; street food, markets, boats and small taxis are cash.
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Tourist Police (English) 1155 · Ambulance and rescue 1669 · Fire 199 · Disaster hotline (DDPM) 1784
- Plugs
- Types A, B, C, O · 220 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US pins and round European pins; type O is the Thai three-pin standard. UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Leave ฿20–100 or the coins; skip it if a 10% service charge is on the bill.; Taxi / Grab: Round up to the next ฿10 or ฿20.; Massage: ฿50–100 per hour to the therapist, in hand.; Guide / driver day: ฿300–500 for the guide, ฿200–300 for the driver.; Hotel porter / housekeeping: ฿20–50.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Street refill machines charge about ฿1 a litre; bottled water everywhere.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in malls and hotels; squat toilets with a water bucket in rural stops. The hose ('bum gun') replaces paper; paper goes in the bin in older buildings. Some public toilets cost ฿3–5.
Get in
By air
- CNX · Chiang Mai International
- Close to the old city; taxi or ride-hailing
Get around
Red shared pickup trucks (songthaews), ride-hailing apps and tuk-tuks cover the city. Hire a driver or join a tour for the mountains.
See and do
Known for
- Old City temples
- Doi Suthep
- Night bazaars
- Khao soi
- Elephant sanctuaries and trekking
Sleep
- Old City
- Walkable to temples, cafes and the Sunday market.
- Nimman
- Cafes and restaurants, north-west of the old city.
Language
Thai is tonal and written in its own script; English works in hotels, malls and tourist areas, much less in the north-east and small towns. Polite particles (khrap for men, kha for women) go a long way.
- Ask hotels for their address card in Thai script.
- LINE is the messaging app of Thai businesses.
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: A wai (palms together, slight bow) to return a greeting; a smile and nod for shop staff; avoid: Waiing children or service staff first — it confuses; hugging strangers
- Head and feet: Keep feet on the floor, sit with legs folded to the side in temples; avoid: Touching heads (even children's), pointing feet, stepping over people or food
- Temples: Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off, sit lower than monks; avoid: Women touching monks or handing them things directly; climbing Buddha images
- Monarchy: Stand for the royal anthem in cinemas and at 08:00 and 18:00 in public places; avoid: Any joke or comment about the royal family; stepping on a banknote
- Keeping calm: Stay polite and smiling when things go wrong ('jai yen' — cool heart); avoid: Raising your voice; public anger loses the argument
- Names: Khun plus first name ('Khun Somchai'); nicknames are normal; avoid: Using the family name alone
- Home visit: Shoes off; bring fruit or sweets; step over the threshold, not on it; avoid: Sitting with feet towards the family shrine
- Beckoning and pointing: Palm down, fingers waved towards you; point with the whole hand or chin; avoid: Pointing at people with a finger or with your foot
Scams and watch-outs
- Smoke season can make air quality poor: check the air-quality index before booking.
- Choose animal-tourism operators carefully: ask about welfare policies.
- Dress modestly and remove shoes at temples.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Chiang Mai yet. Suggested stay: 3–4 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Old City temples
- Doi Suthep
- Night bazaars
- Khao soi
- Elephant sanctuaries and trekking
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand: www.tourismthailand.org/
- Wikivoyage — Chiang Mai: en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Chiang_Mai
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Printed from Voykit (/chiang-mai). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.