In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.
Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Phayao
พะเยา
Give Phayao one night, two at most: a lake town between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai with a boat to a sunken temple and cheap food.
Phayao is a small northern lake town about 100 km northeast of Chiang Mai and 100 km south of Chiang Rai, on Highway 1. Most travellers pass through on the Chiang Mai–Chiang Rai route; those who stop get a quiet lakefront, Thailand's largest Chiang Saen-era Buddha, a boat ride to a partly submerged temple and some of the cheapest food in the north. Two nights is enough to see the lake, the temple and one national park.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- พะเยา
- Best months
- Nov–Feb
- Avoid
- Mar–Apr (smoke and heat), Jun–Sep (rain)
- Stay
- 1–2 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.
- Daily spend
- Budget ฿700–1,200 excl. bed · Mid ฿1,200–2,200 excl. bed · High ฿2,200+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Ambulance and rescue 1669 · Tourist police (English) 1155
- 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.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee at a local café | ฿40–70 |
| Noodle soup or rice plate | ฿40–80 |
| Night-market plate near the bus station | About ฿50 |
| Beer: 7-Eleven can / bar | ฿35–60 / ฿80–120 |
| Tuk-tuk hop in town | ฿40–80 |
| Bus Phayao → Chiang Rai | About ฿92 |
| Bus Phayao → Chiang Mai | ฿150–250 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- CEI · Mae Fah Luang–Chiang Rai International
- About 100 km north of Phayao; bus or taxi onward, roughly 1.5–2 hAbout 62 mi north of Phayao; bus or taxi onward, roughly 1.5–2 h
Typical fares
- Boat to Wat Tilok Aram
- about ฿40 per person, 08:00–17:30about ฿40 per person, 8:00 AM–5:30 PM
- Bus Phayao → Chiang Rai
- about ฿92, 2 h
- Bus Phayao → Chiang Mai
- about ฿150–250, 3 h
Get around
The town is small and flat: walk the lakefront, or take a tuk-tuk from the bus station. Songthaews and tuk-tuks cover short hops; for Phu Langka, Phu Sang or Doi Phu Nang you need a car, motorbike or a hired driver.
See and do
Known for
- Phayao Lake (Kwan Phayao)
- Wat Si Khom Kham and its large Chiang Saen-era Buddha
- Wat Tilok Aram, reached by boat
- Cheap lakeside night food
- Phu Langka and Doi Phu Nang national parks
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wat Tilok Aram (lake island) | Boat from the Phayao city jetty | About 30–45 min return |
| Phu Langka Forest Park | Car or motorbike via Pong, about 60 kmCar or motorbike via Pong, about 37 mi | 1–1.5 h each way |
| Phu Sang National Park | Car or motorbike on Highway 1093 | About 1.5 h each way |
| Doi Phu Nang National Park | Car or motorbike to Chiang Muan district | About 1.5–2 h each way |
| Chiang Rai | Bus from Phayao bus terminal | About 2 h |
| Chiang Mai | Bus from Phayao bus terminal | About 3 h |
Sleep
- Lakefront (east shore)
- Guesthouses and hotels facing Kwan Phayao; walkable to the boat jetty and the night food strip.
- Town centre near the bus station
- Cheaper rooms, tuk-tuks at the station, about 10–15 min walk to the lake.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดีsawatdee |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณkhop khun |
| How much is it? | เท่าไหร่tao rai |
| Not spicy, please | ไม่เผ็ดmai phet |
| Where is the bus station? | สถานีขนส่งอยู่ที่ไหนsathani khonsong yu thi nai |
| The bill, please | เก็บเงินด้วยkep ngern duay |
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
- Burning-season smoke can cut visibility and air quality from roughly Feb to Apr: check air quality before you go.
- National park entry is charged at a higher rate for foreigners than for Thai visitors.
- Some temples restrict women from inner areas: look for posted signs and follow them.
- Buses to and from Chiang Mai run only a few times a day: book the return leg when you arrive.
Phayao is a quiet, low-crime town; the real risks are smoke-season air, motorbike riding on Highway 1 and unlit rural roads after dark.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Phayao yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Phayao Lake (Kwan Phayao)
- Wat Si Khom Kham and its large Chiang Saen-era Buddha
- Wat Tilok Aram, reached by boat
- Cheap lakeside night food
- Phu Langka and Doi Phu Nang national parks
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 — Phayao: www.tourismthailand.org/
- Phayao provincial tourism page: www.tourismthailand.org/Destinations/Provinces/Phayao/242
- Wikivoyage: Phayao, revision 5104152 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5104152
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Phayaoพะเยา
ไปที่ที่อยู่นี้
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Phayao; the US consulate-general and most embassies are in Chiang Mai or Bangkok.
Tourist police 1155 answers in English; 1669 is the national ambulance line.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/phayao). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.