Best Family Activities in Chiang Mai — Trip Planner

Chiang Mai with kids, realistically

Elephant Nature Park at Mae Taeng is a rescue centre with no riding and limited bathing, and it books out weeks ahead; the surrounding valley holds dozens of imitators of varying honesty. Chiang Mai Zoo keeps pandas and sprawls uphill steeply, so take the internal tram. The old city is walkable and low-traffic compared with anywhere else in Thailand, which makes it unusually easy with young children.

When the weather turns in Chiang Mai

The larger air problem here is not rain but smoke: agricultural burning from roughly February to April pushes readings among the worst on earth, and that is the season to check numbers before booking. For actual rain, Maya at the Nimman end and Central Festival are the malls, cooking schools run indoors all day, and massage taught through the women's prison vocational centre costs very little.

What things cost in Chiang Mai

Khao soi from a shophouse is 50 to 70 baht and rarely more anywhere in the city. A songthaew hop across town is 30 to 50 baht a person. Doi Suthep charges foreigners a small entry fee at the top, in the region of 30 baht. A full-day cooking course with market tour runs roughly 1,000 to 1,500. Monthly apartment rents in Nimman cost what a Bangkok week does.

What to eat in Chiang Mai

Khao soi, curried broth over soft egg noodles with crisp ones piled on top, is the northern dish, and Khao Soi Khun Yai near Wat Ket serves it until the pot empties around lunchtime. Sai ua, the herb-packed grilled sausage, is sold by weight at Warorot Market. The stall known as the Cowboy Hat Lady at Chang Phueak gate does stewed pork leg over rice from evening until late.

Chiang Mai after dark

This is a small-city night. Nimmanhaemin near the university carries the cocktail bars and the laptop crowd, Zoe in Yellow inside the old city is the backpacker courtyard everybody ends up in, and the Riverside on Charoenrat has had live bands since the 1980s. Most places close around midnight. The Night Bazaar on Chang Klan is nightly shopping rather than drinking, opening from six.

When to go to Chiang Mai

The month to avoid is May — around 34°C (93°F) with roughly 21 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: December is the sweet spot, May the month most people skip.

Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, High-SPF sunscreen, sunglasses, and a refillable water bottle, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.