Things To See And Do In North Thailand

When you go to Thailand, everyone refers to the ‘South’ and the ‘North’. The south is considered to be Bangkok and all the coastal towns and islands below that such as Koh Samui, Krabi, Phuket, etc. When people talk about the North of Thailand, they usually mean Chiang Mai, Pai and Chiang Rai. The vibe between the North and South are totally different and it’s a mixed bag between which people prefer more. They both offer two totally different experiences, but amazing experiences none the less!

Below are the most popular places to visit when backpacking Northern Thailand and some activities you can do while you’re there.

CHIANG MAI

Chiang Mai was a real shock to the system for me! Having visited the South of Thailand first, and completely skipping Bangkok, this was my first experience at a proper Thai city. The hustle and bustle of the city life and the traffic was something I was so far removed from after being in places like Koh Lanta and Koh Tao. That being said, Chiang Mai is an amazing city and a must-visit if you are planning on going to Thailand! It’s also a popular spot for remote workers as there are ample co-working spaces to choose from.

Hostel recommendation: Family Home 2
I found this to be the most social hostel I stayed in during my travels that wasn’t a party hostel! The location is really central, the beds are spacious and there is good security. On top of having a good location and amenities, I don’t think I had come across a more helpful owner. Over the course of my stay, he always checked in to make sure everything was okay and their front desk is really helpful with booking various activities around the city. They also have a wide range of activities across the city that you can book through their front desk and there are different activities organised every night such as tours of the walking street, Muay Thai fights, Cabaret shows, etc. so you have lots of opportunities to meet new people here.

Things To See & Do in Chiang Mai

Take a Cooking Class
I booked mine through the hostel for ‘Smile Organic Farm’. The class included pick up, a trip to the local market to explain and try fresh, local produce before going to the cookery school where you were shown around their gardens and taught how to cook authentic thai food such as spring rolls, pad thai, kao soi and more. Even if you aren’t that interested in cooking it’s a really fun experience and a great way to spend the day.

Explore the Night Markets & Night Bazaar
There are a few different areas that you can explore in Chiang Mai when it comes to night markets and night bazaars. Wua Lai Walking Street Saturday Market is when the entire Wua Lai street turns into a walking street with food and trinket stalls on both sides of the road, and is really fun to walk around. You also have the iconic Chiang Mai Night Bazaar which is open every night of the week

Visit The ‘Sticky Waterfalls’ [Bua Thong]
The ‘Sticky Waterfalls’ is a free attraction roughly an hours drive outside of Chiang Mai. We all rode scooters but you could easily organise a car on grab or bolt if you weren’t comfortable driving yourself. The attraction is a series of waterfalls that you can climb up without slipping (hence the name!) and it’s a really fun way to spend the day with some friends. Entry into the park is also free, an added bonus!

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
This is a sacred temple located on a mountain overlooking Chiang Mai, offering stunning views of the landscape. This is a popular temple to visit for both sunrise and sunset and the entry price is roughly 30-50 THB.

Go to a Cabaret (Drag) Show
There are so many Cabaret shows to choose from but I personally went to 6ixcret and it did not disappoint. Entry was free but you had to buy a minimum of two drinks while you watched the show, but honestly it’s worth it. The show starts off slow but it gets increasingly crazier as it goes on, with dancers coming into the crowd and even dancing along the bar. It’s a must do if you are in Chiang Mai!

Visit an Elephant Sanctuary

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It can be really hard to find an ethical place to visit an Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, but I was really happy with the place that I ended up visiting. I did a two day, one night tour which involved a day of hiking through the jungle (roughly 10km, I would say it was easy to moderate) visiting various different waterfalls. At night, you sleep in a cabin at the top of the jungle with your group, there is no electricity or internet connection but it’s a great experience to get away from the world and connect with your tour group. They cook you traditional Thai food on a wood fire and you can spend the night playing cards, hanging around the fire pit or you can get an early night before the second day. Day two is when you are taken to visit the Elephants, there were three where we visited and there were no ropes or sticks used so the Elephants were essentially free to do whatever they wanted while we were around. Once they got sick of us and walked away (which they did!) we took a wooden raft down the river before being brought back to our bus and back to Chiang Mai. It really was a 10/10 experience and I recommended the tour I did to pretty much everyone I met who was visiting Chiang Mai after me. You can find the one that I booked here.

Getting from Chiang Mai to Pai

There are two main ways to travel from Chiang Mai to Pai. You can either take a bus that runs several times a day, or you can self drive yourself on a scooter (or on the back of one of your friends!). The road is iconic with 762 bends, making it a pretty rough ride if you get travel sick! You can book the buses on bookaway, the trip takes roughly 4 hours and costs around €6/225 THB but note the drivers are a little crazy and a lot of people tend to feel car sick due to the twisty roads. After hearing this, I opted to rent a scooter in Chiang Mai and get my bags transported separately for 100 THB with ‘Aya Services‘ (you can rent your bike from here also but they had none left when I went to arrange it). This is a little more expensive as you have to keep the bike rented for the duration of your stay in Pai, along with also having to drive yourself back and paying for fuel but the experience was so worth it! The drive takes around 3.5 hours on a scooter but it doesn’t feel that long, the views are stunning, you can stop whenever you want and the motion sickness isn’t as bad. Obviously you have to exercise some caution when driving yourself and you have to be pretty comfortable with a scooter, but if the roads are dry and you have some experience opting to travel this way is a no brainer.

Hostel recommendation: Nolo Hub Pai
I didn’t stay here myself, I stayed at Cody Backpackers and then Pai My Way – but I visited Nolo several times and it had a great social atmosphere and was still quite central. Cody Backpackers is a nice hostel but on the cheaper scale and you can’t stay here comfortably without having a bike to ride into the town center. Pai My Way was very, very central but a little on the small side – other than the size though I had no complaints for here!

Things To See & Do in Pai

If you are backpacking in Thailand, inevitably people will ask you where you are planning on going and pretty much everyone you meet who has been to Pai will recommend including this stop on your journey. Pai is a laid back, hippie style town in remote-ish part of Northern Thailand. If you are looking for chilled out, yoga and sunset watching vibes then this is definitely the place for you. So many people end up staying here for so much longer than originally planned there is a term called getting stuck in the ‘Pai hole’!

Explore Pai Canyon
Pai Canyon is the perfect place to go for a hike and watch the sunset. It’s such a gorgeous location but do be warned if you are planning on going on a hike here, no trails are marked. When I went, I used my alltrails to find our way around and even then it took us a pretty strange way! I would recommend using alltrails to track your route to make sure you don’t take a wrong turn, or don’t go too far into the canyon before potentially turning back the way you came. Visiting here is also free!

Pai Hot Springs
Hot springs, in Northern Thailand heat?! I thought it was a little crazy too, but if you come here early and on an overcast day it’s the perfect activity and is really relaxing. There are a number of different hot springs that you can go into, starting at a relatively tepid temperature working their way up to some pretty hot, hot springs! There are some natural cold springs to plunge yourselves into in between, along with changing rooms, etc and there are also some nice walks you can talk around the grounds themselves. Entry is 300 THB for foreigners and it’s open from 7am-6pm.

Pai Walking Street Night Market
You will find night markets all over Thailand and SE Asia, but the Pai Night Market was one of my favourites! It’s a lot more laid back, not as busy as some of the others and the food is some of the best I had gotten in any night markets! It’s free to walk around and eating here is so cheap, with meals for as little as 40 THB (€1.10).

Do a breathwork or Yoga class
As I mentioned, Pai has a really laid back and ‘hippy’ kind of vibe making it the perfect place to immerse yourself in Yoga and Breathwork. There are loads of places that will offer these classes throughout Pai including most of the hostels.

Go to Yun Lai Viewpoint for Sunrise
This is the best spot to watch sunrise in Pai, and looks out over Pai valley. There are little tea shops here where you can get a drink or a steamed bun while you wait for the sun to come up and entry is free. It’s worth the early rise!

Visit the Big Buddha
I didn’t get to this personally while I was in Pai (we could see it from our hostel which was good enough for me!) but this is a really good place to head to watch the sunset, or just to take in the views over Pai. Visiting here is also free!

CHIANG RAI

If you are planning to take the slow boat to Laos, chances are you are going to find yourself in Chiang Rai – but even if that is not your plan, it’s definitely worth going here for two days to visit the amazing temples! Unfortunately due to the roads in Northern Thailand you can’t travel from Chiang Mai, to Pai, to Chiang Rai – you will have to return to Chiang Mai to get to Chiang Rai (say that three times fast!). There are several public buses that go from Chiang Mai that you can book on bookaway.

The hostel I stayed in in Chianh Rai was nice, but one of the least social places I’ve stayed so I’m not sure I would recommend it unfortunately.

Things To See & Do In Chiang Rai

Wat Rong Khun (The White Temple)
This is easily the coolest temple that you are going to see in Thailand! It’s not your traditional style temple! Designed by Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat there are hands reaching out from the ground by the entrance to crazy disney and marvel murals on the walls inside. Not only this, but the architecture itself is breath taking. Entry fee is 100 THB and you have to have your shoulders and knees both covered.

Wat Rong Suea Ten (The Blue Temple)
This temple is another masterpiece in Chiang Rai! Designed by an artist who once worked with the creator of the White Temple, the Blue Temple is famous for it’s vividly blue and gold exterior and the giant Buddha statue that is inside. It’s stunning, and free to enter!

Wat Huay Pla Kang (Big Buddha Temple)
The Big Buddha temple is a jaw dropping temple that is also the perfect place to go for both sunrise or sunset in Chiang Rai. It’s famous for its enormous white Guan Yin statue, which stands over 25 stories tall. You can pay 50 THB to get an elevator to the top, or you can opt to climb the stairs for free.

Singha Park
Singha Park is a park that features flower gardens, a lake, zoo and tea plantations. Alongside this, they also have various activities available like biking and zip lining! Visiting the park itself is free, but doing activities comes at an additional cost. If you have a few days in Chiang Rai, spending some time here is a must do! Fun fact – this park is owned by the famous Singha beer company!

Chiang Rai Night Bazaar
The Chiang Rai Night Bazaar is a vibrant hub for local food, crafts, and cultural performances. It’s a great place to experience local culture and cuisine, with plenty of stalls selling everything from handicrafts to street food. We ate here every night in Chiang Rai and the food did not disappoint! Entry is free but as always in Thailand, make sure you have cash for street food and shopping.

Northern Thailand is such an gorgeous place to visit, and so different from the experiences you will have in Southern Thailand on the coast and on the islands. Filled with a lot more culture, hikes, and temples it feels like ‘touristy’ than the islands like Koh Phi Phi and Koh Samui. If you are visiting Thailand and aren’t sure about going up north I would definitely recommend visiting Chiang Mai and Pai, and if you have the time to fit in Chiang Rai then definitely, definitely do!