Chiang Mai is probably the easiest city in Asia to arrive in alone. The old city is walkable, the prices are low, and the flow of other solo travellers is constant.
The old city
A square kilometre inside a moat and the remains of a wall, with roughly thirty temples in it.
Wat Chedi Luang, a partly collapsed fifteenth-century chedi. Wat Phra Singh. Wat Chiang Man, the oldest.
Entry is a few dozen baht or free, and walking between them takes a morning.
Monk chats — sessions where novice monks practise English with visitors — run at several temples and are free and genuinely interesting.
The cooking class
The best-value thing in the city and the most reliably social.
Typically a market visit, several dishes cooked and eaten, and a recipe book, for 900–1,500 baht.
You spend the day with the same small group, which does the social work of a week.
Elephants, said plainly
No riding. The training required is severe and this is settled rather than debated.
No performances — painting, football, tricks.
Be sceptical of bathing, which has become a marketing term rather than an ethical standard — it still requires the animals to accept close human contact on demand, dozens of times daily.
Genuine sanctuaries keep visitors at a distance, state their rescue history, cap numbers, and cost more because they are not extracting labour from the animals.
The day trips
Doi Inthanon — Thailand's highest point, cool at the top, with waterfalls and the Kew Mae Pan trail which requires a local guide.
Doi Suthep, the temple on the mountain above the city, reachable by songthaew.
Sticky Waterfalls, where the mineral deposits give enough grip to walk up the falls.
Pai, three hours north on a road with 762 curves, small and heavily backpacker-oriented.
The burning season
Roughly February to April, when agricultural burning fills the valleys with smoke and air quality can become genuinely hazardous.
It coincides with the dry season that otherwise looks ideal, which is why it catches people out.
Check air quality forecasts before booking spring dates.
What a week costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Hostel dorm | ฿200–350 |
| Guesthouse private room | ฿400–700 |
| Street meal | ฿40–80 |
| Cooking class | ฿900–1,500 |
| Songthaew ride | ฿30–60 |
Around $25–35 a day including a private room.
Meeting people
Hostels, of which there are many with common areas and organised evenings.
Cooking classes and day trips, which are group formats.
Muay Thai training, available to beginners by the session.
The café and co-working scene, which is dense and full of long-stayers.
Sunday walking street market, which takes over the old city.
Practical
Songthaews — red shared trucks — are the local transport, flagged down and paid per person.
Scooters require the correct licence category on an international permit for insurance to be valid.
November to February is the season — cool, dry and clear.