Chiang Rai is a lesser-travelled destination in northern Thailand, often used as a gateway city for crossing the Laos border. But is it worth visiting? Should I spend more than a night there? What is there to even do in Chiang Rai? Chiang Rai, while often unfairly skipped on traveller itineraries, has many cool temples, tea plantations, a walking street and a dark yet interesting history of Opium production (Heroin) being located in the Golden Triangle. This guide will cover everything you can do in Chiang Rai, how long to stay, the best hostels and more!
How many days to spend in Chiang Rai
Many people completely skip Chiang Rai if they’re short on time and can’t be bothered making the journey that far north. Other people come to Chiang Rai to cross the border to Laos and don’t bother exploring the city. Both of these are mistakes, in my opinion, as Chiang Rai has a lot to offer. Even if you are short of time, I would try to spend at least a day exploring Chiang Rai. Ideally, two full days will give you enough time to explore Chiang Rai at leisure.
How to get to Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai is located in the far north corner of Thailand, close to the borders with Laos and Myanmar. Many travellers either start or end their Thailand travel in Chiang Rai via a border crossing into Laos. Chiang Rai’s location makes it one of the easiest and most convenient places to cross the border into Laos. It’s also where many people stay before getting on the Laos Slow Boat to Luang Prabang. If you want more info on the slow boat experience, check out my full guide here. If you’re not coming from Laos, chances are you will either be coming over either Chiang Mai, Pai or Bangkok. From everywhere else, you will either need to fly into Chiang Rai airport or first transit to Bangkok or Chiang Mai and then onto Chiang Rai. 12GOAsia is one of the most popular and reliable websites for all bus and transfer bookings.
How to get to Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai
Regular buses are departing from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai daily. Buses depart roughly every 30 minutes to an hour from 7 am to 6 pm. The journey takes 3-4.5 hours, depending on the traffic conditions. The bus will depart from Chiang Mai Bus Terminal 3, so you will have to get transport here from your hostel in Chiang Mai Old Town. The bus arrives at Chiang Rai Terminal 1, which is right in the centre of town next to the night market. Most hostels are within walking distance of this terminal. Expect to pay between 160- 230 THB Thai Baht ($4.50-$6.50 USD) for the journey.
How to get to Chiang Rai from Pai
If you’re coming from Pai, there is no direct shared van or bus to get to Chiang Rai. However, many travel agencies and hostels can book a shared one-way private transfer in a car. This can be a great option to avoid backtracking to Chiang Mai. It takes around 6 hours to get from Chiang Rai to Pai, including rest breaks and food stops. You can choose when you leave Pai and will get picked up from your hostel in Pai and dropped off at your hostel in Chiang Rai. For a car, it costs 3400 THB Thai Baht ($97 USD). If you have four people in the car, this is 850 THB Thai Baht ($24 USD) per person.
How to get to Chiang Rai from Bangkok
Both day and night buses are running from Bangkok to Chiang Rai. The journey takes between 10.5-13 hours, depending on how many stops they make and traffic conditions. Day buses depart at 7:20 am and 9:30 am from Mochit Bus Terminal or a nearby tour agency called Sombat Tour Vibhavadhi Branch. Expect to pay 560 THB Thai Baht ($16 USD) for a day bus. Night buses depart daily from 5:20 pm to 10:30 pm from either Mochit, Sombat Tour or the open-air bus terminal near Mochit. Expect to pay between 450-810 THB Thai Baht ($13-$23 USD) depending on when you depart and which company you choose.
How to get around Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai city centre is fairly compact, so if you choose a hostel in a central location, many things will be walkable. All other activities are a fair way out of the actual city itself, so you will need to either rent a scooter or book a private taxi for the day to reach these attractions. There is also Grab in Chiang Rai, which you can use to get around the city or to and from the bus terminal. You could use Grab to get one way to attractions out of the city, but you might get stranded and unable to find a Grab in these locations to get you back to the city.
Getting around Chiang Rai on foot
Chiang Rai is a very easily walkable city! Most hostels are in the centre, so you are never more than a 20-minute walk from everything. Places you can walk to include the night market (Chiang Rai Walking Street), the bus terminal, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Blue Temple. There is a little bit of traffic around the centre of Chiang Rai, but nothing compared to Chiang Mai, Bangkok or Phuket. There are more sidewalks in Chiang Rai City, and walking around, even at night, feels very safe.
Getting around Chiang Rai by private taxi or scooter
If you’re wanting to visit sights such as the White Temple, Black House, Hall of Opium Museum, the Golden Triangle and Choui Fong Tea Plantation, you will need to organise transportation. If you feel comfortable driving a scooter, you can get a scooter for as little as 200 THB Thai Baht ($5.50 USD) a day. Keep in mind; you will need to drive some distance as some sights are 1.5 hours out of the city, and for the most part, you will be on busy highways with bigger vehicles and traffic. The alternative to renting a scooter for the day is hiring a private taxi or private driver for a day. Per vehicle, it will cost around 2500 THB Thai Baht ($75 USD) for a day. You can get four people in a vehicle, bringing the cost down to 625 THB Thai Baht ($18 USD) per person.
Where to stay in Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai has several hostels and guesthouses available on Hostelworld; most are of pretty good quality. Given that most people don’t spend long in Chiang Rai, there are no real party hostels or social hostels that organise activities. Most hostels are just clean, secure beds to sleep for a night or two. The main thing to consider when booking a Chiang Rai hostel is the location, as you want to be close to the walking street. You can book all accommodation online here.
Stay In Chiang Rai– best vibe
Stay In is probably the closest thing to a social hostel in Chiang Rai. They have pod-style beds with curtains, and the facilities are all really clean. They offer a basic but free breakfast every morning, including coffee, tea, toast, fruit, and local pastries. The staff are really helpful in recommending things to do, organising transport and booking the slow boat experience. They don’t have a bar on site or organise activities, but the free breakfast brings everyone together in the kitchen, where you can make friends to do activities during the day.
Busket Hostel- best location
Busket Hostel is a 1-minute walk from the bus station and the walking street in Chiang Rai. The beds are pod-style with curtains, and the facilities are very clean. They have a rooftop area to chill in, but honestly, you won’t find much of a social vibe. Most people use this hostel as a convenient place to sleep due to its proximity to the bus terminal. If this hostel is fully booked, there’s another hostel across the street called Backpack Hostel, which is of similar quality.
What to do in Chiang Rai
There are so many things to do in Chiang Rai, both within the city and in the surrounding areas. You could fit all of the sights below into one day, but it would be jam-packed, and you would want to start early in the morning. Ideally, if you have 1.5-2 days, you could spend the first half or full day exploring the sights within the city on foot, such as the Blue Temple and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Then, spend the next full day seeing sights outside of the city, such as the White Temple, Black House, Choui Fong Tea Plantation, the Golden Triangle and the Hall of Opium Museum. This would mean you would only have to rent a scooter/ hire a private taxi for one full day.
White Temple
This is a must-see sight in Chiang Rai! The White Temple, also called Wat Rong Khun, is not actually an active temple but an eccentric art exhibition in the style of a Buddhist Temple. The temple is beautiful from a distance, with its whiteness symbolising Buddhist purity. As you get closer, you notice all the unusual statues and quirky artistic additions. This is by far one of the strangest yet coolest temples in South East Asia. As it is a temple, you will need to dress conservatively, covering your shoulders, knees and torso.
There is also an entrance fee of 95 THB Thai Baht ($2.60 USD). Pre-warning, you’ll have to be quick to get the typical White Temple picture. You can only stop for less than a minute on the bridge in front of the White Temple. If you stop for too long, they will call you out on a loudspeaker for holding up the queue.
Hall of Opium & the Golden Triangle
Even if you’re not a museum or history person, visiting the Hall of Opium is a must. The Hall of Opium is a museum dedicated to the history of Opium, the Golden Triangle and heroin throughout the world. If you’ve never heard of the Golden Triangle, it’s a name given to the region where opium is made, which spans parts of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China. Hall of Opium details the fascinating but also dark history of opium across the world and in Chiang Rai. The museum is huge, consisting of multi-media presentations, artifacts and a lot of reading. I spent almost 2 hours there and didn’t even get to all the sections. The museum is 200 THB Thai Baht ($5.70 USD) to enter.
Just a pre-warning, there are multiple opium museums in the region with similar names. Make sure you go to the “Golden Triangle Park Hall of Opium” for the best experience. After visiting the museum, you can stop at the Golden Triangle (the spot where Laos, Thailand and Myanmar meet). They have street food, shopping, a small temple and other attractions along the river.
Black House
The Black House, also called Baan Dam, is a quirky art exhibition in the form of a black-coloured house. Like the White Temple, Black House is a quirky artist’s interpretation of Buddhist philosophy. Black House is a collection of buildings and statues in a garden for visitors to walk around and contemplate the symbolism of these strange artworks. It costs 80 THB Thai Baht ($2.30 USD) to enter, and there is no specific dress code as it is not a religious site.
Choui Fong Tea House
Choui Fong Tea House is where you should stop for a coffee and snack break. The Tea House is set in the tea fields at an elevation, so you have stunning views of the entire region. This is also a great place to try a Thai Iced Tea if you haven’t already. It is technically free to enter, but you do need to purchase a drink or snack.
Blue Temple
The Blue Temple, also called Wat Rong Suea Ten, is located within walking distance of Chiang Rai city centre. As the name would suggest, it is a bright blue temple. While the temple is open all day, the best time to visit is at dusk/ early evening (around 6 pm) as you will get to see the Blue Temple lit up. It is free to enter the Blue Temple, but as it is a religious site, make sure you dress appropriately with knees, shoulders and torso covered.
Temple of the Emerald Buddha
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, also called Wat Phra Kaew, is another temple walkable from the centre of Chiang Rai. It is a gold and red Lanna-style Temple with an impressive emerald Buddha statue inside. It is free to enter, but as it is a religious site, make sure you dress appropriately with knees, shoulders and torso covered.
Where to eat
Most people visiting Chiang Rai won’t spend a lot of time in the city itself. They will get meals and food on the go as they explore sights outside the city. When you return from sightseeing in the evening, the best place to eat will be the night market. This is also called the Night Bazaar or Chiang Rai Walking Street.
Night Market
Chiang Rai Walking Street is right in the middle of town near the bus terminal and many of the hostels. It is open nightly from around 5 pm until 10 pm. They sell various foods, fruit smoothies and desserts, but also have shopping and souvenirs. The main area of the night market is a big food court with street vendors lined around. Facing the food court is a stage where local performers often put on a show. If you haven’t tried Khao Soi in Chiang Mai, the Chiang Rai Walking is also a great place to try the famous northern Thailand dish. If you want recommendations for the best foods to try while travelling in Thailand, check out my full guide here.
Nightlife
Honestly, Chiang Rai is really not known for its backpacker nightlife. Partying is not why most travellers will visit this destination. Given most people are waking early to cross the border for the slow boat experience or to make the most out of sightseeing, the nightlife isn’t super popular.
If you are keen for a night out or want to have a few drinks after dinner at the Chiang Rai walking street, there are a collection of bars a block to the west of the night market. These include Reggae Home and Bar, O’Kane’s Irish Pub and Cat Bar (a popular dive bar). These bars have a few backpackers, particularly on a Friday or Saturday night. But they are more popular with locals and middle-aged vacationers.
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