Ready-made plans
Custom planning is temporarily unavailable for this route. Ready-made plans are still available.
Home › Journeys › Chiang Mai to the Golden Triangle › 6 days
Chiang Mai to the Golden Triangle: 6-Day Plan You Can Actually Do
Last updated:
The 6-day version for December: every day fits real transit, opening hours and daylight.
6
days
320 km
distance
8.6 h
in transit
15
curated stops
💡 Good to know for this plan
- Cooler, generally drier conditions suit the northern route, but road, air and attraction status remain live checks.
Before you go · check live details
This is a planning draft. Check these changing details for your dates before booking or travelling.
Some route advice is currently available in English.
- Check live roads, rain, landslides and Air4Thai air quality.
Reconfirm mountain roads and visibility before each day; reroute or postpone for closure, flood, landslide, smoke or unsafe conditions.
Check source ↗ - The baseline stays on the Thai side of the Golden Triangle.
It includes no Myanmar or Laos crossing, immigration process, Mekong boat or border-area detour. Arrange and verify any such activity separately.
Check source ↗ - Arrange every trek, cave, waterfall, boat and remote provider separately.
The baseline includes no Doi Luang summit trek, technical cave, remote waterfall, border boat or provider-led village excursion.
Check source ↗
Day 1 Chiang Mai public heritage day
- Transit
- none
- Finish
- ~15:00
- Temperature
- 13.6°C–24.3°C
- Rainy days
- ~2
- Daylight
- 10.9h
09:00
Chiang Mai public heritage circuit tourismthailand.org map ↗
Use a bounded public Chiang Mai heritage circuit before the separately reserved road journey.
300 min · Chiang Mai public heritage day · Confirm current admission, reservation and access conditions
14:00
Overnight here
e.g. 2230 Hostel · 7 Century Guest House
Day 2 Chiang Dao reserved transfer and public town day
- Transit
- 2h13
- Finish
- ~18:00
- Temperature
- 12.6°C–22.8°C
- Rainy days
- ~2
- Daylight
- 10.8h
10:40
Chiang Dao reserved transfer and public town circuit tourismthailand.org map ↗
Use the confirmed road transfer and a bounded public Chiang Dao town-and-temple circuit; no summit trek is assumed.
240 min · Chiang Dao reserved transfer and public town day · Confirm current admission, reservation and access conditions
14:55
16:10
17:00
Overnight here
e.g. Chiang Dao Hut · Nature Home Guesthouse
Day 3 Tha Ton reserved transfer and public riverside day
- Transit
- 2h24
- Finish
- ~16:20
- Temperature
- 11.9°C–23.2°C
- Rainy days
- ~2
- Daylight
- 10.8h
11:15
Tha Ton reserved transfer and public riverside circuit tourismthailand.org map ↗
Use the confirmed road transfer and a bounded public Tha Ton riverside-and-temple circuit; no boat is assumed.
240 min · Tha Ton reserved transfer and public riverside day · Confirm current admission, reservation and access conditions
15:30
Wat Thaton wat-thaton.org
50 min · Tha Ton reserved transfer and public riverside day
Overnight here
e.g. M2 Apartments · Old Tree's House
Day 4 Chiang Rai reserved transfer and public city day
- Transit
- 2h36
- Finish
- ~17:15
- Temperature
- 13.1°C–25.0°C
- Rainy days
- ~2
- Daylight
- 10.8h
10:55
Chiang Rai reserved transfer and public city circuit tourismthailand.org map ↗
Use the confirmed road transfer and a bounded public Chiang Rai orientation circuit.
180 min · Chiang Rai reserved transfer and public city day · Confirm current admission, reservation and access conditions
14:05
15:15
Behold a giant statue and a nine-story pagoda in a Guan Yin temple.
50 min · Chiang Rai reserved transfer and public city day · 40 THB to take the elevator and see through the statue's eyes
open: daily 07:00-21:00
16:25
Overnight here
e.g. Akha Hill House · Boon Bun Dan Guest house
Day 5 Chiang Rai public art and temple day
- Transit
- 0h01
- Finish
- ~15:05
- Temperature
- 13.1°C–25.0°C
- Rainy days
- ~2
- Daylight
- 10.8h
09:05
Chiang Rai public art and temple circuit tourismthailand.org map ↗
Use a bounded public Chiang Rai art-and-temple circuit and confirm current admission and opening.
300 min · Chiang Rai public art and temple day · Confirm current admission, reservation and access conditions
14:05
Doi Chang search
Sipper rich, famous coffee and explore a menu of Western and Middle Eastern dishes.
60 min · Chiang Rai public art and temple day
Overnight here
e.g. Chat House · Easy House
Day 6 Chiang Saen reserved transfer and Thai-side heritage day
- Transit
- 1h22
- Finish
- ~15:25
- Temperature
- 11.7°C–24.3°C
- Rainy days
- ~2
- Daylight
- 10.8h
10:25
Chiang Saen reserved transfer and Thai-side heritage circuit tourismthailand.org map ↗
Use the confirmed road transfer and Thai-side heritage circuit; no border crossing or Mekong boat is assumed.
300 min · Chiang Saen reserved transfer and Thai-side heritage day · Confirm current admission, reservation and access conditions
🔍 Check before you book
Every stop is a real, sourced place, but opening hours change, roads close and businesses move. Check anything you're paying for before you book.
Sources (7)
- Chiang Mai public heritage circuit — tourismthailand.orgOfficial public source; original paraphrase
- Wikivoyage — Chiang MaiCC BY-SA 4.0 (facts extracted; prose not redistributed)
- Chiang Dao reserved transfer and public town circuit — tourismthailand.orgOfficial public source; original paraphrase
- Wikivoyage — Chiang DaoCC BY-SA 4.0 (facts extracted; prose not redistributed)
- Wikivoyage — Thaton (Thailand)CC BY-SA 4.0 (facts extracted; prose not redistributed)
- Wikivoyage — Chiang RaiCC BY-SA 4.0 (facts extracted; prose not redistributed)
- Chiang Rai public art and temple circuit — tourismthailand.orgOfficial public source; original paraphrase