7 Day Itinerary for Northern Thailand

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7 Day Itinerary for Northern Thailand – How to spend a week in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai

If you’re planning a trip to northern Thailand and wondering how long to spend there, one week will give you a good taste of what the Lanna Kingdom has to offer. You’ll be able to explore Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, cover the tourist highlights in these areas and get a good feel for what northern Thailand is about. Here’s our suggestion for a 7 Day Itinerary for Northern Thailand. Covering the must-sees and dos in the area, and a few more cultural gems

Day 1) Explore Chiang Mai City and its Temples

The best place to start your travels of northern Thailand is in the capital of the north – Chiang Mai . The ‘rose of the north’, Chiang Mai city is known for its ancient Lanna style temples. It is hemmed by mountains and surrounding sub-tropical countryside and forests. The first day is best spent exploring the sights in and aroudn the city such as its temples. The most famous being ‘Doi Suthep’ temple, perched on a hill top north of the city. This religious landmark is a popular pilgrimage for locals and tourists alike.

Doi Suthep Temple

Day 2) Visit an Elephant Sanctuary

The most famous activity in Chiang Mai, a visit to an elephant sanctuary is on the top of most bucket-lists. It’s also a controversial activity, with concerns over whether visiting these gentle giants is ethical or not. Many elephant sanctuaries and camps no longer offer elephant riding, due to pressure from outside parties that is cruel to the elephants. Each sanctuary has its own style and with different offerings of how to interact and engage with elephants. Visit Which elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai ? to learn more about how to choose which one to visit. Most camps will offer complimentary transfer to and from your hotel, and include lunch for the day

Walking with the elephants Chiang Mai

Day 3) Visit Hilltribe Villages

The other popular activity in northern Thailand, is a hill tribe trek or hill tribe tour. The hill tribes are an important part of northern Thailand’s culture and history. There are around 7 different hill tribe groups (Karen, Hmong, Akha, Yao/Mien, Palong, Lisu and Lahu) scattered across the region. A visit to hill tribe villages is one of hte best ways to learn and eperiene hill tribe culture. There are a handful of tourist villages , set up for the purposes of tourism (so the villagers don’t actually live there) but there are also real ones which you can visit. This is best done with a hill tribe guide, who can introduce you to hill tribe culture and is sensitive to the ethics of visiting the hill tribes.

Ethical visit to hill tribe villages Chiang Mai

Day 4- 6) Excursion to Chiang Rai

Most tourists visit Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle as a day trip, but as its 3 hours drive away, you’ll spend most of the day in the car. We suggest taking 3-4 days to explore Chiang Rai, this will let you see the authentic parts of the province, and venture away from the tourist sites. From Chiang Mai, you could head north to Thaton and spend an overnight there. There are lots of different hill tribe groups scattered around this area, so it’s a great place for taking a hill tribe trek or tour. Heading further north is the Chinese village of Mae Salong , which is famous for its terraced tea plantations and idyllic locale. There are several guesthouses and restaurants in this mountainside village, so its a good place to spend an overnight.

From Mae Salong, its a forty minute drive to Chiang Saen and the famous Golden Triangle. This is where you can see the meeting point of three countries (Thailand, Laos and Myanmar) on the Mekong river.

Mae Salong tea plantation, Chiang Rai

Day 7) White Temple & Black House

The last stop is Chiang Rai, where you can see the famous attractions the White Temple and Black House. Depending on what your onward travels are after northern Thailand, you could fly from Chiang Rai airport to Bangkok or head back to Chiang May by road via Mae Kachan hot springs.