We know that some of you are planning to go on a trip, but the trip overseas in this situation might be hard so let’s travel within the country instead! If you still don’t know where to go, no worry! We’ve come up with a plan for you already. We will take you on a road trip, travelling between 3 cities in the north of Thailand. Starting from the well-known city ‘Chiang Mai’ and driving through to Mae Hong son and stopping at Pai. Some people think that a road trip takes quite some time or a week and you don’t have enough leaves to take. But actually, a couple of your days off are enough for this road trip!

First off, to waste no one times and make it as easy as possible, we took a cheap flight to Chiang Mai with Traveloka. With advantages of easy price comparison and fast-booking without using a credit card. Not only it offers cheap flight, Traveloka also provides hotel booking service and other services such as car rental or booking airport bus, which was perfect for us as we were also looking for a car to rent. Because a road trip needs a good drive!

Booking a rental car in Traveloka is easy, just a few clicks (in the link below) and we’re done booking a rental car in Chiang Mai beforehand. We could choose booking with or without a driver, but with a more flexible travel plan that we have and a lot of days in our trip – we chose to drive by ourselves. Another good thing about booking a car with Traveloka is that we can pick up the car at the Chiang Mai airport! So, we landed from our cheap flight, walked out of the terminal and got the car – easy-peasy.

It took only about an hour to fly from Bangkok to Chiang Mai – saving us lots of time compared to driving from Bangkok. We chose the earliest flight possible so we arrived before 9.00 am. So, we can travel today for a full day. Go take a car that we have pre-booked then let’s go!

We arrived at the famous breakfast restaurant in Chiang Mai. We have heard that you might need to wait in your queue since morning! But lucky enough for us that we didn’t have to. The shop opens from 7.30 am in the morning until 14.00 pm. So better get to the place around the morning.

The shop is located at Huay Kaew street, behind the Harbour community mall. There’s also a parking lot so perfect for us to drive a car. We recommend 4-color pandan custard, a delicious dish with attractive color – good for taking photos too!

Google Maps

Because we arrived in Chiang Mai pretty early, after we finished our breakfast, we still could not check-in in our hotel, so we headed to our first destination instead. Grand Canyon Chiang Mai is a canyon with an emerald-colored lake in the middle. The name came from the real ‘Grand Canyon’ in the US from the similarity. We needed to purchase a ticket before going in, however, we bought a ticket with Traveloka beforehand and got the electronic ticket. So just showed the ticket and we were ready!

Even though the place is a man-made place, it has become a famous attraction for tourists. The ticket price is not that expensive and there’s a lot of activity for you to do. Swimming, jumping from the cliff, kayaking – or doing something more extreme like driving ATV or Zipline activities. After that, now it’s time to go to our hotel.

We checked-in at X2 Vibe Chiang Mai Decem Hotel, a decent chained hotel with a reasonable price with a good location (at Superhighway Chiangmai-Lampang), opposite of Maya mall and near Nimman street. Perfect for travellers with cars as the hotel offers a parking lot. Everything is perfect so we recommend this place!

We planned to go to Chiang Mai Night Safari, but the trip starts at night, so we headed to One Nimman first. It is a beautiful community mall with unique architecture, near Nimman street which is very close to our hotel, so we can just walk across the road. There’re shops, cafes and restaurants. Sometimes you will find an art exhibition too.

Even though we were in Chiang Mai, it felt like we were abroad! You could try local Thai food here at street food shops, offering famous Chiang Mai’s restaurants all in this place. So we don’t have to drive from one restaurant to another to taste all the food.

Last destination is Chiang Mai Night Safari. Some of you might have been here or already know the Chiang Mai Zoo but it’s a different place! This Night Safari zoo is located in Hang Dong district, driving from the city for about 20 minutes. Because it offers a night trip, it opens from 11.00 – 22.00. You can visit this zoo from the day time but the highlight is actually the Night Safari zone. You can take an open-air bus and visit the roam-free animals closely.

We didn’t have to wait in line to buy a ticket because we already booked the ticket from Traveloka before this trip! We received a QR Code after purchasing in the app – just show the code and walk along like a VIP! There’re many animal shows but you should check the time of the shows first. For the next day, we will be in Chiang Mai for another day before driving to Mae Hong Son.

We rose early as today we planned to go to many places. Also, today we chose not to book the car and that’s the good thing about booking with Traveloka as we can choose which date to book or skip the booking. Because today we will take the one-day trip tour instead! No need to drive any car, we just sit and let the tour take care of us. We booked this tour via Traveloka again – so convenient! Now let's see where the tour will take us.

Start the tour with the first attraction in Chiang Mai. ‘Doi Suthep’ is an important and stunning temple that is very well-known for both locals and tourists. Located on the Huaykaew street and easy to go – you can drive here by yourself too. If you have time, you could come in the early morning so that there are fewer tourists. It opens from 05.00 to 21.00. Some people visit the temple at night as the light will be turned on – another beautiful scenery.

This ancient and sacred temple has been here with the Chiang Mai people since old days and lots of travellers will visit and pray for blessings.

Drive up the hill for a while and you will meet Bhubing Palace, another interesting destination on the hill that is surrounded by gardens and flowers. We saw those flowers blooming during winter and breathing in fresh air while walking around was a really good moment.

Next in line is Wat Phra Singh, another significant and beautiful temple of the city. It is usually crowded, especially during Buddhist festivals. Also, it is easy to travel as it is located in the middle of Chiang Mai.

Besides, this temple has an important, ancient buddha statue that has been sculpted since Lanna time. We got to observe the beauty and all the details of the arts and decorations of the temple.

Next temple in this tour is called ‘Wat Chedi Luang. A temple made with bricks, ancient style since Mangrai dynasty. It was a notable temple since the Lanna kingdom with important pagodas. Considered as one of the major historical sites of Chiang Mai.

Actually, there is another place on the tour but we negotiated with them and wanted to skip it and end the trip instead. Because we wanted to walk in the market and to find something to fill our stomachs!

The famous market of street foods, explores a variety of northern Thai Food here in the market. We recommend you to visit in the evening as shops will be open. You will find good and delicious food or something that you might have never heard of! Great taste, reasonable price – don’t forget to visit the market!

For this day, it’s time to drive to Pai! As the road trip of Chiang Mai – Pai – Mae Hong Son. Normally when we drive from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son we will reach Pai first. If you take a road trip like us, we recommend you to leave early as it will take you about 4 hours from Chiang Mai to Pai. But it’s not going to waste our time, as we will also take a break and stop at some attractions -- no worries!

Drive from Chiang Mai through Chang Phueak street and keep on the main road of 107, before turning left into Mae Rim. Take the main road of 1095 and head to Pai. However, we will make a quick stop at Memorial Bridge of Pai. This bridge has been established since World War 2 when the Japanese army moved its base to Thailand. The bridge structure and design are similar to the famous one in Kanchanaburi too.

Apart from its historical importance, the view from the sides of the bride is extraordinary. A quick stop worth visiting.

Hop on a car and head to the next destination. Pai Canyon is another unseen spot near Pai. A natural-made canyon with a track for tourists to walk along, however the trail is a bit dangerous and you should be careful while walking. Walk till the end and you will meet a beautiful landscape of forests and mountains.

Now it’s time to go to Mae Hong Son, which is a city where we will stay for tonight. You could also stay in a small and peaceful village of Pai but we have been there and wanted to try Mae Hong Son this time. Visit Wat Phrathat Doi Kongmu, which is not far from the city.

The temple is situated in Kongmu hill so you get to see a landscape all over the city. The landmark here is the pagoda, which might seem different from other pagodas that we have seen on this trip. As the architecture is a mix of Myanmar and Shan style – but still look amazing. Also crowded with locals during festivals.

We decided to book and stay at Panorama Hotel, a decent and quiet place in Mae Hong Son. It’s located in the middle of the town – perfect for us when we want to go for a walk at night. You will spot fewer tourists in the night as most of them stay in Pai instead. We rest early as we have to wake up in the morning and drive to the last destination.

We had breakfast first thing in the morning and got ready for a trip. Today we planned to visit only this place and drive directly back to Chiang Mai for our cheap flight back to Bangkok. But we booked the flight late in the evening so we still have time to visit the place and travel back

This is the neighbourhood that made us visit Mae Hong Son in the first place. We have seen this place in the picture and written it down into our list. It took us some time to drive to this place but we had no regrets and it was totally worth it! The beauty is beyond explanation and seems like we were in another world. Relax in the serene landscape, green mountains, clear lake and sun shining brightly – definitely a heaven on earth. Yunnan style houses sit along the mountains.

There are some activities here that you can explore. Because of good weather, the tea plantation is also located here. Sip a cup of tea with Yunnan-style food after riding a bike around the village. After relaxing for quite some time, it's time to go back to reality. We drove back to the airport and took the cheap flight back to Bangkok, and that’s the end of our trip.