Everything worth driving to from here is up a mountain and back, so the road matters more than the distance. Fixed price per vehicle, paid to the driver in cash. Two ways to buy it:
Pai, Chiang Rai, or the long run to Bangkok. Door to door, one vehicle, one price.
from ฿2,200 sedan, Chiang Mai to PaiThe car and the driver kept for you, waiting while you climb, eat and come back.
from ฿3,300 sedan, ten hours, fuel and parking in01 — One way
Chiang Mai sits in a basin with mountains on every side. These are the three runs the operator prices; anything else is quoted by message.
Take the SUV if anyone gets carsick. This is the road the curve count is famous for — three to four hours of switchbacks with almost no straight in it. The front seat helps. So does not eating first.
Any of the three cars is fine. Longer than Pai but far gentler. If you only want Wat Rong Khun and the Blue Temple, buy the ten-hour day instead and keep the car — it works out simpler than two one-way runs.
We will say it plainly: flying is faster and normally cheaper. People book this run anyway — for luggage that will not fit an airline's allowance, for pets, for instruments, or to skip the airport entirely. Give us your flight number if you are connecting and someone here will check it before the driver sets off.
02 — What it costs
Per vehicle, one way, tolls included. This is every route the operator prices in the north — six rows, three roads. Nothing inside Chiang Mai itself is on the list; for a short city run, or anywhere not here, ask and we will quote it.
| From | To | Sedanup to 3 | SUVup to 5 | Vanup to 7 | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airport(BKK) | Chiang Mai | ฿7,500 | ฿8,500 | ฿10,000 | Book |
| Chiang Mai | Airport(BKK) | ฿7,500 | ฿8,500 | ฿10,000 | Book |
| Chiang Mai | Chiang Rai | ฿2,500 | ฿3,000 | ฿3,800 | Book |
| Chiang Mai | Mae Hong Son(Pai) | ฿2,200 | ฿2,700 | ฿3,500 | Book |
| Chiang Rai | Chiang Mai | ฿2,500 | ฿3,000 | ฿3,800 | Book |
| Mae Hong Son(Pai) | Chiang Mai | ฿2,200 | ฿2,700 | ฿3,500 | Book |
A run inside the city, an address we have not listed, or several stops in one day — message us and you get a price before you book.
Ask for a quote03 — All day
The driver waits while you climb the steps, eat lunch and come back down. It is the only sensible way to do the mountains, because there is nothing to flag down at the top of one.
Entrance tickets and meals are yours. A VIP van seats nine and is booked through the operator rather than here, because our booking form does not accept that vehicle type. The day-tour page has the full breakdown.
No car needed for these, but they fill the ends of a day.
The walled square, its moat, and more than thirty temples inside it. Walkable end to end.
Chang Klan Road, from six in the evening, daily. The Sunday Walking Street is on Ratchadamnoen instead, and Saturday's is on Wua Lai.
Close enough to pair two of them in a morning.
The city's temple, up the mountain behind it. 309 steps up the naga staircase, or a funicular tram beside them.
A worked-out quarry filled with water, red cliffs around it. Swimming, kayaking, cliff jumping.
Half a day each, comfortably.
A sanctuary for rescued elephants: you feed them, bathe them and walk with them. Nobody rides them, which is the distinction worth checking wherever you book.
Limestone deposits coat the rock and make it grip, so you climb up the falls rather than look at them. Bring shoes you can wet.
A full ten-hour day, and cold at the top — bring a layer.
The highest point in Thailand at 2,565 m. The twin royal pagodas, waterfalls on the way up, and hill-tribe villages on the slopes. The drive is quoted at an hour and a half to two, depending on how far up you go.
Doable in a day, but a long one. Both are also priced as one-way runs above.
Wat Rong Khun — the white temple in mirror glass — with the Blue Temple and the Black House usually on the same day.
Hot springs, a canyon and a slow afternoon at the end of 762 curves. Most people stay a night rather than turn round.
04 — The car
Capacity is what fits comfortably with luggage, not the number of seatbelts. On the Pai road the SUV is worth the difference; everywhere else, take what fits.
Tell us the child's age and weight when you book so the right size is already fitted.
A market, a coffee stop, a viewpoint. A short stop on a route you have already booked is usually free; a real detour is quoted first.
A 500 MB / 7-day eSIM. Ask for it in the notes when you book — it is not sent automatically.
The form takes a booking at any hour. Messages on LINE and WhatsApp are answered fastest between 8am and 10pm Thai time; outside that they are answered when someone is awake.
Chiang Mai Taxi