8 fun family adventures in Chiang Mai, Thailand

After a month on the beach, we were a bit concerned we would miss the ocean by heading inland to visit Chiang Mai. This fun city is located 8 hours driving north west of Bangkok. It’s near Myanmar and Laos. We originally had planned to attend the famous lantern festival that takes place in November, but based on our other booked flights, we went in October instead.

The rainy season is from June through October, however the internet suggests that the best time to visit is from October through March (not too hot and not too rainy). When we were there in October we definitely had some good hard rain storms, but overall the weather was fantastic!

We stayed at an Airbnb just outside the old town moat, near the southern gate, just east of the famous Saturday night street market. The city is very walkable, but you can easily use Grab car or the local transportation ‘bus/pick ups’ called songtaews. They are pick up trucks; some have a fixed route, but others operate by simply flagging them down, letting them know where you want to go and them confirming if they are going in that direction based on where he is taking the other passengers. It’s a bit unconventional for western tourists and we used it once (to get to the monk trail), but it worked perfectly!

Here are the top activities & places to see we recommend in Chiang Mai:

Monk’s trail: Wat Pra Lat Hike is a must! It is only a 15 min car ride to the start of the trail. We asked our driver to drop us off at the Dcondo Campus Resort Chiang-Mai. The trail goes all the way to the Doi Suthep, but we only went up to the Pha Lat Temple. The trail is well kept, well trafficked and an easy hike with kids. The return trip is around 5 miles. The big surprise is at the top: the Pha Lat Temple is gorgeous! It has several different buildings, shrines and temples spread over several levels and very well kept. It is fun to explore the different areas and admire the beauty of the nature around the temple. The views of Chiang Mai are also breath taking! At the end of the hike, there are many cafes and restaurants along Suthep Alley. We used this blog post for more detailed information about how to hike to Wat Pra Lat.

Elephant Nature Park: (saddle off project): There are many “elephant sanctuaries” in Thailand. Most of them are tourist/profit focused and not for the preservation and wellbeing of elephants. It was crucial for me to seek a place that actually aims to protect and help these amazing creatures! After much research, it was clear that Elephant Nature Park (ENP) was the most ethical and best option. It also seemed that their “saddle off” projects would be a great way to have closer contact and interaction with animals (though only for smaller groups). We choose the “elephant delight” camp and were very happy with our choice! We were the only people on the group visiting the camp on the day we went (they do limit it to 12 people anyways) and were able to have a very hands on experience. There were 4 female elephants in this camp, who were previously logging elephants. ENP works with locals in helping them build another source of income to avoid the elephants being used in hard labor activities like logging. We were able to feed, walk and bath these gentle giants and were amazed in their size, delicacy and gentleness. We were also fed a delicious meal and finished the day in taking them to the river! For more information, please check out Josefine’s post about our day at the Elephant Delight camp .

Family Vagabonders with the Gentle Giants of Elephant Delight

Thailandese cooking class: We love Thai cuisine and we had been curious how our favorite dishes were made. We took the 1/2 day cooking class at Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School. We started the day with a tour of their garden where we were able to see, touch, taste, and smell the many local vegetables and spices. After that we walked to the local market where we also received further explanation of the local fruits, vegetables, curry pastes and spices (this was extremely helpful for us when we went to the markets after our class!) After collecting all the ingredients, we headed back to start cooking! Since we wanted the kids to participate but also didn’t want them handling sharp knives and the hot pots, we paired up and had two cooking stations. It was perfect as we each got to choose different dishes we wanted to prepare and then try. It was fun, entertaining and we learned prepare some delicious meals. We also received a thorough cooking book that contained all the recipes! Our guide was great and the there were about 20 people in the class in total; what a fun day!

Monk Chat: On our way home from the Monk’s trail we stopped by the beautiful Wat Suan Dok and while walking around and admiring the surroundings, we saw a sign for “Monk Chat”. We were intrigued and entered the building, where a very nice monk greeted us and invited us for a chat! We spent an hour chatting with 2 monks who answered all our questions regarding Buddhism, the monks’ lifestyle and about Thailand in general. Monk Chat is an interesting project where monks from many countries come to the temple to participate and improve their English. It was very interesting and educational. At Wat Suan Dok, Monk chat is from Monday - Friday from 4 - 7pm. They also offer meditation retreats (one day or 2 day courses) More information about meditation retreats and Monk Chat can be found here.

Sunday night market: Although our Airbnb was right next to the Saturday market, we arrived late on Saturday and didn’t get to experience it. However the Sunday market made up for it! We arrived early (5pm) and it was a fun market with local crafts, music and food. There are some kitschy markets in the world, but this one had many unique items with very friendly vendors. It is mainly on Rachadamnoen Road, but spills to neighboring streets. Around 7pm, it got very busy.

Thai Massage: I really wanted to experience an authentic Thai massage, but did not want to fall into the many tourist trap places that don’t offer “the real deal”. So after researching. I decided to book the authentic Thai massage at Green Bamboo Massage. It is not a ‘fancy’ spa (and there are many of those around town) but it was clean, service was professional and the massage was amazing! I have always enjoyed a strong massage and this was perfect. You can choose the level of intensity/pressure and choose a male or female therapist. It was so good that I instantly booked Jason’s massage when I was done.

Chiang Mai gate market: during the morning a popular market with fresh vegetables, fruit meat and food. At night a bustling food market with many options and not very busy! We went to the Chaing Mai Gate Market almost every day! I loved the freshly grilled chicken hearts, the kids enjoyed the moo ping (Thai grilled pork), and Jason loved the freshly prepared papaya salad. As a bonus, on our last morning in Chiang Mai we went to the market, bought food as an alms giving to the monks that are waiting outside the market for donations. It’s a tradition as monks depend on these donations, but it is also a great way to start the day by doing a good deed. (The kids also got a kick out of it!)

Wat Chet Lin: We stumbled upon the Wat Chet Lin temple on our first day and were mesmerized by the beauty. It is not as busy with tourists or grandiose as some of the other temples in town, but it was peaceful, beautiful and different. For a small donation you can get food and feed the fish in the beautiful pond.

We really had a blast in Chiang Mai, albeit the short period we stayed there! Chiang Mai has so much to do, the people are extremely friendly, helpful and kind, the food is delicious and the cost is living is cheap. This was one of our favorite cities in all of Southeast Asia. We would like to spend a longer period of time exploring it further.