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Chiang Mai for a Week: A Considered Budget

Last checked: 17 Oct 2026. Pound figures use £1 = 44.59 baht, the Xe mid-market rate on 17 October 2026, rounded. Your card’s own rate will differ slightly.

Most writing about what Chiang Mai costs is aimed at people moving there: monthly rents, co-working desks, gym memberships. A visitor staying a week has a different set of costs, and a different set of decisions. This is a budget for that visitor, built line by line from sourced prices, with the assumptions shown so you can adjust it to your own trip.

The headline is encouraging. Chiang Mai is the best-value major destination in Thailand. Travellers report spending an average of 1,936 baht (£43) a day at mid-range level there, against 4,422 baht (£99) in Phuket, according to Budget Your Trip.

Getting there

From Bangkok there are two sensible options. The overnight sleeper train on the Special Express costs about 938 baht (£21) for an upper berth and 1,038 baht (£23) for a lower berth in second class, booked directly with State Railway of Thailand. It leaves Bangkok at 18:40 and reaches Chiang Mai at 07:15, which also saves a night’s accommodation. Book early for travel between November and February, when lower berths sell out quickly. The alternative is a domestic flight of a little over an hour. Fares vary too much by date to quote usefully, so compare them when you plan.

Chiang Mai’s airport is unusually close to the city, about 4 km from the Old City. Your choices on arrival:

  • The airport taxi counter in the arrivals hall charges a fixed fare of about 150 baht (£3.40) for a standard car into the city and about 200 baht (£4.50) for a six-seater, according to counter listings reported in July 2026.
  • A metered taxi from the same area adds a 50-baht airport charge to the meter fare. The airport operator describes this as a gratuity set by Ministry of Transport announcement.
  • Airport shuttle buses run to Nimmanhaemin, the moat and the Night Bazaar area for 40 baht (90p), with a third route at 60 baht. A city bus runs loops through the Old City for 30 baht. These are slower but very cheap.

If you arrive by train, the station is about 2.5 km east of the Old City. A shared red songthaew from there into town is reported at around 30 to 40 baht a person.

Where to stay

For a week of sightseeing, the Old City inside the moat makes the most sense for most visitors. The main temples are within walking distance of one another, the Sunday Walking Street runs through it, and you will spend little on getting around. Nimmanhaemin, to the west, is better for cafés and restaurants. The riverside and Night Bazaar area, to the east, has the widest range of larger hotels.

Accommodation is where Chiang Mai’s value is most obvious. Budget Your Trip reports that travellers paid an average of 1,923 baht (£43) a night for a double room. Using Kayak’s pricing data, it puts the average hotel room at about US$34 a night in the low season and US$63 in the peak season, nearly double. Dormitory beds in hostels average around US$10 a night on the same source.

Season, then, matters more than district. The peak runs through the cool, dry months from November to February. Rates also firm up around Songkran in mid-April.

What things cost

Food and drink

Chiang Mai is one of the great food cities of the region, and among the cheapest.

Item (Numbeo, Oct 2026)Price
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant75 baht (£1.70)
Three-course meal for two, mid-range650 baht (£15)
Cappuccino57 baht (£1.30)
Domestic draught beer, pint80 baht (£1.80)

The city’s own dishes, khao soi above all, are at their best and cheapest in small local restaurants and at the evening markets. The Saturday and Sunday walking-street markets are free to wander.

Getting around

Within the city, the shared red songthaews are the default. A ride within town is typically around 30 to 40 baht a person, though it varies with distance and the number of passengers. Confirm the fare when you get in. Fuel costs rose sharply in 2026, and some fares in and around Chiang Mai have risen with them, so treat any figure as a guide rather than a tariff.

Sights and day trips

  • Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the hilltop temple above the city, charges foreign visitors 30 baht (70p) to enter. The funicular to the top is a separate small charge.
  • Old City temples are free to enter or charge a small fee. Wat Chedi Luang is widely reported at 40 to 50 baht for foreign visitors, though one source lists it as free. Carry small notes.
  • Doi Inthanon National Park, home to Thailand’s highest peak, charges foreign adults 300 baht (£6.70) and children 150 baht under the national park fee schedule. The twin royal pagodas near the summit are reported to charge a separate fee of about 100 baht. Transport is the larger cost: the park is about an hour and a half from the city, and you will need a driver, a tour or a rental vehicle.
  • A cooking class is, for many visitors, the best money spent in Chiang Mai. As one example, Thai Farm Cooking School charges 1,500 baht (£34) per person for a full-day class at its organic farm, including market visit, ingredients and transport from the city area. A low-season promotion brings it to 1,300 baht until 21 October 2026.

A considered week for two

The budget below is for two people sharing a mid-range room for seven nights, eating well, using local transport and doing three of the things most visitors come for. The daily figures for food and local transport are Budget Your Trip’s averages for mid-range travellers. The named items are sourced above.

ItemBasisCost for two
Accommodation1,923 baht a night × 713,461 baht (£302)
Food and drink662 baht per person per day × 79,268 baht (£208)
Local transport133 baht per person per day × 71,862 baht (£42)
Airport taxi, both waysabout 150 baht × 2300 baht (£7)
Full-day cooking class1,500 baht × 23,000 baht (£67)
Doi Inthanon park entry300 baht × 2600 baht (£13)
Doi Suthep temple entry30 baht × 260 baht (£1.35)
Total28,551 baht (£640)

That is about 14,276 baht (£320) per person for the week, or around £46 a day.

The total does not include transport to Doi Inthanon, which depends on how you go; the twin pagodas fee; small temple fees; massages, shopping or nights out; or your journey to and from Chiang Mai. Allow for those according to your plans.

For comparison, Budget Your Trip’s averages for a whole week, per person, are 4,977 baht (£112) for a budget traveller, 13,552 baht (£304) at mid-range and 39,725 baht (£891) at luxury level. The considered week sits just above its mid-range average because it includes two paid activities on top of everyday spending.

When to go, and when to think twice

The cool season from November to February brings the most comfortable weather and the highest prices. The rainy months, broadly May to October, bring lower room rates and seasonal promotions, as the cooking-class example shows.

Between roughly February and April, the north has its burning season. Smoke from agricultural burning and forest fires settles in the Chiang Mai valley. In 2026 it was severe: IQAir recorded an air quality index of 263 in Chiang Mai on 29 March, and smoke has in bad years delayed or diverted flights into the city. Rooms may be cheaper, but views from Doi Suthep and Doi Inthanon can disappear entirely, and the air is a genuine health concern, particularly for children and anyone with a respiratory condition. If your dates fall in this window, check the air quality forecast before committing to outdoor plans.

Keeping the fixed costs down

Chiang Mai is cheap enough that the fixed costs of travel can become a large share of the budget. Thai ATMs charge foreign cards 250 baht (£5.60) per withdrawal on Visa and 350 baht (£7.85) on Mastercard. On a week costing £320 per person, three or four small withdrawals can add several per cent to the total. Fewer, larger withdrawals help, as does choosing to pay in baht whenever a card machine offers pounds.

The broader lesson of Chiang Mai is the one that applies across Thailand. A week here costs about as much as three days in Phuket at the same level of comfort, and for many visitors it is the more rewarding of the two.

Sources

All checked 17 October 2026 unless stated.