Chiang Mai is often considered the Northern Capital of Thailand. Its misty mountain, the cooling climate during the year-end, relaxed vibes, excellent shopping and good food, are few of the many reasons I prefer Chiang Mai over Bangkok. Bringing four kids overseas, I prefer somewhere like Chiang Mai that is less crowded and kids-friendly.
Though there are fewer malls and enormous theme parks as compared to Chiang Mai, there is a lot to explore, especially nature! And we get to enjoy a variety of affordable food options without suffering from long torturous queues. Imagine queuing up with four young and impatient kids.
Sharing our 2019 itinerary here. Since this is our second family trip to Chiangmai, there are a couple of key must-visit spots we skipped. You will find some other must-do activities which we experienced in 2015 in the second section of my post too.
2019 – Chiang Mai with Kids – Day 1
Singapore – Chiangmai
Scoot is the only airline that flies direct to Chiangmai from Singapore. Book early to lock in lower flight rates.
Get your tickets from Expedia here*.
As usual, we rented a car for the entire trip, got a local sim card for Google GPS to give us maximum flexibility and cost savings. Click here to rent your vehicle from Hertz* internationally.
Check-in at Ornsirin Ville
We booked this clean and cosy 4-bedroom inter-terrace via Airbnb, and are delighted with the property.
I forgot to take a photo of the property’s exterior. Sharing a couple of pictures of the interior here. As a mother who brings 4 young kids overseas, I pack minimal clothing to fit into just 2 gigantic luggage, and that means wearing the same clothes repeatedly. I value the huge washing machine and the spacious backyard available for my use.
Dinner at The House by Ginger
We entered The House by Ginger with a ‘WOW’. It was as if we walked into a Victorian art gallery. We enjoyed dinner thoroughly and will definitely recommend a visit.
Day 2
Brunch at Rustic & Blue
We started our day with another awesome meal at Rustic & Blue. The cheerful and relaxed atmosphere surrounding the cafe made our healthy brunch tasted even better.
Check out the post here for our experiences with the rest of the worth-mentioning restaurants.
Mori Natural Farm
We drove up to the north-west of Doi Suthep National Park for a super fun overnight bed-and-breakfast stay in Mori Natural Farm*. We booked the newly renovated barn that fitted all of us. The night was chilling up in the mountains. We brought jackets but were still very thankful for the ample blankets provided by the operator.
Click here for our positive experience in detail.
Pong Yang Jungle Coaster and Adventure Park
We actually went on a jungle roller coaster ride with the toddlers! And TWICE! The carts are equipped with brakes. Therefore we were able to control the speed throughout. The tots were so thrilled by their version of an exhilarating ride that they asked for a second round.
We did not try anything else as the rest of the stations were not suitable for young children. Click here for the details.
If you are keen to have some fun in the adventure park, you must get the tickets from Klook. Click here for the link*. We purchased the tickets from the counters, and it cost us double! I am feeling so ripped off right now.
Dinner at Pong Yang Ang Doi
This is a super scenic restaurant coupled with good food. Located in a landscaped valley with a trickling stream running through it, we sat facing the gardens of Mae Sa Valley Resort and luxuriated in the beautiful surroundings. Food was splendid, though spicy. We were stunned by the spicy mushroom soup especially ordered for the tots when nothing spicy was mentioned in the menu.
Day 3 of Chiang Mai with Kids
Mon Jam
We drove further up to Mon Jam from Mori Natural Farm. It has 2 scenic viewpoints facing the Mae Rim Valley and Royal Project farms. We were the few foreigners there, who discovered the attraction via a random Instagram post.
If you are already in the vicinity, Mon Jam is a must-go. But beware of the blazing sun coupled with cool weather. We unwittingly suffered from sunburns and subsequently rashes after exposing ourselves to the noon sun for lingering almost an hour in Mon Jam.
Click here for more of our experience in Mon Jam.
Lunch at Baan Mon Muan
We were blessed with lots of fabulous food experience this Chiangmai trip. Baan Mon Muan is another restaurant that serves delectable food with a great view that will blow you away. Recommended by owner of Mori Natural Farm.
Warorot Market
Nothing fabulous for the kids but probably a must-go for adults who are keen on bargain deals. The Warorot Market is a huge market in Chiangmai that sells local produce, garments and household items. We got ourselves some dried fruits and food for making soup at home.
Have you tried freeze-dried durians? That was something unusual for me. It was costly so we bought a small packet to try out.
Day 4
Chiang Rai – White Temple, Black Temple, Blue Temple and Long Neck Tribe
We booked a tour from Klook* to take us from Chiangmai to Chiang Rai. We could have opted for a 3-hour self-drive there, but it would be very draining for my hubby as he was the only driver. Booking a tour from Klook* is the next best option.
Our guide gave us briefings on the location before each destination. The lady is surprising well-versed in Chinese as compared to her English and knows precisely where to take the best shots. She even taught us how to use our camera phones better.
Check out Chiang Rai with Kids for details.
Chiang Mai National Museum
If you are a museum lover, you will probably like the ChiangMai National Museum.
The museum focuses mainly on the history of Buddism in Thailand, especially in Northern Thailand. English explanations accompany most of the exhibits and are quite comprehensive. Some sections are also equipped with i-pads for further readings.
However, for families like mine with young kids, the experience was a tad stressful and probably not a great itinerary for Chiang Mai with young kids. Strictly no running and loud noises, which was rather difficult for my kids to adhere to.
There were a couple of TVs screening animated histories of the Lanna Kingdom and my elder daughter was surprisingly interested in the contents. She was, in fact, the last to complete the museum tour. For the less interesting ones, they took less than half an hour to complete their visit.
Lunch at Central Festival Mall
Central Festival Mall in Chiangmai was huge. We settled for lunch there and gave our tots their quick playground fix before sending my parents off to the airport.
Central Plaza Airport for Massage, Shopping and Dinner
Entirely opportunistic, we managed to enjoy a session of foot massage while our toddlers slept. Central Plaza Airport was a fabulous find for fashion shopping. The food court at the basement hosted a superb variety of local food and desserts too.
Day 6
Brunch at Art Roastery
Another amazing find at Art Roastery before going to the Chiang Mai Zoo. We totally enjoyed our brunch and ambience.
Chiang Mai Zoo – if you have kids like ours who love feeding animals, this zoo is a must-go. The kids got to feed deers, ostrich, giraffes, and even panther. Best of all, there was no queue. Check out our experience here.
You can get your Chiang Mai Zoo tickets from Klook* here.
Maya Lifestyle Shopping Mall
We stopped by to escape the heat and got ourselves some take-away dinner for our super tired kids. We found an art supplies shop and got away with some value finds too.
Day 7
Home Sweet Home.
2015 – Chiang Mai with Kids
This trip happened so many years ago and I still retain fond memories of the fun activities we basked in. So I am sharing the key itineraries in this post for your reference.
Doi Inthanon National Park
We hired a private car and guide to bring us out of Chiang Mai city centre, into the Doi Inthanon National Park.
Catching our attention was the magnificent Diamond Waterfall (Wachirathan) which is the 80m tall in accumulated height. There was a loop path for visitors to get a good view of the fall. Splashes from the water cascading down made the trail muddy and slippery, not very pleasant for a family with small kids. Still, we liked the sensation of the cooling water droplets mildly splattering onto our face.
Our guide also arranged a local guide from the Hmong Hill Tribe to bring us trekking through the rainforest towards the Hmong Tribe Village. Although he did not speak English, he was terrific in showing the kids exciting sightings along the way.
Our trek towards another waterfall was an adventurous one due to a flimsy and slippery bridge which we had to cross. It was fun and memorable, so much so I can still remember the experience to date. My children certainly enjoyed the trek.
Before reaching the Hmong Hill Tribe, we relished the sight of a massive rice field that we strolled through.
Our guide briefly led us around the village and served us coffee using their locally grown coffee beans. This village used to rely heavily on cultivating poppy plants for a living, until the local government stepped in, taught them alternative crops to grow to help them sustain their livelihood in the long run.
Check out the top-rated Chiang Mai trekking providers from TripAdvisor here*.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a must-go for a first-time traveller to Chiang Mai. Located on Doi-Suthep-Pui National Park, Doi Suthep temple is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Thailand. The temple’s signature is an elaborated Chedi that is gold-plated from top to bottom, and blazes on a bright sunny day.
Cooking Class in Chiang Mai
It was a lot of fun for both the adults and the kids. The lesson started with a tour around the herb garden, to introduce the commonly used herbs in Thai cuisine, such as lemongrass, ginger and long beans. We learned to make Pad Thai and Tom Yum Soup after the tour.
Check out the same cooking class offered in Klook in the link here*.
Other Findings
Chiang Mai is adapting fast to world trends. Fashion finds are very much influenced by Korean trends, and we see service staffs speaking Chinese and menus in Thailand and Chinese only.
Food-wise, Northern Thailand cuisine seems spicier than Southern ones. Even dishes that do not warn of spiciness put off the kids. When we inquired, the restaurant staffs seemed to think nothing of the spiciness, which did not come from chilli but ginger. So mealtimes in ChiangMai with kids were often tricky for us, and MacDonald and fried chicken/pork dishes often seemed to be the easy way out.
That is all for now. Check out my subsequent posts on Chiang Mai with kids for more details!
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