Hotels in Chiang Mai — Book & Earn Cashback

The Old City for a first visit — the temples are inside the moat, it is small enough to walk, and it has the widest choice of guesthouses and small hotels. Nimman is the modern alternative with the cafes and nightlife, the Ping riverside is quieter and greener, and Santitham is the cheapest central option.

Three covers the old city temples, Doi Suthep and a night market. Four or five makes room for a cooking class, a day in Doi Inthanon or a trip into the hills. It is also a city people settle into for weeks, and the long-stay infrastructure exists because a lot of them do.

Roughly February to April, when agricultural burning across the wider region combines with still, dry conditions and air quality in the north drops — sometimes severely. Severity varies year to year and cannot be predicted in advance. If you are sensitive to air quality or travelling with someone who is, check current readings before booking in that window; it is also the cheapest time of year, and that is why.

November to January — cool, dry and clear, with nights that get genuinely cold up in the hills. That is peak season and priced accordingly. May to July is a good second choice: the rains have cleared the air, the countryside is green, and the downpours are usually short.

They are not really competing. Chiang Mai is smaller, cooler, slower and built around temples and mountains; Bangkok is vast, hot and dense with far more choice in food, nightlife and shopping. Most trips to Thailand include both, an hour apart by air or overnight on the train.

It is inexpensive even by Thai standards, with a deep supply of guesthouses and small boutique hotels inside the old city and resorts with grounds out towards the hills. Rates peak in the November to January cool season and are lowest in the burning season. The list on this page is priced live for your dates, so you are seeing real figures rather than an estimate.

Yes — the rate is shown on each property before you book, exactly as it is everywhere else on DerLeng Free. It is credited to your balance as LENG after your stay, and you can hold it, convert it to USDC, or cash it out. You pay for the room normally.