If someone asked us where to take kids in Thailand, we would say Chiang Mai before Bangkok without thinking about it. Bangkok is thrilling but hard work with small children. Chiang Mai is a city where a good day can involve a temple, a bowl of noodles and a nap, all within a mile. We visited with our kids while living in Thailand, and these are the days that worked best for us. For the wider picture, see our Chiang Mai city guide.
The Old City and the Sunday Walking Street
The Old City is one reason Chiang Mai works with children. Its roughly square-mile historic core is flat and walkable, with temple courtyards that give children room to pause between sightseeing. Wat Chedi Luang is our favourite with ours, partly because the ruined stupa is so big it reads as a castle, and partly because there is space to move. Wat Phra Singh is more formal and more beautiful. Our Old City guide covers both in more detail.
Temples ask for covered shoulders and knees, and shoes off inside. We kept a scarf and slip-on shoes per person in a day bag, which removed all friction. Mornings are the time to go, for heat and for light.
The Sunday Walking Street is the week's highlight for our kids. From late afternoon the main road through the Old City closes and fills with stalls, food, buskers and crafts. It is loud and crowded, so put a small child in a carrier rather than a stroller, agree on a meeting point, and go early enough to eat before the crush. Grilled corn, coconut ice cream, fresh fruit and about a hundred kinds of sweet snack.
Doi Suthep and the mountain
Doi Suthep rises straight out of the city, and the temple near the top, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, is one of the most important in the north. The visit involves a long staircase with naga serpents running down the balustrade, which our kids treated as the main event. At the top there is a golden chedi, a lot of bells to ring, and a terrace with views across the whole valley to the city below.
Go as early as you can manage, before the tour buses. A driver for half a day is the simplest way up, and you can combine it with other stops on the mountain, including gardens, a waterfall in the wet season and viewpoints on the far side. The road is very winding, so if anyone in your family gets carsick, sit them in front and bring a bag.
The air is noticeably cooler up there, which is a relief in the hot months.
Elephant sanctuaries, and choosing well
Seeing elephants is often the reason families come to Chiang Mai, and it can be the best day of the trip or the worst, depending on where you go. Our advice is simple. Choose a sanctuary that does not allow riding, does not have shows, and does not let visitors bathe with the animals for photo opportunities. The good places let you watch elephants eat, walk and mud themselves on their own terms, usually at a distance, with a guide explaining what each animal's history was.
Ask directly before you book. Does anyone ride. Are there hooks. How many visitors per elephant. The operations that answer clearly are usually the ones worth supporting. Most of the better sanctuaries are an hour or more outside the city, so it is a full day, and transport and lunch are usually included. Our kids found the quietness of it, watching a huge animal strip bark off a tree, far more memorable than any performance would have been.
The same logic applies to tiger temples and other attractions that let you touch wild animals. Skip them.
Cooking classes and food
A northern Thai cooking class is one of the best family activities anywhere. Most run half or full days, start with a walk through a market, and end with everyone cooking their own dishes at their own station. Some classes welcome young children to help with simple tasks, but ask about minimum ages and supervision before booking. Ours came home and announced they could cook khao soi, which was optimistic but not entirely false.
Food in general is easy. Khao soi, the coconut curry noodle dish the north is famous for, is mild enough for most children and comes with the chilli on the side. Grilled chicken with sticky rice is a reliable lunch anywhere, and fruit shakes and mango sticky rice handle dessert. Markets and food courts beat restaurants with kids, because everyone chooses their own plate and nobody waits.
Family logistics
Chiang Mai is cooler than the south and cooler than Bangkok between November and February, with proper chilly mornings in the mountains. March to May is hot, and the burning season can make the air genuinely bad, so check the readings before you travel then. The rainy season from around June to October brings short heavy showers and the greenest countryside.
Getting around means red songthaews, the shared pickup trucks with benches in the back. Kids love them. You flag one down, tell the driver where you are going, and pay a small fare per person. Grab is widely used and takes the haggling out of it. Strollers are fine on temple grounds and in malls, less fine on uneven pavements, so a light carrier earns its place.
Pharmacies are easy to find in the city; carry mosquito repellent and check your family’s health needs before travel. Pace it slowly. One thing in the morning, a long lunch and a swim, then one small thing in the evening. That was our rhythm here, and it kept everyone happy. If you are combining cities, our Bangkok with kids guide covers the noisier half of the trip.