Chiang Mai Attraction Tours Beyond the Temples
A shared minivan or songthaew reaches places a walking tour cannot, in less time than most guests expect. Three routes cover the bulk of what gets booked out of Chiang Mai city.
Doi Suthep and Ban Doi Pui
A typical morning circuit runs 08:00-12:30: up the switchback mountain road (no cable car covers this route) to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, then four kilometers further to Ban Doi Pui, a Hmong village with a terraced garden and a small tribal museum for 10 THB. Songthaew and minivan tours run 400-700 THB per person, generally including the temple’s 30 THB foreign admission. A separate 100 THB Doi Suthep-Pui National Park nature-area fee has applied since October 2025 at several checkpoints on the mountain, on top of temple entry (current park fees at the Department of National Parks ). Search Doi Suthep tours on GetYourGuide to book a driver ahead of time.
Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden
Thirty kilometers northwest in Mae Rim, this 1,000-hectare botanic garden centers on a 400-meter steel-and-glass canopy walkway suspended 20 meters above the forest floor, alongside glasshouses holding one of Asia’s largest orchid collections. Entry is 100 THB adult, 50 THB child, plus 100 THB per vehicle; open 08:30-16:30. See Tourism Authority of Thailand for current garden hours before setting out.
Huay Tung Tao Lake
Fifteen kilometers north at the base of Doi Pui, this reservoir is lined with more than two dozen bamboo huts on stilts, where lunch (papaya salad, grilled tilapia) is delivered straight to your table over the water. A photo park of oversized straw sculptures sits nearby. Entry runs 50 THB for foreign visitors, 20 THB for Thai nationals. Search Chiang Mai countryside day tours on Viator for a guided route that covers this and Mae Rim in one trip.
Comparing tour types
A shared minivan is the cheapest way to see two of these three stops without renting a scooter, but confirm what’s bundled: park fees and lunch aren’t always included in the headline price. A private car costs more but lets photographers linger at the canopy walkway past a group’s fixed schedule, and skips the pickup order that shared vans run through hotels across town first.
Doi Suthep with Doi Pui is a comfortable half day on its own. Pairing it with either Mae Sa’s garden or Huay Tung Tao makes a full day; trying all three in one trip means a lot of driving between short stops. For excursions that reach further out, see the day trips guide .