How to Spend 2 Days in Chiang Rai – Travel Itinerary

The main mistake I see people make is they come to Chiang Rai as a day trip from Chiang Mai. While this is surely doable and popular, for me it would be too exhausting and you’d rush your time there. And that would be such a shame! In this blog post I am here to show you why and how to spend 2 days in Chiang Rai – the city of the most incredible temples in the whole of Thailand.

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How to Get to Chiang Rai

Chiang Rai is in Northern Thailand, very close to the borders with Myanmar (Burma) and Laos, which is why this part of Southeast Asia is often referred to as the Golden Triangle. I got to Chiang Rai from Bangkok by plane. There’s a small airport in Chiang Rai, so it’s really convenient to get there from Bangkok and/or Phuket as there are direct flights from there. You can also fly directly from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to Chiang Rai.

The biggest city closest to Chiang Rai is Chiang Mai. From there you can either take a local bus or hire a taxi driver on Grab.

How to Get Around Chiang Rai

Chiang Rai is a small city of approximately 200,000 people, however, the main attractions are quite spread out. It is definitely not a walkable city, so the best way to get around Chiang Rai is with a tuk-tuk or taxi. You can either stop them from the street (just make sure you agree on the price before the ride!) or you can order your ride on Grab. We were doing the latter and it worked out quite well!

If you prefer guided tours more, here’s a good one for you: Chiang Rai Guided Tour.

📖 Planning a trip to Thailand? Read my Thailand 2-Week Itinerary: A Perfect Guide for Your First Time in Thailand blog post.

Where to Stay in Chiang Rai

As I already said, most people visit Chiang Rai as a day trip from Chiang Mai which is a big mistake! It’s such a tranquil place, perfect for recharging your batteries while exploring some of the most incredible temples Thailand has to offer.

📖 For a more extensive list, read my Top 17 Boutique Hotels in Chiang Rai blog post. Additionally, if you’re interested in staying at the riverside hotel, check my Top 5 Riverside Hotels in Chiang Rai with Incredible River Views blog post.

When to Visit Chiang Rai

Just like in the rest of Thailand, there are 2 distinct seasons in Chiang Rai: dry and rainy. Because Chiang Rai is in the north of Thailand, the temperature can get cooler in the winter months, though it’s still quite warm for the European standards!

November – February: This is the period of cool and dry season. Temperatures during the day are around 25°C (77°F) with crisp evenings dropping as low as 15°C (59°F). Perfect for sightseeing without melting! Which is also why this period tends to be most popular among tourists + it’s the period of the Lantern Festival and Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

March – early June: This is a period of hot & dry season. The temperatures are regularly hitting 35°C (95°F) in April, which is the hottest month of the year. In April you can also celebrate Songkran Festival, Thai New Year when people get out on the street and spray each other with water pistols! It is such a unique and cool thing to do in Thailand.

💡The burning season starts in late February and can affect air quality in Chiang Rai due to crop burning in Northern Thailand. With that said, I was in Chiang Rai exactly during that period and I didn’t notice anything unusual. Actually I didn’t even hear of it at all until I came to Thailand and heard people talking about the burning season! Nevertheless, it is up to you to decide whether you want to visit or not during that period. But do know that we were not the only tourists, on the contrary, some places, like the White Temple were quite busy. If you can only be in Thailand during the burning season, surely I would not miss visiting Chiang Rai because there’s a potential risk of affected air quality!

June – October: It’s the rainy season in Chiang Rai. However, most locals said that this part of the year is very enjoyable because there are not that many tourists then, so if you are visiting a lot of things will be cheaper (flights, accommodation, tours). Most of them told us that it only rains for 3h in the morning and then the rest of the day is sunny. The temperatures cool slightly to the high 20s (80°F).

How Many Days in Chiang Rai is Ideal

Because Chiang Rai is a fairly small city, you really don’t need to spend a lot of days there. Personally, 2 full days in Chiang Rai is the optimal amount of days to cover the best things to do. With 3 days in Chiang Rai you can also go and explore some of the natural wonders, like nearby waterfalls and hot springs.

You can definitely do it as a day trip from Chiang Mai, but here’s why I don’t recommend it (unless there’s absolutely no other way for you to spend more than a day in Chiang Rai!):

A) The distance between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai is approximately 3h drive per one way. That means that if you’re doing a day trip, you’d spend at least 6h in the car/van/bus.

B) Then when you finally arrive in Chiang Rai, you’ll squeeze in visiting the main temples (which are not nearby one another btw!) into a few hours. Yes, it’s doable, but it might be too exhausting, and you may feel rushed, so keep it in mind.

C) Chiang Rai is on the Kok River, a tributary of Mekong River, and therefore there are so many gorgeous boutique hotels in Chiang Rai which are perfect for just relaxing after a few hours of sightseeing. I really recharged my batteries at Le Meridien after a few busy days in Bangkok!

📖 Read my How to Spend 4 Days in Bangkok – Perfect Itinerary blog post.

✅ If you really can’t spend more than a day in Chiang Rai, but you still want to visit (and I fully understand that!), this is the best tour you can book. With almost 3k reviews and 4.5 rating, you can’t go wrong. It is by far the most booked day trip to Chiang Rai on GetYourGuide.

Day 1 in Chiang Rai

Okay, now let’s see what you can do with 2 days in Chiang Rai. With this itinerary you will visit 4 main and most beautiful temples of Chiang Rai and we’ll split them into 2 days, so you can take it easy, go to some pretty cool restaurants too and relax at your beautiful boutique hotel.

Lalitta Cafe

The first thing I do whenever I arrive somewhere is of course eating food. And that’s exactly what I did in Chiang Rai too. 🙈

Of course, you may not be like me, but either way, make sure you visit this cafe/restaurant in Chiang Rai on your first day. I couldn’t believe such a place could exist! It’s straight out of a fairytale and is a perfect instagrammable place. 😍

And the food – omg, so delicious! I had some curry inside the coconut and it was simply perfect. You can also come for drinks only, but bear in mind that they don’t serve alcohol there.

Nevertheless, if you don’t feel like eating or drinking, the good thing is that you can still visit to admire the man-made waterfall and botanic gardens.

Everyone has to pay 60 baht to enter, but you can use this credit for food/drinks later.

📖 Read my 43 Unique Things to do in Thailand for Any Kind of Traveller blog post.

Wat Huay Pla Kang

A 15 minute walk from Lalitta Cafe is Wat Huay Pla Kang. Even though it’s not far away, it does go uphill and if it’s a super hot day, you may consider taking a tuk-tuk to get you there.

Wat Huay Pla Kang, also known as Big Buddha of Chiang Rai, is known for its enormous white statue of Guanyin, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy. It is 90m tall and you can also go inside the statue. The interior is pretty cool and you have nice views of Chiang Rai. The lift to the top will cost you 40 baht, otherwise it is free to visit – I MEAN!? 🤩

My favourite part was the dragons. For a moment, I felt like Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, The First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Khalisee of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons.

This was the least crowded temple in Chiang Rai and honestly, I don’t understand why. Even the assembly hall and pagoda next to it are pretty gorgeous. I even noticed on GetYourGuide that most tours don’t have it on their itineraries. It’s definitely a hidden gem in Chiang Rai, but I don’t think for too long.

Wat Rong Suea Ten

Wat Rong Suea Ten, mostly known as The Blue Temple, which translates into The House of The Dancing Tiger. Apparently tigers once roamed in the area. 😬

I’m still trying to figure out which Buddhist temple in Chiang Rai I loved the most, but I can guarantee you that you’d be left in awe with The Blue Temple, especially with the interior!

The ceiling of the interior reminded me of Egyptian tombs in the Valley of Kings. I don’t think there are really good enough words to describe the beauty of this place.

And the exterior, well, the dragons there are amazing too! 🤩

The best part? It is completely FREE to visit!

The best way to get there is by ordering a Grab ride.

We finished the day with a nice dinner by the river at our resort, Le Meridien while enjoying the sunset views. ❤️

Day 2 in Chiang Rai

Let’s now see how your 2nd day in Chiang Rai is going to look like!

Wat Rong Khun

Wat Rong Khun, or mostly known as the White Temple, was on my bucket list ever since I can remember. Someone had to pinch me to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I just couldn’t believe I was finally seeing the temple with my own eyes.

So, what’s so special about it?

Wat Rong Khun was damaged in 2014 by an earthquake and was then restored and expanded. The temple is completely made white with pieces of glass in the plaster that sparkle in the sun. The white colour signifies the purity of Buddha, while the glass symbolises his wisdom and the Dhamma, Buddhist teachings.

To enter the White Temple and its grounds, you need to cross the bridge which looks so eerie, mainly because next to it you’d see skulls and human hands. But the bridge is actually symbolising the cycle of rebirth that shows the way to escape from the world’s temptations, desires and greed and focus on the mind instead.

The temple is truly incredible. 😍

Unlike the first two temples, Wat Rong Khun has an entrance fee, which is about 100 baht (£2). It covers the Cave of Art and the Golden Temple too (it’s all the same complex).

The temple is open from 8 am to 6 pm and because it is the most popular one, it is also the most crowded attraction in Chiang Rai. I was there around 11 am, and while it was crowded, I was still able to enjoy it, unlike the main temples in Bangkok. I also found great angles for photography and could really get creative.

Cave of Art

A lot of people make this mistake: they stroll around the White Temple and then they exit the grounds. Once you do that, there’s no turning back unless you buy another ticket.

Instead of going left to exit, you go right towards the Cave of Art and Golden Temple.

Cave of Art is the newest installation in White Temple. You can pay 50 baht to go inside, which I skipped this time. What I’ve seen from the outside was pretty amazing too. 😍

Golden Temple

And lastly you’ll get to the Golden Temple. It’s fairly small and you can’t really come up close, but there was (almost) no one around it, apart from me and Slaven (and another couple)!

After a little bit of sightseeing, we had a snack. There’s a nice little market next to the White Temple with street food options too. We had a good breakfast, so we went with Mango Sticky Rice to try it for the first time (really delicious 😋), but all the food looked really amazing.

Pool Time

And now is the time to finally enjoy your chosen Chiang Rai hotel. Definitely make sure that whatever option you choose, it has an outdoor swimming pool where you can refresh.

The one at Le Meridien is just wow. And can you believe we were for most of the time ALONE!? 😍

For dinner you can go to the night market in the city centre or eat at your hotel (we did the latter). And that wraps my 2 Days in Chiang Rai Itinerary!

Is Chiang Rai Worth Visiting

Chiang Rai is not only my favourite place in Northern Thailand, but it’s in my top 3 places in Thailand overall! It’s hard to believe that some temples could impress me more than those here. They are just so unique!

The city is also so peaceful, especially if you’re staying in some of the resorts by the river. Hotels here are luxurious, yet affordable and designed in a beautiful Lanna style, which adds up to the overall impression.

While it’s possible to visit it as a day trip from Chiang Mai, staying here for a couple of nights is best to really experience the city. Either way, Chiang Rai is very much worth visiting.

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