Family Friendly Itinerary for Chiang Mai

We recently took our 4 kids under 4 to Chiang Mai for a 4-day trip. If you’re short on time, want to do something super authentic and have kids, here’s what you should do:

HOW TO GET THERE:

Fly into Chiang Mai Airport: The airport is small and super easy to navigate. It took no time to get our bags and get out to the curb.

WHERE TO STAY:

We knew that we’d be spending the majority of our time outside and we also didn’t want to break the bank — there’s plenty of great and inexpensive lodging options in Chiang Mai. We stayed at the Bee Friendly Hostel. Don’t let the word “Hostel” throw you off; it was a family run homestay, each with private rooms. We stayed in the family room which had a bedroom with a queen room and a separate connecting room for the kiddos, with two small mattresses on the floor and room for the cribs. We had a fridge, separate bathroom, shower and even bathtub. The owner, Mr. Dang, was so nice; he welcomed us, made sure we had everything we needed and even made us eggs the next morning. This place was perfect for us — not luxurious, but clean, well maintained and inexpensive. It is a 5 minute walk from the Night Market, which is an added bonus. Bee Friendly Hostel: 62/3 Charoen Prathet Rd, Tambon Chang Moi, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand

WHAT TO DO:

Maerim Elephant Sanctuary:

This place came highly recommended from a friend with young kids and was without a doubt, a highlight of our trip. We signed up for the half day adventure and were picked up from the Chiang Mai airport in a traditional Songthaew (basically the back of a pick up truck). This was super fun for the kids and also gave me a mild heart attack (if you are particular about car safety with your children, this may not be a good option for you). We arrived at the elephant sanctuary about 45 minutes later and got to know 6 of their elephants. The reason Maerim is so special is because it’s a sanctuary for elephants; they rescue elephants from places like the circus, for use in agriculture and from tourists who ride them. Our afternoon went like this: we learned about the sanctuary and the elephants, we were given cool outfits to wear with traditional bags, filled our bags with bananas and sugarcane and spent time feeding the elephants. After that we took a mud bath with them — like a literal mud bath and then swam with them in a natural water hole. After that, we rinsed off, swam in the “human” pool, got changed and had a cooking lesson where we learned to cook Thai Chicken Soup. Then of course, we got to enjoy it! I can’t recommend this place enough — it was great for my young children (all under 4) and for adults. Maerim Elephant Sanctuary: 1 moo.8 T.keelek Maerim Chiangmai 50180

Thailand Hilltribe Holidays:

The main reason we came to Chiang Mai was for our visit with Thailand Hilltribe Holidays. I was referred to their owners, Melissa and Pat, by a friend and I got in touch with Melissa ahead of time (she’s originally from the UK and met and married Pat, the main guide, several years ago and moved to Chiang Mai). She too has young kids and put together a custom 2-day tour for our family. We bonded so much, I convinced her to bring her 4 yr old and 10 month old on the overnight with us, as I thought this would be great for my children. What I really love about Pat and Melissa is their commitment to the Hilltribe communities, sustainability and their profound knowledge of Hilltribe culture. Their tours do not feel touristy, they are 100% authentic and customized.

Here’s what the 2 days included:

Day 1: We were picked up from our hostel at 9AM by Pat and team in a clean SUV that fit our family. We drove to their home, which was on the way to the villages, and picked up Melissa and her kids. It was awesome to see their home and our kids loved playing with their toys. After that, we drove about an hour towards the mountains. We stopped at a local market for lunch, where we ate traditional Thai Food and Pat bought us some fried bananas (yum) from the market. We also stopped to buy some treats for the school that we were visiting. At around 1PM we arrived at the Banmaelankam School in Northern Chiang Mai, which is made up of students age 5-16 from the Karen Tribe. Pat and Melissa are very dedicated to this school and knew it well. We spent the afternoon with the school children — learning about their curriculum, meeting with the teachers and we even got to attend a school assembly. Our kids favorite part was handing out cookies to all of the children. Early evening we got to the Hilltribe Village where were staying.

The village is literally “off the beaten path”. It’s made up of 17 families from the Karen tribe and just got electricity last year, if that’s any indication of how remote it is. We spent the evening in a home of one family, where Pat and team cooked us the most amazing meal, over fire. The entire time they were cooking, our children were playing with both the village kids and Pat and Melissa’s kids. In an effort to try and bring some tourism (i.e. income) to the amazing people of the village, Pat and Melissa helped one of the families to build a luxury homestay and we were the first family to stay in it!

It had a queen bed and a single bed, a very nice bathroom and tub, mosquito nets and a strong fan that kept us cool. It seriously felt like we were staying in 5-star lodging, but when you step outside, you were back to a remote village. It was perfect for us (we brought our own baby cribs for the babies, as they don’t do well sleeping in beds).

Day 2: We woke up early at the sound of a rooster — literally! Pat and team made us a delicious breakfast. We went on a short hike through the rice patties with the kiddos and then Pat gave us a tour of the local surroundings in his red “cadillac” tuk tuk. This was a sure highlight for the kids and for us. After this, we drove through the hills to another village, the Black Hmong Village, set high in the mountains. We learned about the Black Hmong people and got to spend time with a handful of families there. Later in the afternoon, Pat and Melissa drove us back to our hotel and we said our goodbyes. We were sad to leave them and we will always remember our time with Thailand Hilltribe Holidays.

OTHER THINGS TO DO IN CHIANG MAI:

Chiang Mai Night Market:

While we were only there for about an hour, I highly recommend a visit to the Chiang Mai Night Market. It was filled with beautiful crafts, t-shirts, souvenirs and most importantly, delicious food!

Saturday Night Market:

We were so excited that we were in Chiang Mai over the weekend because we love a good weekend market! The Saturday Night Market takes place on, you guessed it, Saturday’s. It’s literally miles and miles of stalls/booths that takeover a very large street. Our favorite is all of the food vendors because it really doesn’t get better than Thai Street Food! May I recommend the mango sticky rice and fresh popsicles! The only thing to note is that it gets VERY busy, so you will be shoulder to shoulder with people. That said, we had our double stroller, which was tough, but we managed. Wualai Road, Chiang Mai, Thailand