1. Night Markets

The markets in Chiang Mai offer pretty much anything you can dream of, from clothes to food (to deep-fried crickets?), if you only know where to look. But it’s the night markets that truly shine in this beautiful city. While there is always a food market on somewhere at night, such as the market at Chang Phuak Gate (North Gate), the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar really pleases. It spans all the way from the Ping River to Tha Pae gate and you can easily get lost in all the marvelous things that are offered here. Even more famous and offering even more food and souvenirs is the Sunday market from Tha Pae to Ratchadamnoen Road. The best part are the hidden temples and alleys into which the market spills for lack of space, where you can find some truly delicious food and curious objects,

2. Doi Suthep Pui National Park

This national park hosts not only lush forest, waterfalls and hiking trails but also a famously stunning temple atop the Doi Suthep peak. There are multiple hiking trails connecting the waterfalls, and if you’re courageous there are also overnight camping spots. Bhubing Palace, which is also a part of the park, is a quaintly beautiful royal residence. The famous What Phrathat Doi Suthep, which is a temple within the park, is not only stunning but offers meditation retreats for those who want to get some cultural insight and spend more time at the temple. If you’re not up for hiking there, you can take one of Chiang Mai’s red taxis to get there.

3. Ancient Wiang Kum Kam

This archaelogical site is full of ancient culture and incredible sights. Since it’s been abandoned 700 years ago, the city of Wiang Kum Kam has been left untouched and today is a fascinating sight of stunning temples and rotting houses. There are a total of nine temples, some of which still stand tall while others are merely ruins.

4. Doi Inthanong National Park

Home of Thailand’s highest mountain, Doi Inthanong, visiting the “roof of Thailand” is one of the most interesting things to do in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It’s also famous for its twin pagodas. The park is still home to Karen and Meo Hmong peoples. It offers a nice fresh breeze after the air in the city and plenty of hiking trails such as Gew Mae Pan and Ang Ka nature trail.

5. Elephant Sanctuary

There is nothing quite as majestic as an elephant. Due to lots of cultural and legal shifts in Thailand, such as the shut down of the elephant logging industry, many elephants find themselves living in horrible conditions while working for the tourist industry. However, especially in Chiang Mai, a lot of sanctuaries have opened up to protect and care for these magnificent creatures. When visiting, you can feed them, play with them and bathe them. To be able to visit these friendly, fun (and a little intimidating) creatures in a sustainable environment is a rare and fantastic opportunity!

There you go! There’s really a lot to do and see, but these five things to do in Chiang Mai, Thailand, are definitely some of the biggest highlights of the region. If you’re not sure you can afford a trip to Chiang Mai, check out this article. Not sure which destination to go yet? Compare a few here!

Have you ever been to Chiang Mai? What did you like best about ti? Let me know in the comments.

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Thailand: Some travelers love it, others hate it. If you want to go and find out for yourself what it’s like you might wonder: what does a trip to Thailand cost? What exactly should my travel budget be? It can be difficult to know what is going to be costly and what isn’t.

If you’re not sure how to budget for your trip to Thailand, read on to be able to plan your vacation in confidence!

Cost of Living

Let’s have a look at the cost for one week. The first thing you’re going to need when figuring out what a trip to Thailand will cost is accommodation. As with any other destination, you have a wide range of options – from cheap hostels to pompous gold-facade hotels. A hostel can cost you as little as $5 (you might share with 20 people and as many cockroaches, though). A stay at the luxurious Siam Hotel in Bangkok, on the other hand, sets you back $592. Most people won’t want to get near either end of the price range!

If you want to stretch your stay, you’ll be able to find a decent private room in a motel for $25 a night or $175 a week. It will be less if you stay in more rural areas. If you are in for something larger and slightly more luxurious, you can get a room at the Modena for $45 a night. That’s $315 a week.

You can get a meal from as little as 50-100 baht or $1.5-$3 if you go with street food. That’s not for everyone, though. So let’s assume you’re going for locally-owned restaurants, which are plenty and make great Thai food. This will be more like 200 baht a meal (about $6.5), perhaps another 100 baht for a nice drink or cold beer. So in a nice hotel with breakfast included, you end up buying two meals. All together it totals at $380 a week.

If you stay in cheap accommodation, however, and eat only street food, you might cut this down to $240. You could even go as low as $140 if you stay in a hostel (assuming you’re eating out for breakfast). As you can tell, there are huge differences depending on the standard of living you’re expecting! For good measure, calculate for toiletries and miscellaneous items you might have forgotten. Examples are sunscreen ($15), toothpaste ($4), and any funky Thai beauty products you might want to try. Also, bottled water comes in at around $0.3 for 2L and you’ll need it since you can’t drink the tap water in Thailand. Aim for around $25 if you’re being conservative.

Cost of Entertainment

So you’ve figured out what you’re going to spend in a week in Thailand to sustain yourself. Another big factor that determines how much your trip to Thailand will cost is how you’re going to spend your time. While some people prefer to just relax or explore, others like a more action-based travel approach. You’ll have to figure out what your travel style is.

You might find seeing a couple of sights a week, e.g. the Emerald Buddha Temple ($13) or the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary ($50) enough. So if you plan $75 a week, that’ll be plenty to have a few outings on a relaxed holiday.

If you’re more action-oriented, doing an activity every day and a few tours, you’ll need to plan for more. Let’s say you spend three days exploring temples and adventuring for yourself. Temple entry fees usually range from nothing to $20. So you might get away spending $30 a day on these days. Whole day tours range between $50 – $100, so one each for the last four days ends up around $300 total, putting you at $390. Now that’s a busy holiday!

Cost of Transport

Another factor in what your trip to Thailand will cost is transportation. A day-ticket on the Skytrain in Bangkok is 120 baht ($4). Tuk Tuk fares are similar (especially in more rural areas) for shorter distances. Since Thai traffic is one of the most dangerous in the world, I’d avoid driving at all costs. If you decide to rent a scooter on one of the islands, it will cost around $6.5 a day or around $45 a week.

What will your trip to Thailand cost?

Now, you have an idea of what different styles of travel can cost. Of course, there are always was to do it cheaper or to spend more. Your trip to Thailand will cost less if you head to rural areas, for example.

But generally, you can get a good estimate here. Let’s say you stay in a nice hotel and take a tour every day. That’s gonna cost you around $840 for a week-long activity-packed holiday, including scooter rental. If you stay in cheaper accommodation it will be around $600. Combine cheaper accommodation and have a less packed holiday while using public transport, you can spend as little as $370 during your week in Thailand. Of course, you always want to leave a buffer in your budget for emergencies, shopping or spontaneity.

Want to compare Thailand to other destinations? Check out this article! Have you traveled to Thailand? How much did you spend? Let me know in the comments.

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Your Travel Budget In Different Countries

Depending on where you’re going, $1000 can make you a millionaire or a beggar. Here are some examples of what your money can get you once you’re on the ground (excluding tickets).

UK: £560

The UK is the most popular destination for Americans, and it’s easy to see why. Everyone speaks the same language (well, they sound pretty posh there) and it’s a very accessible destination. Now, London is rather expensive compared to the rest of the country, but a great place to start our comparison. For $1000 you get £560 – pretty disappointing number, right? A hotel including breakfast and an average-priced meal for two costs you £120 a day already. So in London, a travel budget of $1000 might give you three days stay, including a decent meal (£40) and small lunch, an oyster card to use public transport each (£7/day), a bottle of wine (£10) and a couple pints of beer (£3.5) here and there. This leaves you with about £100 for activities.

France: 875€

Who could not love the most romantic place in the world? It’s one of the most visited countries worldwide, luring tourists in with a combination of cheese, wine, and beautiful countryside. One of the most stunning cities is Bordeaux. When you arrive, you can swap your $1000 for 875€. With a decent hotel for 80€ and a mid-range dinner for 40€, you could do nothing but dine for a week (food holiday, anyone?) Stay for only 5 days and you could rent a car (160€/week) and get down to the markets for some wine (6€/bottle), beer (5€/pint) and cheese. Keep some of your last 100€ for a café au lait you can sip while taking a nice free walking tour in Bordeaux.

Dominican Republic: RD$ 50,400

This is also a very popular holiday destination for Americans – it is more affordable and there’s very little that can beat Caribbean beaches. Here, you will get RD$50,400 for your budget. If you stay in La Romana, you can find a decent hotel for around RD$4,500. You might be able to stretch your money for a week if you don’t drink a lot – this means you can still have a pretty good dinner every day (RD$1,500) and rent a car for a week (RD$8,500). Cut the trip down to 5 days and you can fit a few beers (RD$150) and cocktails (RD$300) into your travel budget and take the occasional tour, like snorkeling at Catalina Island (RD$4,000).

Thailand: 32,000 Baht

Now if the previous destinations made you cringe, that might be because you want more out of your small travel budget. If that’s the case, there is no better destination than Thailand. For this comparison, I chose Koh Lanta – a beautiful Island that’s fairly quiet and not flooded with tourists. Once you get your money exchanged to 32,000 baht, you can get a nice hotel for as little as 1,700 baht (private room). Have a delicious three-course dinner for two (650 baht) and a couple of beers a day (100 baht/each). That way you’ll still have enough to rent a scooter (200 bath/day).

Just relaxing on the beach and zipping around on your scooter will make for a nice 10-day vacation, but if you replace the three-course fancy meal with something more modest, you’ll be able to stay even longer. Or you could just enjoy some tours to Koh Phi Phi and go snorkeling (avg. 1500 baht/person).

How To Use Your Budget

Of course, some travelers might be happy to stay longer in cheaper hotels, while others wouldn’t set foot in anything that has less than 5 stars, so these estimates vary. But it shows that a nice holiday can be had with a small budget and that even a big budget can be spent quickly in an expensive location. So it’s up to you to make your money work for you!

What do you think – how long can you make $1000 last in your dream destination? Let me know in the comments below!

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