Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai is known for the White Temple, not as a second Chiang Mai. Take Green Bus from Arcade Terminal 3. The road is about 180 km. A flight between the two cities rarely beats the coach.
Chiang Rai is one or two nights for the White Temple and, if you still have a day, the Mekong. It is not a second Chiang Mai. The useful vehicle is a Green Bus coach on Highway 118. Green Bus publishes a daily board from Chiang Mai (07:00 through 18:30, plus a few day-specific extras) and the reverse from Chiang Rai. Check on arrival. Times move.
Fair-facing inventories in late 2026 showed about 301 THB on the 40-seat coach and about 422 THB on the VIP 24-seat set. Sit on the VIP if you want a bag at your feet and a toilet stop that is not a sprint.
Ways to go
| Mode | Time | Cabin or seat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bus VIP 24-seat | About 3 hours 20 minutes | 2+1 recliner | Arcade Terminal 3. Arrives Chiang Rai Bus Terminal 1, close enough to town for a Grab. |
| Green Bus standard 40-seat | About 3 hours 45 minutes | 2+2 coach | The cheap board. Fine before 09:00. Worse if you are tall. |
| Private car | About 3 hours | Charter | Worth it for a White Temple drop on the way in, south of town on Highway 1. |
| CNX to CEI | About 45 minutes in the air, half a day with airports | Low-cost Economy when the hop exists | Use it from Bangkok (BKK or DMK to CEI, about 80 to 95 minutes), not as a Chiang Mai shortcut. |
After Terminal 1
Sleep in Chiang Rai town. The White Temple is 13 to 15 km south. A same-day van from Chiang Mai turns the plaster into a coach stop. Be at the gate at 08:00. Foreign tickets have been 200 THB since 1 January 2026.
Chang Phuak in Chiang Mai is the wrong station for this ride. Arcade Terminal 3 is the Green Bus building. Mae Sai and Chiang Saen are further Green Bus boards from the same family of desks, not a reason to skip the city night.
Keep going
Book
- Bangkok to CEITrip.com
When Chiang Rai is the north, not Chiang Mai.
Search flights - DMK to CEITrip.com
Low-cost Bangkok to Mae Fah Luang.
Search flights - CEI airport carTrip.com
Town, not a temple-side hotel, unless the flight is brutal.
Book transfer - Chiang Rai townTrip.com
Night bazaar or river. Temple hotels are a coach dump.
Search stays - White Temple carTours
Better as a local car than a Chiang Mai day van.
See tickets
Common questions
- Bus or flight from Chiang Mai?
- Bus. The hop wastes two airports on a 180 km road.
- Can you see the White Temple without sleeping in Chiang Rai?
- Yes, and you will share it with every van from the Old City. Sleep here if the temple is why you came.
- Pai and Chiang Rai on the same trip?
- Not on a first week. Pick the ridge or the temples.