Chiang Mai is, in our opinion, the #2 best place to see in Thailand after Bangkok. It’s a little less expensive than Bangkok and is a really nice place to be. There are endless temples, multiple night markets and walking streets weekly, plus plenty of day trips to take in the area. But where to stay in Chiang Mai? We’ll break it down for you in this post. For each location, we’ve found the cheapest family room we could find, that looks OK, so that you can compare.
The hotel in the photo is * Makka Hotel in Phra Singh, Chiang Mai Old City. It was a mid-range/moderately priced hotel that we selected for its location in early 2025, and because it had rooms with twin beds. This was a mum and son trip. It was a lovely place, and breakfast was outstanding. Take a look at Makka Hotel and see if it would suit you. It’s also on Agoda. We paid for this hotel ourselves; our opinions are not swayed by gifted stays.
Where Is The Best Place To Stay in Chiang Mai?
How much is it to stay in Chiang Mai? It’s cheap, solo travellers can get an OK dorm bed for just $6 US, $10 Au, easily. A decent family room at the cheapest places we can find is about $35 US, $50 Au. You can get a nice hotel for $65 – $130 US, $100-$200 Au per night, and then there’s the luxury hotels. 5-star hotels are quite affordable, and this one is our favourites, but the sky is the limit for prices of some places outside Chiang Mai. We think that it’s best to stay inside the walled Old City. But we also look at other areas of Chiang Mai to help you make up your mind.
Stay in Chiang Mai Old Town
The Old City of Chang Mai is walled, and it’s pretty much square. You’ll see it clearly in the map at the bottom of this page, or open the map here.
Inside, or very close to, the Old Town would be our choice of the best place to stay, putting you within walking distance of beautiful temples, the night markets, and amazing food.
Because the roads inside the old town are narrow, traffic isn’t too bad in terms of noise or busy roads, but if you plan on taking taxis everywhere, access may not be so good. The whole of the Old Town is easy to walk around.
The Old City, outside the walls, is skirted by a moat and big busy roads. You may find slightly cheap accommodation outside the walls, and we have done this from time to time, but for us now, we always stay inside. It’s just nicer.
Where we can, we give you links to Booking.com and Agoda for you to compare prices. Agoda are good for Asia, we use both platforms ourselves.
Accommodation Inside Chiang Mai Old Town
- The cheapest place we could find, that looks good and has a family room with enough beds for 4, is Kristi House, they had an offer on a family room with bunk beds and a double for about $50 Au. As a bonus, it has a balcony, great for drying laundry, just be mindful of safety with small kids. Kristi House is on Agoda and on Booking.com.
- For a fairly budget stay, try Pudsadee Hotel, a cheaper accommodation with multiple room types. This pocket-friendly lodging is also on Agoda.
- Mid-range hotel with family rooms for up to 3 kids, & pool – The Twenty Lodge. This one is also on Agoda.
- Luxury resort with pool and family rooms & suites – Phra Singh Village. Phra Singh Village can also be booked through Agoda.
- Looking for a 5-Star? Siri Village Chiang Mai is a stand out hotel in Chiang Mai, almost in the centre of the Old City. See it on Booking here, and Agoda here. It’s location is described as “Phra Singh”, it’s close to beautiful Wat Phra Singh.
Stay Near The Ping River in Chiang Mai
We have only stayed on the Ping River once. This was because it was lantern festival season (November) and central Chiang Mai was very full, and more expensive than usual. We had to flee to the Ping River to find a family room that was affordable. There is some very cheap accommodation over on this side, and also luxury accommodation.
This area is close to the train station if you are taking the sleeper train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok. During the lantern festival, a lot of the action is on the river. This will be the best place to see and take part in the festivalal, as most of the lantern lighting is on the bridges over the river.
Chiang Mai Lantern Festival 2025, AKA Yi Peng or Khom Loi (sky lanterns) Festival, is on November 5th -6th. November. Loi Krathong festival (floating lanterns) starts in late October and carries on to November 5th. As you can see in our photo, both types of lantern are released on the river. This is free to enter. There are other paid events.
The orchid market is on the western bank and you could easily walk to The Night Bazaar.
- Ratilanna Riverside Spa Resort is an affordable 5-star resort, on Chiang Mai Riverside. It’s quite a long way south of the city, you’ll probablty need a vehicle to stay here. See it on Booking.
- Riverside House Hotel is cheap, is near the bridge for easier access to Chiang Mai, and it has a pool! It’s on Booking.
- Baan Ing Ping is a cute place on the river. Their family rooms have triple beds, it’s cheap. It’s on Booking and Agoda.
Stay in the Countryside Near Chiang Mai
The green hills around Chiang Mai have a lot of secluded accommodation options. These wouldn’t suit most tourists, these are more “a weekend away” type places.
- The Aleenta Retreat Chiang Mai. This 5-star resort and spa is beautiful, and quite affordable, it’s near Doi Suthep. It’s on Booking and on Agoda. Aleenta is a chain, with retreats in several holiday hotspots in Thailand.
- Siripanna Villa Resort and Spa Chiang Mai is in the opposite direction, east of the Ping River. You’ll be shocked at the low prices at what looks to be quite a grand hotel. It’s on Booking, and Agoda.
Stay Near The Night Bazaar
The Night Bazaar is a busy modern area to the east of the Old City, about 45 minutes walk away. It’s worth visiting the Night Bazaar, it’s an experience, possibly a must-do, but it wouldn’t be my ideal place to stay in Chiang Mai.
Here are a few accommodation options for the Night Bazaar area.
- Nap in Chiang Mai is a very affordable hotel in the Night Bazaar area. It has what a modern, budget, but smart, hotel normally offers, at a great price. See it on Booking.
- For a 5-Star near the Night Bazaar, the Intercontinental Chiang Mae The Mae Ping, is in this area, it’s a fabulous hotel and not massively expensive. Find out more on Booking.com or Agoda.
Map of Chiang Mai
We made you a map just to make everything clearer. The Old City is the square walled area you can see below. The Night Bazaar is to the east, this area is much more modern and developed, the Ping River, The “Riverside” area is further east again. You can walk between the Old City and the river, but it’s a fair hike, maybe 3 km, just short of an hour. We’ve done it often, even with quite small kids.
Thank you for visiting our travel blog. We are family run, and there is no AI. We really love Chiang Mai and we’ve lived there briefly. Our guide to the top 10 things to do in Chiang Mai is here and our guide on getting to Chiang Mai from Bangkok may also be useful to you. Have a great trip, and please like and share to Pinterest or Facebook, it helps us a lot.
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