Priced for a reference start of 1 Dec 2026, per person. Every fare is a real one — read from the operator or the fare harvest on a stated day — and the beds are researched rates. Pick your real dates and every number reprices.
Bangkok
🇹🇭 4 nights · Day 1–4 · BKK
4
Train · SRT sleeper train #9 · 13h · $44
Chiang Mai
🇹🇭 3 nights · Day 5–7 · CNX
3
Bus · Prempracha minivan · 3h · $11
Pai
🇹🇭 3 nights · Day 8–10 · CNX
3
Bus · Minivan + SRT sleeper via Chiang Mai · 17h · $54
Back in Bangkok
🇹🇭 the trip ends where it started
Full itinerary
Stay · 4 nights · Day 1–4
Bangkok
Your accommodation
JC Home Stay
from $7/night
$33 · 4 nights
Free things to do in Bangkok
Free
Chatuchak weekend market
15,000 stalls, so set a meeting point before you lose each other.
Free
Lumphini Park at dawn
Tai chi, outdoor aerobics and monitor lizards the size of dogs, in the only cool hour of the day.
Free
Yaowarat street-food crawl
Yaowarat only wakes up after dark, and the carts are cash.
Journey
Train
13h
Day 5
SRT sleeper train #9
$44
Bangkok → Chiang Mai
฿1,038 for a second-class air-con lower berth — the overnight classic. Lowers sell out weeks ahead on D-Ticket; uppers are a little cheaper.
Stay · 3 nights · Day 5–7
Chiang Mai
Your accommodation
U2 Hostel
from $6/night
$21 · 3 nights
Welcome to U2& i-smile Hostel.
Free things to do in Chiang Mai
Free
Old city temple loop on foot
Chedi Luang, Phra Singh, and whichever gold roof pulls you in. Thirty-odd wats inside the moat and most ask nothing at the door.
Free
Sunday walking street & night bazaar
Khao soi first, shopping second, mango sticky rice third. The walking street is Sunday only; the night bazaar runs every night.
Free
Wat Umong's tunnels and forest
A 700-year-old forest monastery at the foot of Doi Suthep — brick tunnels, a lake of turtles, and sayings nailed to the trees. Donation box, no ticket.
Journey
Bus
3h
Day 8
Prempracha minivan
$11
priced 31 Aug
Chiang Mai → Pai
About ฿250 booked ahead (฿150 at the Arcade counter on the day). 762 curves. Sit near the front, skip the big breakfast.
A boardwalk built by hand across the paddies to the temple, donation box and no ticket.
Journey
Bus
17h
Day 11
Minivan + SRT sleeper via Chiang Mai
$54
priced 31 Aug
Pai → Bangkok
Prempracha van down the mountain (~฿250), then the ฿1,038 lower berth home — the train leg books on D-Ticket.
Back in Bangkok
Fly out, or stay longer — the booking links stop, you don't have to.
Before you go
The gaps the itinerary above doesn't cover.
Data that works on landing
An eSIM activates before you fly, so maps and transport apps work the moment you land instead of after finding wifi.
Travel insurance
10 nights in Thailand. Policies differ on cancellation cover and on whether the activities on this itinerary are included.
We don't recommend one over the other and we're not licensed to advise on insurance. Read each Product Disclosure Statement against your own trip and circumstances.