So it’s been a while since we have left Bangkok. Sure, we’ve been exploring the outskirts and rural areas quite a lot such as Ko Kret, Ayutthaya and Thonburi but it’s time we set off to a far away city.

Koh Tao was our last excursion out of Bangkok

We’d love to get out of the country but that will have to wait since I have to go and get my passport renewed from Pakistan in January (oh wait, so we are traveling abroad from Thailand soon). It’s funny saying that, considering I’m Pakistani and not a Thai but Thailand feels more like home to me.

Anyways! All that is besides the point.

We’re really excited about taking our next trip and adventure in just a few days. We’ve had enough of beaches and city life so we’re looking to explore the mountains, nature and the stunning beauty of Chiang Mai!

It’s been 2 months of planning and we realized there is just so much to do there. It might be too overwhelming for us (and you) to cover all of it in just one post, so we’re going to break it down for you.

Consider this our pre-trip post where we share with you, our travel plan and itinerary. This will also give us the chance to hear from you guys as to what we are missing and should definitely add to the trip.

So here we go.

Drive not Fly

The first thing to decide was how are we getting there?

Fly? Sure, but the prices were quite high due to the peak season. We wanted to save as much money on travelling so we can splurge on things when we get there.

Train? Nah. Maybe another time.

Why not drive?! For more than the reasons of cost, we decided that it would be fun to go on a road trip. It would be an epic adventure as we can stop wherever we want and explore the country side a bit more at our own pace and leisure.

Accommodation

Next we had to find a place to stay. In the past, we have ALWAYS ended up booking a resort or hotel that was utterly secluded because we always had some luxurious desirables such as “it must have a private pool plus an infinity pool, a gym, great service” and the list went on.

This time, we aren’t interested in staying in the room so much so we opted to go with using Airbnb. Our first time, can you imagine? After a couple of hours going back and forth between guesthouses and apartments, we settled on a modern studio right in Nimmanhemin district at just $19 a night!

We wanted the place to be central enough and close to the restaurants, temples and other attractions and since we decided to drive in Chiang Mai, it was perfect!

It also has a small kitchen so we will have to spend less on eating out, especially breakfast. At least that is the plan…but there are so many restaurants and cafes we want to check out, I doubt we will be eating in at all. Let’s see how it goes.

Another option is to use HotelsCombined since they aggregate all the hotel booking platforms prices into one giving the best options. Check out Where to Stay in Chiang Mai: Nimman or Old City by HotelsCombined.

Creating an Itinerary

We didn’t want to create a rigid itinerary but at the same time we had to have a good idea what we’re doing to make sure we don’t miss anything. So it is going to be a mix of planning and spontaneity.

It took days of researching online from TripAdvisor and blog posts from trusted resources such as Tieland to Thailand that we were able to pinpoint some notable attractions, sights and adventures.

Most of our planning was done on Google using Google Docs and Google Map with a lot manual work. It wasn’t till a few days ago that I came across an awesome website tool called TripHobo that can seamlessly create travel itineraries for you. I’m still playing around with it so I’ll do a separate review of this soon.

When it comes to guided tours and adventure activities such as white water rafting and visit to the Elephant Nature Park, we’re going to book those when we get to Chiang Mai through local tour agencies. The ones online are just way too expensive and I am sure we can find tours that are half the price but of course we will have to be careful about quality and whether those tours can be trusted.

If you guys have any suggestions, please do give them in the comments.  

Google Map is Awesome!

Here is our entire itinerary in the form of a visual map. I’ve color-coded the pins according to different categories. Red is for cultural sights like temples. Green is for adventure and sightseeing. Light green is for destinations that are bit outside of Chiang Mai. I’ve even picked out a few cafes, restaurants and bars to check out.

For a closer look at the map, visit: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MatWXntioOJlSusHqpIGupKy-as&usp=sharing

The map gives us an idea as to how far things are and we created a day-to-day itinerary based on distances of destinations from our apartment.

For example, the day we reach Chiang Mai, we would probably be tired from the long drive so we would just explore the city and hit the nearby night market.

The next day, we plan to drive up to Chiang Dao National Park, which is about 2.5 hours away. This will be a whole day excursion where we’ll visit the waterfalls, cave, temples and hot springs.

Day 3 is the same, we want to hit another outlying National Park. This time it’s going to be the Doi Inthanon National Park. Again, we’ll be chasing waterfalls, hiking up to the highest point in Thailand and visiting some hill tribes. Can’t wait to see this view:

Photo credit: places to see in your lifetime

We’ve also included Doi Suthep, a series of temples and last but not least, Tuang Thong Canyon (aka the Grand Canyon of Chiang Mai) where locals and travellers go for some epic cliff-jumping.

Again, this is not 100% fixed and there are certainly days that aren’t accounted for, especially on New Year’s eve and day. Perhaps we’ll take it easy and slowly explore the city a bit. Gotta leave some things on the fly, right?

Suggestions/feedback are encouraged. We’d love to hear them!