Guides · Chiang Mai city
Chiang Mai
by scooter.
You have the keys, the helmet is on the seat, and the whole city is suddenly twenty minutes wide. Here is where to point the front wheel first.
Chiang Mai is the right size for a scooter. Almost everything worth seeing inside the city sits within a fifteen minute ride of the Old City moat, parking is free or a few baht nearly everywhere, and the traffic is gentle by Thai standards. A few honest notes before you set off: the roads around the moat are one-way, so missing a turn means going round again rather than turning back, and late afternoon traffic is real. Ride in the morning when you can. When a temple is on the list, dress with shoulders and knees covered and you will never have a problem at the gate.
The Old City: Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang
Start inside the moat. Wat Phra Singh sits at the western end of Ratchadamnoen Road and is the Old City's grandest working temple; Wat Chedi Luang, a few minutes away, is the opposite kind of impressive - a huge, half-ruined brick chedi that towers over everything around it. Both have parking at or beside the grounds, and on a scooter you can do both plus a coffee in under two hours. Go early: the light is better, the tour groups arrive from mid-morning, and the narrow sois are at their calmest.
Wat Suan Dok
Ride out of the Old City's west side along Suthep Road and you reach Wat Suan Dok, a big golden chedi surrounded by a field of whitewashed memorial chedis with the mountain behind them. It is one of the best sunset spots in the city and rarely crowded, and parking inside the grounds is easy. This one is home turf for us: RideMate is based at Wat Suan Dok, which is why the temple keeps appearing behind the bikes in our photos.
Nimman
Nimmanhaemin Road and its numbered sois are the cafe and shopping quarter - this is where you go to work, eat and people-watch rather than sightsee. A scooter is the best way to arrive: car parking here is a headache, while a scooter slots in almost anywhere along the sois. The one thing to time around is the Huay Kaew end at rush hour, which backs up badly. Mid-morning or mid-afternoon, it is a five minute hop from the Old City.
The riverside and Wat Gate
Cross the Ping River to the east bank and the pace drops. The Wat Gate neighbourhood around Wat Ket Karam is old teak houses, quiet lanes and a string of riverside cafes and restaurants along Charoenrat Road. It is the nicest part of the city to simply ride through, and the best in the early evening, when the light comes off the river. Parking is easy on the lanes; the bridges themselves get busy at rush hour.
The markets: Warorot and the Sunday Walking Street
Warorot Market, by the river at the edge of the old Chinese quarter, is the city's real market - fabric, food, spices, and locals doing their actual shopping. Go in the morning while it is in full swing, and park a street or two away rather than fighting the loading traffic outside the doors. The Sunday Walking Street on Ratchadamnoen Road is the opposite trip: on Sunday evenings the road is closed to traffic entirely, so ride to the edge of the Old City, park nearby, and do it on foot like everyone else.
Canal Road and the Grand Canyon
When you want to stretch the bike's legs without leaving town behind, take Canal Road south along the irrigation canal. It is wide, fast and runs straight towards Hang Dong, where the flooded quarry known as the Grand Canyon makes a good half-day out - blue-green water between clay cliffs, with a water park on it. The road itself is the note of caution here: traffic moves quickly, so keep your speed honest and your eyes up. And when the city stops being enough, the same instinct scaled up is our guide to the mountain rides around Chiang Mai.
Which bike for the city
For everything on this page, the Honda Click 160 is the one we hand over most: light, easy to park, and happy in narrow sois - the easy city choice, and the cheapest bike we rent. If your plans mix the city with the mountains, the ADV 160 does both. Every rental comes with free delivery anywhere in Chiang Mai, two helmets and a phone holder, so you can start this list the day the bike arrives.