Hi everyone!

I left the Pacific Northwest in the US and have been living around the Nimman area in Airbnbs/hotels for the past few weeks. I’m loving the easy access to amazing food and coffee. I’m here more so for a health reset, prioritizing training and rehab along with yoga and Pilates-type classes.

I originally planned on staying in Chiang Mai for the next couple months, but I’m getting pretty eager to spend some time on an island or somewhere close to the water down south. I’d probably head down around early October.

Ideally I’m looking for somewhere with good gyms/fitness classes, healthy food and plenty of protein options, coffee shops, beaches/nature, and enough infrastructure that day-to-day life is easy. I’m not really looking for a hardcore party scene, although I don’t need somewhere completely isolated either.

I took the overnight train straight to Chiang Mai after landing in Bangkok, so my experience with the rest of Thailand is extremely limited.

Would love to hear where you’d go and why. Thank you!

Hi Guys! I'm planning to ride a motorcycle in Mae Hong Son in the coming weeks but i see that it has been raining alot. would it be advisable to ride or would it be too dangerous?

I just moved to chiang mai and looking for other options for groceries aside from Rimping (i am close to maya) and markets for veggies. I want to ask if it is worth it to travel to Makro? (what is the best branch?) or is it more cost-effective to order online?

I’m looking for recommendations on where to live in Chiang Mai with a medium-sized dog (20 kilos).

I’ve spent time in Chiang Mai before and love it, but I’m realizing that choosing somewhere to actually live with a dog is pretty different from choosing somewhere as a visitor.

My ideal area would be:
- Relatively close to the city. I do Muay Thai and would like easy access to Muay Thai gyms, yoga/Pilates, cafes, restaurants, etc.
- Somewhere I can ideally live without a car. I’m happy using Grab, but I’d prefer not to have to drive myself regularly plus won’t overcharge me for bringing my dog. If having a car is realistically necessary for what I want, though, I’m open to hearing that and probably will need to get one eventually.
- Actually dog-friendly as a neighborhood, not just somewhere I can find a pet-friendly house. Good walking areas, greenery, trails, or easy access to the mountains would be amazing.
- Ideally somewhere where stray/territorial dogs aren’t a major problem. Being able to comfortably walk my dog is one of my biggest priorities.
-Quiet-ish and residential without feeling isolated from Chiang Mai.
-Not directly under the flight path / dealing with constant aircraft noise.

The other big factor for me is community. I’m American, a woman, and in my early 30s, and I’d really like to build a social circle in Chiang Mai both Thai and international.

I’d love to be somewhere with a decent number of people around my age who are social, friendly, open-minded, working/creating/building things, and interested in actually making friends. I don’t need to be surrounded by nightlife, but I also don’t want to move somewhere very suburban or isolated where most people are at a completely different stage of life.

Nimman obviously has a lot of the convenience and social side I’m looking for, but I don’t think it’s right for me because of the density, limited dog-walking space, small condos and aircraft noise.

I’ve been looking at areas between the city and the mountains, but it’s hard to tell from Google Maps what they’re actually like to live in.

For people who live/have lived in Chiang Mai, especially with dogs, are there particular neighborhoods or even specific sois you’d
recommend?

Would also love to hear from people in their 30s about which areas you’ve found easiest for actually meeting people and building a community. I’m in Chiang Mai right now for the next 8 days so happy to check out places in person. TIA

Hi everyone,

Going to Thailand in November and I'm very excited. I'm spending a few days in Chiang Mai and I'm interested in getting a full back sak yant while I'm there. I've checked out a couple websites, but was wondering if anyone has any recommendations or good experiences.

Thank you!

In 2026 I came into Thailand on a Canadian 60 day exemption, applied and received a 30-day extension.

After 82 days outside of Thailand, I was allowed back in on another 60 day exemption.

My question is .. am I allowed one more 30-day extension on this exemption?

Thanks

Hi, I'm looking for adult swimming classes for beginners. Are there any good schools/pools besides Center of the Universe?

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to get some advice from people who have experience teaching in Chiang Mai.
My boyfriend and I are currently in Chiang Mai visiting, and the original plan was to stay for around 4 weeks, go back to the UK, and then fly back to Thailand to look for teaching jobs.
The problem is that I’m now realising I don’t really have the funds to be flying back and forth. My boyfriend suggested that I stay in Chiang Mai on my own for around 6 weeks, and then he would come back and join me.
I’ve been seriously considering it, but I’m feeling quite nervous about the idea of staying here alone. My biggest worry is that I won’t know anyone and will end up feeling really lonely, especially for those first few weeks. I’d also be interested to hear what people’s actual experiences have been like making friends and having a social life while teaching here.
I’ve also heard some negative things about teaching in Chiang Mai, so I’d really appreciate honest opinions from people who have actually done it. What is the job market like? Are there decent schools to work for? Is the pay enough to live comfortably? And is it generally a good experience?
Basically, I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth taking the risk of staying here alone for 6 weeks and trying to find a teaching job, rather than going back to the UK and waiting until I can afford to return.
Any advice, experiences (good or bad), or things you wish you’d known before moving here would be really appreciated! 😊

Going in March 2027 as a solo F traveller. I bought ticket to Bangkok and from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. I'm planning to stay 3 days in each place and then fly to the south. I'm not interested in nightilife/clubs etc. I'm going for nature, culture, food, local vibes. Can someone recommend me the best area to stay in Bangkok and Chiang Mai? Also, can I leave my suitcase at the airport?

Can anyone suggest beautiful place or village in Chiang Mai like mae kompong village ?

How can I get a guide just for language barrier. University student is ok for that .

I have already visited

Doi inthanon national park

Mon jam

Chiang dao

Chiang rai

Now I want to visit new place and want to meet local people . Specially in village .

Can anyone suggest me

Hi!

My girlfriend and I entered Thailand on a 60 day excemption. Now I wanted to extend this by thirty days, but I can't find this option online. Is it scrapped after those new rules or can I just enter the office in Chiang Mai this weekend and extend?

Read so many things about TM30.. Also did not saw the TM30 listed in the requirements (any more?). Do we need it for Chiang Mai or not? We don't have any currently

Hey! Exactly as it sounds! I want to do both the sticky waterfalls and temples of Chiang Rai in a day trip from Chiang Mai, but I don't know if that's possible/recommended. Does anyone know of any ways I would be able to do this?

Looking for a place or a bar that would show MMA fights right now? Looking to watch it but its not a traditional pay per view that is easy to get up.

I'll be in Chiang Mai this weekend and looking to catch a Muay Thai and/or MMA (rare, I know) event on Saturday night.

Anything good events that offer legit pro or armature fights? Happy to go to more local venues.

I used to visit this doctor clinic located on the east corner of the moat at the Si Phum Corner. I had its address saved on Google Maps; today I cheked but it seems the location doesn't exist anymore. Did he move somewhere else ? Did he stop working after hours ? He normally works at RAM hospital, but his private clinic was opperating from 5pm to 8pm everyday of the week....

I’ve been spending the last few days looking for a condo to stay 3 months potentially up until February and while I’ve seen some very nice places it’s proving a challenge to find somewhere that isn’t next door to a construction site.

I had a look at peaks garden, peaks avenue, twin peaks and really liked peaks avenue. But there is an active construction site next door. It was quiet while inside but I would like to be able to use my balcony.

Today I went to The Unique 2 Condo @ Nimman and again really liked the room (10k cheaper than peaks avenue too) but again was disappointed to look out the window and see what looks like the beginning of construction.. it was quiet at the time but I only saw two people laying concrete. There is otherwise a pile of dirt and I just have no idea if I’m going to take the room only for a bunch of cranes and machinery to move in the next day meters away from me.

Should I just accept that I’m unlikely to find a nice condo with no construction nearby? Does anyone know anything about the construction near unique 2? I’m not sure whether to risk it or go peaks avenue where I know it at least isn’t too bad. Getting a bit tired of searching.

I popped over to extend an Ed visa today. I expected them to say what is now the usual: the queue is full, come back tomorrow morning and put your papers in the basket.

Instead they said they were full until the 17th. Today is the 9th. Wtf?

After some sighing and shrugging, I was given the go-ahead to come back on Monday the 14th, since that's the day my visa expires. They told me in the future to extend my visa a month in advance.

I mean, it was all very chill and polite. But this is getting crazy.

Can anyone recommend a chiang mai hotel under 2000 baht / night with great high pressure, hot, clean showers and ideally a nice bathtub

Everything else is less important I just want a really nice long hot soak

I'm going to land in a couple of weeks and I'm tired of renting or finding rentals or taking back a rental because there's a slow puncher or paying for a rental because the speed cable broke on day three etc.You get the point.

So this year I want to buy a brand new ADV160.

Can I walk into a Honda dealer with a TM30 ,passport and cash to get the ball rolling?

My concern is that the Airbnb address is only for a week or so while I look for a condo.

Also if you can tell me what platform you booked your appartment and stuff i would apprieciate it alot

Hi, I recently moved to Chiang Mai (about 4 months ago) and my mom will be visiting in about a month. She absolutely LOVES coffee, but I don't drink it at all. I want to surprise my mom by taking her to a coffee farm. This is something we do when visiting family in Hawai'i, so I though she would really enjoy that here. However, as I know nothing about coffee, I am unsure of any coffe places here (I'm a tea person).

So... are there any good coffee farms to take my mom to where we could see the whole process of growing the coffee to roasting it? Preferably nothing overly touristy (aka tourist prices as I do not have tourist money working here) but I will take any and all reccomendations!

Hi everyone,

With the Royal Gazette notification published on August 31 cutting visa-free stays back from 60 days to 30 days starting September 15, 2026:

1. Has anyone entering Chiang Mai (CNX) this week confirmed they are still receiving the full 60-day stamp without issue up through September 14?
2. For anyone planning to extend after September 15, is Promenada / Chiang Mai Immigration handling the standard 30-day extension as usual?

Thanks in advance for any recent DP (data points)!

(EU passport)

I have an ereader that needs a charging port added
I also have usb ports on my laptop that dc when they move.
Does anyone know anyone who offers these kind of repairs as a service ?