Discover Chiang Mai

After welcoming you on your arrival to Chiang Mai Airport our driver will assist you with your luggage and drive you to your home for the next 3 nights, the stunning Rachamankha Hotel. Located in the heart of the old city the hotel is an easy 10 minute drive from the airport. Once checked in your hosts for your 4 day 3 night discovery of Chiang Mai will walk you through the property to help you familiarize yourself with this beautiful home. Dinner tonight will be at your leisure and our concierge can assist you ahead of your arrival with some recommendations and reservations for dinner at some of our Secret Tables.

After an early breakfast your guide for the day will meet you at 8.30am and drive you to the first stop of the day, the Ancient Lanna House on the Ping River. A ‘samlor’ (rickshaw) driver will be waiting for you to pedal you across the river to visit the Sanpakoy Market. This is very much a local market, off the tourist trail, and your guide will give you the opportunity to taste some of the delicacies on sale here. Continuing your discovery of old Chiang Mai through the backstreets of Chiang Mai your samlor driver will next take you to the Buddhist temple of Wat Ket Karam. Don’t miss the museum here with a fascinating collection of old photographs of Chiang Mai as once was. Your guide will then walk you across the Ping River via the Chansom Memorial Bridge and share with you the stories of the different bridges that used to span the Ping River. Once on the western bank time to stroll through the most famous markets of Chiang Mai - the adjoining Warorot and Ton Lamyai markets. Your guide will escort you through these ancient and vibrant markets and will let you taste some of the typical Northern Thai delicacies before stopping to visit an old Chinese pagoda in what is Chiang Mai’s Chinatown along the way. On exiting the market your ‘samlor’ driver will be here to pick you up again and pedal you to your next stop at Wat Mahawan - a beautiful temple of Burmese and Lanna style.
At lunchtime, your guide will take you to a riverside restaurant to enjoy a delicious Thai lunch. After lunch we will return to the old city within the moat to visit two of the city’s most spectacular temples - Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Sing. On completion of your visit to these two temples you will be returned to the Rachamankha Hotel where the day’s tour ends.

Start your day with a leisurely breakfast at the hotel then perhaps step out of the hotel into the heart of the old city and visit some of the 35 ancient temples within the old city walls, or explore the local art scene in one of the many art galleries and studios in the city, or book a massage at the hotel’s pool pavilion and simply relax listening to the birdsong in the hotel’s gorgeous gardens. Dining tonight will be at a Secret Table, the Blackitch Artisan Kitchen, where Chef Black will create for you a Chef’s menu of uniquely creative dishes using locally sourced flavours and ingrediants.

After breakfast and depending on your flight time, a driver will drop you at the airport.

To end this trip smoothly, we suggest you to relax on a quiet beach at one of our seaside hotels on Koh Chang, Phuket, Krabi or around Samui (Spa Koh Chang, Le Passe-Temps, Koh Jum Beach Villas, Paresa Resort, Aava Resort, The Andamani, Baba Eco Lodge).
Ask Secret Retreats concierge for advice.