Chiang Mai itinerary: 3 days planned from 23 real places

Three days in Chiang Mai fit three zones: the Old City on day one, the Nimmanhaemin side to the north-west on day two, and the Changklan and Charoenprated Road stretch east of the Old City on day three. The 23 stops come from the NomadSwipe app’s Chiang Mai deck, and no leg between stops is longer than 1.1 km by straight line. Every rating and review count is shown as stored.

Disclosure: I built NomadSwipe (Android), and I wrote this guide. Ratings, review counts, addresses and opening hours are the values stored in the app’s Chiang Mai place data, read on 4 November 2026. The stored rows date from 1 September 2026, so treat them as a snapshot.

Before you start

• This is a things-to-do-in-Chiang-Mai plan built from what the deck holds, not a full tour. The deck has 18 cards typed as sights (galleries, museums, a zoo and an outdoor operator) and none of them is a temple or a market. Of 420 cards within 15 km of the centre, 91 are hotels and similar stays, 82 are cafes and bakeries, 30 are bars and 21 are spas. So each day is built around food, coffee, a spa and whatever gallery or museum sits nearby.
• Temples, Doi Suthep and the night and Sunday markets are not stops, because the deck has no card for them (details in the findings below). Add whichever you want as a custom pin.
• Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre has a stored rating of 4.0, the lowest in the plan. I kept it because it is the museum card closest to the reference point.
• Fares, ticket prices and tour prices are left out. I did not find a source for them that I could verify, so check them with each operator.

Day 1: the Old City, from Fern Forest Cafe to dinner on Prapokkloa Road

Day one is the compact one. Wikipedia describes the Old City as a square of about 1 mile by 1 mile, bordered by remnants of ancient red brick walls and surrounded by a moat (Wikipedia). By straight line between stored coordinates, all seven stops sit within 0.5 km of my reference point, and going stop to stop adds up to about 2.3 km. Streets add distance, so the real walk is longer.

1. Fern Forest Cafe: stored as a cafe, open 8 AM to 8 PM every day by stored hours. A breakfast start.
2. Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre: stored as a museum, 0.6 km from the cafe. Stored hours show it open 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM from Wednesday to Sunday and closed Mondays and Tuesdays, which is why this day works only on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
3. Kaew Gallery: stored as an art gallery, 0.3 km on, open 10 AM to 8 PM every day. Stored at 4.9 from 225 reviews.
4. It’s Good Kitchen: stored as a restaurant on Rachadamnoen Road, 0.2 km from the gallery. The lunch stop. Stored hours show it closed on Thursdays.
5. Hanna Restaurant & Coffee Shop: stored as a coffee place on Samlan Road, 0.1 km from lunch. An afternoon coffee; it closes at 4 PM (5 PM on Wednesdays) by stored hours.
6. Makkha Health & Spa Chiang Mai (Rachadamnoen): stored as a spa, 0.5 km on, open 10 AM to 11 PM every day. The deck holds three Makkha branches, and this is the one on Arak Road Soi 7.
7. Baan Landai Fine Thai Cuisine: stored as a Thai restaurant, 0.7 km from the spa. The dinner stop. Stored hours show dinner from 5 PM to 8:30 PM and a closure on Mondays.

Day 2: Nimmanhaemin, museum, coffee and a late dinner

Day two spreads out a little more. The stops run west and north-west of the Old City along the Nimmanhaemin Road sois, and going stop to stop adds up to about 5.0 km by straight line, with the longest leg 1.1 km. Start early, since breakfast opens at 7:30 AM and the museum closes at 3 PM.

1. Manifreshto Cafe & Restaurant: stored as a breakfast place on Nimmanhaemin Road Soi 5. Open from 7:30 AM daily; on Thursdays it closes at 2 PM, and on other days at 6 PM.
2. Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders: stored as a museum on Soi 13, 0.4 km from breakfast. Open 10 AM to 3 PM except Wednesdays, when it is closed by stored hours.
3. Baan Mae Café & Restaurant: stored as a restaurant, 0.9 km from the museum. Open 11 AM to 10 PM every day, with 4.9 from 2,149 reviews. Lunch.
4. Nine One Coffee Chiang Mai: stored as a coffee place, 1.0 km on. Open 7 AM to 4:30 PM, and closed on Mondays.
5. Oasis Spa (Chiang Mai, Nimman): stored as a spa, 0.2 km from the coffee. The deck holds two Oasis branches. This card’s address is stored as Samlan Rd, the same Old City street as the other branch, but its stored coordinates are in Nimman, so confirm the location before going.
6. Itim Roi Ros: stored as an ice cream place, 1.1 km from the spa and open 3 PM to 8:30 PM. A sweet stop before dinner.
7. Lumi - Italian Restaurant: stored as an Italian restaurant, 1.0 km on. Open 7 AM to 11 PM every day, and the most-reviewed place of the day at 2,361 reviews. Dinner.
8. Uchi Gastrobar Japanese Food & Sushi: stored as a Japanese restaurant, 0.5 km from dinner, open 11 AM to midnight. A late stop, or swap it for dinner and keep Lumi for a long lunch.

Day 3: Changklan Road, a morning outdoors and two sky bars

Day three sits east of the Old City, around Changklan Road, Charoenprated Road and Khampangdin Road by their stored addresses. Going stop to stop adds up to about 2.6 km, and only one leg is near zero: HONG’s Chinese Restaurant and HONG’s Sky Bar share a stored address.

1. Kad Kafé Restaurant at Shangri-La Chiang Mai: stored as a brunch place on Changklan Road. Stored hours show breakfast from 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM every day, so go first thing.
2. Chiang Mai Mountain Biking & Kayaks: stored as an outdoor business, 0.4 km from breakfast, open 7 AM to 10 PM. I only read its name, category and rating, so I do not know what trips it runs or what they cost; check that with the operator.
3. Bodhi Terrace: stored as a restaurant, 0.1 km on, with 4.9 from 2,025 reviews. Stored hours show lunch from noon to 2:30 PM.
4. Butter is Better Diner & Bakery: stored as a bakery, 0.4 km from lunch. An afternoon coffee and cake stop; it closes at 4:30 PM and is closed on Tuesdays by stored hours.
5. Anantara Spa at Anantara Chiang Mai: stored as a spa, 0.5 km on. It has the most reviews in the plan, 6,303, and no stored opening hours, so check the time with the spa.
6. HONG’s Chinese Restaurant: stored as an Asian restaurant, 0.6 km from the spa, open 11 AM to 10 PM. Dinner.
7. HONG’s Sky Bar: stored as a bar at the same address, open 4 PM to midnight.
8. MAI The Sky Bar: stored as a bar on Charoenprated Road, 0.6 km from the previous stop. Open 6 PM to midnight and closed on Saturdays by stored hours. Finish here.

Which days of the week this works

• Day 1: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The arts centre is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, It’s Good Kitchen is closed Thursdays and Baan Landai is closed Mondays.
• Day 2: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The insect museum is closed Wednesdays and Nine One Coffee is closed Mondays.
• Day 3: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Butter is Better is closed Tuesdays and MAI The Sky Bar is closed Saturdays.
• Three days in a row: Friday, Saturday and Sunday work in the order day 1, day 2, day 3, and so do Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
• Stored hours are a snapshot. The stored rows date from 1 September 2026, so confirm hours on the day.

Getting around

• Old City on foot: Wikipedia gives the Old City as about 1 mile by 1 mile, and day one stays inside roughly that area, so a walking day is realistic. The straight-line total for day one is about 2.3 km.
• Songthaews: Wikipedia describes a songthaew as a truck-derived shared vehicle with two bench seats along either side of the back, used as a taxi or bus across Thailand, and says Chiang Mai locals may call it a “rot si daeng” (Wikipedia). I did not check routes or prices, so ask the driver before you get in.
• Day two is the longest: its legs run from 0.2 to 1.1 km, so each hop is short, but they add up to about 5.0 km.
• Day one is the most compact and day three is close behind: day three’s legs run from 0.01 to 0.6 km.
• Fares: left out, because I did not read a verified source for them.

Chiang Mai as a digital nomad: working from these cafes

If you work from a laptop, the deck gives opening hours but not the details a laptop worker checks first. The plan’s cafes and coffee places have these stored hours: Fern Forest Cafe 8 AM to 8 PM daily, Hanna Restaurant & Coffee Shop 8 AM to 4 PM, Nine One Coffee 7 AM to 4:30 PM except Mondays, and Lumi 7 AM to 11 PM daily. The stored data has no Wi-Fi, power-socket or noise information, so I cannot tell you which are good for a laptop. Day one and day three are short enough, 2.3 km and 2.6 km by straight line, to leave a block of the day open. I left visa and long-stay rules out because I could not verify them from an official page, so check those with official Thai government sources.

How I would swipe this in NomadSwipe

I built NomadSwipe, so this is the method I would use, not a trip I already took. I would open the Chiang Mai deck, swipe right on the galleries, museums and places to eat and drink that match my taste, and swipe left on the rest. The deck holds a lot of hotels and several spa branches, so I would skip the stays and keep one spa per day. Then I would open the map to see which saved places cluster together, and let those clusters become the three days. Because there is no card for any temple or market, I would add those as custom pins. The free plan has 3 trips, 2 searched places saved to a trip a month, 2 custom pins a month and a daily limit on saves. Premium (Monthly or Lifetime, in app) keeps up to 20 saved trips available offline. NomadSwipe is Android only for now, and iPhone is coming soon.

Planning another city? See the Vienna 2-day itinerary, the Athens plan, the Lisbon 2-day itinerary, the Brussels 2-day itinerary, the itinerary template, how to plan a trip on a map, swipe travel apps compared or the best trip planner apps of 2026.

Questions about this guide

Are the temples, Doi Suthep or the markets in this plan?

No. The Chiang Mai place data I searched has no card for them. Title searches for temple, Wat, Doi Suthep, market, bazaar and Thapae found no temple or market; the matches were hotels, a resort and a spa, and I searched English titles only. The plan uses the sights the deck does hold, which are galleries, museums and an outdoor tour operator, and you can add temples and markets as custom pins.

Which days of the week does this plan work?

By the opening hours stored in the app, day one works Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, day two works Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and day three works Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Friday, Saturday and Sunday in that order, or Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, fit all three. Stored hours date from 1 September 2026, so check each place before you go.

How far apart are the stops?

By straight line between stored coordinates, day one covers about 2.3 km in total, day two about 5.0 km and day three about 2.6 km. No single leg is longer than 1.1 km. These are not walking times.

Can I use this if I work remotely from Chiang Mai?

Partly. Several stops are cafes with stored hours from early morning, for example Fern Forest Cafe from 8 AM to 8 PM and Nine One Coffee from 7 AM to 4:30 PM. The stored data has no Wi-Fi, power or noise information, so I cannot say which are good for a laptop. I left visa and long-stay rules out because I could not verify them from an official page.

Where do the ratings and review counts come from?

They are the values stored in the NomadSwipe app's Chiang Mai place data, read on 4 November 2026. All 424 stored rows were written on 1 September 2026, so live ratings may differ.

Is NomadSwipe available on iPhone?

Not yet. NomadSwipe is Android only today, on Google Play, and iPhone is coming soon.

Findings, method and sample

Sample and method. I read the NomadSwipe app’s place data on 4 November 2026 with read-only queries. The app’s city decks are stored as destination rows holding cards, and the Chiang Mai cards sit under one destination row named “Area, Thailand” (type city, country THA) that holds 424 cards. I found no row named Chiang Mai. The 424 cards share 421 distinct titles once case and spacing are ignored, so a few places appear as more than one card. I measured distance from a reference point I chose at 18.79038 N, 98.98468 E, the coordinates the app lists for Chiang Mai, by straight line between stored coordinates.

• 420 of the 424 cards sit within 15 km of the reference point, 390 within 5 km and 261 within 2 km. The other four sit between 15.3 and 17.2 km away: Doi Saket SteakHouse, the Natural Science Museum, a Burger King branch and Fleur Cafe & Eatery. None is more than 100 km away.
• Of the 420 cards, 247 have a stored rating above zero, 13 are stored with a rating of 0 and 160 have no rating. 219 of the 247 rated cards are rated 4.0 or higher (89%), and 144 are rated 4.5 or higher. The median rated card has 316 reviews, and the stored average is 4.47.
• By stored type, the 420 cards are 91 hotels and similar stays (boutique hotels, resorts, inns, hostels, lodges, motels, rentals and lodging), 82 cafes, bakeries, breakfast places and ice cream shops, 30 bars (sports bars, a nightclub and karaoke included), 21 spas, 18 typed as sights and 178 restaurants of all kinds and a few other types. The 18 sights are 11 art galleries, 5 museums, a zoo and an outdoor operator.
• The stored types are loose. For example, Game On Pool Hall & Sports Bar is typed as a department store, so check what a card is before you swipe right.
• Stored average ratings by type are only a rough guide: all 21 spas are rated, at an average of 4.60, while the Chiang Mai Zoo card, 4.5 km from the reference point, is stored at 3.4 from 3,211 reviews and is not in the plan. Wattana Art Gallery (4.7 from 90 reviews, 3.2 km west) is a good card that I left out because it did not fit a day. The Treasury Museum Chiang Mai is stored with a rating of 0 and no reviews.
• The most-reviewed card in the plan is Anantara Spa at Anantara Chiang Mai with 6,303 reviews, followed by Lumi with 2,361 and Baan Mae Café & Restaurant with 2,149.
• Title searches for temple, Wat, Doi Suthep, market, bazaar and Thapae found no temple or market card. The matches were hotels (several named for the Night Bazaar), a resort named for Thapae, and a spa named for a temple. I searched English titles only, so a card stored with a Thai-script name would not show up.
• Opening hours are stored for 292 of the 420 cards within 15 km. Anantara Spa is one of the cards without them.
• Some places appear as several branches: the deck holds three Makkha spa branches and two Oasis spa branches, and I chose each by its title and stored coordinates, not by address. Bodhi Terrace and Anantara Spa share a stored street address, as do HONG’s Chinese Restaurant and HONG’s Sky Bar. I shortened each address in the tables by dropping the trailing “Chiang Mai City Municipality, Chiang Mai Province”, and some are stored in Thai script, which I left as stored.
• I chose the 23 stops by hand from places within 2.5 km of the reference point that are rated 4.0 or higher with at least 59 stored reviews, to mix categories, keep each day in one area and fit the stored opening hours. They are not simply the 23 highest-rated cards. Sights are scarce, so only four of the 23 stops are sight-type cards: Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre, Kaew Gallery, the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders and Chiang Mai Mountain Biking & Kayaks.
• By straight line between stored coordinates, day one totals about 2.3 km, day two about 5.0 km and day three about 2.6 km. These are not walking times.

Limits: all 424 stored rows were written on 1 September 2026, so ratings, review counts and hours may have changed since. I did not read hours or prices for any place from its own site, and I did not copy any third-party review text. Fares and tour prices are left out because I could not verify them.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Chiang Mai: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Mai (read 4 November 2026)
• Wikipedia, Songthaew: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songthaew (read 4 November 2026)
• Place data: the NomadSwipe app’s Chiang Mai places (names, categories, ratings, review counts, addresses, opening hours and coordinates as stored), read 4 November 2026.