Chiang Rai and Golden Triangle Day Tour from Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, Thailand

A chance to visit the famous Golden Triangle where the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos meet! An early morning drive through beautiful scenery, with a stop at the Hot Springs at Maekajan, culminates in the chance to explore this world -famous spot, notorious for its opium trade!

From a viewpoint set high on the hillside, there are magnificent views over the Mae Khong River to the physical triangle made by Burma, Laos and Thailand at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong River. For a small fee, you can also enjoy the boat ride to view the splendor of mighty Mae Khong River.

Continue on to Mae Sai, the farther-most northern trading border between Thailand and Burma, where local lunch is provided. On the return journey stops are made at Akha and Yao hilltribe villages.

USD $91.00

Review by:   Gabriella F,    November 2017
Very interesting tour! From boiling eggs in a hot spring to the White Temple and to visit Laos ( make sure you have your passport). Our guide, Kitty ( sorry if I don't spell it right) was wonderful. Very informative. Answered to all of our questions and took lots pictures for us. _br/_ Worth every penny. Thank you again!

Review by:   Gordon F,    November 2017
This is a very long day and some parts could be cut out to make it more pleasureable. We were picked up at 7am and didnt get back till nearer 9pm most of which was spent in the back of a minibus. The guide, Anna, was superb, her English was excellent and she spoke loudly enough for us to hear her in the back row of the bus. The hot springs were a bit of a waste of time to start with, nothing much there at all, that part could be removed. Next was the White temple in Chiang Rai which was amazing, well worth it. Then over to the hill tribes village, this was disappointing. Very little to see just a row of market stalls selling tourist stuff. We were offered the chance to see a long necked woman for an extra 300Baht each, so we didnt bother. Then onto lunch which was a pleasant surprise. We were taken to a high class riverside resort for a full buffet, very impressive. Then up to the Myanmar border bridge which was quite cool to see. Lastly over to the Golden Triangle itself, this was well worth it and the point of the trip, including a visit inside the opium museum. A few downsides but largely a great day.

Review by:   Ronald S,    November 2017
contacted the day before with pick-details and transport turned up as promised on time. We were the only two guests on the trip so figured we had a good day in store with lots of attention from the guide - oh how wrong we were! Poor language and general communication skills and spent much of trip either speaking with the driver or on his phone. The driver I'm sure is no worse than other local drivers but double yellow lines to us spell no overtaking! He seemed to take this as an invite to overtake even on blind bends!! The excursion itself was worthwhile but sadly lacked in meaningful input from our hosts.

Review by:   ALEXANDROS N,    October 2017
Our guidewas a very professional person, very friendly and approachable.she explained everything,she created a very nice atmosphere for all of us in the group, excellent driver the minibus was very clean.Thanks to the excellent organizational skills of our guide we had time to see and explore everything,enough time for lunch as well.With regards to the places that we visited,each and every one was worth visiting, very nice places full of energy and historical background.This excursion is highly recommended of you want to escape for a while from the busy city centre of Chiang Mai.

Review by:   Sonu A,    October 2017
Chiang Rai was definitely worth seeing. However, the golden triangle part was ok, but not worth the extra drive.

Review by:   Edel C,    September 2017
Very enjoyable tour, guide terrific, optional trip to Laos well worth it delighted we did the tour. However It is a really long day, hot springs only for feet and lunch was poor, would advise Viator to reassess these aspects

Review by:   Judith L,    September 2017
The reviews and the description of the tour are not reality. You cannot swim in the hot springs as described. The Most northern Thailand border was just a crossing at the end of the road. There was no look out at the Golden Triangle and the opportunity to see the long neck tribe was non existent.

Review by:   Be K,    August 2017
What a great but long day, starting at 7am we were collected by minibus, we were incredibly lucky to be the only ones on the tour for that particular day. Sid our guide was incredibly friendly and knowledgable of the places we visited, his English is also very good._br/_ After about an hours drive the first stop was at the hotsprings for feet only then another 45 minute drive to the White Temple- which was amazing!!!!! Then another hours drive past Chiang Rai to a lovely buffet lunch. We wanted to take a boat trip on the Mekong with a short trip to Laos, Sid arranged the tickets and paperwork take your passport with you it cost an extra 550 baht but was completely worth it. The next stop was the Opium Museum and then a visit to the Hill Tribe where we got lots of handmade souvenirs. Then a 4 hour drive back to Chiang Mai, arriving back at our hotel about 7.30pm. _br/_ Yes there was a lot of driving involved but it was an absolutely fantastic day. I often get travel sick, the driving through the hills/mountains did not make me sick at all i did in the alps and in Indonesia and Scotland however the roads are not dangerous or steep in any way and our driver was very good. A thoroughly enjoyable and memorable day trip.

Review by:   Diane M,    July 2017
Great tour guide. Nothing was too much trouble. We had a full day and even managed a boat trip to Laos. Yes, it was a long way from our base in Chiang Mai but well worth it.

Review by:   Alyssa L,    July 2017
Very long day - not worth the trip or the money. There are much more interesting and cheaper things to do in Chiang Mai than this. _br/_ My partner and I did this tour a few weeks ago. We were the only people on the tour. Didn't know that! It was a little weird to be a giant van with just us, the tour guide and the driver for a full 12 hours. _br/_ The tour guide wasn't very knowledgeable. If he didn't know the answer to a question we asked, he would just ignore it and move along. Our favourite part was going to see the Karen Longneck People which isn't even included in the tour. It costs about 500 bots extra to go there. The actual triangle itself isn't really that interesting. You just look out over a pier onto the water and see Myanmar and Laos in the distance. The lunch wasn't anything great either. Big buffet but nothing worth a long drive like that. Also, if you get car sick easy, I wouldn't recommend this. They drive super fast and it is basically all winding roads. Finally, had a hard time getting in touch with the tour group the day before to confirm. Our hotel tried to help us but they couldn't reach anyone by the phone number provided either.

Review by:   Stuart C,    July 2017
Although both the stop at the White Temple and Golden Triangle were impressive it's very much a case of jump off the bus grab a few pictures before heading to the next destination. Altogether the tour lasted 14 hours but at least 12 of these are spent on the bus.

Review by:   CHERYL M,    May 2017
We were collected from our hotel at 7 am and didn't return until around 8.30 pm after a very scary drive home in the dark from Chiang Rai. We thoroughly enjoyed the sights on the day and our buffet lunch was very nice. The highlight of our day was visiting the hill tribes of Karen Longneck and Big Ears. Whilst we would recommend this tour we were very uneasy on the drive back to Chiang Mai in the dark and narrowly missed having head on collisions with on-coming traffic when our driver and other drivers all overtake on winding mountain roads where the road was clearly marked with double lines indicating it was not safe to do so. If you suffer from motion sickness, I would recommend you find another way to get to Chiang Rai because it is definitely worth seeing this part of Thailand.

Review by:   Joy G,    April 2017
This tour was great. A little fast paced but didn and #39;t feel as if he was rushing us. Our tour guide was really nice and gave us information about each location.

Review by:   noelle.c.owens,    April 2017
This tour was amazing! It was a long day, but we got to travel to Laos, visit the Longneck Karen tribe, and see the magnificent white temple. Highly recommended

Review by:   James D,    March 2017
A great way to see a load of sights in one day! For those with a base in Chiang Mai who don and #39;t have several days to add on for Chiang Rai and beyond this is well worth it. Even though it is a long tour we found the pace ok and the variety of things you see makes the trip worthwhile!

Review by:   Kelly F,    March 2017
Quite an enjoyable tour with multiple stops during a long bus ride, making it much more comfortable. The guide Maggie was quite enthusiastic and also explains about the background history of the sites that we visited. The driver is very polite all the time and drives safely. Overall would recommend going on this tour if you have a whole day to spare during your trip.

Review by:   ivan c,    February 2017
It was definitely a full day. Picked us up at 7 and did not return till 8 at night. Everything was amazing and first class. Our tour guide was so awesome and friendly. We were able to do so many things that day that we would not have thought of without our guide and driver.

Review by:   Linda H,    February 2017
It is the best way to see everything, but it was a really long day and a long time spent in the car, but if you only have a day, I would recommend this tour.

Review by:   Peter B,    February 2017
A long day out but very interesting. Of special interest was the White Temple and Chiang Rai. Good views of the Mekong at the Golden Triangle.

Review by:   Victor B,    February 2017
The guide doesnt tell us nothing about history or important things about the different places that we visited. Good transportation was very confortable, good food too.

Review by:   Jacky J,    January 2017
It was a good trip and great to see some of Thailands beautiful country side however we were not given the option of visiting a typical Thai village and were disappointed with missing this after reading the other reviews. The guide was good but it was difficult to understand his English at times due to his accent.

Review by:   judy.morrison,    January 2017
I loved this day. The highlight was the white temple. No words can convey the magnificence of this site. The trip was worth it for that alone. I also enjoyed our brief stop at the hot springs. My only reservation regards the Golden Triangle. It sounded a lot better than it is, which is a commercial sightseeing stop. And going there made our return trip to Chiang Mai very long and tiring.

Review by:   Sanjeev G,    January 2017
Chiang Rai and Golden Triangle Full Day Tour from Chiang Mai_br/_ Pick up from our hotel was on time and luckily there were only 2 other people on the tour as a second couple cancelled. The group would have been only 9 people max anyway so a good small number._br/_ Our guide was friendly, polite and knowledgeable

Review by:   dessymed,    January 2017
Intresting tour, but thera too many visitors in this season.

Review by:   Judith L,    January 2017
Bad time management. There wasn and #39;t enough time for Lao and long neck village. Guide said we spent too much time in White Temple. He didn and #39;t tell us how much time we have and the latest time we should leave the Temple. We only know we couldn and #39;t make it to Lao and village by the end of the tour.

Review by:   carol,    January 2017
Long day and long drive but saw plenty and guide was excellent.

Review by:   Marielle B,    January 2017
This tour is not worth the time or money. Our tour guide picked us up and the first thing he said is that we'll be doing 10 hours of driving and the hill tribes are not authentic anymore. We ended the tour early and didn't even make it to the Golden Triangle. Our tour guide was also rude, rushed us through the White Temple, and was not very informative. Not worth it.

Review by:   Michael K,    December 2016
Great tour - highly recommended. This is a LONG tour, c. 14 hours, so you need to be prepared! But my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it._br/_ The opportunity to get a flavour of what northern Thailand is about was met by this trip, being able to watch the changing countryside from rolling, high hills to flat and wet paddy fields, and the amazing variety of fruits and vegetables produced and sold on the roadside in this luscious area. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and helpful, and keen to point out things of note en route._br/_ Stops for the Hot Springs, White Temple amazing!, lunch, and the Thai/Burma border were of great interest, though the stop for the hill tribes did leave us feeling somewhat voyeuristic._br/_ Top of the bill for me, though, was the Golden Triangle viewpoint looking out over the Mekong to Laos and Burma - stunning in the late evening sunlight. It certainly made the 3.5 hour drive back - mainly in the dark - very worthwhile._br/_ Highly recommended .... but not for boisterous kids!

Review by:   rosiehaeremai18,    November 2016
Another great tour. Enjoyed the visit to the Golden Triangle area with a magnificent view of the Mekong River. The only downside of they our w has the lunch which was a help yourself buffet but the food was very cold.

Review by:   Huey Suen T,    September 2016
Nice tour guide and driver

Review by:   Eugenio F,    September 2016
I've always been a fan of Viator ever since my first experience with them mainly because of the knowledgeable and pleasant tour guide that accompany every tour I booked. But this tour just broke the good record of Viator for me. We were only 5 tourists in this group which in my opinion would make it easier for the tour guide to do his job and be more casual and sociable with the group. But that didn't happen. In this entire tour, our tour guide would just drop us to the highlight sight of the tour and introduce a very general description of the site and then let us roam around by ourselves. Most of the time, he was busy talking on his cell phone rather than having conversation with us. Worst part of the trip was when we reached the hill tribe village. Since he was always busy talking to someone on his cellphone, we went ahead to the entrance of this village attraction and we were told at the counter about the 300 baht entrance fee per person. Upon seeing us talking to the guy at the counter, our tour guide hurriedly approached us and told us that the entrance fee is 500 baht per person. He then talked to the counter guy in their native language. Of course, we didn't understand what they were talking about but it looked like the counter guy argued that he already informed us that the entrance fee is 300 baht but our tour guide was insisting on 500 baht. We didn't argue anymore and each one of us just paid the 500 baht fee. Just before reaching the first tribe in the village, our tour guide excuse himself, told us that he left his wallet in the van and will quickly get it and come back for us. All of us in the group just look at each other and were probably thinking the same thing. I could have passed over the entire incident but when I checked while doing this review that there was no mention of an entrance fee to the hill tribe village in Viator tour description, I got totally disappointed.

Review by:   Lawlo,    September 2016
Vich is the best tour guide same as the driver. We are well taken care. They are both helpful and Vich explains everything in detail. We enjoy the trip very much.

Review by:   Tory O,    August 2016
This is a great tour for seeing much of northern Thailand from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, to the border of Myrnman and Laos. Stops include the Hot Springs, The Golden Triangle, and a visit to two small hill tribe villages. Buffet lunch is included at a restaurant in the Golden Triangle. Big Buddha is amazing.

Review by:   Robert L,    August 2016
We had a great day! Very comfortable van picked us up early, and we headed north. It was amazing just driving through the country side, which soon became rice fields and ever larger hills. After a short stop at the hot springs we arrived at The White Temple, which was stunning! We headed further north after driving through Chiang Rai, eventually arriving at a hill tribe village. What an experience you will REALLY appreciate the comforts of your own home after witnessing the lives the people there lead. We saw a village dance ceremony, and were able to talk communicate with some of the very gracious people there, as well as help them out by buying some of their crafts._br/_ After that, we had a lunch at an open air restaurant over looking the Mekong River and Laos, we proceeded a short distance to an overlook to view the Golden Triangle, and visited the Hall of Opium museum. We opted not to cross the river on a boat. The museum was helpful tying in the past history of the Golden Triangle. We headed back after a long day with great memories and photos. Just the drive itself, seeing the rice fields and life in the north was fascinating.

Review by:   Avril L,    July 2016
Really great day, only 2 on the trip so could go at our own pace. Able to go across to Laos, lost propellor on way back, stranded for a while middle of Mekong, extra adventure! Long day but worth it

Review by:   Rosemary S,    July 2016
Excellent day ,highlight was the white temple and long neck village . Our guide was lovely ,a long day but gave us great insight into northern Thailand .

Review by:   Crissy Elle S,    July 2016
Would not recommend. The hours of driving was expected but paying for everything else was not. Our lunch (even though it said it was) was not included. The hill tribe was really sad and expensive. I wish I could have my $ and time back...

Review by:   Katherine P M,    July 2016
We had a fantastic time! Our guide Makee and driver Bomie were great and very accommodating. We saw many amazing things and they were able to change the plan and see the hill tribe villages instead of boat trip to Laos. Everything was included that they promised, including lunch.

Review by:   Clare R,    June 2016
Lunch was mediocre at best. Hot springs a waste of time except for a comfort stop, bubbling water in a man made well is not what was expected. The visit to the border town Mar Sai,Thailand's most northern part to look at a muddy river a waste of time. The Golden Triangle where the 3 countries meet was ok_br/_ The pluses, the White Temple was amazing, we were picked up right on time, staff polite and friendly._br/_ Overall I could not recommend the tour, 12 hours much to long for to little to see unless you want to see the country side in a mini bus

Review by:   Diane C,    May 2016
This was an excellent day tour. Great guide and drivers. Van was very comfortable and we were the only 2 on it. Roads were good and a lot was packed into the day.

Review by:   doudou-mike,    April 2016
It is a long trip but absolutely worth it.

Review by:   Andrew D,    April 2016
It was a great tour. The tour guide was wonderful and knowledgeable. The tour allowed you to see so much in one day, including a visit to Laos.

Review by:   janie.smith,    February 2016
A very full day but well worth it. Particularly enjoyed the added bit of seeing the long necked tribe.

Review by:   alextager,    February 2016
This trip is way too long for one day and somewhat disappointing. You spend most of the day in the car and if your guide is not very engaging, as ours wasn't, it's just a long drive without much return. The Hot Springs are a roadside attraction, literally, like a truck stop, which you only get to put your feet into, and it was very disappointing to learn while we were already in the car that the hill tribe visit costs extra, quite a bit extra. It doesn't say that in the tour outline. Our guide was very nice but didn't give us anything but the most basic information, and I was asking questions! The Golden triangle is beautiful and cool but you aren't really there long enough to get that much of an understanding or feel for the place. We didn't go to the market because we were told, by our guide, that it is basically a market for knock-off goods. The White Temple is absolutely worth seeing. I wouldn't recommend this tour, the actual tour is not as advertised in the description.

Review by:   Ivor F D,    February 2016
a long day from Chianmg Mai but very comftable and very goofd personal attention. started at 8am na finished at 9 pm. Greatbto see the different Hilltribe peoples and the coutry side with the hills are spectacular snf refresshing

Review by:   SYLVIA S L L,    December 2015
Competently organised, with professional service. Its is a long drive though, and might be better if it had an overnight stay.

Review by:   VICTOR A,    December 2015
Very informative private tour! The tour guide is extremely friendly and is very concerned with you receiving the best experience from the golden triangle area. The tour is a very long day so it is mostly for those who have a short time to visit north Thailand but let me reassure you most definitely will have enough time to catch most, if not all, of the marvels it has to offer. Highly recommend !

Review by:   Paul d,    November 2015
Excellent trip to Chiang Rai, the White Palace, and the Golden Triangle. The tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable, and I enjoyed the trip. There is a lot of car time on this trip, but it's hard to avoid the wait is worth it to see the gorgeous White Palace even when really busy the palace is stunning and the Myanmar and Laos borders. I was glad I took part in this tour - good experience overall. Thank you!

Review by:   Betty C,    September 2015
Virtually a private tour, just the three of us plus tour guide and driver. We were able to spend longer on places of interest to us. Tour guide extremely knowledgable with ability to impart information effectively. Is a long day but definitely well worth doing

Review by:   Fernando S,    August 2015
We pay the double comparing with what we could have got loacaly for the same tour with local agencies.