Whenever we meet new people, they are surprised to hear that we are actually living in Chiang Mai and not just visiting. Oddly enough, the conversation always seems to lead to the same follow-up question: Have you taken a trip to Pai?
Weekend Trip to Pai, Thailand
Pai, as we later found out, is a beautiful yet incredibly tiny mountain town a few hours north of Chiang Mai. We finally took a three-day trip to Pai to see for ourselves why it is revered by so many travelers. From our short experience there, Pai will be in our memories as the place where we enjoyed an incredibly relaxing vacation.
Many people traveling in Thailand find themselves drawn to Pai because of its easy-going atmosphere and small town feel. Particularly popular among backpackers, Pai also has many natural, slow-paced activities such as yoga retreats, trekking, mountain biking, fishing, hot springs, and popular waterfalls. There is also a vibrant art and music culture that can be seen and heard as you walk around Pai’s small downtown area.
What We Did on Our Trip to Pai
A big reason why we took a weekend trip to Pai is that several friends and followers shared with us stories and places that will always make Pai special to them. These stories inspired us to make the trip to the tiny mountain town. Here are a handful of the best recommendations we received.
01 Pai Chan Cottage & Cuisine
In between our visits to the Pai’s main street and our drive exploring the outer limits of the tiny town, we enjoyed the most relaxing weekend of our lives. Our bungalow at the Pai Chan Cottage & Cuisine backed up to a spectacular view of rice fields and mountains in the distance. We opened the entire side of the bungalow facing the mountains and let the cool breeze roll in over us as we dozed off into our many frequent afternoon naps.
Our good friend Bee of Be Beez Cafe & Guesthouse in Chiang Mai booked the amazing bungalow at Pai Chan Cottage and Cuisine for us. We hadn’t any idea where to stay so she took it upon herself to make sure we had a great time. We slept like babies knowing it only cost us a mere 450 baht ($15 US) a night!
Angela and our friend Bee and the view from the poolside Bungalow in Pai she booked for us!
02 Tik’s Kitchen
We were already thinking about eating our way around Pai before we even left Chiang Mai. Shortly before we took off on our motorbike, one of our readers sent us his story and we decided to follow-up on the places he recommended. We were glad that we did.
It was a heartwarming experience and fun to explain to Tik that we were visiting her restaurant and sending her “hellos” from family back in the States. Connections like these make you realize that our world is pretty small after all. We definitely recommend trying her Northern Thai style cuisine. If you are looking for a cool casual place to play pool and relax, then check out Irie Bar right around the corner. Tik will make sure you know exactly how to get there.
03 All About Coffee
UPDATE: All About Coffee has closed its doors since our visit in September 2013.
All About Coffee was high on our list of places to visit during our trip to Pai and came highly recommended by our expat friends, J and Sacha from 8 Miles from Home. They visited All About Coffee eight years ago on their round the world trip and this was one of the places that inspired them to move to Thailand. There was no doubt in our minds, we had to go and experience it for ourselves!
Our friends say it was All About Coffee’s brownie that made them move to Thailand
We enjoyed lunch at the 140-year-old house-turned-coffee shop and made friends with the owner, Wat. The house is well taken care of and is home to an eclectic collection of wall art and crafts for sale. We’re always thankful when J and Sacha point us in the right direction. We consider ourselves very lucky to know them and look forward to taking a trip with them one day soon.
04 Na’s Kitchen
Our fellow travel blogging friends, Ryan and Liz from Pause the Moment, highly recommended Na’s Kitchen as the go-to restaurant for some of Pai’s best Thai food. Knowing that share the same love for good food, we had no choice but to take them up on their advice.
We were the last customers to walk into Na’s Kitchen as the restaurant was closing up shop for the night. Feeling bad, we told Na that we would come back tomorrow, but without hesitation, she ushered us in with a smile and a “sawadee kha“. Soon after we were seated, we enjoyed two delicious curry dishes and her highly acclaimed spring rolls. The food was full of flavor and heat, and her quaint little restaurant was the perfect place to enjoy an evening feast. If it wasn’t already past closing time we would have ordered a couple more dishes! It was definitely to both Ryan and Liz’s delight that we were able to make it to Na’s Kitchen. Thanks again guys!
If you’re planning a trip to Pai, you might also like…
The Adventure Seeker’s
Ultimate 7-Day Guide to Pai
This week-long itinerary is a collaboration of the best things to do in Pai plus our personal recommendations for hotels, restaurants, vehicle rentals, and more.
Total Cost For Our Trip to Pai
Here’s an itemized list of what we spent on our 3-day 2-night mini-vacation in Pai. It included everything including accommodation and transportation to food and entertainment.
| Expense | Cost USD | Cost THB |
| Two nights in a bungalow | $29 | ฿900 |
| Gas | $13 | ฿410 |
| Food | $47 | ฿1,470 |
| Drinks | $34 | ฿1,070 |
| Massages | $16 | ฿500 |
Is it Worth Taking a Trip to Pai?
Yes, we think most people will really enjoy taking a short trip to this tiny little town.
Massage parlors, bars, restaurants, tattoo shops, and guesthouses line Pai’s quaint streets
We especially recommend it if you are living in Chiang Mai. The downtown area’s extremely laid back vibe, the variety of restaurants, street food, and coffee houses offer for a relaxed yet fun nightlife.
On our last day, we sipped coffee and watched a rainstorm slowly make it way through Pai
With the picturesque views of the countryside from its many tucked away guesthouses, Pai is an excellent place to come if you simply want to disappear for a while. Feeling a little burnt out in Chiang Mai? Taking a long weekend in Pai may be exactly what you need to get away, relax, and recharge your batteries. It’s only an easy van or plane ride away.
Points of Interest on Our Trip to Pai, Thailand
View Places to Go in Pai in a larger map
Hello! I’m headed to Chiang Mi in April 2017 (after Songkran). Arriving Wednesday morning departing Friday afternoon do you have an ideal Itinerary you would suggest? We are a couple in our early 30’s, active and adventurous. I would love suggestions on activities, romantic dinners, good food and great place to stay! Thank you in advance for your suggestions
Hi Lydia – check out the tons of suggestions in our Adventure Seeker’s Chiang Mai Itinerary – it specifically has all the fun outdoorsy stuff you’re looking for, several hotel recommendations across low to high budgets, plus three restaurant recommendations (with food) each day. Have a blast!
Hi! my friend and I will be in northern Thailand in late February. We plan on spending one day exploring Chiang Mai itself, are spending two days on an Elephant Nature Reserve north of the city, the next day hiking Doi Inthonan National Park and if we have extra time heading to the sticky watferalls. My question is: do you think we will have time for both activities in one day? and also we have one free day left before we leave for the islands, is a golden triangle our or a day trip to Pai worth it or is… Read more »
You could squeeze in both activities (hiking the (?) Giew Mae Pan Nature Trail in Doi Inthanon National Park and visiting the sticky waterfalls) but only if you did one in the morning and one in the afternoon separated by a 160 km (3.5 hour drive). For your last day, the Golden Triangle (in our opinion) is not worth the day trip and we absolutely don’t recommend going to Pai in one day. Both trips are just two long of a drive (3+ hrs). You could get amazing Thai food and explore caves in Chiang Dao, climb the ten tiered… Read more »
Do you have any other recommendations for places to stay other than the one you mentioned here? When I checked it out, they were full. Thanks.
We just look at your site for Pai. We think about moving somewhere to north for cooler air and mountains. Now we stay Krabi. I wonder if you know about flooding and air quality in Pai? Have you heard bad news? Thanks so much!
We know there’s been flooding in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, but don’t know if Pai is subjected to that. We don’t know about the air quality either. Sorry!
Thanks for writing all this up! I googled for background on Pai and your blog-article came up. I made it to Na’s Kitchen and it was the best curry I’ve had everrr! I’m going back and will show her your post, couldn’t get it to load when I left, wanted to pass along the love!
This is what we love to hear! Glad to hear you followed in your footsteps and experienced some of Na’s great cooking :)
Great write up and excellent pictures! I went to Pai for a few days, then returned for two weeks a couple months later when I needed to rejuvenate a little. It’s officially one of my ‘happy places’! Glad you had a similar experience :-)
We think a lot of people consider it a “happy place” and go there to recharge. Glad you love it!
What a well written and concise write up for Pai! I am heading here in a couple of weeks and will definitely try out your recommendations and more! Did you feel as if the town was too touristy catering to the Chinese? I’ve heard from some people here in Bangkok (and even online posts) that it is now overrun with tourists and tacky shops selling stuff aimed at the Chinese tourist…it certainly didn’t sound like that during your lovely visit!
During our trip to Pai in September, we saw almost entirely Westerners, many who were backpackers. The few Thais we saw worked in the local shops and restaurants. Honestly, this small mountain town could have been in any part of the Western world and not Thailand! We weren’t there during high season (November thru March), but we have heard that Pai has many Chinese tourists during that time. If you want to get away from touristy areas but still want to visit Pai, stay on the outskirts of town or even a little farther out. It’s is a very tiny… Read more »
Thanks so much for the advice! I have already purchased my flight from chiang mai to pai and will go ahead and “face” the tourists! I can easily return (since I live in Bangkok) so wil take this as and introduction-to-pai trip! Can’t wait!
Good luck! Hopefully it has toned down a bit :)
It took me decades of actively thinking about going to Pai until I finally made it up there a few years ago. Thanks for a great post of your trip and the lovely pics.
Thanks for enjoying our pictures of Pai. We hope it brought back good memories :)
I’ve heard that Pai is a nice place to visit, but staying more than a few days to a week would be boring. I’ll be moving up to Chiang Mai soon enough, so I guess I’ll have to check it out for myself. No fair posting all those food pictures, I’m sitting in my favorite restaurant/bar, now I have to order some food.
Pai is certainly much slower paced than Chiang Mai is and for some it may be good for just a short trip. Other people love the laid back atmosphere and coziness the small town has to offer and stay for a long time. Hope your meal at your favorite restaurant was delicious!
Lovely post – thanks for doing Pai some justice! I always hear the negative about too many parties and other madness, but honestly it’s such a beautiful place, and I’ve enjoyed it during the high season and the low season. The food is fantastic as well, and the locals all smiles and good vibes =)
We’ve had the opposite experience – we’re heard so many people rave about Pai with very little negative things to say. We also have friends who’ve said their best meal in Thailand was wandering around the little streets of Pai and buying snacks here and there from the vendors. When we need a little time off, we’ll be making another trip to Pai because of how relaxing it was. From your experience, what time of year is the best time to go?
Hi guys… just came upon your website again and wanted to say we LOVED Pai and your pictures and description brought me right back there. sigh… now I am wishing I WAS there! Enjoy
finally got the pics to load. Loving the extreme edits, and the personal messages from us and the other guys was a real nice touch. You guys are gonna do well. :-)
Thank you! Sorry to hear about your less than ideal wifi lately. You guys have always helped us out, so we definitely wanted to make that known! See you guys soon.
that place is gorgeous, I love all the amazing shades of green and the countryside
I’m inviting you to join us for Travel Photo Mondays, the link runs all week so I hope you can join us for the next installment?
Thanks Noel! Sitting at a coffee shop and just watching the rain clouds moving over the mountains is unbelievably beautiful.
I’m moving to Chiang Mai in another month or so, and have already made “mental” plans to take a ride up to Pai. You have just validated all my reasons. Thank you for the nice post.
Great! Being so close to Chiang Mai makes for a relatively simple trip. You can take a bus, mini van, plane, or motorbike. We will be doing a post soon about how to exactly get to Pai from Chiang Mai. Thank you for the positive feedback!
Did you do this on your bike?
Yes, it took us about 2.5 hours. It was a twisty and rainy ride, but we had ponchos and our bike is really comfortable. Would definitely just warn anyone thinking about doing it to look out for pot holes and be prepared for lots of turns :)
Well, another great trip. Thanks for sharing. Who is the photographer, or do you both share. Any post editing? The only complaint about your blog is that I’m jealous and have to wait 10 more months to come over! Chok dee.
Thank you for another great comment! We both have been trying really hard lately to improve our photography. Thanks for noticing. We have been editing in Adobe Lightroom for the past month or so. Much more to come, so hopefully we can keep improving upon the standard. 10 months will pass by before you know it! Good luck to you too… :)
Looooooove Pai! If you go back you have to hit up Silhouette. It’s hands down the best restaurant I have been to in all of Asia. Seriously.
Also, your photos are ah-maze-ing!
Definitely going to check it out next time we make the trip! Always down for a good recommendation. Thanks for the compliment on our photos! We have been working hard to get better.
Hello friends, Pai sounds like something out of a dream! The way you both continue to capture the details of all your trips is awesome. I hope all is well, and we miss you!!!
Thanks, Adam. We think you and Rachel would love it there. We miss you both too and look forward to the day you finally get here! Make sure you start a blog before you leave too!
I want that food!
And the view of the rice field is amazing. I can’t believe it’s only $15!
Almost too good to be true. We we shocked by the price as well…especially when we saw the view!
What an awesome place for a quick getaway. The bungalow, the food, the people, the town, and the countryside are incredible. Move to Thailand for the Brownie! That is some accolade for a brownie. Thanks for sharing.
Right, being so close to Chiang Mai makes it a great option. Cheap too! Glad you enjoyed our post Vince.
I enjoyed reading about your trip – great pics! That coffee place looked delicious! :)
Thank you! Hope you and the family are doing awesome! Great to hear from you, and we are glad you liked our post :)