Chiang Mai Airport to City: 5 Easy Ways to the Old City (2026)

We have been to Chiang Mai countless times, but we only flew into the city for the first time fairly recently, landing at Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) on a flight in from Siem Reap. It has since become our favourite way in and out of northern Thailand.

Arriving here is refreshingly painless. CNX sits only about 5 km from the Old City, so most rides into the centre take 10 to 20 minutes — you can be through the door of your guesthouse and back out looking for khao soi within the hour. If you are still shaping the trip, our guide to three days in Chiang Mai pairs neatly with this one.

Everything below works in both directions, so use it just the same when you are heading from the city back to Chiang Mai Airport. And if you are still weighing up Chiang Mai against Chiang Rai, or thinking about how to rent a scooter once you have settled in, we have separate guides for both.

How do I get from Chiang Mai Airport into the city?

There are five main ways to get from Chiang Mai Airport to the city: an official airport taxi, a Grab or Bolt, the RTC Smart Bus, a shared songthaew, or your own rented scooter. The cheapest is the city bus at 30 THB; the easiest with luggage is a ride-hailing app or the taxi desk, at roughly 150 THB to the Old City or Nimman.

None of them has to be arranged in advance. The journey is short enough — 10 to 20 minutes in ordinary traffic — that the decision really comes down to how much luggage you are carrying and whether you have any cash on you yet.

How far is Chiang Mai Old Town from the airport?

Chiang Mai Airport is roughly 5 km from the Old City walls and about 4 km from Nimman, which is why arriving here feels almost anticlimactic in the best possible way. Reckon on 10 to 15 minutes to Nimman, around 15 minutes to Tha Pae Gate and 15 to 20 minutes to the Night Bazaar.

Chiang Mai Airport to the city: all five options compared

Here is how the options compare on price, journey time and effort. Fares are what you should expect to pay in 2026 for a trip to the Old City or Nimman, with approximate US dollar equivalents.

Transit option	Cost (THB / USD)	Journey duration	Best for	Pickup location
Official airport taxi	150 THB (~$4.60) saloon 200 THB (~$6) larger car	15–20 min	Late arrivals, heavy bags, no data	Taxi desk inside the arrivals hall
Grab / Bolt / InDrive	110–170 THB (~$3.40–$5.20)	15–20 min	Paying by card at a price fixed in the app	Signed ride-hailing bay just outside arrivals
RTC Smart Bus	30 THB (~$0.90)	20–40 min	Solo travellers, light bags, tight budgets	Bus stop on the pavement outside the terminal
Songthaew (red truck)	30–50 THB (~$1–$1.50) shared ~200 THB private	15–25 min	A first taste of how Chiang Mai really moves	Main road outside the airport grounds
Scooter or motorbike hire	From ~250 THB/day ~2,500 THB/month in town	Straight out of the car park	Experienced riders heading for the Mae Hong Son Loop	Rental desks at the airport, or shops in town
Tuk-tuk	100–150 THB (~$3–$4.60)	15–20 min	Short hops and the novelty of it	Outside arrivals — agree the fare first

The taxi desk is the most straightforward option if you land tired, loaded with bags, or without a working Thai SIM. You book inside the arrivals hall at a fixed 150 THB to the Old City or Nimman for a saloon car, or around 200 THB for something larger if there are more of you. The fare is agreed before you get in, so there is no meter to argue about.

Taking a taxi means paying a fixed 150 THB to the Old City or Nimman (around 200 THB for a larger car), depending on the destination. Keep in mind that Taxi drivers do not accept credit cards, so bring some cash with you. Also, consider having your position on the Map clear and showing it to the driver before boarding. BOOK YOUR PRIVATE TRANSFER HERE!

We will be straight with you: we skipped the taxi counter ourselves. Taxis in Thailand have a well-earned reputation for overcharging or quietly ignoring the meter, and after a flight we would rather see the price on a screen than negotiate it on a kerb. If you would rather not think about it at all, though, the fixed-rate desk does exactly what it promises.

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Grab, Bolt and InDrive at Chiang Mai Airport

This is the one we actually used. We ordered a Bolt on the app as we walked out of the arrivals hall, and the fare was fixed on screen before we confirmed it — no cash, no negotiating, and split between the two of us it was good value.

Grab and Bolt are the top choices for getting a taxi from Chiang Mai Airport to the city. Both services are highly reliable and user-friendly, and we’ve used them all around Asia. Before you arrive in Chiang Mai, make sure to download the app and set up an account; it functions just like Uber.

To get a Bolt at Chiang Mai Airport:

• Order it through the app and locate the pick-up. Use the door numbers to indicate the driver where you are.
• Input your destination and wait for the driver.
• Don’t worry if you don’t have data; Chiang Mai Airport has a fast wifi connection.

Expect roughly 110 to 170 THB to the Old City or Nimman once the small airport pickup fee is added, and a little more if you land at the same moment as three other flights and surge pricing bites. Both apps take card, which is the real advantage when you have not yet found an ATM.

If you are travelling light, you might save some money on transport from the airport too. It’s usual for backpackers in Chiang Mai to book Grab or Bolt bikes. Both app services offer transportation by bike, which is efficient in terms of cost and time travelling.

If you are travelling with nothing more than a backpack, Grab Bike is the cheapest motorised option going — usually comfortably under 100 THB, and quick with it. Just be realistic about the luggage: it is a motorbike, and no place for a 20 kg suitcase.

Booking a Chiang Mai airport transfer in advance

Because we move between countries constantly, we do sometimes book a transfer ahead — usually when we are landing very late, or when there are more than two of us and the bags to match.

You can book in advance transport from Chiang Mai airport to your hotel, which works out just slightly more expensive than traditional ways. Usually, it costs 160 THB (£3.65 | $4.6 | €4.30) up to 3 people. Check the options here.

If you are travelling with a group, check this service which allows up to 11 people for just 350 THB (£7.75 | $9.6 | €9).

If you are not rushing, the Chiang Mai airport bus is the best way to save money and have a one-of-a-kind experience. It is the favourite way to get into the city from the airport of Chiang Mai for backpackers. The bus lines (RTC lines) are fast, as the airport is attached to the city, and efficient, having a set route.

You get air conditioning and, usually, room to breathe: this is a proper city bus rather than a converted pickup. The catch is frequency — departures are well spread out, so it suits travellers who are not in a hurry and are not wrestling with large cases.

It runs daily from early morning through to the evening, but the timetable is modest and has changed more than once in recent years, so check the current departures before you build an early flight around it.

Chiang Mai Airport bus routes

Chiang Mai Airport Bus 24A (Red) Route:

Chiang Mai Airport / Chiang Mai Gate (Saturday Walking Street) / Tha Phae Gate / Chang Phueak Gate / Chang Phueak Bus Terminal / My Chiang Mai Boutique Lodge / Flower Market / Night Bazaar / Central Chiang Mai / Chiang Mai Immigration Office.

Chiang Mai Airport Bus 24B (Yellow) Route:

Chiang Mai Airport / National Library / Chiang Mai Art Center / Nimman Soi 12 / Nimman Soi 6 / Nimmanhaemin Road / Icon Park Hotel / Chang Phueak Bus Terminal / Chiang Puak Gate (Change for red line) / Somphet Market / One Nimman Shopping Mall / Chiang Mai University / Nimmanhaemin Road

Chiang Mai Airport Bus 24A (Green) Route:

Chiang Mai Gate / Phae Gate / Somphet Market / Warorot Market / Chiang Mai Railway Station / Chiang Mai Bus Terminal / Night Bazaar / Chiang Mai Immigration Office.

Songthaew from Chiang Mai Airport to the city

We haven’t taken this from CNX airport, but we have definitely hopped on board many times while in Chiang Mai. The Songtheaw are the local means of transportation used by locals and tourists alike. These red pickup trucks, with the backdoor open, are the most traditional way to get around Chiang Mai, and they’re available from the airport, too.

To take a songthaew from Chiang Mai Airport you have to walk out of the terminal and past the airport grounds, heading towards the Chiang Mai immigration office, where the red pickups line up. Show the driver your destination before you climb in, and make clear you are paying the shared rate rather than hiring the whole truck.

A shared seat costs around 30 to 50 THB wherever it drops you, and the trucks leave once they fill up, so you may end up sharing your knees with somebody else’s luggage. After the city bus it is the cheapest way into town — though with heavy bags, that walk out to the road is exactly why many people skip it.

Take a tuk tuk

If you arrive in Chiang Mai and are ready for an experience, take a tuk-tuk, the traditional way to travel around Asia. These three-wheeled vehicles are all over Chiang Mai, and we can find them right outside the airport. However, it is sometimes hard to negotiate with locals, as there is a language barrier.

Settle the price before you get in — a ride to the centre usually runs 100 to 150 THB. It is neither the cheapest nor the fastest way from the airport to the centre, but there is a certain charm to arriving that way.

If you are planning an entire itinerary of Northern Thailand, you will love the idea of renting a car. It is cheap compared to other places and allows you to reach locations that are otherwise secluded from other transportation methods. Overall, renting a car is convenient, as you can move faster and for longer distances.

You can either arrive at Chiang Mai airport and rent a car or choose it beforehand and book in advance here: Many well-known rental companies service CNX Airport, and you can find them all by walking to the departure gate hall.

Renting a scooter is the fifth option, and the one that opens up the rest of the north. There are rental desks at the airport, but we have always hired ours in town instead — a monthly rental worked out at around 2,500 THB, far better value than daily rates, and it is what we rode on the Mae Hong Son Loop. If you are tempted, read how to rent a scooter in Chiang Mai without getting scammed first, and only take one on if you genuinely know how to ride.

Our experience: what we chose at CNX and why

On our last arrival we went with Bolt — it is often a little cheaper than Grab — and ordered it on the app as we stepped out of the arrivals hall.

The car reached us within about two minutes. We had actually gone to look at the Smart Bus first: we found the platform, checked the departure times and very nearly took it. What stopped us was luggage — we had too much of it, and our accommodation was a long way from the route. For the same reason we skipped the songthaews, which wait out on the road beyond the airport grounds. We also chose not to use the taxi counter: taxis in Thailand have a well-earned reputation for overcharging or ignoring the meter, and after a flight we would rather see a fixed price on a screen. Shared between the two of us, the Bolt was good value anyway.

Here are a few tips based on our experience:

• You don’t need cash: Set up your card on the app, and they will take payment instantly.
• Set your destination on the app, and keep an eye on Google Maps before connection drops.
• Keep a screenshot of your arrival destination, just in case.
• Download an offline translator to communicate better
• Stay Connected: Having a local SIM card or an international roaming plan helps us stay connected. This is useful not just for booking rides but also for navigation and communication. Check this with Airalo.

Two last things worth knowing before you land: have an eSIM working before you leave home so you can order a ride the moment you clear arrivals, and do not drink from the tap — here is why the tap water in Chiang Mai is best avoided and what to do instead.

FAQs About How To Get From Chiang Mai Airport To City

Where to stay in Chiang Mai?

If this is your first time in Chiang Mai, we would stay in or right beside the old town. It puts the temples, the restaurants and the Sunday Night Market within walking distance, which makes the whole trip easier.

When we first visited, we stayed inside the old town walls simply because it was so easy to get around on foot. Below are our favourite places to stay in Chiang Mai.

Quick things to do in Chiang Mai