Is 3 days enough for Chiang Mai?

Three days is enough for Chiang Mai if you don't waste them on logistics. The Old City is a 1.5km square that's walkable from end to end, and most of what's worth seeing is either inside it or a short ride away.

How three days breaks down

Day one is the Old City on foot. Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang are 10 minutes apart and easily fill a morning. Start early at the Siri Wattana morning market for sai ua and sticky rice, or come in later and begin with the temples. In the evening, go for khao soi at Khao Soi Khun Yai and end up at North Gate Jazz Co-op if it's a Tuesday.

Day two is the Monk's Trail. The trailhead is behind Chiang Mai University. You hike up through forest to Wat Pha Lat, a temple built into the rocks with a stream running through it, and then continue up (or catch a songthaew at the road) to Doi Suthep at the top. The whole thing takes a half day. Afternoons can be cooking class territory, or a Thai massage at the Women's Massage Centre near the Old City.

Day three is the day out of the city: either an outdoor adventure day combining river tubing and an ethical elephant experience, or a day in Mae Kampong, the mountain village 50km east of the city, which has a wild gibbon trekking programme in the forest above it.

If your third day falls on a Sunday, reorganise the afternoon around the Sunday Walking Street. It's the most genuinely good market in northern Thailand.

If you have a fourth day

A fourth day is useful but not necessary. Spend it at a cooking class that starts at a real market (the kind where you shop for ingredients before you cook), a day trip to Doi Inthanon if you're visiting outside burning season, or simply a slower version of day one or two. There's no urgent shortage of Chiang Mai that requires more than three days on a first visit.

The one timing problem

If you're visiting in March or April during burning season, the outdoor portions of a three-day plan don't work as well. The Monk's Trail and Doi Suthep lose most of their appeal when you can't see the mountain from the city. November through February is when Chiang Mai is at its best. See Is it okay to visit Chiang Mai in March? for what burning season actually looks like on the ground.

For a full breakdown of what to see and where to eat, see our Things to do in Chiang Mai guide.