Chiang Mai International Airport is situated approximately 4 kilometers southwest of downtown Chiang Mai. This airport is the air hub of northern Thailand and the third most congested airport to handle inbound/outbound flights in Thailand after Phuket International Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport. Domestic flights flying to this airport are, for example, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air, Thai Airways International, Nok Air, and Bangkok Airways, while International flights include Korean Air, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Hong Kong Express Airways, Tiger Airways, Transasia Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Jin Air, Jeju Air, and Lao Airlines.
Getting to / from Chiang Mai International Airport
Vehicles allowed to provide service at Chiang Mai International Airport are taxis, limousines and buses only. Tricycles/Tuk Tuks and Songtaew (two-row seat minibus) without passengers are not allowed to enter the Passenger Terminal to pick up passengers. Tourists who would like to use other public transports than the ones available inside the airport can walk to the front of the airport to get the preferred transport, or just walk over to the nearby shopping mall.
Taxi/Limousine
There are 2 types of taxi which will transport passengers from Chiang Mai International Airport to various destinations. One is the yellow-blue metered taxi with yellow license plate whose fare will be according to the meter or the flat rate agreed upon in advance. The other is the silver bronze or grey Airport Taxi or Airport Limousine with green license plate; the fare will be a flat rate only. Passengers who land at Chiang Mai International Airport and want to take a metered taxi or an Airport Taxi from the airport to various destinations may contact or enquire at the taxi/limousine service counter in the Arrivals Hall.
*In case you choose to pay according to the meter in the taxi, you will have to pay a surcharge of 50 THB at the service counter and pay the amount shown on the meter to the driver when you reach your destination.
*By the way, while I was gathering information for this blog, I came across an issue concerning metered taxis in Chiang Mai. The fare is now calculated according to travel time instead of travel distance, which means the fare would be much higher than what it should be, to such an extent that even the Chiang Mai residents recommend that tourists choose flat rate. They also advise that tourists make a comparison of the fares between metered taxi with flat rate and Airport Limousine service rates. Most of them suggest that Airport Limousine gives better rates and provide better services. The flat rate taxi fare from the airport to downtown Chiang Mai is 120 THB and from the airport to Chiang Mai Bus Terminal (Arcade) is approximately 200 THB.
To use a taxi service for airport transport from various locations, passengers should phone only to the Airport Taxi Call Center to pick them up at a flat rate fare or according to meter, whatever has been agreed upon. You may enquire at the place you are staying about the appropriate rate as well as ask them to call the taxi for you.
Bus
Bus is a public transportation that is not very popular among Chiang Mai residents as there are so few of them; also there are not many routes and there is a long wait. However, the advantage of a bus is that the fare is less expensive than that of Songtaew (minibus) and taxi, and the tourist does not have to worry about any excessive fare demand.
The bus line which passes Chiang Mai International Airport is the white-colored Bus No. 6 which charges 15 THB for the whole route. The bus leaves the bus terminal (Arcade) once every hour and provides service to the following locations: Royal Park Ratchaphruek - Central Airport Plaza – Chiang Mai Airport – The Far Eastern University – Wattanothai Payap School – Suan Dok Gate – Wat Phra Singh – Chiang Mai Technical College – Sam Kasut Junction – Kad Luang – Chiang Mai Bus Terminal (Arcade).
The bus time schedule is as follows:
Monday – Friday
6 departures in the morning: 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11 a.m.
6 departures in the afternoon: 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday
5 departures in the morning: 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., and 10 a.m.
5 departures in the afternoon: 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6 p.m.
The bus takes approximately 30-45 minutes to reach the airport; that means a bus leaving the terminal at 7 a.m. should not reach the airport later than 7:45 a.m. Thus, if you came out of the Passenger Terminal at 7:35 a.m. and have waited till 7:50 a.m. with no sign of a bus coming, there is a good chance that you would have to wait for the next bus which will come in about 1 hour’s time. It is necessary, therefore, that if you plan to travel by bus, you must manage your time efficiently. :)
Car Rental
At Chiang Mai International Airport there are a number of Car Rental Service Counters representing many companies at the Airport’s Departure Hall which tourists may contact to select the cars of their choice.
Songtaew (two-row seat minibus)
Songtaew or Rod Daeng is a vehicle which is a popular form of transportation for Chiang Mai residents. It is a red two-row seat minibus which charges a fare from 20 THB up, depending on the destination as well as the fare agreed in advance with the driver. Currently, a Songtaew without passengers is not allowed to access the Airport to pick up passengers at the Passenger Terminal; however, passengers may avail themselves of the services of a Songtaew which has just dropped off passengers, although the fare finally agreed upon may be higher than the normal rate.
*Tourists can walk out to the front of the airport or to the Central Airport Plaza which is a shopping mall located about 1 kilometer away to avail themselves of the services of the large number of Songtaews over there whose fares are much less than those of the Songtaews caught at the Airport.
Map
Contact Information
Chiang Mai International Airport
60 Mahidol Road, Sutep Subdistrict, Muang District, Chiang Mai Province, 50200, Thailand
Tel: (+66) 5327-0222-33
Fax: (66) 5327-7284
Information Counter: (66) 5327-0222-33, (66) 5320-3300-19 Ext. 2100, 2101
Getting to / from Chiang Mai International Airport
Vehicles allowed to provide service at Chiang Mai International Airport are taxis, limousines and buses only. Tricycles/Tuk Tuks and Songtaew (two-row seat minibus) without passengers are not allowed to enter the Passenger Terminal to pick up passengers. Tourists who would like to use other public transports than the ones available inside the airport can walk to the front of the airport to get the preferred transport, or just walk over to the nearby shopping mall.
Taxi/Limousine
There are 2 types of taxi which will transport passengers from Chiang Mai International Airport to various destinations. One is the yellow-blue metered taxi with yellow license plate whose fare will be according to the meter or the flat rate agreed upon in advance. The other is the silver bronze or grey Airport Taxi or Airport Limousine with green license plate; the fare will be a flat rate only. Passengers who land at Chiang Mai International Airport and want to take a metered taxi or an Airport Taxi from the airport to various destinations may contact or enquire at the taxi/limousine service counter in the Arrivals Hall.
*In case you choose to pay according to the meter in the taxi, you will have to pay a surcharge of 50 THB at the service counter and pay the amount shown on the meter to the driver when you reach your destination.
*By the way, while I was gathering information for this blog, I came across an issue concerning metered taxis in Chiang Mai. The fare is now calculated according to travel time instead of travel distance, which means the fare would be much higher than what it should be, to such an extent that even the Chiang Mai residents recommend that tourists choose flat rate. They also advise that tourists make a comparison of the fares between metered taxi with flat rate and Airport Limousine service rates. Most of them suggest that Airport Limousine gives better rates and provide better services. The flat rate taxi fare from the airport to downtown Chiang Mai is 120 THB and from the airport to Chiang Mai Bus Terminal (Arcade) is approximately 200 THB.
To use a taxi service for airport transport from various locations, passengers should phone only to the Airport Taxi Call Center to pick them up at a flat rate fare or according to meter, whatever has been agreed upon. You may enquire at the place you are staying about the appropriate rate as well as ask them to call the taxi for you.
Bus
Bus is a public transportation that is not very popular among Chiang Mai residents as there are so few of them; also there are not many routes and there is a long wait. However, the advantage of a bus is that the fare is less expensive than that of Songtaew (minibus) and taxi, and the tourist does not have to worry about any excessive fare demand.
The bus line which passes Chiang Mai International Airport is the white-colored Bus No. 6 which charges 15 THB for the whole route. The bus leaves the bus terminal (Arcade) once every hour and provides service to the following locations: Royal Park Ratchaphruek - Central Airport Plaza – Chiang Mai Airport – The Far Eastern University – Wattanothai Payap School – Suan Dok Gate – Wat Phra Singh – Chiang Mai Technical College – Sam Kasut Junction – Kad Luang – Chiang Mai Bus Terminal (Arcade).
The bus time schedule is as follows:
Monday – Friday
6 departures in the morning: 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11 a.m.
6 departures in the afternoon: 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday
5 departures in the morning: 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., and 10 a.m.
5 departures in the afternoon: 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6 p.m.
The bus takes approximately 30-45 minutes to reach the airport; that means a bus leaving the terminal at 7 a.m. should not reach the airport later than 7:45 a.m. Thus, if you came out of the Passenger Terminal at 7:35 a.m. and have waited till 7:50 a.m. with no sign of a bus coming, there is a good chance that you would have to wait for the next bus which will come in about 1 hour’s time. It is necessary, therefore, that if you plan to travel by bus, you must manage your time efficiently. :)
Car Rental
At Chiang Mai International Airport there are a number of Car Rental Service Counters representing many companies at the Airport’s Departure Hall which tourists may contact to select the cars of their choice.
Songtaew (two-row seat minibus)
Songtaew or Rod Daeng is a vehicle which is a popular form of transportation for Chiang Mai residents. It is a red two-row seat minibus which charges a fare from 20 THB up, depending on the destination as well as the fare agreed in advance with the driver. Currently, a Songtaew without passengers is not allowed to access the Airport to pick up passengers at the Passenger Terminal; however, passengers may avail themselves of the services of a Songtaew which has just dropped off passengers, although the fare finally agreed upon may be higher than the normal rate.
*Tourists can walk out to the front of the airport or to the Central Airport Plaza which is a shopping mall located about 1 kilometer away to avail themselves of the services of the large number of Songtaews over there whose fares are much less than those of the Songtaews caught at the Airport.
Map
Contact Information
Chiang Mai International Airport
60 Mahidol Road, Sutep Subdistrict, Muang District, Chiang Mai Province, 50200, Thailand
Tel: (+66) 5327-0222-33
Fax: (66) 5327-7284
Information Counter: (66) 5327-0222-33, (66) 5320-3300-19 Ext. 2100, 2101
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