Why Should You Visit Pai, Thailand?
Pai is a small town in Northwest Thailand not far from its border with Myanmar. It’s well equipped to handle tourists and while it can feel touristy at times, it’s easy to get an authentic Thai experience too.
I don’t think Pai is a necessary destination for a first time visitor to Thailand unless you’re visiting for three weeks or more. If you only have time for a few days in Northern Thailand, I would stick to Chiang Mai. It’s a much bigger city and there are so many more tour opportunities than in Pai.
I didn’t visit Pai until my second trip to Thailand in January 2023 during my “Year Long Honeymoon.” While I really did enjoy my time in Pai, I liked it because it was a nice place to relax for a few days, not because there was an abundance of things to do.
Now I don’t want to scare you away from visiting Pai, it really is a nice and unique place to spend some time! Continue reading below to learn more about what there is to do in Pai, how to get there, where to eat, and how much it costs.
Table of Contents
My Impressions as a First Time Visitor
- There are more families visiting than I imagined
- But there are still plenty of “hippy” types visiting too
- There are weed shops EVERYWHERE
- Mushrooms are readily available too but not as obviously as weed
- There are Western style cafes everywhere
- But you can find really cheap local food as well
- Most bars have decent happy hour deals
- Overall everyone is pretty relaxed and Pai gives off “island vibes” even though it’s no where near an ocean
- It is a very small town but there are a lot of restaurant and bar choices
- You will run into the same people over and over (which I thought was nice!)
What to Do in Pai
Cafe or Bar Hop
One of the cool things about Pai is how many cafes and bars there are through the town, and the relaxed atmosphere. There are a lot of different waterfalls, hot springs, and other things to see outside the town, but make sure you save some time to just hang out in town too.
"The" Cave Tour
I say “The” Tour because it’s the main full day tour that is advertised all over town. You can book it on the main walking street or through your hotel or hostel.
We got picked up from our hostel around 9am and driven out to Lod Cave after brief stops at the white Buddha and a nice viewpoint. The drive is about an hour and you should take motion sickness pills if you ever get car sick. The road is extremely windy.
Once at the caves we took a guided tour around three different large caverns. You even get to take a short bamboo boat ride through the cave to the last cavern! The cave tour was much more impressive than I was expecting and worth the long drive. After the cave tour we ate lunch which is included in the tour price.
After lunch we drove back towards Pai and stopped at Sai Ngam Hot Springs, and Pam Bok Waterfall. The final stop of the tour is to Pai Canyon for sunset. We arrived about an hour before sunset so we had plenty of time to grab a snack or a drink and walk up to the canyon viewing area.
Once the sun sets you’re driven back to your hotel or hostel. For how much you get to see, I think the tour is well worth the 900 baht or ~$25.
River Tubing, Tipsy Tubing, or River Rafting
Another popular activity in Pai is to go tubing down the river. There is a company that takes people tubing everyday, and another company that offers “tipsy tubing” every Tuesday and Friday. On non tipsy days, expect around 20 people but we had around 100 people on a Friday tipsy tubing day.
For 250 baht you will get picked up at your hotel, driven 15 minutes to the start of the tubing area, get your tube and get sent down the river. You’re only in your tube for about 15 minutes before you stop off on a little sand bar. There you can play beach volleyball, beer pong, ping pong, or just dance and drink. On tipsy tubing days they have a live DJ!
You can book these activities through your hotel or hostel or at any of the tour companies on the walking street in town.
If you want to tackle a more serious river activity they do offer actual river rafting tours as well. These are more expensive and further outside of the city than the river tubing. You can ask about river rafting tours at the tour companies on the walking street in Pai.
Learn to Drive a Motorbike
A lot of travelers chose to rent a motorbike in Pai, or to drive one from Chiang Mai to Pai. If you’ve never driven a motorbike, or have limited experience, I suggest taking a class before renting one. Several of the rental companies offer short classes or lessons for a few hundred baht and it’s definitely worth the money.
I saw one motorbike crash in Pai and saw many more backpackers walking around with bandages on their arms and legs from crashes. With so many inexperienced travelers riding around, it pays to play it safe and just take a class.
Go to an Elephant Sanctuary
There are many elephant sanctuaries in Northern Thailand that are open to visitors. Please do your research carefully and chose a reputable and ethical sanctuary to visit. You should never visit a sanctuary that allows people to ride elephants. Touching elephants should also be limited and never forced upon them.
We chose to skip visiting an elephant sanctuary for a number of reasons. If it’s important to you please please take the necessary time to chose an ethical place to visit.
Where to Stay in Pai
If you want to stay in a hostel, my recommendation is Happy House Backpackers Hostel. Even if you don’t typically stay in hostels, we stayed in a private room and it was very spacious and clean. There is a large bar area where you can work remotely during the day if you need to.
The hostel does become pretty social at night as there is a pool table and ping pong table. We made a lot of friends while staying at Happy House and had a great time.
If you don’t want to stay at a hostel there are dozens of small hotels to chose from. When you’re booking your stay, just make sure your hostel or hotel is actually in Pai, as there are a lot of places in the surrounding countryside. Even if you rent a scooter and stay out of Pai I think you’d be missing out on the nightlife in Pai. I would not recommend riding your scooter at night; the roads are dark and windy.
How to Get to Pai
Minivan from Chiang Mai (most common)
Most travelers arrive to Pai by minivan from Chiang Mai, which is what we did. Tickets cost 200 Baht (as of 2023) and you can book your ticket through your accommodation in Chiang Mai.
You will get picked up at your hotel or hostel in Chiang Mai and dropped off on the main walking street in Pai. If you’re staying in Pai proper and not outside of town, you should be able to easily walk to your accommodation in Pai.
If you’re returning back to Chiang Mai the same way, similarly you can book a 200 baht ticket through your lodging in Pai. They will pick you up at your hotel/hostel in Pai and you can get dropped off at the bus station, airport or Old Town Chiang Mai.
The road between Chiang Mai and Pai is well paved but very windy. If you are prone to motion sickness I would definitely take some medication before the drive. The drive takes approximately 3.5 hours with one 15 minute break for restrooms and snacks.
Ride a Motorbike from Chiang Mai
Another popular method for getting to Pai is driving yourself on a rented motorbike. You can arrange one way rentals from Chiang Mai to Pai or keep the bike and ride it back to Chiang Mai.
There are also services available to transport your luggage for you so you don’t have to carry it on the back of your bike.
I would only chose to do this if you are already very confident on a motorbike. The road is extremely windy and hilly. Even if you’re confident in your own ability I would worry about other drives. It’s just a two lane road and people pass each other like crazy, even around blind curves.
To learn more about Thailand, click one of the posts below!
3 Days in Chiang Mai – And Why You Should Stay Longer if You Can
Year Long Honeymoon – January 2023: 8 Months of Full Time Travel!
Where to Eat in Pai
Walking Street Night Market
Every evening the “Walking Street” is closed to cars from 6pm to 10pm and dozens of food vendors set up shop right in the street. Even if you don’t want to eat from the food vendors, it’s still fun to walk up and down the street each night to see what’s going on.
There are traditional Thai dishes as well as other Asian cuisines and even a few Western options.
It can be pricey to eat dinner at the Night Market because most of the portions are more snack sized than dinner entree sized. I would recommend getting an appetizer before dinner or dessert after dinner.
My husband and I fully ate dinner one night on the walking street and shared gyoza, curry puffs, noodle salad, coconut pancakes, and mango sticky rice. While still insanely cheap by Western standards, it was one of our most expensive meals in Pai.
Racha Noodle and Rice
This was my favorite little noodle soup shop in Pai. Two older ladies work there and they are really sweet. I got the pork and wonton noodle soup both times I went and it was just so comforting and tasty; I wish I was eating it right now! The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch but not for dinner. The soup (and most of their other dishes) only cost 40 baht. The restaurant is located here.
James Noodles
I think James Noodles is the correct English name of this restaurant, as the name on Google Maps is only in Thai. It is located here.
The menu is small and it’s always busy so you know it’s good! The only things translated into English on the menu are chicken rice and beef, pork, or chicken noodle soup. I had the chicken rice on two separate occasions and it’s really good. The sauce is spicy but so flavorful and it’s also served with a small bowl of soup.
Andrew had the chicken noodle soup and enjoyed that as well. Each entree only cost 40 baht.
Cafecito
The best (maybe only?) Mexican food in Pai is at Cafecito! As Americans who have been traveling in Europe and Asia all year, good Mexican food is something that we miss the most.
Sadly the restaurant was out of tortilla chips the day we went, but the chicken tacos and huevos rancheros we had were better than we expected them to be in a small Thai town. Cafecito also has some of the best coffee in Pai, I was obsessed with how good my Americano was.
Om Garden Cafe
If you’re craving some Western Food or Western/Asian fusion, Om Garden Cafe is the place to be. Expect to pay around 80-150 baht for an entree and 30-60 for a coffee or smoothie. The cafe is normally busy and wait times for food can be long, but the food is really high quality and worth the wait.
When Should You Visit Pai?
It’s best to visit Pai in the winter months (Nov-Mar) when the weather is cooler and there is less rain. Luckily this is the best time to visit most of Thailand so you can combine your trip to Pai with travel to Bangkok or some of the Thai islands.
Of course, this is when most other tourists visit Pai and all of Thailand as well so expect some crowds.
In most winter months you can expect highs in the mid 70s to low 80s. In December and January it can get pretty chilly at night, it even dropped to the 40s one night when we were there in early January.
How Much Does Pai Cost?
Northern Thailand in general is much more budget friendly than Bangkok and the islands. Pai is no exception here as my husband and I only spent $350 USD or 11,900 baht in five days in Pai. That comes out to $35 per person per day.
Here is exactly how much we spent:
Lodging: $136.89 – this comes out to $27 per night on a private room with an ensuite bathroom in a hostel
Food: $115.33 – or $11.50 per person per day; this even includes $53 of alcohol so we really only spent $6 on food per person per day. That’s pretty crazy!
Activities: $67.85 – we paid $7.50 per person for tipsy tubing and $26 per person for the all day cave tour
Transportation: $23.60 – we paid $6 (200 baht) per person for the bus to Pai from Chiang Mai and vice versa
Miscellaneous: $8.57 – $6.79 for a Hawaiian shirt on the walking street, $1.48 for a load of laundry, $0.30 for four motion sickness pills
Total: $352 USD / 11,928 baht for five days for two people
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