Best of Chiang Mai: Private Tour in a Day
Recommended by 99% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Chiang Mai, Thailand
- 7 to 8 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Get a panoramic view of Chiang Mai City from atop an ancient temple built in 1383 on this full-day, guided tour to one of the island’s most famous temples with tour of Bua Thong Waterfall included. Climb 306 steps to visit a shrine to Buddha before looking out at the city from the temple 3,500-ft (1067-meters) above sea-level. At “Sticky Waterfall” climb the falls tiered limestone layers and swim in its pools. Lunch and round-trip transport included.
- Visit an ancient temple built in 1383
- Take in views of Chiang Mai from 3,500-feet (1,066meters) above sea-level
- Climb, swim, and play at “Sticky Waterfall” Bua Thong Waterfall
- Lunch, guide, and transportation included
What's Included
- Lunch
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Private transportation
- Transport by air-conditioned vehicle
- Led by a local guide / driver
- Flexibility to your itinerary
- Bottled water
- Personal expenses.
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Operating hours.8:00 am
Itinerary
1
Bua Thong Waterfalls (Nam Phu Chet Si)
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- What should you bring on this trip?
- Personal medication.
- T- shirt, long sleeves shirt
- long pants, shorts.
- Walking shoes
- Swimming suit or swimming trunk.
- Towel
- Insect spray
- Sun cream
- A camera
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 9 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 204 reviews
David_C, Mar 2026
Great day with Ronnie and Mr Aom (excellent driver). The sticky waterfalls were fantastic and completely doable (go in the morning to avoid crowds). The Buo Tang Cave was a peaceful stop, and the Golden Pagoda was worth a viewing, and the view of Chiang Mai city was panoramic. Ronnie was engaging and helpful, and took many photos.
Shauna_M, Feb 2026
This was an amazing way to see Doi Sutep and visit the sticky waterfalls. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to visit these two places. Our tour guide, Paul, was very knowledgeable, friendly, professional and could speak English well. We liked being able to go at our own pace and appreciated being able to change our lunch destination which was one of our favorite places to eat! Thank you for the memorable experience.
Brent_B, Jan 2026
Temple experience was great. Meh to the sticky falls. Crowded and too touristy overall, not really worth the long trip to get there.
Mike, Jan 2026
Paul was a great guide all along. Very knowledgeable and very enjoyable person. Had a great day. Thank you
Karen_B, Dec 2025
Ronnie was terrific! He was both funny and informative. Highly recommend this day trip when visiting chiang mai.
brice_m, Dec 2025
Our tour was great and highly informative. Paul was very helpful and accommodating. We had 8 people in our group and the can was very spacious and comfortable.
C_T, Apr 2025
This was such a fun experience! We chose to go to the temple first. Our tour guide Ronnie came with us up the cart, gave us a tour around and explained as much as possible. Then we were left alone to wander around. We had lunch at the Elephant Terrace Restaurant which was included in the package. The food was soooo good! Then we went to the waterfall which was actually quite busy with locals at the time. It was such a fun experience especially since it started to get hot when we went.
Our tour guide and driver were so nice and kind. They offered to take us to other places to om the way to the waterfall and back to the hotel as we were ahead of time which was such a nice offer too.
Angela_O, Mar 2025
Yun was the best tour guide we could have asked for! She was a wealth of information and allowed us to learn and have fun throughout the day. I would definitely recommend this tour!
jim_p, Feb 2025
Had a great time on this tour! Maggie our guide was very informative and interacted with us creating a wonderful experience. Wish I could give more stars, as this tour was unexpectedly a highlight of my trip to Chiang Mai!!! Maggie was awesome!
Dylan_V, Feb 2025
It was overall a really good experience. Maggie was a great guide! I sort of assumed there would be a bit more nature during the Doi Suthep piece due to it being in a national park, but there wasn't anything about that in the description, so it makes sense. There was one lookout over the city, but there was a bit of smoke, so it was good, not great. However, the pieces that were in the tour were really well done! We learned a lot and got lots of our questions answered. The sticky waterfall was so much more fun than expected! We had a blast! Maggie was very helpful for my wife who was 26 weeks pregnant, making sure she was safe and that we weren't going too fast. She also did a great job of explaining the structure of the day, including how long our car rides would be.
Sarah_M, Sep 2024
We had a wonderful day with Ronny. Learnt lots about the temple we visited, including a blessing from a monk. The sticky waterfall was relatively easy to climb, with various points you could stop at. Need to be pretty able-bodied to climb the whole thing with steep sections. Ronny took us to a delicious spot for lunch, and took many great photos.
Karen_W, Aug 2024
Absolutely fantastic trip. We had Yoong as a tour guide who was so informative, caring and had a great sense of humour. We could not recommend this trip more highly!
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Thanks
Allison_R, Jun 2024
The entire tour was amazing and memorable. Out tour guide Yoong (said Mosquito is the meaning of the shorten version of her name and loves using it) was funny, very friendly, knowledgeable, explaining the history of the Monks, the Buddha, Buddhism, the history of Chiang Mai and its original people.
Climbing the stairs to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was not as difficult as I anticipated it would be. Buatong Waterfall-Chet Si Fountain National Park was absolutely beautiful. Mosquito was encouraging and thoughtful throughout our climb down and up the waterfall. You did not feel rushed.
This is a tour we will take again with Yoong/ Mosquito and her driver. Yoong is a very valuable tour guide
Allison and Jackie
Harrison_W, Jun 2024
We had an unforgettable day exploring Chiang Mai with Noi, our exceptional tour guide. His profound knowledge of Thailand and Chiang Mai, combined with his enthusiastic responses to our countless questions, truly enriched our experience. Having served as a novice monk, Noi offered invaluable insights into Buddhism from a firsthand perspective. The tour featured highlights such as Doi Suthep, the Jade Factory (though I would personally recommend skipping this), and the captivating Sticky Waterfalls. Our visit to Chiang Mai would have been incomplete without this remarkable tour. Thank you, Noi!
Erin_O, May 2024
This tour was the highlight of our time in Chiang Mai! Our guide, Yoong, was beyond great. She is knowledgeable, funny, energetic, and clearly loves her city & her work. She invited us to participate in traditions (like being blessed by a monk at Doi Suthep) - making us feel comfortable and welcome to participate. She explained everything to us and answered our questions. Can’t say enough about how great she was! And our driver Pon was also great. Lots of fun and amazing experience to visit the temple, the waterfalls (WOW) and a delicious lunch!
Robert_C, Apr 2024
A fantastic day tour with a great guide. Jackie made sure we had everything we needed at all times and was amazing with our two children, especially at the falls. Jackie gave an in depth history at the temple, and throughout all the sites we visited. Thanks Team!
Bill_C, Feb 2024
Had a great time. Our guide was very knowledgeable. Loved the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep especially when the monk gave our group a blessing with holy water. The Sticky Waterfall was so much fun climbing it.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
🙏🇹🇭❤️
Kyle_B, Jan 2024
Such a great day and incredible experience, Our tour guide Yoong was just the best, full of knowledge and such great energy and fun to be around. We had been to many temples in Bangkok before this day but visiting a temple with Yoong was a completely different experience, She taught us so much about Buddhism and about the temples we left feeling really informed and privileged to of experienced what we did. Then onto the Sticky waterfalls which were incredible!! Perfect scenery, great fun climbing and descending and Many laughs along the way. Then on our way back to the hotel Yoong took us to the most perfect little cafe where we had lunch, The best Khao Soi we had tasted and so much more food that we couldn't finish it all. Please book this tour, you will not regret it. It has been our highlight of visiting Chaing Mai and if you are lucky enough to have Yoong as your guide you will have the best time. She went above and beyond for us so for that, thankyou so much!! Kyle and Jasmine
LaSonya_P, Nov 2023
The whole trip was awesome. Yung, the guide was wonderful, 1) Intelligent..She educated us on Thai culture and history 2) Interactive...we felt as if she was apart of us and 3) Funny...Her jokes were on point and timed perfectly. Actually, I would say that Yung made the whole experience enjoyable.
Chuay_F, Nov 2023
Our guide was very knowledgeable, caring and helpful. It was a fun filled day thanks to his professionalism.
Stephen_M, Nov 2023
Great effort and lively personalities will make this trip a must for travelers. Appreciate the experience so much..dont miss out.
Greg_W, Nov 2023
On a private tour the tour guide is one of the most important aspects and we truly hit the jackpot with Yoong. She was so knowledgeable about everywhere we went and bent over backwards to make sure we had a fantastic time!
The fixed points of the tour is the temple, a monument and the sticky waterfalls. All of which were fantastic! We also got to pick an additional activity in an area of Chiang Mai that there was maybe 50 things to do! We chose the snake farm which again was great.
Yoong told us all about Thai culture and we learnt about the Buddhist religion. The driver was a great guy as well! He had some English and Yoong was a great translator for him as well.
This has been one of the best days of our trip so would highly recommend and if you get Yoong as a guide you can consider yourself lucky!
RAJEEV_R, Aug 2023
We had a fabulous tour guide Jackie who was really knowledgeable & provided a lot of information about the history of the temples we visited. We were taken to a local restaurant for the most amazing lunch, possibly the best spring rolls ever! Despite the heavy rain, we still climbed the sticky waterfall & Jackie guided us the whole way as well as tasking loads of pictures for us! An amazing experience & would definitely recommend Jackie as a tour guide!
Stacey_W, Jun 2023
This trip was made especially fun because our tour guide Maggie was really amazing! This was a group of nine people, and she made sure that everyone was enjoying themselves, learning, and having fun. This trip does have a lot of Buddhist rituals, which she was very gracious about if people did not want to participate. The Sticky Waterfall was so so so much fun! I would highly recommend going there and would definitely go back.
Donnika_J, Jun 2023
We had the most amazing time on this tour. We are frequent travelers and have done a ton of tours but by far Maggie was one of the BEST guides we have ever had. She shared history and traditions about Thai culture and was a wealth of knowledge. The sticky waterfall was an incredible experience and one that you must try if you are looking for a unique experience. We had a blast and would highly recommend.
Rose_S, Apr 2023
Had the most amazing day with our tour guide Maggie and our driver Mr Alan. They were both so kind and welcoming and made our experience amazing. Maggie was really knowledgable and gave us so much information about the temple Doi Suthep- she made the trip so interesting! At the sticky waterfall she helped us to the bottom and told us how to get to the top, giving us all the best tips and tricks, telling us which bits to avoid and which is the best stone to step on etc. She was so helpful that even other people were trying to listen in and hear her tips and follow what she was saying!! My friend also felt a bit unwell on the trip so Maggie was really accommodating and sourced water and paracetamol for her which was so helpful. Maggie was super kind, patient, informative and we couldn’t have asked for a better tour guide. Mr Alan was also extremely kind and helpful and made our journeys really smooth. Also if you have any dietary requirements don’t worry because Maggie communicated them all at the restaurant we stopped at for lunch! We are vegetarian so we ate vegetarian khao soy which was delicious. There was also drinking water available in the minivan at all times and we were given cold cooling towels after the waterfall fun. The day was really fun and we would highly recommend. Thank you Maggie and Alan!
Andrew_B, Feb 2023
This was a great tour! Our guide was Sit who arrived to pick us up on-time and without issue. We were driven around in a newer, air-conditioned vehicle to the temple on the hill, the butterfly/orchid garden, and buatong falls. Sit and our driver were more than happy to accommodate any of our requests, and his English was very good.
Overall, I’d highly recommend this tour to other folks.
One small note:
- bring a spare pair of clothes/swimwear for buatong falls
Caleb_v, Jan 2023
Our guide was very knowledgeable and made sure we enjoyed our day. The visit to Doi Suthep was great and we really enjoyed Sticky Waterfall. A huge local lunch was included too!
Martin_P, Nov 2022
Wow, what a trip! We customised our trip to include Doi Suthep, Orchid & Butterly farm and the Sticky Waterfalls (which had to be the highlight of our visit to Chiang Mai).
Our guide (Maggie) was absolutely amazing, full of knowledge for Doi Suthep and general Thai life, with such a friendly vibe and humour as well.
We’ll definitely be using the company again on our next visit to Chiang Mai and will be requesting Maggie for sure!
karen_t, Nov 2022
First of all, the credit goes to Maggie who is very very attentive to my elders, she helped me look out for them and ensure my mom ( 70years young) scaled the sticky fountain and she was having so much fun. Lunch was a local noodle shop at our request ( theother one has closed) which she highly recommended and did not disappoint. We had a great time that day thanks to Maggie and our driver.
From $102.38
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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