Taste of Chiang Mai

Day 1: Chiang Mai Markets & Food

Start your culinary journey of northern Thailand with a visit to bustling Warorot Market to explore a range of local spices, herbs and popular local ingredients. Here you can sample local snacks, including sai oua (grilled northern-style sausage) and cap moo (crispy pork skin), before exploring the colours of the neighbouring flower and fruit market. Then you will head out of the city to sample kao soi, soft yet crispy wheat noodles in curry broth before visiting the ancient city of Wiang Kum Kam, home to excavated items dating back to the 8th century. These ancient items include stone tablets, pottery and Buddhist sculptures. Return to Chiang Mai city to check-in at your hotel and in the evening enjoy a traditional Kantoke dinner accompanied with cultural performances before heading to the night bazaar.

Day 2: Chiang Mai Tea Plantation, Temple & Street Food

Travel to the countryside and spend the morning surrounded by lush greenery at a tea plantation to learn more about the tea growing process. Join tea pickers who select leaves based on age-old traditions, before sampling a tea infusion. Return to Chiang Mai for a lunch of delicacies hailing from Yunnan in China before taking a picturesque drive to Wat Doi Suthep temple perched above the city, Chiang Mai’s most sacred temple with sweeping views. Continue to a hilltribe village at Doi Pui, home to Hmong people who wear beautiful colourful native dress. Tonight discover more of the flavours of Thailand on a guided street food tour of the city’s best food stalls and street eateries to sample delights such as Pad Thai and Tom Yam Kung.

Day 3: Chiang Mai Cooking Class

On the last day of your foodie adventure in Chiang Mai enjoy a cookery class in a small, charming rural village in Saraphi district for insight into authentic home-made Thai food.  This begins with a visit to a local market to source exotic ingredients. The class starts with instruction into the preparation of rice, including popular dish sticky rice. Source vegetables, herbs and eggs from an organic farm, followed by a soup and stir-fry session and a tasting. The lesson then proceeds to the creation of spicy curries – a mainstay of Thai cuisine and desserts, followed by another tasting. After eating the fruits of your labour, transfer to Chiang Mai airport for your onward travel (flight not included).

We recommend adding pre/post nights to see more of Chiang Mai, it is an easy city to enjoy Thai culture at a more relaxed pace than Bangkok. Discover other parts of Thailand and have our team customise a package for you. Here are a few  vacation ideas to get you started:

Classic Thailand – 3 cities – 14 Days
Luxury Thailand Honeymoon – 2 cities – 14 Days
Thailand Beaches – 16 Days
Bangkok Stopover – City Discovery – 3 days