Chiang Saen Getting there & around

Getting there & away

There are frequent buses between Chiang Rai and Chiang Saen (32B, 1½ hours).

Be sure to ask for the sǎi mài (new route) via Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai (ordinary/air-con 126/227B, five hours). The ordinary bus leaves at 7.15am and the air-con bus leaves at 8.30am daily. The sǎi kào (old route) meanders through Lamphun, Lampang, Ngao, Phayao and Phan; a trip that takes between seven and nine hours. Alternatively, you can take a bus first to Chiang Rai then change to a Chiang Saen bus (about 4½ hours).

Opposite the bus terminal are blue sǎwngthǎew that travel to Sop Ruak (20B), Mae Sai (40B) and Chiang Khong (60B).

If you’re driving from Mae Sai to Chiang Saen there’s a choice of two scenic paved roads (one from the centre of Mae Sai and one near the town entrance), or a wider, busier paved road via Rte 110 to Mae Chan and then Rte 1016 to Chiang Saen.

The roads out of Mae Sai are considerably more direct but there are several forks where you have to make educated guesses on which way to go (signs are occasional). The two roads join not far from the Golden Triangle village of Mae Ma, where you have a choice of going east through Sop Ruak or south through Pa Thon. The eastern route is more scenic.