Mae Hong Son Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

From Chiang Mai there are two bus routes to Mae Hong Son: the 270km northern route through Pai (ordinary/air-con 142/200B, seven to eight hours) and the 368km southern route through Mae Sariang (ordinary/air-con 187/337B, eight to nine hours). The fare to Mae Sariang is (ordinary/air-con 100/180B). Two minivans also run to Chiang Mai via Pai (250B, seven hours) at 8am and 9am.

Although it may be longer, the southern route through Mae Sariang is much more comfortable because the bus stops every two hours for a 10- to 15-minute break, and larger buses – with large seats – are used. Buses to Mae Hong Son via Mae Sariang leave Chiang Mai’s Arcade bus station five times daily between 6.30am and 9pm. In the reverse direction, ordinary buses leave Mae Hong Son for Chiang Mai at 8am, 2pm, 8pm and 9pm; air-con buses depart at 6am, 10.30am and 9pm.

The Pai bus leaves the Chiang Mai Arcade station four times a day at 7am, 9am and 10.30am and 12.30pm. In the opposite direction, buses leave Mae Hong Son at 7am, 8.30am, 10.30am, 12.30pm and 4pm. The 4pm bus only goes as far as Pai. An air-con minivan (Pai 150B, Chiang Mai 250B) departs from Mae Hong Son at 10.30am and 12.30pm.

Buses to Pai (ordinary/air-con/air-con minibus 70/98/150B, three hours) also stop in Soppong (ordinary/air-con/air-con minibus 45/60/150B, 1½ hours), and buses to Mae Sariang stop in Khun Yuam (ordinary/air-con 50/85B, 1½ hours).

The northern route through Pai, originally built by the Japanese in WWII, is very winding and offers spectacular views from time to time. Because the buses used on this road are smaller, they’re usually more crowded and the younger passengers tend to get motion sickness.

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Air

For many people the time saved flying from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son versus bus travel is worth the extra baht.

Nok Air (1318; www.nokair.com; airport office) A cheaper subsidiary of Thai Airways, it flies to Chiang Mai twice a day for 900B.

PB Air (0 5361 4369; www.pbair.com) Flies direct from Bangkok to Mae Hong Son (2370B). Its office is at the entrance to the airport.

Thai Airways (0 5361 2220/1194; www.thaiairways.com; 71 Th Singhanat Bamrung; 8am-5pm Mon-Fri) Has flights to Mae Hong Son from Chiang Mai four times daily (1270B, 35 minutes). It also has an office at the airport (open 8.30am to 5.30pm).

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