whats the transport like in chiang mai

[wondercul]

Is it practical to get around with public transport or must you have your own motorbike?

Are the streets total chaos like in Bangkok? I would not ride a motorbike there.

How much is it to rent one in Chiang Mai?

[uptheos]

If you live in town dead easy, no need for a bike.

If you like to explore or live outside town you need a vehicle.

The traffic is getting awful, but not as bad as BKK.

[masuk]

No buses, no taxis cruising the streets. Plenty of red vans @ 20 baht within the city. Also tuk-tuks, but more expensive.

If you buy a map and it shows the underground stations - don't believe it!

[JulieM]

Bikes rent for 150-250 per day.

[wondercul]

So to clarify, the red vans offer a flat rate of 20 baht and cover most of the city? All of it?

What do you mean don't beleive underground stations?

[uptheos]

So to clarify, the red vans offer a flat rate of 20 baht and cover most of the city? All of it?

What do you mean don't beleive underground stations?

Stop a red van, state your destination and if he nods yes get in and pay 20 baht at the end, DON'T ask the price.

If he wants more he will tell you BEFORE you get and then it's up to you.

Out of the way trips then you need to bargain.

Try and stand on the side of the street in the direction you want to go.

I think for around town they are great.

[JulieM]

There are no underground stations. CM doesn't have a subway.

[JulieM]

The problem most visitors have with the "red pick-up trucks" is that you have to be able to tell the driver where you want to go. If you can do that, it's dead easy.

[pomchop]

They aren't red "vans" they are red PICK UP TRUCKS. They have two rows of seats in the back which is why they are called SONG (two) TAEOWS (row)

[uptheos]

They aren't red "vans" they are red PICK UP TRUCKS. They have two rows of seats in the back which is why they are called SONG (two) TAEOWS (row)

Well pointed out, with all the red songtheaw's in Chiang Mai and no red vans, the OP might wait a long time.

[Chicog]

They aren't red "vans" they are red PICK UP TRUCKS. They have two rows of seats in the back which is why they are called SONG (two) TAEOWS (row)

Oh calm down, does it really matter?

He wants to know how to use them, not the eytomological history behind their name.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Now that you mention int, 'van' originates from caravan and means a covered boxlike motor vehicle, used for transporting goods or people.

I say Sonthaews/Songtaos/Songtells/Tsongtoowies qualify.

Edited January 21, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[StevieH]

you don't have to have your own motorbike here but a scooter is a bloody brilliant way of seeing and getting to know the city. helps if you're at least a bit of an experienced rider mind.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

So to clarify, the red vans offer a flat rate of 20 baht and cover most of the city? All of it?

Pretty much. Some areas easier than others. Going towards downtown or around downtown is easier than going in an outbound direction.

When going outbound it's sometimes easier to break up the trip and get another one going further out, or even one of the non-red ones on a fixed route to surrounding districts.

There are fewer of them at night, especially late at night. Tuk tuks are also an option; with 2-3-4 people they're not that much more expensive (or cheaper even with 3-4), they tend to be around late at night, and will take you exactly to the door of wherever you're going.

Anyway it mostly depends if you live downtown or not. (Downtown being roughly inside the Superhighway / Aom Muang ring. Though if I lived along Nimmanhaemin or the Canal Road then I would likely still want a bike.

Meter taxis don't exist in Chiang Mai.^*

*There are vehicles with a big 'taxi meter' sign, yet they don't use the meter. Best to disregard.

Edited January 21, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[masuk]

There are no underground stations. CM doesn't have a subway.

Some time in the recent past, an underground system was mooted, but unknown powers thwarted that, same as with municipal buses I believe.

A German designed map came out recently showing the stations, but they don't exist.

Sheltered bus stops do exist, and have recently been renewed, but I have yet to know why.

[Loptr]

Don't forget the Tuk Tuks, they will take you anywhere you want to go, but at a higher price than the Song Taews...

The traffic around the moat and in the old city is pretty bad, especially around Tha Phae Gate... The biggest hinderance to traffic are the tourists themselves, which are bloody clueless as to what is going on around them...

[Mousehound]

Rent a scooter is good if:

You are already experienced at riding a scooter

Have a valid license from your own country and have an international license

Don't give them your passport as a deposit

[monkey dog]

walk its compact. walking around the moat is good. walk from train station to thapae gate. from there you can walk to most of what you need to. not really any need to go too far. sometimes i stay there for month or two an never go anywhere at all except by foot. been many times.

Edited January 21, 2015 by monkey dog

[FolkGuitar]

Around town (inside the Superhighway ring road,) you can find the red trucks (called songtaow or seelor) coming along the streets every 20-30 seconds. Within the town area they do NOT have a fixed route, but will take you to your destination... if they know it. It's best to give them a major geographic location such as one of the Gates around the city, one of the more well-known buildings or shopping areas, or a major street intersection. Simply duck your head into the cab window of the stopped truck and say the destination to the driver. If he nods his head, just get into the back of the truck. As said before, there is no need to negotiate a fare this way. If you DO as a price, the driver will assume that you don't know that most all rides withing the Superhighway should cost 20 baht. (Going from downtown to an area across the river might cost 30 baht.) So long as the driver just nods his head, you pay 20 baht. If he says 60 baht, just smile and wave him on, stopping the next truck to come along, unless, of course, you don't mind paying triple the normal fare. If you ask a price, the driver may well ask for 200 baht believing you to be a tourist not knowing the real prices. I've seen one driver charge 600 baht to two young Chinese tourists for a ride from Thapae Gate to Kad Suan Kaew Shopping Mall, a ride that cost me 20 baht.

If there are other passengers in the truck, the driver may not go directly to your own destination. He may take the others first, so be prepared for a bit of sight seeing. Usually it only increases your travel time by a few minutes, but if you are in a hurry, do be aware that this can happen.

There are trucks that have other colors too. These trucks do follow fixed routes, and usually will go longer distances outside the city limits. Most have final city destinations in town of either Warrarote Market, Chiang Puak bus station, or Chiang Mai Gate. If these are your destinations as well, you can flag down these colored trucks once you learn which one goes where.

Edited January 22, 2015 by FolkGuitar

[pomchop]

They aren't red "vans" they are red PICK UP TRUCKS. They have two rows of seats in the back which is why they are called SONG (two) TAEOWS (row)

Oh calm down, does it really matter?

He wants to know how to use them, not the eytomological history behind their name.

Sure go stand on the street corner in CM and wait for a red VAN to pick you up and see how that goes. So yes, for someone who obviously doesn't know CM, how to get around or what to look for it does matter.

[islandguy]

I have mostly found the song taw in Chiang Mai convenient and helpful. The tuk tuks are another story.

[banagan]

No public transport. Just the red cars and tuk tuk's which are ok for short hops in the city centre.

You'll need a scooter if you plan on leaving the old town.

[Catoni]

Spending four months in Chiang Mai and the surrounding area in 2013... I found transportation to be excellent. No need for a motorbike.. Traffic at first surprised me... and the words "organized chaos' came to mind.

But you get used to it. You also learn how to cross busy intersections like by Art Cafe and Thapea Gate. I would make eye contact with drivers as I slowly walk out into the street and wave my hand up and down towards them... and they would stop. Waving your hand up in down at waist level (like a "slow or stop please" motion) seems to work well.... They aren't going to intentionally run you down... (But be ready to move quickly if they don't slow). Like anywhere in the world... it's possible to have idiots that ignore stop lights or people wishing to cross.. happened to me once on Hueykeaw Road down at Malin Plaza..... even with the light against them... one truck just blasted through... I almost got hit. So just be aware and observant...

Songthaews are always coming by .....you can haggle a bit with the driver if you know a few words of Thai.... learn to count by tens in Thai... very helpful. Cheaper than Tuk tuks . You can haggle a bit with tuk tuk drivers also.... but I found them to be more expensive than Songthaews. Most expensive would be regular taxis..... I only used one...... when I first arrived. The further you go with a Tuk tuk...... the higher the cost... of course.

You can take yellow Songthaews north outside the city..... like to Chiang Dao. Very cheap......take Songthaews whenever possible...

Really helps if you learn some basic Thai..... and learn to count in tens in Thai. In my four months there I was learning quickly.... doing well and comfortable in day to day dealings.... then come back to Canada and I've forgotten almost all of what I learned....

Have a wonderful time...and don't worry about transportation... I can't wait to return there.... stuck back in freezing Canada right now...

[Catoni]

No public transport. Just the red cars and tuk tuk's which are ok for short hops in the city centre.

You'll need a scooter if you plan on leaving the old town.

Tuk Tuks and Songthaews cover a lot more area than just the old town inside the moat.... and if you're heading heading from Chiang Mai north to Chiang Dao or further..... you can take the yellow Songthaews on Chang Phuak Road near the bus station just a few blocks north of the north wall... Or you can take the busses from the Chang Phuak Bus Terminal there..

One thing there is no shortage of .... is transportation of all kinds... at least that's what I found.. Unless things have changed a lot since June 2013.

[Suradit69]

No buses, no taxis cruising the streets. Plenty of red vans @ 20 baht within the city. Also tuk-tuks, but more expensive.

If you buy a map and it shows the underground stations - don't believe it!

"If you buy a map and it shows the underground stations - don't believe it!"

On Thai Visa if you say something like this you have to attach one of these.

TV is awash with literalists and others who fall prey to the April 1st fake "news" announcement every year. Naïveté is sometimes charming, at other times alarming and on TV it explains why a lot of factoids pass for facts.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Suradit69

[masuk]

No buses, no taxis cruising the streets. Plenty of red vans @ 20 baht within the city. Also tuk-tuks, but more expensive.

If you buy a map and it shows the underground stations - don't believe it!

"If you buy a map and it shows the underground stations - don't believe it!"

On Thai Visa if you say something like this you have to attach one of these.

TV is awash with literalists and others who fall prey to the April 1st fake "news" announcement every year. Naïveté is sometimes charming, at other times alarming and on TV it explains why a lot of factoids pass for facts.

Huh? I'm stating a fact. In Chiang Mai there is at least one foreign produced map showing the train stations for the city of Chiang Mai. These in fact DO NOT EXIST.

Maybe the map producers need to add the SARCASM tag

[ChiangmaiRob]

They aren't red "vans" they are red PICK UP TRUCKS. They have two rows of seats in the back which is why they are called SONG (two) TAEOWS (row)

Oh calm down, does it really matter?

He wants to know how to use them, not the eytomological history behind their name.

Sure go stand on the street corner in CM and wait for a red VAN to pick you up and see how that goes. So yes, for someone who obviously doesn't know CM, how to get around or what to look for it does matter.

I think you'd have to be pretty dim even as a newby, if you stand at the roadside waiting for a red "van" to come along, meanwhile watching all the red songtaeows full of passengers driving by ... I think the penny would drop quite quickly.

[wondercul]

Can we stay on topic? Or at least to useful topics.

[ByblosYuNaiSoi]

Question for the troops: does anyone have a link to a color-coded map of (non-red) songthaew routes? I think I remember seeing one awhile back, but can't find it.

To OP - I agree with most everything above. Below is a particular impression.

1. Taxis don't work well here; no meters, as in BKK, even though they say "meter taxi."

2. Red songthaews are great for in and near; but you must know where you are going, and how to ask for it. Don't haggle; it's 20 B inside, and 30 B to the big "corner malls."

3. Different color songthaews can take you far out of the city for cheaply, but you have to learn the routes and terminal stops. (See request above)

4. Tuk-tuks are an overpriced, polluting menace in my opinion. But now n then, they are the only option, especially at night. Be ready to bargain (nicely and firmly).

5. Two wheeled rentals are abundant and not expensive

6. Walk! It's a great city for lots of walking. Crossing uncontrolled, streets as above: after you can make eye contact with drivers, smile a bit, walk out into the traffic with a little wave of the hand. It's "normal" here.

[pomchop]

They aren't red "vans" they are red PICK UP TRUCKS. They have two rows of seats in the back which is why they are called SONG (two) TAEOWS (row)

Oh calm down, does it really matter?

He wants to know how to use them, not the eytomological history behind their name.

Sure go stand on the street corner in CM and wait for a red VAN to pick you up and see how that goes. So yes, for someone who obviously doesn't know CM, how to get around or what to look for it does matter.

I think you'd have to be pretty dim even as a newby, if you stand at the roadside waiting for a red "van" to come along, meanwhile watching all the red songtaeows full of passengers driving by ... I think the penny would drop quite quickly.

Well I for one would rather have more and correct information rather then less information...but I agree that it would EVENTUALLY dawn on most anyone that the Red Songtaeows must be those red "vans" that somebody was talking about.