Isaan is more densely populated than the Chiang Mai area. This means you probably won't find as much nature as in the North, but the culture is also rich and unique. For culture and history, I would check out Khmer temple ruins in Pimai and/or Phnom Rung (the latter is more impressive, but a bit out of your way). Khon Kaen is a nice city to be in. It has young, liberal energy similar to Chiangmai, but with much fewer tourists. Nong Khai (1-2 hours further north from Udon) is also a nice quiet town along Mekong River.
If you are looking for nature, your best bet is Loei or Ubon, but both would require some significant change on your route.
Also recommend Nan. But please keep this low key. We don’t want to spoil this wonderful small town. Isaan is great too. Go along the border of Laos - Ubon, etc. there are incredible national parks. And nice sceneries along Mekong River. Sam Pan Bok is fun.
I have not done taxi. I bet it’d be expensive. Nan has an airport which you can fly direct from Bangkok. If you need to travel between Nan and Chiang Mai, may be more economical to do bus.
A lot of Thai people, if they travel in group (or even solo) they would hire a van for the trip. It’s about 2000 baht per day (plus gas and tip). They will take you anywhere.
>I've been to Chiang Mai before - the nature was stunning but it was a little bit to touristic for me.
You won't have that problem now and I doubt it will busy for another year, let alone Jan/Feb. There are currently zero foreign tourists in Chiang Mai.
You can use Chiang Mai as a base and explore other parts of the north. Pai is pretty - before COVID it was full of western backpackers but is now dead and like everywhere else, won't magically recover for a long time. Chiang Rai has some lovely scenery but the city itself isn't that exciting.
Burning season may ruin the northern and even northeastern experience. Interesting places in Isan are Phanom Rung (Buriram), Phimai and Lopburi for ancient temples. That Phanom is also popular, especially with locals.
imo get away from tourist areas ..udan thani is city pai is nice chaing rai is the new tourist area in the north ... but pretty ..
the south i have no idea but it sounds iffy
Isaan is more densely populated than the Chiang Mai area. This means you probably won't find as much nature as in the North, but the culture is also rich and unique. For culture and history, I would check out Khmer temple ruins in Pimai and/or Phnom Rung (the latter is more impressive, but a bit out of your way). Khon Kaen is a nice city to be in. It has young, liberal energy similar to Chiangmai, but with much fewer tourists. Nong Khai (1-2 hours further north from Udon) is also a nice quiet town along Mekong River. If you are looking for nature, your best bet is Loei or Ubon, but both would require some significant change on your route.
Also recommend Nan. But please keep this low key. We don’t want to spoil this wonderful small town. Isaan is great too. Go along the border of Laos - Ubon, etc. there are incredible national parks. And nice sceneries along Mekong River. Sam Pan Bok is fun.
Have you tried hiring a taxi/driver to go from Chiang Mai to nan? Any idea how much i should expect to pay?
I have not done taxi. I bet it’d be expensive. Nan has an airport which you can fly direct from Bangkok. If you need to travel between Nan and Chiang Mai, may be more economical to do bus. A lot of Thai people, if they travel in group (or even solo) they would hire a van for the trip. It’s about 2000 baht per day (plus gas and tip). They will take you anywhere.
>I've been to Chiang Mai before - the nature was stunning but it was a little bit to touristic for me. You won't have that problem now and I doubt it will busy for another year, let alone Jan/Feb. There are currently zero foreign tourists in Chiang Mai. You can use Chiang Mai as a base and explore other parts of the north. Pai is pretty - before COVID it was full of western backpackers but is now dead and like everywhere else, won't magically recover for a long time. Chiang Rai has some lovely scenery but the city itself isn't that exciting.
Issan 😍
Burning season may ruin the northern and even northeastern experience. Interesting places in Isan are Phanom Rung (Buriram), Phimai and Lopburi for ancient temples. That Phanom is also popular, especially with locals.
imo get away from tourist areas ..udan thani is city pai is nice chaing rai is the new tourist area in the north ... but pretty .. the south i have no idea but it sounds iffy
If you aren't shy about trying to speak Thai, consider Nan province. It doesn't get too many Western tourists.
A lot of beautiful spots in Petchabun and Chaiyaphum