Buses and minibuses go to Chiang Mai (Arcade terminal) and Mae Hong Son. Regular public buses take around 4 hours and charge about 80 baht; minibuses take around 3 hours and tickets (sold by travel agencies) cost about 160 baht. One strategy is to get to Pai using the public bus so that you can get an idea as to how winding the road is and then you can decide if you want to splash out and get the mini bus back to Chiang Mai.
To feel less travel sick and save some money take the regular public bus. The scenery is lovely and the winding roads are much easier on one's stomach if you take things slowly.
From Chiangmai: Local Bus from Chiang Mai to Pai leaves the Arcade Bus Station, five trips during a day (07:00, 08:30, 10:30, 12:30, 16:00). The trip takes some 3 hours and there is a comfort stop at the small half way village of Mae Sae (very good Northern sausages and traditional chicken curry noodle soup available as well as other necessities food water toilets (B3 to use them, as at all bus stations in Thailand!) et cetera). Bus trip costs as at Nov 2010 B150.
Minibuses and Small passenger trucks (song taew) carrying a dozen people also leaves from the bus station as often as there are sufficient passengers or full paying passenger. (cost of private hire is approximately 1200 or share for approximately 150 Baht). The rear seats approximately 10 people and is open air. The view and wind in your face is pleasant, but not the occasional exhaust fumes.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Pai
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Pai - updated Apr 2024
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Pai Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
