Visiting the Underrated Attractions
Lampang city is a lesser-visited location in Northern Thailand close to the stunning floating pagodas and hot springs. The Lampang Region is home to beautiful and vast forests, extremely interesting temples, and is a great place to try Northern Thai cuisine. As far as temples go, the floating pagodas at Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat were some of the most unique we’ve seen. The white and gold pagodas are nestled atop the beautiful mountain peaks that yield amazing views of the surrounding forests and villages. The hot springs and waterfall in Chae Son National Park are a great representation of the beautiful nature in the Lampang district and a perfect addition to a day trip to see the floating pagodas. The drive around these locations is almost as beautiful as the attractions are!
Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, we earn a commission if you make a purchase.
How to Get to Thailand’s Floating Pagodas
From Lampang
For this day trip, we highly recommend staying in Lampang city (stay in Memmoth Hostel!) for two nights and using your full day to drive out to the floating pagodas and hot springs. From Lampang, you can rent a moped or a car to get to the pagodas. Moped rentals in Lampang cost about 200-450 baht ($5-12) a day depending on the quality of the moped. We recommend getting at least a mid-tier moped as there are hills that you’ll want a good moped to overcome. Overall, the roads are fairly nice and the drives were beautiful from Lampang!
From Chiang Mai
If you want to visit the floating pagodas as a day trip from Chiang Mai, we highly recommend doing it with a tour because five hours on a moped is really just unpleasant. Plus, if you go with a tour, they’ll usually bring you to see other temples as well! Check out this tour from Chiang Mai, which will bring you to the floating pagodas as well as another of Lampang’s beautiful temples!
Warning: Thailand requires that foreigners have an international motorbike license to rent a moped. We didn’t have one, and we never had any issues renting or driving mopeds in Thailand. Just be aware that driving without one means you risk being fined! Also, be aware that when renting a moped, you’ll typically have to hand over a passport as collateral, and you’ll get it back when you return the moped.
What to Wear to Thailand’s Floating Pagodas
When visiting the pagodas (and really any temples in Thailand) you really should have your knees and shoulders covered. It gets hot in Thailand, so we recommend getting loose clothes that won’t stick to you. Maddie would typically wear a tank top and throw on a really light scarf to enter temples, and that worked well! There were definitely people at the floating pagodas who weren’t following the typical temple dress code, but we didn’t see anyone get turned away. However, it’s definitely the respectful thing to do to cover up.
Floating Pagodas – Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat
It takes about an hour to get from downtown Lampang to floating pagodas at Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat. From Chiang Mai, this journey is about 2.5 hours. You’ll arrive at this parking lot and buy tickets for 490 baht ($13.50). Then, a pick up truck will take you on a steep and bumpy 5-minute ride to the upper parking area. From there, you’ll have a short hike of mostly stairs (about 20 minutes) to the Sky Pagodas. Once you’ve reached the pagodas, there are a few different shrines you can explore.
From the shrine shown above, you’ll have stunning views of the other floating pagodas, which unfortunately you can’t reach by foot. They’re certainly a sight to behold!
After visiting the temples, we recommend stopping by the cafe where the truck had previously dropped you off for a coffee or tea – this is a beautiful spot to enjoy the views.
The Floating Pagodas are some of the most unique temples in the world, and are definitely worth the trip! We stopped at this restaurant for lunch and got a delicious chicken dish for very cheap. This is around 10 minutes away from the floating pagodas and in the direction of Chae Son National Park. The owner is super nice and speaks English!
Hot Springs at Chae Son National Park
Chae Son National Park is about 30 minutes away from the floating pagodas, which makes it a great addition to your day trip! The entrance fee was 200 baht ($5.50). We first visited the Chae Son Waterfall, which is a short walk from the parking lot. The waterfall was fairly strong and the upper part is closed during the wet season, so we didn’t stay too long. However, it is a cool sight!
After seeing the waterfall, head back to the parking lot and find your way to the hot springs. Here, you can walk around them on the designated paths. The water is literally boiling so visitors are not allowed to go in the upper hot springs.
However, if you keep walking down, you’ll see people wading or dipping their feet in the hot water. There are also huts where you can dip your whole body in, as well as receive a number of wellness treatments.
You can also stay in the national park in one of the designated hotels, if you want to fully indulge in both the beautiful nature and many wellness treatments.
The Drive Back to Lampang
This deserves its own section in this blog post; we would do the drive from Chae Son National Park to Lampang even if we weren’t going to the park! The road passes through beautiful rice fields with tree-covered mountains as a backdrop.
The drive back to Lampang took around an hour and 15 minutes, although it flew by because we were driving through such beautiful scenery.
How to Get to Lampang
To get to Lampang from outside of northern Thailand, the fastest way to get to Lampang will be by flying into Chiang Mai (CNX) and taking a 1.5 hour bus from there. From most places within northern Thailand, you should be able to get a bus to Lampang.
Best Time of Year to Visit Northern Thailand
If you’re researching a trip to Thailand, you’ve likely come across the fact that different parts of the country have different rainy seasons. In northern Thailand, the dry season runs from November to May, but the best time to visit is between November and February. During this time, temperatures are noticeably cooler than the later months of the dry season, which you’ll certainly want if you’re not used to extreme heat!
That’s a Wrap!
The floating pagodas at Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat and hot springs at Chae Son National Park are a nice, relaxing day trip. These are attractions that are lesser-known and therefore not crowded at all. You can either stay two nights in Lampang City and do the ~3 hours of driving or leave from Chiang Mai and do more driving but not have to make the trek to Lampang City. Either way, these attractions are great for those interested in nature, religion, or just beautiful sights in general. Let us know if you plan to go to the floating pagodas and hot springs!
Keep Exploring Thailand….
- The Best Things to Do in Chiang Rai
- The Ultimate Guide to the Chiang Mai Jungle Trek
- The Best Things to Do in Pai, Thailand
Traveling Southeast Asia? Check Out These All-Inclusive Trips
- Southeast Asia Highlights: 18 days including Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia
- Exploring Thailand: 15 days including the cultural north and islands of the south
- Laos to Northern Thailand: 14 days of culture, trekking, and delicious food
- Discover Cambodia: 9 days including Ho Chi Minh City, Cambodia, and Bangkok
- 8 Days in Southern Thailand: Koh Samui, Khao Sok, Krabi and Bangkok
- Indonesia Highlights: 22 days including Java, Bali and Lombok
- Vietnam Highlights: 11 days including Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, & More!
- Jungle Hikes and Island Nights: 14 days including South Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore
- Wanderlust Sailing: 7 days sailing through South Thailand
Our Favorite Travel Resources
Accommodations: We use Booking.com for hotels and HostelWorld for hostels. We also use VRBO or TrustedHousesitters for longer stays.
Flights: We recommend using Skyscanner to find the cheapest and best flights.
Ground Transport: We use 12Go and Omio for buses and private transfers, and rentalcars.com and Discover Cars for rental cars.
Activities: GetYourGuide and Viator are the best websites for booking organized tours.
International Medical Insurance: We highly recommend SafetyWing for Digital Nomads and HeyMondo for those not traveling full-time, or who frequently engage in higher-risk adventure activities.
eSIM: We recommend Airalo or Holafly for getting data internationally.
Check out our Travel Resources Page for more of our favorite travel-related products and services!
