Most of your transportation options leave from the Chiang Mai "Arcade" bus station on Kaew Nawarat Road (not the "Chang Peuak" bus station). The bus station's telephone number is 053 242 664 (international +66 53 242 664). The direct number of the Pai bus company is 053 304 748 (international +66 53 304 748).

For those of you who will be landing at Chiang Mai Airport and then heading to Arcade, you should allow at least 40 minutes of travel time as they are on opposite sides of town and sometimes traffic is nasty (plus extra time to purchase bus tickets in advance, as explained below). Although you can get to Arcade using the private taxis, minivans, or red two-row pickup truck taxis who will tout you endlessly and overcharge you ridiculously (a shared two-row pickup truck taxi to the airport should be no more than 50 baht per person if others are in the vehicle too), please be aware that Chiang Mai has a wonderful, under-promoted (thanks to mafia lobbying groups) public air-conditioned local bus service from the Airport directly to Arcade. Click here for a printable route map. This is a great option with great service and it is only about 15 baht. It goes all around Chiang Mai.

Ordinary Non-Aircon Bus

To get to Pai, go to the Arcade Bus Station.

Buses leave:

07:00 am, 09:00 am, 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, 02:00 pm, 04:00 pm

Purchase tickets at the bus station ticket counter. Numbered seats are pre-assigned. All the good seats are gone 30 minutes before departure—show up early. If someone is sitting in your seat, tell the conductor immediately so he can reseat them before the bus gets packed.

In the low season (July-October), the bus company may substitute a minivan for some of the less popular bus runs (especially 7am).

Note: as explained below, as of January 2007 there is no longer a difference between the non-aircon and so-called "aircon" bus fare. However, you may now choose the fine #24 Golden Dragon...

#24 Golden Dragon Half-Bus (Not Minivan)

This is an exciting new transport option that actually doesn't suck. For more info, see below. Bus leaves from the Chiang Mai Arcade Bus Station at 7:30am every day (only one departure) and goes only to Pai (not Mae Hong Son). They are still toying with the routes and times so you may want to call the station the day before just to make sure. It will be mandatory for you to show up the instant that tickets go on sale in order to get a ticket.

Time: 7:30am

Cost: 150 baht

Minivan and Taxi

There is no set schedule, however minivan and taxi drivers swarm around the Chiang Mai Arcade bus ticket counter around 08:00 am, 10:30 am, and sometimes 12:30 pm.

You can also book minivan or taxis from many guesthouses in Chiang Mai, though these are really the same guys that go to Arcade and after they pick you up, they will circle around until they have a full vehicle.

A minivan or taxi ride generally costs 150-160 B per person for a full vehicle. You might also consider renting a whole minivan or taxi for 1500-2000 B one way.

Airplane!

Regular, daily, two-way airplane service between Chiang Mai and Pai began on 1 February, 2007. See details below.

The humble Pai bus station is right downtown. Purchase tickets on the bus. For ordinary buses, there are no assigned seats. It is important to stake out a seat at least 30 minutes in advance to guarantee a place to sit. As far as I know, the station has no telephone number.

Buses leave:

08:30 am, 10:30 am, 12:00 noon, 02:00 pm, 04:00 pm

In the low season (July-October), the bus company may substitute a minivan for some of the less popular bus runs.

Note: as explained below, as of January 2007 there is no longer a difference between the non-aircon and so-called "aircon" bus fare. However, you may now choose the fine #24 Golden Dragon...

#24 Golden Dragon Half-Bus (Not Minivan)

This is an exciting new transport option that actually doesn't suck. For more info, see below. Bus leaves from the Pai bus station at 2:00pm every day (only one departure). They are still toying with the routes and times, so check at the station. Visit the station in the morning to check if the bus is going and buy an advance ticket.

Time: 2:00pm

Cost: 150 baht

Minivan and Taxi

Drivers hang out around Wat Klang (just down the street from the bus station) at roughly the same time as the 8:30am, 10:30am, and 12:00 noon bus departures. There is no set schedule: when they have enough people, they go.

A minivan or taxi ride generally costs 150-160 B per person for a full vehicle. You might also consider renting a whole minivan or taxi for 1500-2000 B one way.

Airplane!

Regular, daily, two-way airplane service between Chiang Mai and Pai began on 1 February, 2007. See details below.

Ordinary Non-Aircon Bus

The buses are aging behemoths which crawl up or down the windy mountain roads in 3-4 hours, although to many, the fact that they take it slow is actually a blessing (see minivans below).

When traveling by bus, is absolutely critical to arrive at least 30 minutes before departure, so that you can reserve (from Chiang Mai) or stake out (from Pai) an actual seat. Buses are often packed beyond Guinness-Book-of-World-Records full, and believe me, you don't want to be standing, leaning, or leaned upon for 4 hours. While riding, always remember that this is part of the entertainment.

The bus makes only one stop, for 15 minutes, at a small town called Mae Sae that is 1 hour from Pai and 3 hours from Chiang Mai, where there is food and toilets. Be sure you leave the bus station (especially Chiang Mai) with an empty bladder!

If you've been to Pai before, you may wonder what happened to the "aircon buses." Up until January 2007, the regular buses used be divided between non-aircon and aircon buses (which cost about 40 baht more). Unfortunately, the aircon bus windows do not open and the aging aircon units, when they worked, rarely had the power to keep the bus cool. So the bus company has finally admitted this by charging the same amount they do for the non-aircon buses. If you arrive at the bus station and encounter an ordinary bus whose windows are sealed shut, you may want to wait for the next departure.

Fortunately, in January 2007, the bus company finally reached into their deep pockets and purchased the Golden Dragon...

#24 Golden Dragon Half-Bus(Not Minivan)

This is an exciting new transport option that actually doesn't suck. As of January 2007, there is one Golden Dragon Half-Bus in the fleet, #24:

This vehicle is significantly wider and taller than a minivan, with more legroom than a minivan (though the seats are still Thai-narrow), aircon that actually works (unlike a minivan), but it is only half the length of an ordinary bus.

The trip is much quieter than an ordinary bus, and in the few rides I've heard of, the driver actually drove as if his life meant something. Not bad.

Minivan

Several minivans a day fly both ways between Pai and Chiang Mai in 2-3 hours, careening around each corner, driven in a way which can only stem from the deeply-held Thai belief in reincarnation. I have been on one minivan where the passengers revolted and refused to let the driver continue.

Minivan drivers will hang out at the departure point, usually well past their stated departure time, until they have managed to find and pack 10-12 people into their tiny vehicles. In Chiang Mai, they will often then circle around guesthouses for some more folks to sardine. This effect is intensified in the November-March high season, and even moreso in the recent economy where the driver pays more than 500 B in one-way fuel costs.

If you are a tall or even average-sized foreigner, strongly consider the bus or taxi instead (the bus seats are also small and close together, but at least you have a chance of getting a bus seat with no seats in front of it, or sticking your legs out into the aisle). If you are Thai-sized and steel-nerved, the minivan might work out.

If you must take a minivan for some reason, consider getting a few friends and renting out a whole minivan for yourself for around 1500-2000 B one way.

All minivans technically have air conditioners, but most of them are woefully underpowered during hot times of the year, and the driver often turns them down to save fuel costs. For that reason, sitting in the front or second row may be a life-saver for you.

Taxi

There are also covered pickup truck taxis with two rows of seats in the back ("sawng teeo" in Thai). They tend to drive more sanely than the minivans, however typically you will not be able to see forward and this causes many folks to get ill on the windy road. Also, during dry parts of the year you will get a good coating of road dust. If you can sit in the front, this may well be the most comfortable way to get to Pai.

Alirplane

On 1 February 2007, after a few false starts, the small Thai carrier Siam General Aviation (SGA) now offers one daily, 1450 B one way, 14-seater, 20 minute flights from Chiang Mai to Pai and back again. As described in my journal page here, they have been fancying up the airport and it looks like Nok Air will be doing the ticketing, so you might be able to book a ticket through Nok too.