Take a through van or two tickets via Chiang Mai.
The distance from Pai to Chiang Rai is approximately 270 to 310 km. Unlike connections from Chiang Mai, there is no direct connection by bus, train, or plane. All options begin on Route 1095, the road with 762 curves, before turning north. The most comfortable option is a minibus. Terminal Green departs Pai at 7:00, 9:30, and 11:30 AM and costs approximately 650–700 baht. The journey takes 6 hours and 35 minutes. Pai Friendly Tour's VIP minibus departs at 10:00 AM and arrives in Chiang Rai at 3:30 PM for 720 baht.
Check the latest flight times and seat availability for Pai → Chiang Rai on 12Go.
Both modes of transport are frequently delayed, and this year several passengers on the Terminal Green Vans in Chiang Mai had to transfer to another van. The cheapest option is to take two tickets: the Prempracha Van to the Arcade Terminal in Chiang Mai and the Green Bus onward to Chiang Rai city center. The journey takes about 8.5 hours and costs a total of 410–550 baht. I would take both tickets and leave Pai at 8:00 AM. Below you will find all the through van connections, transfer options in Chiang Mai, private taxis, your arrival points in Chiang Rai, and the return journey.
Accommodation in Chiang Rai
This route ends in Chiang Rai. Search for hotels in Chiang Rai for your travel dates or narrow your search to the region you wish to visit. Filter for hotels with free cancellation if you'd like to book a room and decide later.
Open Booking.com with your travel dates · also on Expedia · Trip.com
My recommendations in every price category in Chiang Rai
The short answer
Take a minibus. Terminal Green departs from Pai at 7:00, 9:30, and 11:30 (approximately 650–700 baht, journey time about 6.5 hours). The Pai Friendly Tour departs at 10:00 for 720 baht (arriving at 3:30 p.m.). Alternatively, you can take Premprachas minibuses to Chiang Mai and then continue your journey with the Green Bus (journey time approximately 8.5 hours, cost: 410–550 baht including both tickets). By private car, the journey takes approximately 5.5 to 6 hours and costs approximately 4,000–8,400 baht. There are no flights or trains.
Key Facts (2026)
The shuttle buses depart from Pai between 7:00 and 11:30.
Terminal Green departs at 7:00, 9:30, and 11:30 (approx. 650–700 Baht), Aya Service at 7:00 (approx. 700–870 Baht), Pai Friendly Tour at 10:00 (720 Baht), and K Buddy from 7:00 (approx. 1,190 Baht). There are no further connections to Chiang Rai after 11:30 on the same day.
Add an hour to the timetable
According to this year's reviews on 12Go, the vans are delayed by about an hour, and some pick up additional passengers en route in northern Chiang Mai.
Two tickets via Chiang Mai cost approximately 410–550 Baht.
Take the van from Prempracha to Arcade (approx. 150 Baht, hourly from 7:00 am), then the Green Bus from Terminal 3 (260–400 Baht, 13 per day until 6:00 pm) to Terminal 1 of Chiang Rai next to the Night Bazaar.
A private car costs approximately 4,000–8,400 Baht.
The door-to-door journey takes approximately 5.5 to 6 hours, with optional stops along the way. Divided among three or four people, this is the most comfortable option.
Check where your van will drop you off.
The Green Bus terminates at Terminal 1 in the city. Terminal Green minibuses terminate at Terminal 2 or the Central Chiangrai shopping mall, both located on the highway south of the city. Therefore, plan to also use Grab.
November to February is the easy season.
From May to October, rain makes Route 1095 slippery, and from mid-February to April, smoke from the wildfire season obscures visibility.
All routes from Pai to Chiang Rai compared (2026)
The timetables and prices for vans are from 12Go (for a weekday in mid-November) and thailandlife.info (with slightly different information for Aya). Prices for Prempracha and Green Bus can be found in our travel guides for the Pai–Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai–Chiang Rai routes. Prices for private car transfers are from 12Go.
Watch live vans from Pai to Chiang Rai
12Go displays the Vans Terminal Green, Pai Friendly Tour and Aya with seats available for your desired date, as well as the combined van and bus ticket via Chiang Mai.
Sponsored link – We may receive a small commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
The through vehicles
Terminal Green is the most frequently booked provider. Vans depart from their office in central Pai at 7:00, 9:30, and 11:30 a.m. The journey takes 6 hours and 35 minutes and costs approximately 650–700 baht, depending on the provider. While the trips are advertised as direct, several passengers reported having to transfer to a second, overcrowded van in Chiang Mai between February and June of this year. One passenger even reported getting off at a shopping mall on the highway. Terminal Green also offers a longer trip to the border at Chiang Khong (approximately 8.5 hours) if Laos is the next destination.
Pai Friendly Tour's VIP minivan departs from the Waykeeper office at 10:00 AM and arrives at the Chiang Rai office at 3:30 PM for 720 baht. According to their website, it's the fastest and has slightly better ratings on 12Go; however, passengers report that it makes a stop in North Chiang Mai to pick up more passengers, resulting in a delay of about an hour. Aya Service departs at 7:00 AM for approximately 700–870 baht, and K Buddy offers departures at 7:00 AM, 8:30 AM, and 12:30 PM for approximately 1,190 baht (journey time approximately 8 hours). Inquire about baggage fees when booking, as one review this year reported an argument at their office.
No matter which van you take, plan to arrive an hour after the time indicated on your ticket, and don't book anything in Chiang Rai for that evening that you can't reschedule.
Two tickets via Chiang Mai
That's how I would do it. It's cheaper, takes about the same amount of time as the through minibuses, even factoring in their delays, and you cover the second half of the journey on a regular bus instead of a minibus. Take the minibus from Prempracha from the bus station in Pai on the main road. It departs hourly from 7:00 AM for about 150 baht at the ticket counter to the Arcade Terminal in Chiang Mai, and the journey takes about 3.5 to 4 hours. The Green Bus to Chiang Rai departs from Terminal 3, the Green Bus building in the same Arcade Terminal, 13 times a day until 6:00 PM. Fares range from 260 to 290 baht in express class and from 360 to 400 baht in VIP class.
The 7:00 AM van arrives at Arcade around 11:00 AM, in time for the 12:15 PM VIP train, arriving in Chiang Rai around 3:35 PM. The 8:00 AM van arrives at Arcade around 12:00 PM, in time for the 1:00 PM VIP train, arriving in Chiang Rai around 4:20 PM. The bus terminates at Terminal 1 next to the Night Bazaar, from which most hotels are within walking distance – unlike the through vans. 12Go also offers a combined ticket for both services at 9:00 AM. The journey takes approximately 9 hours, including a one-hour layover in Chiang Mai, and costs around 510–520 baht. Passengers can still transfer independently.
By private car
A private car is the only way to arrive without transfers or detours. The door-to-door journey takes approximately 5.5 to 6 hours and costs between 4,000 and 8,400 baht on 12Go, depending on the size of the car. Guesthouses in Pai also offer this service. Dividing the cost by four people, a cheaper car costs about 1,000 to 1,100 baht per person—barely more than a seat in a minibus. On the way, you can stop at the White Temple, which is 13 km before Chiang Rai.
The best-rated hotels in Chiang Rai
Here is my ranking of the 10 best hotels in Chiang Rai. Each button will take you directly to the hotel's page on Booking.com, where you can enter your travel dates.
Arrival in Chiang Rai
Your arrival point depends on your booking. The Green Bus stops at Terminal 2, 7 km south of the city on the expressway, and terminates at Terminal 1 in the city center next to the Night Bazaar. Stay there. Terminal Green vans stop at Terminal 2 or the Central Chiangrai Shopping Mall, both on the expressway south of the city. Pai Friendly Tour stops at the Waykeeper's Office in Chiang Rai. From the expressway, you can quickly reach the city center using Grab. Our Chiang Rai guide will provide information on temples and recommended lengths of stay.
Chiang Rai to Pai
In the other direction, the vans depart earlier from Chiang Rai. Pai Friendly Tour offers three departures from its office in Chiang Rai starting at 6:30 a.m. (approximately 6 hours travel time, from about 1,090 baht). K Buddy picks up passengers from hotels in Chiang Rai at 5:00 a.m. and arrives in Pai at 1:00 p.m. (approximately 1,190 baht). The last departure to Pai is around 4:30 p.m.
The two-ticket option also works in this direction. Take a Green Bus from Terminal 1 to Chiang Mai in the morning (approximately 3.5 to 4 hours) and then a Prempracha or Aya van from the Arcade Terminal to Pai. The 12Go connection departs Terminal 1 at 10:00 AM and arrives in Pai at 7:50 PM for approximately 850 baht. Since the 762 curves are encountered at dusk, I would recommend taking an earlier bus and arranging your own connection. A private car costs approximately 4,600–5,100 baht. Our guidebooks for the Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai to Pai routes cover both legs of the journey in full.
Watch live vans from Chiang Rai to Pai
The same 12Go board for the return trip to Pai, with the vans, the bus and van tickets, and the private cars.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions about the journey from Pai to Chiang Rai.
By minibus. Terminal Green departs at 7:00, 9:30, and 11:30 for approximately 650–700 baht, and the Pai Friendly Tour departs at 10:00 for 720 baht. Alternatively, you can take Prempracha's minibus to Chiang Mai and then continue with the Green Bus (total cost approximately 410–550 baht). A private car costs approximately 4,000–8,400 baht.
There are no regular coaches, only minibuses. Terminal Green and Pai Friendly Tour also offer minibuses, but these travel through or near Chiang Mai, where some passengers have to transfer to another minibus. The only regular coach on this route is the Green Bus from Chiang Mai.
The journey takes approximately 5.5 to 7 hours by direct minibus (allow for a one-hour delay), approximately 8.5 hours with a transfer in Chiang Mai, and approximately 5.5 to 6 hours by private car.
In practice, yes. All routes start in Pai on Route 1095 towards Chiang Mai, and the through minibuses either go around the northern outskirts of the city or directly into the city. The cheapest option is to change buses there yourself.
Approximately 4,000–8,400 Baht for the car with 12Go, depending on size, for about 5.5 to 6 hours door to door.
No. Pai Airport has not had scheduled flights since 2017, so any booking site showing a flight is not legitimate. A flight via Chiang Mai would involve a layover in Bangkok, which takes longer than traveling by van.
It depends on the specific company. Terminal Green terminates at Terminal 2 or at the Central Chiangrai shopping mall south of the city, Pai Friendly Tour at the Waykeeper office, and the Green Bus via Chiang Mai at Terminal 1 next to the night bazaar.
Pai Friendly Tour vans depart from Chiang Rai starting at 6:30 AM (approximately a 6-hour journey, price around 1,090 Baht). Alternatively, you can take the Green Bus to Chiang Mai and from there a Prempracha van to Pai. The last departure is around 4:30 PM.
Sources
The journey times and prices for minibuses shown on this page are taken from these timetables.
Compare prices on the major booking portals and filter for rooms with free cancellation if you want to book now and decide later.
Compare prices on Booking.com
Compare prices on Trip.com
We may receive a commission for bookings made through these links – this will not incur any additional costs for you. Learn more.
Further from Chiang Rai
The next stage, with the fastest and cheapest way to get there.
You might also like this
Best time to travel to Thailand
The best time to travel is from November to February; the rest of the year is best on the east coast.
Thailand on a budget
Thailand for less money, without sacrificing the best
Is Thailand safe?
What actually poses risks, what is only mentioned in the news, and what do four government advisories say – destination by destination?
Thailand Visa and Entry Requirements
Who is allowed to enter visa-free, what entry controls are in place, what is the TDAC, and how can you extend your stay?
Ethical elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai
No riding, no shows, and the protected areas where you watch rather than wash.
I lived in Bangkok for four years and traveled throughout the country from there. The guidebooks reflect my personal opinion and are written as I would explain things to a friend planning a trip.
Ready to create your travel itinerary?
Use our free trip planner to save places, organize days, and share your trip.
Community
Comments 0
Start the conversation.