Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, White temple & Golden triangle

Adventure called...and I answered! Very long FULL-Day trip, however it was Amazing and I Highly Recommend it. You will see amazing landscapes, meet unique people and visit the Golden Triangle area with it's beautiful Wats, Pagodas, and Statues. The Van Driver was safe, I wore a seat belt, and the Tour Guide spoke English. The rest stops had food, drinks, toilets, and souvenirs...bring change or small denominations of Baht!

I agree with other travelers, it’s too much for one day. The journey to Chiang Rai was fine and an hour was plenty of time. We didn’t pay extra to see the women at the Longneck village because it seemed odd to pay to see someone, but there was some stalls there for shopping. The journey to the Golden Triangle was far but the boat ride was very nice and I enjoyed getting to cross over to Laos and do a little shopping. After that though we drove to the Myanmar border just to look at it which was odd and not worth the time. The drive back was 4.5 hours and exhausting. I’m mostly glad I went but it was a lot for one day

It is worth seeing all the highlights of the trip, maybe except of the hot springs. These are just two hot basins in the middle of a super busy parking, which is half way between Chiang Mai and the White Temple so everyone stops there. The Temple is breathtaking but quite small and thus crowded. One hour is a minimum to see it and explore the surroundings, which are also quite interesting. Yet we were only given 45 mins and that was not enough to see everything. The next stop is the Karen Tribe village. It is an interesting cultural phenomenon, yet it feels super awkward to take pictures and look at the long neck women. The Golden Triangle is a nice spot to take some pictures but the boat trip to Laos doesn't make much sense as there is nothing much on the river bank, except for an overpriced market. Last but not least, the journey itself is exhausting - out of 16 hours, we spent almost 10 on the bus. The roads are in most cases not even finished but the traffic is allowed on them. They are extremely bumpy and the journey back to Chiang Mai was a nightmare. I would wait with recommending the trip until the roads are finished since for now this is simply dangerous.

This tour was too much to handle in one day, and very tourist-oriented. Boat trip to Laos was unnecessary, as they drop you at a "market" for 30 minutes that's selling knock-off handbags, sunglasses, liquor and cigarettes. The Karen Tribe "village" seemed exploitive and uncomfortable. If you didn't want to photograph the long-neck women, you were left in a "market" of sorts, being sold tourist trinkets. Guide was fine but was unable to really answer any questions beyond opium history of Thailand. Driving was dangerously fast and erratic, and had to be asked to slow down a few times. Would not recommend.