PING RIVER CRUISE IN CHIANG MAI – YES OR NO?

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There are lots of things to do in and from Chiang Mai – temples, excursions to waterfalls, temples, night markets, cute coffee shops, trips to elephant camps, cooking classes, temples, day markets, National Park day trips, and did I mention temples?

But there are also lesser known activities and a Ping River Cruise is one of them. During my four weeks in Chiang Mai I did not manage to see everything I had planned on but I did manage to go on the river cruise and will tell you all about it so you can decide if it would work for you.

Read on for a detailed run-down of how I booked it, what it was like, and whether I would recommend it for you!

All about my river cruise experience

Walking near the Ping River in Chiang Mai I saw the cute and colorful boats and decided I wanted to check out one of these cruises.

Booking my Cruise

To make it easy, I went ahead and booked this Ping River Cruise through Get Your Guide. There were several options:
a) Just a 2 hour cruise
b) A cruise with a stop for ice cream and a herbal drink
c) A cruise with ice cream, herbal drink, AND a meal

All of these options came either with a pick-up or by getting to the dock on your own. I had already seen the departure point on an earlier visit of Wat Chai Mongkol. It wasn’t too far from my accomodation, so I didn’t need a transfer.

However, if you have read any of my posts you can guess that I spent lots of time debating the pros and cons of the different options (I will spare you all I considered). Eventually, I decided to book the last tour of the day (4 pm) with included meal. The price was just about USD20 so quite reasonable (and only slightly more than the options without food). When booking a tour with a meal you are asked to state any dietary restrictions.

I booked only one day ahead – there is a boat every hour so it seems unlikely that they would all sell out. Unless you have a very specific time requirement there is no need to book weeks ahead.

Checking-in For the Cruise

This was actually trickier than expected.

The instructions stated that the cruise would leave from Wat Chai Mongkol. I already had a general idea of where to go as I had checked out Wat Chai Mongkol previously (it is one of my favorite temples in Chiang Mai!). It is next to the Anantara Hotelon the Western side of the Ping River and the entrance is clearly marked. So far, so good!

Entrance to Wat Chai Mongkol and to the river cruise

However, when I got there (plenty early as advised in the booking) I had a hard time finding the meeting point for the tour. After passing by the temple grounds I did find the dock with boats but no indication of where to check in.

This is the main dock and NOT where your boat will leave from

Luckily, I had read lots of reviews of the trip and knew that the check-in was at the Old Farmer Cafè. Unfortunately, I had no idea where that was!

But no worry – you won’t have that problem as I will tell you exactly where to go:

Once you arrive at Wat Chai Mongkol, you enter the temple area and walk all the way to the very back to the river (obviously). Don’t go down the main steps to the boats though. Instead, take the steps further left (near the pavillion with the Buddhist booklets).

You will see a docked boat that doubles as a cafè (and once you are close you can see the name on it). It will look like this:

This small boat/café is the place!

Inside there are some tables and you can buy food and drink (including something to take along on the boat if needed). And of course you check in there – they had my name and everything so once I found the café it was very easy.

When you check in, you will be asked for your meal choice – khao soi (the local specialty, a curry soup with chicken and noodles) or pad thai. I chose the first.

As I was so early I still had plenty of time to walk around and take pictures of the temple.

Wat Chai Mongkol is fairly busy with worshippers

You can also sit in a pretty pavillion and enjoy the view of the river while you wait:

By the way, if you run into problems finding the check-in place (unlikely after reading this) – no worries. The other passengers on my boat were running slightly late and when they were not there at 4 pm the lady at the check-in counter called them on the phone.

Luckily they made it – there were only the three of us on the boat so I would otherwise have been the only passenger.

The Cruise itself – or what you will see

Okay, here it is important to manage expectations. On this tour you will not see (m)any sights or important monuments. It is a scenic but very mellow ride.

I forgot to bring my seasickness bandies but had no problems at all. The water is very smooth and there is hardly any motion.

The canopy provides a good amount of shade and once you are on the river there is a breeze so even on a hot day this should be quite doable.

I was slightly disappointed as the driver/captain did not really point out or explain anything. Now, the tour description does state “no guide” so I can’t fault him for this but reading the reviews it seems that this varies quite a bit. Not sure if it depends on which cruise you take (just cruise/ice cream/full meal), on how many passengers there are, or most likely on the driver’s personality.

It wasn’t a big problem though as there was really nothing much that needed explanation.

So what do you see?

You pass by a number of fancy hotels, various mansions, backyards of smaller houses, and several bridges. You will also see people fishing (there seem to be lots of fish in the river as we saw several taking in their catch), kids playing near the water, people walking their dogs, birds flying overhead, laundry hung up to dry, small fields, etc. So basically you get a good idea of life near the river.

The ride took about 45 minutes until we got to the small restaurant. We had about 20 minutes to eat which was plenty of time.

The Food

As we had pre-ordered prior to boarding, the food was served pretty much as soon as we got there.

This was the best and most impressive khao soi I had while in Chiang Mai. It was somewhat spicy and luckily for once the chicken was in pieces (I find it difficult to get the meat off a chicken leg with chop sticks).

We also each got a small bottle of water and a herbal drink. They were out of lemongrass so I went with ginger (I believe they also had tamarind and longan). The drink was surprisingly sweet and still refreshing. Quite tasty and I wouldn’t mind ordering it again.

Finally, there was still ice cream – I got to choose two flavors. I went with strawberry and mango. While I didn’t love the strawberry (I should have gone with the strawberry sorbet that was also on offer), I thought the mango was delicious. Highly recommended!

The Return

After we ate it was time for the return trip. There was a bathroom if you needed one before getting back on the boat.

The restaurant has a very pretty herb garden. Our driver pointed out and explained several of the herbs in the garden (they were also labeled).

The return trip was a bit faster than the way there. One of the passengers asked whether we would take the same route back as there. And yes, it being a river, you will obviously travel back the way you came.

While it wasn’t dark yet, dusk gave the river a magical and tranquil atmosphere. Lights were on in some of the houses and gardens. A night-time cruise would be very pretty and we did actually see several boats with dinner cruises.

I believe this is the Anantara dinner cruise – it looked very fancy!

We made it back to the dock exactly on time by 6 pm. I loved the way the dock looked in the evening time!

At dusk, the dock had a mystical and calm vibe

So was the Ping River cruise worth it?

For me, it definitely was!

This is not one of those tours though that everyone absolutely has to do and everyone will love. If you are in Chiang Mai only for a day or two and have a packed schedule, it may not be worth it. It definitely is a more mellow, relaxed, and quiet activity.

But it does make a great filler activity and a nice change from touring temples and browsing crowded markets.

Who should go on the Cruise?

This activity would be especially well suited for mixed age groups with older guests included. (One of the other passengers said it is the “ideal senior citizen trip”). It would also be a great choice if you are worn out from running around town and checking out 100 temples, but don’t want to waste your time in Chiang Mai in your hotel room.

As the entire tour is only 2 hours and includes a meal it doesn’t take too much of your time. It would also be a good option if it is too hot to do much else as the river breeze will keep you more comfortable.

Is there anything else to be aware of?

While the Ping River Cruise is a great choice if you can’t walk far (or just don’t want to) you will have to go down some steps, up a small ramp, and step onto the boat. Nothing tricky at all, but you do need to be able to do that. As for the rest, you just sit in the boat (or in the restaurant) so it is very low effort and there are bathrooms both at the temple and at the restaurant.

How is the value for the price you pay?

I thought the value you got was very good. For just $20 you not only got the river cruise, but also a full meal. The options without the meal are almost the same price so I would recommend getting the meal version (unless you dislike both menu options).

So would I recommend it?

Yes, I would recommend the tour as long as you realize what you are getting. A relaxing and quiet boat ride without major attractions but with plenty opportunity to see the local landscape and get a peek at life along the river.

I especially recommend taking the last boat of the day so you can see the river both with sunshine and at dusk and to include the meal option. So I guess all my debating which tour to take paid off!

As you leave you can admire Wat Chai Mongkol without tourists/visitors