We have lived in Chiang Mai with our two toddlers for half a year and have explored this city from top to bottom. Many articles recommend popular activities like the Night Safari and visiting elephant sanctuaries, and while these places are great fun and should definitely be explored, they are not always ideal for families with small children. Believe me, we tried to take our littles to the night bazaar and between navigating the tourist hordes with kids below hip height and the approaching meltdown period before bedtime, we nearly quit Chiang Mai altogether. So, we made it our mission to search out the most family-friendly places in Chiang Mai and this is what we found:
This lush garden restaurant is the epitome of Thailand, and it’s in the middle of the city. The restaurant features artistically presented fresh, organic, local food. It is a working farm and daycare, with a hay mountain for kids to climb, an art area, a sandbox, swings and a bevy of animals to look at. There is a bamboo bridge over rice paddies and water buffalos. If you are ok with your kids getting absolutely filthy, there is also a mud slide into a water pit. Luckily, I have never been there when it has been open so I have never had this particular debate with my children.
They don’t appear to have their own website but you can click on the headline for a link to their facebook page.
This sounds lame but go to the malls.
Every single mall has an indoor play area dedicated to the entertainment of children, and unless you grew up at a carnival, they are bound to blow your mind. For 150 baht (equivalent to $5.50), your child can play in a contained area with a blow-up bouncy slide, ball pit, trampoline, build a house with life-sized Duplo blocks, go shopping with kid-sized carts and fake food, play with balloons, swing and climb for an hour or two. Let your kids burn off some extra energy, rain or shine, while you sip on your Thai iced tea from the sidelines. Or, you can play too for an extra 30 baht. Furthermore, some places have a stamp card where you pay for 5, and get one free.
http://www.promenadachiangmai.com/
http://www.mayashoppingcenter.com/
http://www.centralfestival.co.th/index.php
http://www.centralplaza.co.th/index.php
http://www.kadsuankaew.co.th/en/
Rent a golf cart at the Chiang Mai Zoo
This is different than the Night Safari, which is on the opposite side of town. The zoo is a hilly, car-centric place but is a great for little kids to see a variety of animals at a fraction of the price of the Night Safari. You can feed hippos and giraffes, see penguins and pandas, and get up close and personal with porcupines and tortoises. You can walk, or ride the tram for a small fee, or best yet, rent a golf cart to explore the park at your own pace. There is a small kid’s playground and library which is so-so. The real bizarre but awesome part is that there is an amazing water park right in the middle of the zoo. Kids and adults alike can play on the splash pad-tunnel-water playground for an additional nominal fee. This blessed oasis is a welcome break from heat and humidity and is virtually guaranteed to tucker out even the most rambunctious of kids. The zoo is open 8am-5pm every day.
Eat lunch at Nic’s or Triplets
Both of these restaurants cater to families and are located a little bit out of town. If you don’t mind paying an obscene amount of money for totally average food and phenomenal playgrounds, these places are for you. Trampolines, sand pits, massive climbing structures, slides and swings are surrounded by tables from which parents can supervise their offspring. Parents can relax a bit and let kids scream, run and play without fear of upsetting other patrons. Good luck taking your kids to a regular restaurant after this.
https://www.tripletseatandplay.com/
I had very low expectations for this place. I expected to find butterflies and grasshoppers pinned to bulletin boards and maybe a couple of fish tanks with spiders, so I was pleasantly surprised by how interactive the exhibits were. Yes, there were lots of dead bugs displayed on the walls, but there were also hundreds of tarantulas, a butterfly garden, lizards, and centipedes. Kids could spray stick bugs with water bottles, touch lizards, find millipedes in loose soil and even hold a scorpion. There were several large iguanas and a few tortoises for good measure. The only downside is that it is located in Mae Rim, which is about 20 minutes outside of Chiang Mai. Songthaews will take you there, but if you have your own car, you could make a day of it and also go to the Mae Sa waterfall, snake farm, monkey show, extreme sport center and/or strawberry fields.
Are you visiting Chiang Mai with your kids?
Stay tuned!! Comprehensive 3, 5 and 7-day itineraries for family-friendly activities in Chiang Mai coming soon.
Under 6 Overseas 