Pick Chiang Mai for the golf trip and add Chiang Rai as a side trip, not the base. Chiang Mai has 10-plus courses inside a 45-minute radius; Chiang Rai has two or three, led by Santiburi. Chiang Rai wins on quiet and scenery, Chiang Mai on choice, infrastructure and value.
Both cities sit in northern Thailand, both play best from November to February, and both share the same caddie culture and green-season bargains. The difference is depth. Chiang Mai is a full golf destination. Chiang Rai is one or two exceptional rounds you drive up to reach. Here is how they compare and how to play both in one trip.
Which city has more golf courses?
Chiang Mai, by a wide margin. It offers more than 10 courses within a 45-minute drive of the city, while Chiang Rai has only two or three championship layouts worth the trip.
Chiang Mai's course list runs from the best-conditioned resort tracks in the region, Chiang Mai Highlands and Alpine Golf Resort, down to genuine value courses like North Hill and the Gassan trio. You can play four or five different layouts on a week's trip without repeating a course or driving more than 45 minutes. Our full golf in Chiang Mai guide covers the whole roster, and the best golf courses in Chiang Mai roundup ranks them.
Chiang Rai is the opposite: a short, high-quality list. Santiburi Chiang Rai Country Club and Waterford Valley are the two serious options, with Happy City, a Korean-owned 29-hole resort, as a third. That is enough for two or three memorable rounds, not a week of variety. Browse the full course directory to see the gap for yourself.
What are the marquee courses in each city?
Chiang Mai's headliners are Highlands (Lee Schmidt, 2005) and Alpine (Ron Garl, 2008). Chiang Rai's standout is Santiburi, a Robert Trent Jones Jr design from 1993.
| Course | City | Designer / opened | Holes | Green fee reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiang Mai Highlands | Chiang Mai | Lee Schmidt, 2005 | 27 | Premium tier; quote on enquiry |
| Alpine Golf Resort | Chiang Mai | Ron Garl, 2008 | 27 | Premium tier; quote on enquiry |
| Santiburi Chiang Rai | Chiang Rai | Robert Trent Jones Jr, 1993 | 18 | ~฿2,800 high-season green fee (Golfasian, 2026) |
| Waterford Valley | Chiang Rai | opened 1996 | 18 | ~฿1,500 weekday / ฿2,000 weekend (Waterford, 2026) |
Santiburi is the reason to make the drive. It plays 18 holes, par 72, around 6,853 yards, with abundant water and bunkering, and reviewers rate it among the best-conditioned courses in Asia, per Golfasian's course page (accessed 2026-09-05). Waterford Valley, opened in 1996 about 40 minutes south of Chiang Rai city, is a rolling valley layout of roughly 6,961 yards at ฿1,500 weekday and ฿2,000 weekend, per the course's own rate page (accessed 2026-09-05).
How far apart are the two cities?
About 183km and roughly 3 hours 5 minutes by car on Route 118, so Chiang Rai is an overnight side trip, not a day trip for one round.
The drive climbs through the hills and is genuinely scenic, but it is a real journey, per Trippy's driving-distance data (accessed 2026-09-05). Nobody sensibly drives 6 hours round-trip to play a single round and come back the same day. If Santiburi is on your list, plan an overnight in Chiang Rai and pair the round with the White Temple and Blue Temple, both close to the courses.
Is Chiang Rai cheaper than Chiang Mai for golf?
No, once you count the travel. Santiburi's high-season fee near ฿2,800 matches Chiang Mai's premium courses, and the drive plus an overnight cancels any saving on the cheaper Chiang Rai courses.
Chiang Mai's own value courses undercut the whole equation. North Hill and the Gassan group deliver low green-season all-in rates, often under ฿2,100, with no long transfer attached. So the honest read is this: Chiang Rai is not a money-saver. It is a scenery-and-solitude play. You pay similar green fees plus a drive plus a hotel night for the reward of near-empty tee sheets and a Robert Trent Jones Jr layout most visitors never see. That is worth it for some golfers and not for others.
What is the honest downside of a Chiang Rai golf trip?
Thin course choice and long transfers. Two strong courses is not a week of golf, and a 3-hour drive each way eats a day you could spend playing in Chiang Mai.
If you are the kind of golfer who wants a different layout every morning, Chiang Rai will frustrate you fast. There simply are not enough courses, and Happy City's conditioning is variable by season. The infrastructure gap matters too: Chiang Mai has the airport links, the hotels under ฿1,700 a night, the caddie depth and the restaurant scene. Chiang Rai is quieter on all of those. For most trips the smart structure is a Chiang Mai base with one Chiang Rai overnight, which is why we build it as a custom itinerary rather than a fixed package.
How do the two share the same season and caddie rules?
Both play best November to February, both share the mid-January to mid-April burning season risk, and both use Thailand's mandatory one-caddie-per-golfer system.
Cool-dry season brings mornings of 15-22C on highland courses, clear skies and the best conditions, at the highest prices and the hardest tee times. Green season, June to October, is cheap and quiet with playable mornings and short afternoon storms. Avoid roughly mid-January to mid-April, when air quality across the north routinely passes AQI 150 and can top 300 on the worst days, and Chiang Mai regularly ranks among the world's most polluted cities during that peak. Check IQAir daily and carry an N95 in that window. Caddies are mandatory at every course in both cities, one per golfer, with a ฿300-400 fee plus a ฿400-600 tip in cash after the round. Our caddie culture and tipping guide covers the etiquette.
How do the airports compare for each city?
Chiang Mai International (CNX) is a busy hub with wide regional and heavy domestic service; Chiang Rai's airport (CEI) is smaller and mostly domestic, so most golfers fly into Chiang Mai and reach Chiang Rai by road.
CNX runs frequent Bangkok shuttles and a spread of regional routes, which makes it the natural arrival point and the reason a Chiang Mai base is easier to build a trip around. Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang airport handles far fewer flights and leans domestic, so flying in specifically for golf usually means a Bangkok or Chiang Mai connection anyway. For the combined trip that mostly does not matter: you land at CNX, play your Chiang Mai rounds first, then drive the roughly 3-hour transfer up to Chiang Rai rather than adding a short internal flight. A private driver with your clubs is simpler than a domestic hop with a golf-bag check for the distance involved.
How should I combine both in one trip?
Base three or four rounds in Chiang Mai, then drive up for one overnight and a Santiburi round. That captures Chiang Mai's variety plus Chiang Rai's marquee course without a long back-and-forth.
A clean structure: play Highlands, Alpine and a value course around Chiang Mai over three or four days, then transfer to Chiang Rai for a night, play Santiburi in the morning, see the temples in the afternoon, and drive back. You get the best of both without treating Chiang Rai as a full base it cannot support. We fold the Chiang Rai leg into a bespoke plan rather than a set package, so the transfers, tee times and hotels quote as one. Send the details through our golf enquiry page and we build the itinerary around your dates.
An all-in package covers green fees, caddie fees, carts, hotels, a private driver and airport transfers, and on-the-ground support when weather or a tee time shifts. For a single round in one city, direct booking can still be cheaper. The package pays off once you are stringing multiple courses and a cross-province transfer together, which is exactly the Chiang Mai plus Chiang Rai case.
For nearby-destination comparisons, see Chiang Mai vs Phuket golf, Chiang Mai vs Hua Hin for a golf trip, and Thailand vs Vietnam golf holidays.
Plan a Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai golf itineraryEnquiry-driven quotes with transfers, tee times and hotels includedFrequently asked questions
Is Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai better for a golf trip?
Chiang Mai for almost every golfer. It has 10-plus courses inside a 45-minute radius, so you can play four or five different layouts without a long transfer, plus a deep bench of hotels, restaurants and airport links. Chiang Rai has only two or three real championship courses, led by Santiburi. Choose Chiang Rai if you want one or two quiet, high-quality rounds in near-empty conditions and value scenery and calm over course choice. Most trips use Chiang Mai as the base and add Chiang Rai as a two-day side trip, not the other way round.
How far is Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai by car?
About 183km, or roughly 3 hours and 5 minutes on Route 118 in normal traffic, per Trippy's driving-distance data (accessed 2026-09-05). It is a scenic but real drive through the hills, so it is not a day trip you would make just for one round. If you want to play Santiburi or Waterford Valley, build an overnight in Chiang Rai into the plan. A private driver from CMGT Golf runs the transfer with your clubs and bags, which beats juggling a bus or a self-drive on unfamiliar mountain roads.
What is the best golf course in Chiang Rai?
Santiburi Chiang Rai Country Club. It is a Robert Trent Jones Jr design that opened in 1993, plays 18 holes, par 72, around 6,853 yards, and is widely rated among the best-conditioned courses in northern Thailand. High-season green fees run about ฿2,800 (Golfasian, accessed 2026-09-05). Waterford Valley is the solid second option: an 18-hole valley layout from 1996 at roughly ฿1,500 weekday and ฿2,000 weekend. Beyond those two the choice thins quickly, which is the core trade-off versus Chiang Mai's much deeper course list.
Can I combine Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in one golf trip?
Yes, and it is the strongest way to use Chiang Rai. Base three or four rounds in Chiang Mai across courses like Highlands and Alpine, then drive up for an overnight and one round at Santiburi before returning. That gives you Chiang Mai's variety plus one marquee Chiang Rai layout without a long day of back-and-forth driving. We build this as a custom itinerary rather than a fixed package, so send an enquiry through our golf page and we quote the transfers, tee times and hotels together.
Are Chiang Rai green fees cheaper than Chiang Mai?
Not really, once you count the drive. Santiburi's high-season green fee near ฿2,800 sits close to Chiang Mai's premium courses, and its all-in green-season rate is similar too. Waterford Valley is cheaper at about ฿1,500 to ฿2,000, but a 3-hour transfer each way and an overnight erase that saving. Chiang Mai's own value courses, such as North Hill and the Gassan group, deliver low green fees with none of the travel time. Chiang Rai is worth it for the experience, not for a lower price.
When is the best time to play golf in both cities?
November to February for both. The cool, dry season brings mornings around 15-22C on highland courses, clear skies and mountain views, though it is the busiest and dearest window. Avoid roughly mid-January to mid-April, the burning season, when air quality across the north routinely passes AQI 150 and can top 300 on the worst days; Chiang Mai regularly ranks among the world's most polluted cities during that peak. Green season, June to October, is cheap and quiet with playable mornings and short afternoon storms.
