Thailand vs Vietnam golf holidays compared for 2026

For a first Southeast Asia golf trip, Thailand wins on cost, weather in the November-to-February window, and course variety, while Vietnam's Da Nang coast wins on marquee architecture and a March-to-April season. Northern Thailand and Chiang Mai are the stronger all-round pick for most first-timers. Here is the honest side-by-side.

Should you pick Thailand or Vietnam for a first golf trip?

Pick Thailand for value, cool-season weather and course density; pick Vietnam's Da Nang if world-ranked names and a spring trip matter more than budget.

Both countries are genuine golf destinations. Thailand has hundreds of courses and decades of golf-tourism infrastructure. Vietnam has fewer courses but has spent heavily since 2010 on headline designs. The real decision is not "which country is better" in the abstract, it is which one fits your budget, your travel dates and how many rounds you want to play. Our full golf in Chiang Mai guide covers the northern-Thailand case in depth; this post sets it against Vietnam.

Which country has better golf courses?

Vietnam's Da Nang coast has the bigger design names; northern Thailand has more good courses close together. For trophy layouts choose Vietnam, for variety choose Chiang Mai.

Da Nang's central coast fields Ba Na Hills (a Luke Donald mountain design), BRG Da Nang (a Greg Norman links) and, an hour north, Laguna Lang Co by Nick Faldo. That is a strong ranked-course tick-list in a small area, and it is the honest reason some players choose Vietnam over Thailand.

Chiang Mai counters with depth. Chiangmai Highlands Golf & Spa is the best-conditioned course in the region, a Lee Schmidt design with 130-plus bunkers, and Alpine Golf Resort is a 27-hole Ron Garl layout that hosted the Asian Tour in 2013 and 2014. Behind those sit ten more playable courses inside a 45-minute drive, listed in our Chiang Mai course directory. No single Chiang Mai course outranks Ba Na Hills on pedigree, and that is the trade-off: Vietnam gives you a few famous rounds, Chiang Mai gives you a different quality course every day.

What does a round actually cost in each?

Northern Thailand is clearly cheaper at the value and mid tiers. A green-season all-in Chiang Mai round is about ฿1,950 to ฿3,700, while Da Nang's championship courses run roughly $90 to $200.

Chiang Mai green-season (April to October) all-in rates cover green fee, caddie and cart: Gassan Panorama at ฿1,950, Highlands at ฿3,400, Alpine at ฿3,700 (CMGT Golf, 2026). That is roughly $55 to $105 a round. Da Nang's headline courses are dearer: Ba Na Hills and BRG Da Nang range from about 2,280,000 to 5,000,000 VND, roughly $90 to $200 including caddie and buggy (accessed 2026-09-06). Vietnam does have budget courses near $40, but its best courses cost more than anything around Chiang Mai.

When can you actually play in each country?

The good-weather windows barely overlap. Chiang Mai peaks November to February; Da Nang is best February to September and driest in March and April.

Chiang Mai's cool-dry season runs November to February, with highland mornings of 15 to 22C, clear skies and mountain views (CMGT Golf, 2026). Da Nang runs the other way: its dry, low-rain golf window is roughly February to September, with March and April the driest months (accessed 2026-09-06). Autumn is the divider. From September to November the central Vietnamese coast is in typhoon and heavy-rain season, with October rainfall sometimes past 500mm, so autumn strongly favours Thailand.

There is a real catch for spring travellers. Da Nang's best window, March and April, is exactly when Chiang Mai's burning season peaks, with air quality routinely past AQI 150 and worse. So the country you pick can flip depending on your travel dates. For the Chiang Mai timing detail, see our best time for golf in Chiang Mai guide.

How hard is entry? Visas and logistics

Thailand needs no advance paperwork for a short trip; Vietnam needs an e-visa sorted before you fly. Both are straightforward.

From 15 September 2026, Thailand's visa-free stay for most Western passports (US, UK, Canada, Australia) dropped from 60 to 30 days, with a one-time 30-day extension available at a local immigration office for about ฿1,900 (Siam Legal, accessed 2026-09-06). Thirty days covers any normal golf holiday. Vietnam requires an e-visa in advance for most nationalities: a 90-day single or multiple-entry e-visa costs about $25 to $50 and processes in 3 to 5 working days (Vietnam Tourism, accessed 2026-09-06). Neither is a barrier, but Vietnam is the one that needs planning before departure.

On the ground, Chiang Mai's courses ring the valley 20 to 45 minutes out, and CNX airport is 4km from the Old City. Da Nang's courses are similarly close to its beaches. Both are easy to base from.

Where do northern Thailand and Chiang Mai stack up?

Chiang Mai is the best-value, most golf-dense base in the region, and it pairs golf with cool mountain weather and strong culture better than a beach base does.

For a first Southeast Asia golf trip, the case for Chiang Mai is simple: more rounds for the money, a dozen courses close together, and a November-to-February window that is genuinely comfortable to play in. It also stacks up well against Thailand's own beach destinations. If you are weighing the north against the islands, our Chiang Mai vs Phuket golf comparison covers that, and Chiang Mai vs Chiang Rai for golf covers the quieter neighbour to the north. For a direct city-to-city read, see Chiang Mai vs Da Nang for a golf trip.

When does Vietnam win instead?

Choose Da Nang when you want ranked, big-name courses, you are travelling in March or April, or you want golf on a beach coast rather than in the mountains.

This is the honest counter-case. If your trip is built around playing Ba Na Hills and a Greg Norman links, Vietnam gives you that and Chiang Mai cannot match the pedigree. If March or April is your only window, Da Nang dodges the northern-Thailand haze. And if you want a beach-resort feel over cool highland golf, the central coast delivers it. The costs are higher and you play fewer distinct courses, but for those three reasons Vietnam is the right answer for some players.

Package or book each round direct?

For three or more rounds, an operator package usually beats booking direct, mainly through bundled private transfers, held tee times and one point of contact. For a single round, book direct.

CMGT Golf is enquiry-driven: we send a quote and confirm on a deposit, so there is no instant-book claim to make. An all-in package folds green fees, caddie fees, carts, hotel, private airport transfers and on-the-ground support into one price, which for a multi-round trip in peak season beats piecing it together yourself, especially when weekend tee times at Highlands and Alpine sell out weeks ahead. For a single round you can direct-book and it will match or beat a package. To weigh it for your dates, tell us your trip length on the CMGT Golf enquiry page and we will price it against booking direct. Our Chiang Mai golf holiday cost guide breaks the numbers down further.