Booked here
The day we book
Gibbons, trail, village, lunch
- Length7 hours
- GroupUp to 7
- Reviews804
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Mae Kampong day trip prices, from the van day to the private tour
Gibbon trek day to Mae Kampong
★ 4.9 · 804 reviews total
Fast answer
A Mae Kampong day trip from Chiang Mai starts at a lower van-day fare, rises for the small-group gibbon trek and climbs for private days with the hot springs, while a village homestay night is a separate cost.
Price essentials
Compare 4 choices
Work out the cost of your Mae Kampong day
Type in your party size and see what each shared day adds up to.
- Our gibbon trek day7 hours · starts at, per person $75
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View - Giant Cafe day8 hours · starts at, per person $51
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View - Jungle hike, cooking8 hours · starts at, per person $60
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View - Small-group trek, foodUp to 3 people · starts at, per person $105
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View
From-prices on GetYourGuide, shown at the ECB reference rate. Your exact price is confirmed during booking.
Every Mae Kampong day trip we could check from Chiang Mai, side by side: what each fare covers, what stays on your bill and the right moment to reserve.
Editorial team, maekampongtour.top · Updated November 12, 2026 · Read in 7 min
Overview
- Our gibbon trek dayA 7-hour small-group day with pickup, capped at 7 people, from $75.
- A cheaper van dayThe Giant Cafe and Mae Kampong day lasts 8 hours and starts from $51.
- Private and combo daysPrivate days with the hot springs and Bo Sang start from $67 to $105.
- A night in the villageA night with a host family is quoted at THB 500 to 2000.1
- CancellingOur day refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead.
What the gibbon trek day costs and what it covers
The day we sell here starts from $75 on GetYourGuide and fills 7 hours, from the pickup in Chiang Mai to the drop-off in the afternoon. The group is capped at 7 participants, the guide works in English and pickup is part of the fare, so the fare covers a small party and a door-to-door ride rather than a seat on a big coach.
Budget the hours as well as the dollars: pickup comes early, a drink stop falls at 11.00, lunch follows from 13.00 and the gibbon area is scheduled for 14.30. The same record warns that the sequence may shift with the animals, and that a share of the price supports the caretakers who feed and protect them.
Two lines of the record bear on the budget. Weather is not a refund trigger: the operator runs the day whatever the sky does. The walking is also demanding, with 3-5 km of rough, sloping ground in places, so shoes matter more than a bigger budget. Food on the day is described in the schedule as a lunch and a coffee break, and the record does not itemise the bill beyond that.
Side by side
Mae Kampong days by starting price
| Day | From | Length | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giant Cafe and village | $51 | 8 hours | 401 |
| Herbal workshop day | $51 | 9 hours | None yet |
| Jungle hike, cooking | $60 | 8 hours | 5 |
| Private, hot springs | $67 | 7.5 hours | None yet |
| Our gibbon trek | $75 | 7 hours | 804 |
| Private, coffee, sunset | $84 | 4 hours | 1 |
| Private, hot springs, Bo Sang | $105 | 8 hours | 33 |
Starting fares only; both the date and your group size change the final price.
Other Mae Kampong days, side by side
The nearest rival is the Giant Cafe day. Priced from $51 for 8 hours, it is the cheaper of the two big sellers, and 401 reviews averaging 4.8 back it up. The itinerary strings together van rides of 1.5 hours, a village stop of 2 hours, a jeep or SUV leg of 40 minutes and 1 more hour of sightseeing, with the pickup point set by the option you select.
A different format is the jungle hike with a cooking class, listed from $60 for 8 hours and a group of at most 7. The hike is described as easy-going, around 1 to 2 km, which is much gentler than the 3-5 km trail of our day, and the cooking class has vegetarian and vegan options. With only 5 reviews it has little track record yet, so treat its 4.8 as an early reading.
At the thin end of the list sit a Mon Kuwen, hot springs and Mae Kampong day of 6 hours from $60, a herbal workshop day of 9 hours from $51 with up to 10 participants, and a trek with local food limited to 3 participants from $105. None of them has more than 2 reviews, so the star ratings say almost nothing and the itinerary lines are the better guide.
Hours you buy
Mae Kampong days from Chiang Mai by length
- Giant Cafe day8
- Hot springs, private8
- Jungle hike, cooking8
- Mae Kampong, Bo Sang7.5
- Our gibbon trek7
- Mon Kuwen and springs6
- Coffee and sunset4
Total length as each listing states it.
Private tours and a minivan with a driver
If you want the village on your own schedule, the private listings are the route. The priciest private listing wraps the hot springs and a handicrafts stop into 8 hours, from $105, with 33 reviews averaging 4.8. A private day from $67 puts the hot springs first and then 3 hours in Mae Kampong, including sunset, but it has no reviews yet.
Shorter and more focused is a private tour of 4 hours for coffee and sunset in the village, from $84, with a guide in English or Japanese and one review so far. The listing for a Mae Kampong private tour with the optional Giant Cafe add-on starts from $58; the add-on has to be bought for everyone in the party and uses a local truck, with about 1 hour of free time at the cafe.
Cheapest for a whole vehicle is a minivan rental, from $55 for 8 hours, though its own note warns that the driver has limited English and that no guide comes with it. The price therefore buys transport only, and you would have to walk the village and the trail without anyone explaining the gibbons, the plants or the village story. Private prices are for the group, so divide by your party size before comparing with the per-person fares.
Pick by budget
Which Mae Kampong fare fits your trip
Say what matters most and find the day that matches your budget.
If I want the lowest van-day fare
The Giant Cafe day
A day of 8 hours from $51, with 401 reviews behind it.
If I want the gibbons and a small group
The day on this site
Up to 7 people and 804 reviews, from $75.
If I want an easy walk and a cooking class
Jungle hike and cooking
A hike of around 1 to 2 km, from $60.
If I want the hot springs on the same day
A private hot springs day
Springs and Bo Sang, from $105.
If I only need a ride
Minivan with a driver
From $55, but no guide is included.
By budget
Most reviewed, cheapest van day, private day
Lower fare
Giant Cafe day
Van, jeep and the village
- Length8 hours
- DriverEnglish, Thai
- Reviews401
Private
Private hot springs day
Village, springs, Bo Sang
- Length8 hours
- GuideEnglish
- Reviews33
What the fare leaves out, and what the village charges
We could not find an official source that states a Mae Kampong village entrance fee, so we do not quote one. Tourism here is community-run: over 30 households take part, and the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office says revenue is pooled in a cooperative for social and environmental work.2 If a tour asks for a village fee on the day, the listing you book is the place to check it, not a number from us.
The biggest optional cost is a night in the village. The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office quotes a homestay at THB 500 to 2000 per night, with over 20 homestays now meeting the Tourism Authority of Thailand standards.1,3 An older FAO case study priced the early long-stay package at 1000 baht for a cottage night and three meals, which shows how far the offer has moved from a simple bed.4
Smaller extras are the ones that surprise: a drink beyond the coffee, tea or smoothie on the timetable, snacks at the village stalls and any tip for the guide and driver. Stalls and shops along the village road sell snacks and souvenirs, so small notes in baht are handy.5 Neighbouring trips show how such costs work: one Mon Jam listing says its photo zone costs 40 THB in cash on site.
Where the money goes
From the booking click to the drive back
At booking
Reserve, pay later
Hold a place from $75 without paying today.
Day before
Last free cancel
Cancel at least 24 hours ahead for a full refund.
08.00 to 08.30
Pickup in Chiang Mai
The van collects you in the city, and pickup is part of the fare.
11.00
Drink at a view cafe
A coffee, tea or smoothie is on the timetable at this hour.
13.00 to 14.00
Lunch at a local restaurant
Lunch with vegetarian and vegan options fills the hour.
Doing it yourself instead of booking a tour
A self-drive trip is the alternative, and its costs are the car or scooter, fuel and parking, none of which we can price from an official source. What we can quote is the rulebook, and our page on the road there sets it out. In brief, a hire car or motorbike needs the right driving papers, and the rental counter will ask to see them.6
Helmets are compulsory for riders and passengers, which matters on a mountain road that ends in winding bends.7 The FAO case study puts the village roughly 50 km out of Chiang Mai, so a hired car means driving that stretch twice in a day.8 The booking listing adds that the last few km are a winding road and suggests sickness tablets for anyone prone to car sickness, a detail that is easy to overlook when you picture a short drive.
The honest comparison is time and knowledge rather than baht. A tour hands you a guide, the help of the caretakers at the gibbon area and a lunch stop, while a hired car buys you freedom to start late and stay longer in the cafes. If your priority is the gibbons, the tour is the only route in this table that mentions the caretakers and the rehabilitation area at all. If you only want the village lanes and a view, a van with a driver or a private day costs less per head for a group.
Video
Mae Kampong village as an affordable day trip, with the food
VAcation Travel on YouTube · The video waits until you tap play to load.
For between THB 500 to 2000 per night, homestay guests can expect an authentic immersion in the local lifestyle, getting to know the culture and participating in their hosts’ daily activities.
Before you pay
What the fare covers, what costs extra, how to save
In the fare3
- Pickup in Chiang Mai and the drive back
- A live guide in English, group of 7 at most
- A coffee, tea or smoothie at a view cafe
Paid on the day3
- Extra drinks and snacks in the village
- A tip for the guide and driver, in baht
- Water, a rain jacket and shoes with grip
Ways to save3
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
- Compare the Giant Cafe day from $51
- Check the listing for any village fee
Reading the ratings and choosing when to reserve
Behind the fare stands a rating of 4.9 from 804 reviews. Of its three sub-scores the one for value is the lowest, 4.8, and that is a fair cue to weigh the fare against the cheaper van days in the table above, then read the latest reviews on the listing to see what the day felt like. Use the sub-scores as a prompt for questions to the operator rather than as a verdict.
Reserving costs you little. Nothing is due when you reserve, and cancelling a day or more ahead returns the whole fare. That makes an early booking a free option, and it leaves you room to wait for the cool months, which run from November to February by the national tourism authority's reckoning.9 Save the confirmation email where you can find it on the day.
Check the haze before you commit to the smoky weeks. A past advisory from the national tourism board described unhealthy air in parts of the North and suggested N95 masks.10 The trek runs in any weather, so on a bad air day cancel before the 24-hour limit instead of on the morning. If your dates are flexible, shift them rather than push through a bad-air day.
FAQ
Fast, clear answers, short.
Sources
- Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (intergovernmental) · Baan Mae Kampong: Exploring a Pioneering CBT Project in Thailand ↩
- Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (intergovernmental) · Baan Mae Kampong: Exploring a Pioneering CBT Project in Thailand ↩
- Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (intergovernmental) · Baan Mae Kampong: Exploring a Pioneering CBT Project in Thailand ↩
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations · The contribution of community forestry to rural livelihood in Thailand (case study of Baan Mae Kampong) ↩
- Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (intergovernmental) · Baan Mae Kampong: Exploring a Pioneering CBT Project in Thailand ↩
- Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT Newsroom) · Driving in Thailand: Essential Guidelines for Tourists and Foreigners ↩
- Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT Newsroom) · Driving in Thailand: Essential Guidelines for Tourists and Foreigners ↩
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations · The contribution of community forestry to rural livelihood in Thailand (case study of Baan Mae Kampong) ↩
- Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT Newsroom) · Thailand comfortable, cooler months of November-February are a fantastic time to travel ↩
- Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT Newsroom) · TAT advises tourists to Northern Thailand to take precautions amid air quality concerns ↩
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