Travel Guide to Santitham, Chiang Mai, Thailand

If you’re visiting Chiang Mai and want to get out of the hustle and bustle, there are many things to do in Santitham, a quieter neighbourhood. Santitham is located just north of the old city. This is a great area that still has an authentic Thai feel to the place.

There isn’t much English used on signs, menus or spoken and there aren’t herds of backpackers around. It is a lesser-known neighbourhood of Chiang Mai and my personal favourite. I cannot recommend visiting here enough. I’ve put together the ultimate travel guide to Santitham, Chiang Mai. 

At time of writing, 37 baht = £1.

Getting to Santitham in Chiang Mai

You can reach Santitham by foot, Bus Songthaew, Tuk-Tuk, Taxi or Grab.

Santitham is easily accessible by foot, it takes about 10 minutes to walk north from Hua Lin corner (North-West corner). 

Throughout Chiang Mai, you will see the red cars also known as Songtheaws. You can ask the driver to go to Santitham from the old city for about 40 baht. To learn how to use songthaews in Chiang Mai, read this.

If you want to book any bus travel in South East Asia, the best website to use is 12Go Asia for any bus route you want!

Tuk-tuks is another form of transportation you will find in Chiang Mai but a bit more pricey; from Tha Pae Gate to Santitham will cost you about 100 baht. For convenience, this works out okay if there is more than one of you. Note: The drivers go about 60mph and you can feel every bump in those small vehicles. 

Catch a Grab. Downloading Grab is honestly the best piece of advice I can give to you if travelling to South East Asia. It is so convenient to use and makes your travels so much easier. If you visit Chiang Mai, or anywhere in South East Asia, download the Grab app. If you use my referral code, GRABHDTRAVELS, we will both get a discount on our rides!

Notes: Grab prices go up if its raining, you can pay by card or cash, you will need to buy a Thai SIM card.

Where to stay in Santitham

I stayed in Santitham for 4 weeks in the same apartment. The apartment was located in a condo named D’vieng. D’vieng is known to transport drivers so is easily accessible from the airport and other attractions around Chiang Mai. Within the condo, there is a free gym and pool to use as well as free wifi. The condo is highly secured with security at the entrance, key cards for entrance and exit, fingerprint scanner and facial recognition to get in the building as well as unique codes for apartment doors. It was the perfect place to stay and we feel lucky that we landed a place like this in an area like Santitham. I highly recommend this as a good place to stay in Santitham.

Click to book your stay at D’Vieng here.

To find other accommodation for Santitham, use the search box below:
Booking.com

The Ultimate Travel Guide to Santitham: What to do

This is a list of 13 things to do in Santitham. You could easily spend 2 weeks here (I spent 4 weeks in Santitham). 

• Get a Massage
• Try Iced Coffee / Visit a Cafe
• Eat Something Unusual at 7/11
• Watch a Muay Thai fight
• Eat street food 
• Walk through Thanin Market
• Have a beer in 1UP bar
• Do a yoga class
• Game centre or board game centre
• Cooking class
• Get western food at Big Zands.
• Try a local doughnut
• Listen to live music

Get a massage

I know, getting a Thai massage is on every ‘what to do in Thailand’ list. I had to include it in mine though because I had such a great experience in Santitham. I went to Thanyaras Health Massage and had an hour-long foot massage. There were two women working who were so friendly and chatty. It was relaxing and relieved tension from doing lots of walking. They also gave me a free, mini shoulder massage which was kind of them. You can get a (free) loyalty card from here too and if you’re in Santitham for a long time, it’s worth getting. 

Address: 3 Sermsuk Road Tambon Chang Phueak Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand

Try Iced Coffee

Iced coffee is done so right in Thailand. You can get a small can from the 7/11 or a sweet cup from little stalls with multiple flavoured-syrups. Alternatively, and more likely, you could go to one of the many cafes dotted around Santitham and try all sorts of iced coffee. I visited many of these cafes when in Chiang Mai and I put together the ultimate list of cafes to visit in Santitham. 

Read my list of the best cafes in Santitham. 

Go to 7/11 and try something unusual 

I love going to the 7/11 and trying something I’ve never had before. I’ve tried seaweed crisps, bao buns with no English on it, jelly in a pouch and wasabi-coated peanuts. It’s very fun and a way to step out of your comfort zone. The 7/11 is super cheap too and has EVERYTHING you need.

Watch a Muay Thai fight

The Muay Thai stadium for Chiang Mai is actually located in Santitham. It’s a short walk from anywhere you’re staying in Santitham and makes for a great night out. Muay Thai fights are always advertised and you’ll see flyers or hear the trucks going around annnouncing shows. If you want to try it for yourself, the stadium also holds Muay Thai classes.

Address: 177 Changphuak Soi 4, Tambon Si Phum, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand

Eat Street Food 

You can’t come to Chiang Mai without trying street food! The one thing to remember is to go to the place where there are lots of locals and you’ll be in for a treat! Santitham is a residential area and you’ll find locals eating at the best stalls in Chiang Mai here.

Read The Ultimate List of Street Food in Chiang Mai

My favourite dish in Chiang Mai is Khao Soi. I had lots of delicious Khao Soi in Santitham and wrote a blog post about it. See the link below.

Read Next: Best Khao Soi in Santitham

Walk through Thanin Market

Thanin Market also known as Siri Wattana Market is a big area with lots on sale. You can go here for household goods, phones, clothes, souvenirs and lots more. There’s the centre of the market (indoors) which sells all sorts of street food all day. This place is always busy so is a good place to try local food! The main indoor area is selling lots of fresh fruit, foods, drinks, sweets, baked goods, vegetables and meat at the back. It’s a great place to walk around and see local life.

Have a beer in 1UP bar (and try their chicken burger)

1UP bar is a cool place to hang out, have a beer, watch the sports, listen to music and play pac-man! The vibe is great here and we went almost every night! They also have games available like Jenga and Connect 4! If you don’t fancy a beer, still go here and try their chicken burger. Wow, it’s something special. Thank me later.

Address: 1Up Bar, Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand

Do a yoga class

There are a few centres around Santitham that offer Yoga classes that range from beginner to advanced. They also have different styles of yoga on offer. Go to Satva Yoga for this variety. The classes are 250 baht.

Address: 19 Taewarit Rd, Tambon Chang Phueak, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand

Game Centres

On Santitham Road, there’s a centre called Demo offering arcade games/chairs for you to go in and play. When you find this place, you’ll know you’re there because outside is overrun with shoes! There’s also a board-game cafe where you can spend a few hours playing different games either with friends or with the staff on Sirinthorn Road.

Learn How to Cook Thai Cuisine

There are so many cooking classes available in Chiang Mai. It’s hard to pick just one. I told myself for 4 weeks I’d choose which one to go with… I never did. I am still yet to do a cooking class in Chiang Mai! However, there are a few available on AirBNB if you just type in Chiang Mai Cooking Class. Lots of the classes start off in Thanin Market too (located in Santitham).

Read Next: Where to go in Thailand

Big Zand Cafe

For some well-needed western food, go to Big Zand. Big Zand sell all sorts of burgers, breakfast, chicken, lamb, etc. Their BLT sandwich is so good. It was our go-to when needing just a sandwich. We also had their hash browns because they taste just like McDonalds. Big Zand is run by a husband and wife who are so lovely and always make you feel welcome. The store is opposite the School for the Deaf and Big Zand always delivers to the kids across the road. The owner informed me too that the name ‘Big Zand’ is for big sandwich. Fair enough!

Address: Hussadhisawee Rd, Tambon Chang Phueak, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand

A Sweet Treat

In a little street off Santitham Road, is a small vendor selling just doughnuts. You would miss it if you’re not looking carefully. Every doughnut is just 10 baht and is special sweet treat to enjoy. They are open all day and sell lots of flavours of doughnuts. Yum. 

Listen to Live Music

Tikky’s Cafe is a popular venue for nice local food, refreshing cocktails and live music. Tikky (the owner) used to have her place in the old city with queues out of the door. She recently moved area to Santitham where she now has a bigger venue. Love it here. Click here to find more live music in Chiang Mai.

Address: 20 Taeparak Rd, Mueng, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand

Things to Do Just Outside of Santitham 

Shopping at Maya Mall

If you want a day / night out to shop ’til you drop, Maya Mall is the place to go in Chiang Mai. It has lots of stores as well as restaurants and cafes. It also has a cinema.

Go to the cinema

The SFX cinema is located in Maya Mall which is easy to get to and all public transport drivers know where it is. It’s on the top floor and has movies both in Thai and in English with Thai subtitles.

Top tip: Go on a Wednesday when films are cheaper at 110 baht a ticket! We watched The Lion King and Child’s Play.

Doi Suthep 

You can hike to Doi Suthep or arrange tour or get a personal driver. We chose a personal driver who picked us up, took us to Doi Suthep, also took us to another temple area, waited for us and took us home. It’s a very beautiful place to see majestic temples and look over gorgeous Chiang Mai. This place is very special to me. It’s where Scott proposed and we got engaged at sunrise!

Bowling at Bully Bowl 

Located in the shopping centre, you can go for a game of bowling at 100 baht for 3 games. 

Useful Things to Know About Santitham

• Lots of places are closed on Sundays. 
• Plastic is used in excess. Perhaps take your own bottle/cup/utensils.
• There is a laidback vibe.
• You won’t see many other tourists. That’s ideal though if you want a more authentic visit to Chiang Mai. Some of the locals started to recognise us as we were there for a month and it was a lovely feeling to say hello to them in the street.

Must-eats

To name just one, I’d have to say Khao Soi. It’s the best meal in all of South East Asia. There are other delicious meals to try too…

Read my guide for my list of foods you have to try to Santitham!

There is something truly special about Chiang Mai as a whole. We call it ‘the pull’. We’ve spoken to dozens of expats, travellers, people of working visas, people on education visas and we all feel the same about Chiang Mai. None of us can put our finger on why though. That’s what makes it even more special. Santitham pushed the boat even further for me. I really loved my time spent here and I’ll be back without a shadow of a doubt. Until next time, beloved Chiang Mai. 

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