Chiang Mai and surrounding provinces offer endless road trip opportunities. This time we travel to a part of Thailand less visited by foreign tourists. Phayao and Nan province. While these provinces are close to Chiang Mai, they lack the tourist hordes but are very popular for the Thais from Bangkok looking for fresh mountain air.

Tours to both Chiang Rai and Doi Inthanon have plenty of fun activities and beautiful things to see. But, you may have limited time and so many other things to do and see while you're in Northern Thailand. How do they compare? To help you make a choice, we have put Doi Inthanon and Chiang Rai side by side and talk you through the options.