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From Town Tools. For the current version, visit https://www.towntools.org/pai-mae-hong-son-province-th/getting-to-chiang-mai
Pai has one road in and one road out: Route 1095 over the mountains from Chiang Mai — 762 curves and roughly three to four hours in a minivan. There is no train to Pai, and Pai's airport has had no scheduled flights since 2017, so the minivans are how almost everyone comes and goes.
If you get carsick, take this road seriously: ask for a front seat, go easy on breakfast, and pick up motion-sickness pills from any pharmacy before you board — every pharmacy in Chiang Mai and Pai knows exactly what you're asking for.
Plan your way back before you set off
There is no train. The buses out leave in the late afternoon, and missing the last one means staying the night. Note your last bus before you arrive:
Last bus back toward Chiang Mai — Aya Service: 15:30 out of Pai
Toward Chiang Mai — Prempracha: last bus reported around around 17:30 out of Pai — confirm the exact time with the operator.
Routes in and out
Buses arrive at: Pai bus station, in the centre of town (Aya's vans use their own office on Chaisongkram Road nearby)
From Chiang Mai — Aya Service
Operator
Aya Service
Booking
Some buses reserved, some free-seatingBook online at ayaservice.com or at their offices; in the cool-season peak (December–January) it is worth booking a day or two ahead.
Aya's vans leave from their own offices, not the Arcade terminal: Kham Thiang Plaza in Chiang Mai, and their office on Chaisongkram Road in Pai. Departures run roughly hourly from 08:30 in both directions.
From Chiang Mai — Prempracha
Operator
Prempracha Transport
Booking
Some buses reserved, some free-seatingTickets at the terminal counter or through online agents (12Go and others).
Journey
about 3½–4 hours
Fare
around 150–250 baht, depending on where you buy
Last bus back
around 17:30 out of Pai (confirm with the operator)
Heavy monsoon rain brings landslips on the 1095 that can slow or close the road — the hillsides are steep and slip-prone, and the wider district saw serious slides in 2024. In a wet spell, ask your guesthouse or the operator about the road before you travel, and don't plan a tight same-day connection in Chiang Mai.
Burning season (February–April)
The road itself is usually fine in the dry months, but the valley fills with smoke — check Pai's air-quality page before deciding when to come, and expect haze over the mountains en route.
The old slow bus is gone
The big local buses that once crawled the 1095 stopped running years ago — today it is minivans only, plus private transfers and the occasional shared songthaew for local hops.
(3 months ago)
Check the operators
These are the routes and the usual patterns. For exact departure times, prices and to book, use the official pages — they are the authority:
Aya ServiceLive timetable and online booking — the authority for their departures.
These are the routes and the usual patterns. Exact departure times change with the season, so always confirm with the operator before you travel, and book the reserved routes ahead.
Runs from the Chiang Mai Arcade bus terminal roughly hourly through the day. The later afternoon departures out of Pai are usually Prempracha's — useful if you miss Aya's last van.
15:30 out of Pai
Last bus back toward Chiang Mai — Aya Service — plan your return before you set off.