Thailand›Northern Thailand›Chiang Mai›March
Chiang Mai in March
Better avoided: March is outside the recommended season (November – February). Against it: Burning Season Smoke. Buddhist holy days (Makha Bucha, Visakha Bucha, Asahna Bucha) can fall this month.
The season opens in November, 8 months away. Burning Season Smoke: usually over after April.
3 days in Chiang Mai in March · from ₹15,973 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
The weather in March
What the season does to Chiang Mai this month.
Worth knowing
Burning Season Smoke
⚠️ Crop and forest burning fills the northern valleys with smoke from February to April, worst in March: PM2.5 often reaches several times the safe level and mountain views disappear. Not a good time for children, the elderly or anyone with asthma. Check AQI before booking, carry N95 masks, or move this leg to November–January.
What’s on in March
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Buddhist holy days (Makha Bucha, Visakha Bucha, Asahna Bucha)dates shift yearly
Candle-lit processions round the temples at dusk, worth seeing in Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya. Alcohol may not be sold anywhere, bars included, for 24-48 hours (hotels and airport duty free excepted); the Full Moon Party moves a night.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 3 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹15,973 for two
- Room a night₹1,970
- Food a day, each₹1,274
- Main sight entry, each₹840
Mid-range
₹36,521 for two
- Room a night₹5,060
- Food a day, each₹2,940
- Main sight entry, each₹840
Luxury
₹92,270 for two
- Room a night₹16,860
- Food a day, each₹6,860
- Main sight entry, each₹840
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for Thailand yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Bangkok (BKK), 582 km away
Then: Flight · 4h (Thai AirAsia / Nok Air / Thai Lion / Thai Airways)
Flights from India: from 16 cities, one way from ₹8,600
Fly into Krabi (Ao Nang & Railay) (KBV), 1196 km away
Then: Flight · 5h (Thai AirAsia nonstop)
Flights from India: from 2 cities, one way from ₹11,500
Routes compared
Entry rules
No visa needed for up to 30 days
- Within 72 hours before landing, fill in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) at tdac.immigration.go.th. It is free; save the QR code it gives you. Do one card per traveller, children included.
- At the immigration counter, show your passport, the TDAC QR code and, if asked, your return ticket, hotel booking and cash.
- You are stamped in for up to 30 days. To stay longer, apply once at a Thai immigration office before the stamp runs out: up to 30 more days, ฿1,900.
Carry: Passport valid for at least 6 months from the day you arrive, with a blank page; Confirmed return or onward ticket leaving Thailand within 30 days; Hotel bookings (or a host's address) for the whole stay; Cash or equivalent of ฿20,000 per person (฿40,000 per family), about ₹56,000 per person; TDAC confirmation QR code (screenshot or printout).
India's visa-free stay was cut from 60 to 30 days from 15 September 2026, after a May 2026 plan to move Indians to a 15-day visa on arrival was reversed. Rules have changed three times this year, so confirm on the Royal Thai Embassy, New Delhi site before you fly. A 300-baht tourism fee for air arrivals is still proposed, not collected.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in Thailand in March
Instead in season this month.
- Koh Kood (Koh Kut) · great month
- Koh Phangan · great month
- Koh Samet · great month
- Koh Samui · great month
- Hua Hin · great month
- Khao Lak · great month
- Khao Sok · great month
- Koh Chang · great month
Nearby in Northern Thailand:
Want this as a real plan?
Chiang Mai in March, day by day, priced for your group.