The Chiang Rai temples, then north to the Mekong at the Golden Triangle, the tea plantations, Doi Tung and the hill villages, with one or two nights in Chiang Rai.
If you have the time, Chiang Rai is better over two or three days than in one. You see the temples without rushing, and the next day you go north, where the road climbs into the tea hills and comes down again at the Mekong.
I have done this trip with many groups and no two were the same. Some want the Hall of Opium and the history of the Golden Triangle. Some want to sit in a tea house on Doi Mae Salong for the afternoon. Tell me which you are.
A typical day. We can move, skip or add stops.
We leave Chiang Mai in the morning, stop at the Mae Kachan hot springs, and spend the afternoon at the White Temple, the Blue Temple and the Black House. In the evening you can walk to the night bazaar, and the golden clock tower has a light show at seven, eight and nine.
North to the Royal Villa at Doi Tung and the Mae Fah Luang garden, then down to the Mekong at Sop Ruak, where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. You can take a boat across to the Laos market on Don Sao island if you bring your passport. On a two-day trip we drive back to Chiang Mai from here, about four hours, with a stop at the Choui Fong tea plantation.
Either a very early start for the sunrise at Phu Chi Fa, or a slower morning at Doi Mae Salong, a Yunnanese village in the tea hills. We visit an Akha village on the way down, stop at Wat Huay Pla Kang, and drive back to Chiang Mai in the afternoon.
Tell me what interests you most, the history, the temples, the tea or the villages, and I will build the days around it.
The three-day version is the more relaxed one and is the only way to reach Phu Chi Fa or Doi Mae Salong, which are too far for a day trip.
The White Temple, the Blue Temple, the Black House and the Guan Yin statue at Wat Huay Pla Kang, with a stop at the hot springs on the way. A long day, about twelve hours.
Your own itinerary, airport and station pickups, or several days across the north. Tell me what you have in mind and I will tell you what is possible.
The highest mountain in Thailand, two royal pagodas, a hike through the forest to a Karen village, and the biggest waterfall in the park.