I've spent a combined six weeks between these two cities over the past four years. Friends planning Southeast Asia trips always ask me the same thing: "Should I do Chiang Mai or Luang Prabang?"
The honest answer is both. But if you only have one week, here's how they compare.
Both are former royal capitals surrounded by mountains. Both have UNESCO recognition (Luang Prabang full designation, Chiang Mai's old city is a tentative site). Both are known for temples, night markets, and being "the chill alternative" to their countries' capitals. Both attract the same type of traveler — someone who wants culture without chaos.
But they feel completely different once you're there.
Luang Prabang: 33 active temples in the UNESCO zone alone. Wat Xieng Thong is the star — a 16th-century masterpiece with the famous tree of life mosaic. Temples here feel intimate. Most are small enough to explore in 10 minutes. The monks are everywhere, part of daily life, collecting alms at dawn, studying in courtyards, fixing motorbikes behind the monastery.
Chiang Mai: Over 300 temples in the city and surrounding hills. Doi Suthep, the golden temple on the mountain overlooking the city, is iconic — 306 steps up a naga staircase. The scale is bigger, the gold is shinier, the crowds are thicker. Wat Chedi Luang's ruined chedi in the old city has a scale that Luang Prabang can't match.
Verdict: Luang Prabang for spiritual atmosphere and intimacy. Chiang Mai for architectural variety and scale. If the morning alms ceremony matters to you, Luang Prabang wins outright — nothing in Chiang Mai compares.
Luang Prabang: Lao cuisine is simpler and less internationally known than Thai food. Laap (spicy minced meat salad) and sticky rice is the staple. Or lam, the city's signature bitter stew, is an acquired taste — earthy, herbal, funky. Street food is excellent and cheap: khao piak sen noodle soup for 15,000 LAK ($0.75). The French colonial influence shows in the baguettes and pastries. Joma Bakery does a croissant that would hold up in Lyon.
Chiang Mai: Thai food is Thai food — it's incredible. Khao soi (coconut curry noodle soup) is Chiang Mai's signature, and a bowl at Khao Soi Khun Yai on Charoen Rat Road costs 50 THB ($1.40). The Night Bazaar food court has 100+ stalls. The Sunday Walking Street market stretches for a kilometer with food on both sides. Chiang Mai's food scene is deeper, wider, and more varied.
Verdict: Chiang Mai, convincingly. Lao food is good but Thai food is a global top-five cuisine, and Chiang Mai's street food scene is world-class.
| Category | Luang Prabang | Chiang Mai |
|---|---|---|
| Budget hotel | $5-15/night | $8-20/night |
| Street meal | $0.75-1.50 | $1-2.50 |
| Restaurant meal | $3-8 | $3-10 |
| Local beer | $0.50 (Beerlao) | $1.20 (Chang draft) |
| Temple entry | $0.50-1.50 | Free-$1.50 |
| Tuk-tuk across town | $1.50-2.50 | $2-4 |
| Day trip (main attraction) | $10-15 (Kuang Si) | $15-25 (Doi Inthanon) |
| Daily budget total | $13-35 | $20-50 |
Verdict: Luang Prabang is cheaper across the board. Laos is one of the cheapest countries in Southeast Asia, and Luang Prabang, despite being touristy, hasn't inflated to Thai resort prices.
Luang Prabang: The Laos-China Railway made access dramatically easier since 2021. Direct flights from Bangkok (2 hours), Hanoi, and Vientiane. The town is walkable — you don't need transport inside the old town. Bicycles rent for 30,000 LAK ($1.50)/day.
Chiang Mai: Way more connected. Direct flights from every Asian hub plus some European and Middle Eastern cities. Uber doesn't work but Grab does. The old city is walkable but the broader city requires transport — Grab rides around town run 60-100 THB ($1.70-2.85).
Verdict: Chiang Mai for ease of access. Luang Prabang for walkability once you're there.
This is where the real difference lives.
Luang Prabang is slow. Deliberately, almost aggressively slow. Shops close by 9PM. The loudest sound at night is the Mekong lapping against the riverbank. There's no nightlife to speak of — a few bars on the riverside close at 11:30PM (government curfew). The town's energy is contemplative. You read books here. You watch sunsets. You sit.
Chiang Mai is relaxed but active. The old city has a cafe-and-coworking culture that attracts digital nomads from everywhere. The Sunday Walking Street market is massive and energetic. Nightlife exists — Zoe in Yellow on Ratvithi Road, cocktail bars in the Nimman neighborhood. You can have a full social life here.
Verdict: This one's personal. Introverts and slow travelers: Luang Prabang. Social travelers and people who want options: Chiang Mai.
Luang Prabang: Kuang Si Falls (turquoise waterfalls with swimming pools, 30km from town). Pak Ou Caves by boat up the Mekong. Elephant Conservation Center in Sayaboury (3 hours away). The surrounding mountains are accessible but undeveloped compared to northern Thailand.
Chiang Mai: Doi Inthanon (Thailand's highest peak, 2,565m). Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. The Mae Sa valley with orchid farms and a snake farm. Chiang Rai and the White Temple are 3 hours north. The infrastructure for adventure activities — zip-lining, rock climbing, trekking — is much more developed.
Verdict: Chiang Mai for variety and adventure infrastructure. Luang Prabang for one iconic waterfall experience that Chiang Mai can't match.
Go to Luang Prabang if you:
Go to Chiang Mai if you:
Go to both if you:
Gun to my head? Luang Prabang.
Chiang Mai is the better city — more food, more things to do, better infrastructure, easier logistics. But Luang Prabang does something Chiang Mai doesn't. It strips away the noise. No Grab notifications. No Nimman cafe influencers. No 300-temple decision fatigue.
Just the Mekong, the monks, and a Beerlao at sunset.
Some places are better because they offer less. Luang Prabang is one of those places.
But I'd still eat Chiang Mai's khao soi every day if I could.
