Team Building in Chiang Mai Overview
Chiang Mai is a wonderful destination affording a contrasting corporate experience to the Southern Beaches. Named the Rose of the North” the city is steeped in its Lanna Kingdom history and northern cultural roots. Sitting in a valley surrounded by stunning mountain scenery it captivates visitors of all types and has been voted the world’s NO:2 city by a prominent leisure-travel publication due to its cosmopolitan nature, moderate climate, and thriving arts & culture scene and now the area has also become a favorite destination for international MICE and team building events!
Why Chiang Mai is the perfect incentive team building destination
Chiang Mai is the perfect relaxing corporate retreat destination where the pace of life is less frantic and where top class facilities are always close by. In 2012 the city played host to nearly 500 MICE functions and 47,000 overseas business travelers.
With over 33,000 premium-class hotel rooms and wealth of modern business facilities, Chiang Mai is well-equipped to handle high-volumes of visitors and MICE groups of any size as well as fabulous mountain scenery, this area is fantastic for outdoor adventure team building events.
Chiang Mai Team Building Activities
Chiang Mai Team Building Videos
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Chiang Mai Partner Hotel Area Guide
Chiang Mai is a wonderful destination to host a team building trip to Thailand. The north is much more relaxed than the hustle and bustle of Bangkok or the hordes of tourists in the south. While Chiang Mai isn’t as busy as the other major locations of Thailand, it is still a fantastic destination in the beauty of the northern mountainous and forested region. If you’re seeking inspiration for engaging team-building activities, consider exploring these 5 inspiring virtual outdoor team building activities and ideas.
What brings tourists and team building trips to Chiang Mai is a combination of the slowed pace of life, the culture, greater value, a range of indoor team building activities, and the surrounding nature with the potential for adventure team exercises.
Indoor and outdoor team building activities arranged by Making Teams include jungle based games and an assortment of team building games and seminars.
The partner hotel is ideally located within walking distance of the downtown Old City. The Old City is the original location of the city, clearly demarcated with the moat and remnants of the wall still standing to this day, centuries after they were constructed to protect Chiang Mai as the capital of a former kingdom. Inside the Old City are many temples, shrines, and other religious sites. It is also a center for museums, art galleries, yoga studios, and muay Thai gyms. A number of great places to eat and drank out after an exciting day of team building or CSR work can be found in the Old City or on near the bridges into the core of the city. Some of the top attractions in the Old City include the Chiang Mai National Museum, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Bupparam, and Suan Buak Hat Park, which could serve as a great place for a treasure hunt team building activity. Above all, Chiang Mai has lots to do and see and for clients visiting on incentive or team building trips and offers great value in comparison to some of the other major destinations in Thailand.
Places to Stay in Chiang Mai
The city center is the main heart of the city with modern hotels, restaurants, shops and malls all within a short walking distance. This area comes alive at night with souvenir market areas and street stalls mixing together with restaurants and outdoor dining creating a fantastic yet relaxed atmosphere to enjoy Chiang Mai. Bars and nightclubs are also closely for those looking for late night entertainment. Choose to stay at Le Meridien Chaing Mai with its modern appearance and facilities in the heart of the city or Shangri La Chiang Mai, with its classy Thai resort style feel or choose Empress Chaing Mai for a traditional Thai experience.
The original site of Chiang Mai city, the Old walled structure is unique as it has remained relatively in tact. A series of gates around the city moat, guard and entrances and exits to this historic heart of Chiang Mai, with numerous temples, side streets, monuments, museums and markets, all waiting to be explored. The area between Wat Chedi Luang and 3 Kings monument features on our Amazing Chase event with an observation walk challenge and as clue locations which may feature on our Chiang Mai cultural discovery.
The surrounding hills and beyond are home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. This area is well known for trekking, adventure activities and exotic orchid nurseries. Events including Jungle Adventure, Jungle Survivor and Bamboo raft racing are all possible and Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai offers the perfect executive hideaway experience in this region.
Doi Suthep temple is one the city’s most well-known landmarks. Set high above on a hillside overlooking the city in the valley below, it was built in the Lanna period in 1383 and is home to large golden chedi. Doi Suthep is ideal for our cultural discovery temple quest activity or climbing and counting the never-ending steps to the top and the entrance to the courtyard on the Amazing Chase.
The old Iron bridge is one of the most well-known symbols of Chiang Mai. It is the place where lovers congregate every evening to enjoy a romantic moment under the stars and is a focal point for the Loy Krathong celebrations during November. Located along both sides of the river are restaurants, local shops and markets. Anantara Resort Chaing Mai is located right by the river with fabulous views from the dining terrace, the more modern Holiday Inn Chiang Mai is also close to the river and the chic boutique Sala Chiang Mai offers a more intermate retreat experience.
Chiang Mai Geography
Chiang Mai, also spelled Chiengmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand and the third largest city overall after metropolitan Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima. It is about 400 miles from Bangkok and is the capital and the Chiang Mai province.
The city is situated on the Ping river, a tributary of the Chao Phraya river on which Bangkok sits, at an elevation of over 1000 feet.
It was once the capital of an independent region and still shares close cultural, economic, and religious ties with neighboring Laos and Burma.
This city provides a contrast to the usually densely populated Asian towns and cities. Chiang Mai more resembles a large village that is orderly, clean, and sprawling, though it is still covered by forest, grasslands, and swampy wetlands.
In the wider region of the province, however, there are still the usual Thai characteristics, such as the waterfalls, mountains, and tropical forests, which the many national parks show off.
Flights to Chiang Mai
There are no direct flights to Chiang Mai from the UK.
In the UK, London’s international airports offer the most choice for flights and connection locations. It is possible to get a flight with one stop in Bangkok from London Heathrow (LHR) and London Gatwick (LGT), though it is easier to take a flight with two stops.
Popular connection locations are:
● Singapore
● Kuala Lumpur
● Hong Kong
● Guangzhou
The flight time from London to Chiang Mai can vary depending on where you stop and for how long. It ranges from 19 hours to over 36 hours.
Manchester (MAN) airport offers a range of flight options to Chiang Mai, too, and is a popular choice because of the number of flights available.
Leeds (LBA) and Birmingham (BHX) airports also offer flights to Chiang Mai, though with less frequency than the London and Manchester airports.
There are daily flights available to Chiang Mai from the larger international airports of mainland Europe, all with at least one stop.
Some options are:
● Paris
● Frankfurt
● Munich
● Amsterdam
Each has roughly the same flight time of between 13 and 16 hours for a one-stop journey.
There are no direct flights from the United States but the best airports to fly from for the number of flights available are the New York area airports (JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark), Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO). The flight times vary depending on where you stop and for how long, but they are all around 24 hours.
There are two terminals at Chiang Mai airport, one for domestic flights and one for international flights, contained in a single building.
When you arrive you will find a local bus station just outside the Arrivals terminal that will take you to Chiang Mai’s old town. This can be as quick as 20 minutes if there is no traffic. The airport is also less than 10 minutes away from the city center by taxi.
Weather in Chiang Mai
The climate of Chiang Mai is much like the rest of Thailand, with two distinct periods, one rainy and one dry, and a couple of brief transitional periods between them. These are driven by the northeast and southwest monsoons.
The dry season in Chiang Mai is between the months of December and March. The driest and coolest month is January in Chiang Mai, though the average temperature is never below 29 degrees Celsius (84 Fahrenheit) year-round. The month with the most sunshine is March, with 295 hours, so this is really the best season to visit for tourists.
During the rainy season, the humidity is regularly above 80 percent and you can expect rain every day, with heavy downpours usually in the late afternoon and evening. There are often brief thunderstorms every day in the afternoon.
The wettest month is August, when over 8 inches of rain can fall, and there are on average more than 24 rainy days.
Local Guide: Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is a gateway to the north of Thailand and is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination. The city is known affectionately by the natives as ‘The Rose in the North’ and is dripping with history and culture.
It is the capital of the Lanna Kingdom and was founded more than seven centuries ago, and is home to more than 300 temples for you to visit. Known for their friendly and welcoming nature, the locals are sure to make you feel at home while you are in Chiang Mai.
● The city’s most famous attraction is the temple of Doi Suthep, though this is the name of the 5400-meter mountain on which it is found. Located about 9 miles outside of Chiang Mai and over 1000 feet above sea level, the temple offers the most stunning views of the Thai landscape and an opportunity to visit the local Meo Hill tribe.
● There are so many restaurants and bars to visit, as well as the various local market scenes. Nimmanhaemin Road is packed with places to eat and drink – and is where the more affluent citizens hang out.
● San Kamphaeng Road is known as ‘Handicraft Highway’ and is a 7-mile stretch of road where you will find outlets famous for pottery, silverware, sculpting, wood carving, silk products, and so on. Warorot Market is a day market where the local’s shop and is the perfect place to experience the local culture.
● Doi Inthanon National Park is home to Thailand’s highest mountain, and is a place of unmatched beauty. It is home to more species of bird than anywhere in Thailand.
