The 7 best onsen in Chiang Mai

This utterly zen, Japanese-style ryokan sits in the terraced hills of Mon Jam, just 40 minutes from the city centre. The peaceful wellness resort is home to three onsen baths that are the real deal, filled with local hot spring water. 

Day guests (not staying at the hotel but stopping by for a soak) can book them in advance: there’s one private space, Onsen in the Garden, that comes at a punchy price tag but is ideal for family groups or special occasions, or aptly named The Onsen, a public, more traditional pool that’s separated into men’s and women’s areas. 

There’s also an outdoor foot onsen that overlooks their duck pond and cute Japanese gardens. If you’re splashing the cash and staying at the lux property overnight (lucky you), some rooms come with an ensuite onsen of their own. Advance reservations are highly recommended, and outside guests can only book onsen facilities from 8am-6pm daily.  

293, 4051 Pong Yaeng, Mae Rim. B500 entry for The Onsen, B800 private Onsen in the Garden. Reserve a slot via 053 111 606. 8am-6pm daily.

Tucked away in a quiet nook between trees and ferns, under a canopy of ivy, the newly installed teak wood hot bath offers an onsen-esque experience in the spa's most idyllic corner. Heated to approximately 43C and filled with water infused with Epsom salts and magnesium, this addition to Old City Spa is our favourite of their heat contrast therapies.

Rotate between the hot water barrel and the yard’s ice bath that sits at  a crisp 1C, or heat up in the Thai herbal steam room, regularly topped up with ginger, lime and lemongrass. 

Most days, the space is filled with sauna-loving Muay Thai folk who head here for the Finnish and infrared sweat boxes, so our advice is to arrive early morning when they're all in training and you’ll have the place to yourself. Thankfully, visitors are capped at 20 people max, so whatever the crowd, serenity still rules. 

65 Intrawarorot Road, Old City. B450 for two hours. Booking and details here. 10am-10pm. 

Opening little over a year ago, the city’s newest branch of Sense is doing ‘affordable luxury’ like it’s going out of fashion. Using water from Umi Jigoku Onsen in Japan’s hot spring capital, Beppu, the mineral rich baths in the four private onsen rooms are infused with calcium, magnesium and sulphur. 

This classy spa is one of the few on our list that is a real onsen, thanks to its mineral water. It is sleek in design, with a serene soundscape,  gentle lighting and a fragrance that should be bottled – all colliding to make these baths the fanciest in town.

Prices are also very reasonable, and a session here is worth it for the privacy and moments of pure chill alone. The lovely team say it’s best to call them to reserve, either the day before you plan to bathe or in the morning if you want to visit that evening: they’re open until 11pm daily, with last entry at 10pm.

8, 1 Suan Dok Road, Suthep. B450 for one hour private onsen bath. Bookings via  081 884 4460 or online, 11am-11pm. 

We’ve been big fans of the new Japanese-themed kid on the block, Nozawa Hostel and Onsen, since it opened last October. Its idyllic garden is the closest thing in the city centre to a real onsen thanks to its layout and design. Three pools: medium 26-38C, hot 40-42C and cold 15-17C, await in the yard next to a really legit steam room and piping hot sauna where drizzling water on the stones is A-okay. 

A day pass gives you four hours but for B2,700 you can snag a batch of 10 – a steal if you add up the difference. As there’s only one onsen to share between genders, women’s sessions run daily from 1pm-5pm with men following on from 5pm-midnight. And, if it wasn’t clear already, you don’t have to be a hotel guest to soak here. 

7 Mae Khua Mung Road, Chang Phueak. B450 for a day pass. Details here. Women’s access 1pm-5pm, men’s access 5pm-midnight.

The most affordable onsen in Chiang Mai (B250 for a one day pass) is also the cutest. The family vibes at Looper, from the portrait photography with Granny front and centre surrounded by her grandkids, to the tiny toy Yorkshire Terrier who ‘guards’ the office and features on the pool’s T-shirts with the warning ‘Dangerous Dog’, make it as approachable as it is fun.

With a swimming pool, coffee shop, restaurant and mini gym all included in the price it’s a very wholesome day out, but it’s the onsen and cold bath we’re here for – the former heated to approximately 40C, while the latter maintained at a relatively pleasant 12-14C. Looper is a public hot bath so do expect to share it with up to 12 others, whose conversations vary in volume and subject matter. Generally, the regulars are friendly, respectful and as obsessed with contrast therapy as a health treatment as you’d expect.

144/49 Yu Yen Road, Jed Yot. B250 day pass. Details here. 7am-9pm.

Wat Ket’s award winning spa (just check out the trophy cabinet in the spa reception area if you need proof) is part of the facilities at lux hotel, Rarinjinda, which takes wellness very seriously. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a hotel guest to use the elegant spa’s onsen area – a circuit of three pools: the 40-42C ‘Hot Springs Pool’, the more gentle 36-38C ‘Carbonated Soda Spa Pool’ and the ‘Cold Water Pool’ that’s chilled to an easy 16C. 

However, the onsen is only accessible as part of Rarinjinda’s ‘Hydro Treatment’ package, which comes in at a cool B1,770 but does include use of their steam rooms and the extremely swanky hydrotherapy pool – one of only two in the city. It’s a large indoor pool in an elevated conservatory-like space with eight separate stations of jet-streamed warm water. Start by massaging your feet, end at your neck then loop back for more. 

1, 14 Chareonraj Road, Wat Ket. B1,770 for the 90 minute package. Booking via 053 247 000 or online. 10am-midnight.

This Santitham apartment building has a self-proclaimed sento (Japanese bath house that doesn’t use natural hot spring water, but heated tap water) on its ground floor and while it may be the least elegant, the fact it’s fully indoors has served us well over the years. It’s our pick for burning season when life is best spent indoors.

The place is split into two zones, one for men and one for women, and it’s the only public bath in the city you can visit naked, or use the disposable undies given to you. Handy if you’re not packing any swimwear.

The B450 entry fee means it’s usually pretty quiet so you’ll often find you have the sento to yourself, which includes two hot pools, a chilled pool (no ice in sight, don’t worry) and a little sauna. They also provide two towels free of charge and you don’t need to book in advance, so the function over form reigns supreme here, putting Hokka-An squarely in our hearts.

11 Thongkaw Rd, Santitham. B450. Details here. 1pm-10pm.