Mae Hong Son Destination Guide

Updated 8th Sep 2026

Mae Hong Son is a border province in Thailand's far north-west, about 924 km from Bangkok. It is long and narrow, roughly 250 km from north to south and about 95 km across, and every one of its seven districts touches the Myanmar border. Around 85 per cent of the province was forest on a 2020 figure.

The government's flight records, which run to the end of February 2026, show no scheduled service to Mae Hong Son since October 2025. The last flight there to carry passengers was on 30 June 2025, and the last scheduled movement of any kind followed on 24 October 2025. In practice that means flying to Chiang Mai and then spending several hours on a mountain road.

What the province has is forest, mountains and distance. National parks, a hilltop temple above the town and a flower field that is out for about two weeks in November are all a drive apart. The furthest of its district offices is 192 km by road from the provincial hall.

Getting there

Scheduled flights and the airport

The Department of Airports publishes movement-level flight records, and Mae Hong Son Airport is in them, with 756 movements logged during 2025. In those records the only airline filing scheduled domestic flights there in 2025 was Bangkok Airways, under flight numbers PG-205 and PG-206. The last of those to carry passengers was on 30 June 2025.

The same flight numbers kept filing through July, August, September and October with no passengers aboard, the last of them on 24 October 2025. No scheduled movement has been logged since, and the records run to the end of February 2026. Bangkok Airways' own 2026 route map does not show Mae Hong Son.

The airport has gone on recording movements, but none filed as scheduled: the records carry non-scheduled domestic flights in November 2025 and again in January and February 2026. The Department of Airports publishes the underlying open flight data.

The road from Chiang Mai

Two highways run from Chiang Mai province to Mae Hong Son town, and the choice changes the journey by more than a hundred kilometres.

Highway 1095 is the northern route. It starts at Mae Taeng in Chiang Mai and runs 246 km through Pai and Pang Mapha into Mae Hong Son town, on two lanes of asphalt between 7 and 12 metres wide depending on the section. The legs are 135 km to Pai, 44 km on to Pang Mapha and 67 km from there into town.

Highway 108 is the southern route. It starts at Hot in Chiang Mai and runs 354 km through Mae Sariang, Mae La Noi and Khun Yuam, again on two lanes, 8 to 18 metres wide in sections. The legs are 191 km to Mae Sariang, 30 km on to Mae La Noi, 67 km to Khun Yuam and 66 km into town.

Pai is one of the province's seven districts, and both highway 1095 and the line 612 bus run through it on the way north; its district office is 111 km by road from the provincial hall. There is a separate Pai destination guide for the town itself.

The provincial government describes these roads plainly. They cut through forest and mountain, climbing and descending with continuous curves and steep gradients, they are damaged in sections, and obstacles in the carriageway are common. Drivers are told to keep their speed moderate and follow the signs strictly.

In the rainy season the province warns of landslides, falling rocks and fallen or leaning trees on these roads. The rains run from mid-May to mid-October, with August the wettest month.

The road begins in Chiang Mai, so that is where the trip really starts. The Chiang Mai destination guide covers the city, and the Chiang Mai Airport page covers the airport itself.

Schedules for the flight legs either side of the drive are on the Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai to Bangkok route pages.

Buses to Mae Hong Son

The province lists three inter-provincial bus lines to Mae Hong Son town: two from Chiang Mai, on the two highways above, and one direct from Bangkok. Each has a single operator.

Line	Route	Distance	Journey time	Operator
612	Chiang Mai bus terminal, highway 107 to Ban Mae Malai, then highway 1095 through Pai and Pang Mapha	250 km	5 to 6 hours	Prempracha Transport
170	Chiang Mai, highway 108 through Hang Dong, San Pa Tong, Chom Thong, Hot, Mae Sariang, Mae La Noi and Khun Yuam	359 km	8 to 9 hours	Prempracha Transport
961	Bangkok Northern Bus Terminal, through Nakhon Sawan, Kamphaeng Phet and Tak to Thoen, then Li and Doi Tao to Hot	928 km	17 hours	Sombat Tour

Buses use the terminal at 144 Nawakhachasan Road in Chong Kham, Mueang Mae Hong Son, which has 12 bays and two ticket windows and is shared by both operators. The provincial government sets out the roads and the bus lines on its own land transport page.

Getting around the province

Inside the province, the Mae Hong Son Transport Cooperative runs yellow songthaew services from a stand in front of the municipal fresh market, Talat Sai Yut, in Mae Hong Son town. It runs to Pai, Khun Yuam, Pang Ung, Huai Khan, Rak Thai, Ban Huai Phueng, Ban Klang and Pa Lan.

Distances are the constraint on any itinerary here. These are the road distances from the provincial hall in Mae Hong Son town to each district office.

District office	By road from the provincial hall
Mueang Mae Hong Son	2 km
Pang Mapha	64 km
Khun Yuam	67 km
Pai	111 km
Mae La Noi	134 km
Mae Sariang	164 km
Sop Moei	192 km

Two more inter-provincial roads reach the province, and neither of them runs to Mae Hong Son town. Highway 105 runs 162 km from Mae Sot in Tak to Sop Moei and Mae Sariang, and highway 1263 runs 90 km from Mae Chaem in Chiang Mai to Khun Yuam.

When to go

The Department of National Parks describes three seasons in this province. The rains run from mid-May to mid-October, with August the wettest month. The cool season is November to February, and the hot season runs from mid-February to mid-May, with April the hottest month.

The cool months are also the foggy ones: the department records fog on about 21 to 26 days between November and January, mostly at dawn, with average minimum temperatures around 9.8 C. In the hot season the average maximum is about 34 C.

The tightest window in the year falls in November, when the Bua Tong flowers on Doi Mae U Kho are out for about two weeks. A trip planned around them needs its timing checked before anything else is booked.

Poi Sang Long, the Tai Yai novice-ordination festival, is listed as a Mae Hong Son event held across late March and April at several temples in the province.

Air quality can be checked before you set off: the Pollution Control Department operates a monitoring station at the Natural Resources and Environment Office in Chong Kham, in Mae Hong Son town, and publishes its reading.

Places to head for

Wat Phrathat Doi Kong Mu

Wat Phrathat Doi Kong Mu stands on Doi Kong Mu, the hill west of Mae Hong Son town, in Chong Kham subdistrict. It was formerly called Wat Plai Doi. It has two decorated pagodas: the larger, brought from Myanmar, was built in 1860, and the smaller dates from 1874.

The hilltop looks out over the town and the mountains and valleys around it. The temple can be reached on +66 53 611 221.

Namtok Mae Surin National Park

Namtok Mae Surin National Park covers 396.60 sq km across Khun Yuam and Mueang Mae Hong Son districts. It was gazetted on 29 October 1981 as Thailand's 37th national park. The land runs from 300 m up to Doi Pui at 1,752 m.

Its named features are Mae Surin Waterfall, Thung Bua Tong, Pha Bong Waterfall, the Kued Luang or Mae Sakud waterfall, the Doi San Fa viewpoint, Tham Nam Hoo Hai Jai and the Huai Fai Kho Reservoir, along with the Pai River and its sand beaches. The welfare shop opens 08:30 to 16:30. An entrance fee is payable, and the receipt has to be kept for inspection.

The park records about 1,282 mm of rain a year, and January averages a minimum of 14 C against April's average maximum of 38 C. The department says the rains between May and October make travel in the park difficult, so call the park headquarters on +66 5306 1073 before making the drive out.

Tham Pla-Namtok Pha Suea National Park

Tham Pla-Namtok Pha Suea National Park covers parts of Mueang Mae Hong Son and Pang Mapha districts, the same side of the province as the town. It was gazetted on 23 December 2009 as Thailand's 116th national park, at 630.59 sq km. Its highest point is Doi Lan at about 1,918 m, and its northern and western sides are the Myanmar border.

The Bua Tong field at Doi Mae U Kho

The Bua Tong field sits in Mae U Kho subdistrict in Khun Yuam district, 26 km from Khun Yuam on highway 1263. It is open from 06:00 to 18:00, and camping is arranged during the bloom.

The flowers are out during November, for about two weeks a year. Outside that fortnight the same long drive gets you a hillside.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get from Bangkok to Mae Hong Son?

Fly to Chiang Mai and continue by road, or take the bus the whole way. From Chiang Mai, line 612 up highway 1095 through Pai takes 5 to 6 hours, and line 170 down highway 108 through Mae Sariang takes 8 to 9 hours. Line 961 runs direct from Bangkok's Northern Bus Terminal, 928 km and 17 hours.

Is Mae Hong Son town worth the journey?

In the town itself, Wat Phrathat Doi Kong Mu sits on the hill to the west. Namtok Mae Surin National Park, Tham Pla-Namtok Pha Suea National Park and the Bua Tong field are all further out, the field 26 km beyond Khun Yuam and Khun Yuam 67 km from town, so the distances are the thing to plan around.

The travelling is the bulk of the trip: from Chiang Mai it is 5 to 6 hours on the faster of the two bus lines, and 17 hours direct from Bangkok.