Chiang Mai Nightlife: Alcohol Hours, Areas, Getting Home

You can generally buy alcohol from 11:00 to 24:00, and the legal drinking age is 20. Licensed hotels and authorised entertainment venues are exempt from the midnight restriction. Pre-arrange your ride home, so you never have to accept a lift in an unlicensed vehicle.

If you are wondering when the shop stops selling beer, the answer in most places is midnight, and the mid-afternoon break that older guides warn about no longer applies. The rest of this page covers what staff ask for, which area suits your evening, and how you get back to your bed.

This is not a bar list. For food stalls and market nights, start with the night markets guide.

When can you buy alcohol, and when do bars close?

You can generally buy alcohol between 11:00 and 24:00, and the old mid-afternoon gap no longer applies. Outside those hours sales stay restricted unless separate legal conditions apply.

Hotels, international airport areas, licensed entertainment venues and approved event spaces run on their own conditions. So a venue authorised as an entertainment venue can serve past midnight while a shop is restricted from selling then. Service hours also vary by venue type, licence and location, so go by what the staff tell you and ask for last orders.

If you buy or drink in a public place during restricted hours, check with the venue owner or the seller first, because failing to comply could result in a fine.

Some nights the answer is no for everyone. Sales may be restricted during elections, major religious days or other official periods announced by the authorities, so ask your hotel in the morning if a holiday or an election could fall on your night.

Where is drinking off limits?

Not in temples, government offices, petrol stations, public parks or on public transport, unless the law specifically allows it there. So finish your drink at the venue instead of carrying it through a park on the way home.

Think before you upload a group photo from the bar. Posting images of people drinking alcohol or wearing clothing considered inappropriate can be illegal, and both the person who uploaded them and the people shown could be fined or imprisoned.

How old do you have to be, and what ID do you need?

You must be 20, and you should carry identification wherever a venue requires it.

Police may ask to check your passport. If you do not have it with you, you could be asked to produce it within 24 hours at a police station, and a copy of the photo page is usually sufficient. I would carry that copy on a night out rather than the passport itself.

Where should you go at night?

It depends how late you want to stay: the markets wind down between 22:00 and midnight, and after that the night is about bars and rides. Pick the area first, then plan the ride home.

Nimman

Nimman is the easy first night. One Nimman on Nimmanahaeminda Road is open daily from 11:00 to 21:00, and its Night Market Zone closes at 22:00, so plan dinner and a walk there and decide afterwards whether to carry on. If you are staying in the area, our Nimman living guide covers the noise.

Old City and Tha Phae Gate

The Old City is where the weekend nights are. The Sunday Walking Street runs along Ratchadamnoen Road from 5 PM to 10:30 PM, and the Saturday Walking Street Market is on Wua Lai Road. Use Tha Phae Gate as the landmark when you tell a driver where to pick you up. For what it is like to live inside the moat, see the Old City guide.

Night Bazaar and Chang Khlan Road

The Night Bazaar is on Changklan Road and opens at 5 PM and closes at midnight, which means it outlasts the walking streets that close by 10:30 PM. That makes it the natural last stop if you want to keep walking after the other markets have shut.

How do you get home safely after midnight?

Book your ride home before you go out, so you never have to accept a lift in an unlicensed vehicle.

With Grab you see the trip cost before you book, excluding tolls and surcharges, and with Bolt you see the final price before you request a ride, so you do not have to haggle a fare late at night. Before you get in, check that the car colour, make and driver details match the app, and share your live GPS location with a friend. During a ride, the emergency button notifies the authorities or your emergency contacts.

If you like to plan ahead, Grab lets you book a ride from seven days until 2 hours before pick-up, with an Advance Booking Service Fee from THB 60 to 260. GrabTaxi is described as a 24-hour taxi that you can book in advance. If you take a taxi or tuk-tuk from the street, give exact instructions on where you want to go and decline offers of a sightseeing detour. Our Grab vs Bolt guide compares the two apps.

Can you ride a motorbike home after drinking?

No. Avoid driving under the influence, because alcohol and drugs make you less alert and more vulnerable to accidents and injuries.

The basics still apply on any night. You must wear a helmet by law, and if you ride without a valid licence your travel insurance could be invalidated, so you would be unable to claim after an accident or injury. Rental scooters in tourist areas are often unregistered and cannot be used legally on a public road.

How do you avoid spiked or unsafe drinks?

Never leave your drink unattended, and never accept one from a stranger. Drink spiking and drug-assisted sexual assault happen in tourist areas around Thailand, with male and female victims.

Drinks served in bars are often stronger than those in the UK, which is one more reason to pace yourself. Violent sexual assaults and unprovoked attacks are most common during full moon parties or similar events and near bars late at night.

There have also been deaths and cases of serious illness caused by alcoholic drinks containing methanol in Thailand. Even small amounts of methanol can kill, and you cannot identify it by taste or smell. If you or someone you are with shows signs of methanol poisoning after drinking, seek urgent medical attention.

What else gets visitors into trouble on a night out?

Possessing or using any vape, e-cigarette, pod, e-liquid or heat-not-burn device is illegal in Thailand. Offences can lead to confiscation, fines typically THB 5,000 to 30,000, detention and court proceedings.

It is also illegal to smoke in public, with a fine of up to THB 5,000. Cannabis is restricted to medical use: you must not buy, possess or use it without a Thai-issued medical prescription, which is limited to a 30-day supply, and recreational use remains illegal. For the wider list of traps, see the safety and scams guide.

Who do you call if something goes wrong?

Call the Tourist Police hotline, 1155. For police generally the number is 191, and for a medical emergency it is 1669.

The Mueang Chiang Mai Tourist Police Station is at 196 Sriwichai Alley, Chang Phueak. The emergency numbers guide has the wording to use when you call.

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Not confirmed: Closing time of a particular bar: ask the venue, because service hours vary by venue type, licence and location. Dry nights: sales may be restricted during elections, major religious days or other official periods, so ask your hotel or the venue that day before you plan around a drink.

General information checked against the sources listed above. Prices, opening hours and other details change; confirm them with the provider before you act. See how guides are checked.

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