[The Kids Water Park Section is Closed as of April 20th, 2023. The Wave Pool and Lazy River Remain Open. The Big Slide Are Often Closed]
Escape the heat at Tube Trek Water Park Chiang Mai. Spend a family day out soaking up the rays and the waves at Chiang Mai’s largest waterpark
Tube Trek Water Park is Chiang Mai’s first western style water park, and hopefully it’s not the last. It’s got a wave pool, a surprisingly good kiddy water park that even tweens enjoy, and thirteen big slides for us big kids at heart.
For something a little different than your typical water park, check out the Grand Canyon Water Park south of the city. It’s an inflatable water park which is also loads of fun for all ages. Or maybe you’re looking for something to better fit your budget? Check out this smaller water park just north of the city.
But keep reading for your guide to Tube Trek Water Park to see if it will be a great water adventure for your family in Chiang Mai.
[sharethis-inline-buttons]
How much does the Tube Trek Water Park Chiang Mai cost?
Let’s start with the wonderful fact that kids under 90 cm are free! What really irks me is that there is dual pricing which, if you can’t get out of paying tourist prices, Tube Trek may not be worth it for your family budget.
Lucky for us there’s Klook to the rescue! They offer a much better deal on tourist prices than anywhere else:
Normally,locals will pay 500 baht ($16) per adult, while children will pay 300 baht ($9.50). Tourist or farang prices are quite noticeably higher at 850 baht ($27) per adult (140 cm or 40 kg and above will be charged adult prices) and children are 450 baht ($14) if they are between 90 -140 cm.
You can also check Tube Trek’s facebook page often for promotions.
What does the ticket price include?
The admission ticket to Tube Trek Water Park includes admission to all slides and areas if you are over 40 kg. It includes life jackets and access to sun umbrellas and sun chairs.
What are the extra costs or add-ons?
Food and drink
You cannot bring in your own water or snack. They check your bag on the way in and keep anything on a shelf by the entrance with your names marked on it.
Inside the water park are three eating areas. One is a snack shop, one is an indoor restaurant and coffee shop, while the third is the outdoor food court zone.
Considering it’s a water park, the food and drinks are not that expensive. A can of beer is 60 baht (about $2), pizza or spaghetti are 189 baht ($6), and Thai food such as fried rice (Khao Phad) was around 60 baht (about $2). The outdoor food area has a covered dome to eat under.
You must have a wristband to make any purchases within the water park.
Lockers
Lockers are 60 baht (about $2) and 50 baht deposit for wristband key for the whole day.
Towels
White towels can be rented for 50 baht ($1.60) with a refundable 100 baht (about $3) deposit.
Cabanas
Get your family a private cabana that can fit 10 people for 500 baht (about $16), 100 baht deposit for the day.
What if you don’t want to swim?
No worries! You are still very welcome to enter the park. Entry for non-swimmers is 100 baht (about $3).
Is Tube Trek Water Park Chiang Mai worth a visit?
Well, that depends! On what exactly? Your expectations. Set them fairly low, go in with an open mind, and you’ll enjoy your time there. It’s for the kids after all and they will be sure to have a blast – and isn’t that what we want?!
Having been to a few water parks around Asia and Canada, Tube Trek was the least impressive. That’s not to say it completely sucks (it doesn’t), but it likely won’t take your breath away.
Let’s get the less impressive parts out of the way, shall we?
Wear and tear
The water park has only just turned 2 years old and is showing some signs of wear and tear. There is rust appearing on most structures (why they wouldn’t have invested in high grade rust-proof metals is mind boggling), and paint is peeling off.
The wave pool
The wave pool is adorable! Adorable in that it produces the smallest waves ever! On the plus side, this makes it safe for even the littlest of kids to be in at all times when wearing lifejackets or under a watchful eye.
Weight restrictions
As for the big slides, they’ve unfortunately had to put weight restrictions on every slide because children kept getting stuck inside the tubes due to not having enough mass to be pulled down the slides! Most water parks have a height restriction, but Tube Trek Water Park Chiang Mai has a weight restriction: you must be at least 40 kg/88 lbs and not more than 100 kg/220 lbs to ride the slides.
This can be disappointing for older children. Our friend’s daughter who is 11 years old was still not heavy enough and tweens or teenagers may be disappointed if some of their friends can go on the slides, but they can’t. Pro tip: weigh yourselves before you go!
Slides closed
We were also a bit disappointed as to why not all of the slides were open until late in the day. Then I recalled an article I’d read about how if the park isn’t busy enough, some of the slides, and sometimes even all of them, won’t open. So we recommend you go on a day that is bound to be busy such as a public holiday or weekend.
Poor design features
And now on to the lazy river, the highlight of any water park, am I right?! Well in this case, someone foolishly decided to add some design features that may have looked good on paper, but in real life could cause some bodily harm. Along the sides of the lazy river, exactly at head level, are these fake rock outcroppings. If you are spinning around, or are pushed into or simply knocked into these, it’s going to hurt! Just keep your eyes open and stay away from the edges as much as possible!
The other thing to watch out for in the lazy river is the somewhat rough bottom. When we went both of the younger children managed to rub or scrape their toes along the bottom and had small scratches. Everyone else was fine because, well, we were lazy! We just floated along feet up.
No lifeguards
This next fail may be a make it or break it for many of you – there are no lifeguards. There are people that man the slides, but in both the wave pool and the kiddy water park section, there were none to be seen. Friends who have been on numerous occasions say that there used to be lifeguards, but that the park has probably cut back on costs. So it’s up to us parents to keep a closer eye on the kids. The water park is not very big, so this is easy to do if you stay in the same general area.
Ok, now on to the good things about Tube Trek Water Park, Chiang Mai
The kiddy water park is FUN!
Everyone can go on the slides – yes, even you moms and dads! There are slides for the very little ones and bigger slides for the more daring ones. In total there are 4 pretty fun slides in the kids zone plus the giant bucket that creates a massive rush of water.
We spent most of the time split between here and the lazy river.
The lazy river
I think we went on the lazy river about 10 times and the kids went even more times than that. They had single or double tubes available with some waterfalls features along the way. There’s just something about a lazy river that keeps you coming back again and again.
It’s not busy!
Like really not busy. There was no wait for any of the slides. There were always tubes available for the lazy river or the wave pool, and best of all, there were always spots in the shade! My friends who have been many times said the day we went was the busiest they’ve ever seen it, and it wasn’t busy at all.
There is (just enough) shade
Set up beside the kid’s water park and along the wave pool, were lots of sun umbrellas and canopies. If you wanted to secure shade, you could always rent your own cabana for 500 baht for the entire day.
You don’t need to carry any cash around!
Instead of worrying about your wallet, just leave it locked up safe in one of the lockers and get a wristband. Make sure to get your wristband first, because it will also be the key to your locker.
At the office near the front entrance (to the right after you enter behind the ticket booth) is the place where you can rent a locker, a cabana, a towel and load up your wristband with cash. Depending on the size of your family, 1,000 baht will be enough and you get refunded unused money afterwards.
There are life jackets available!
Lifejackets are readily available in all sizes and come at no extra rental charge. You are encouraged to wear one; well at least the children are.
Slide your butt off!
For adults or people over 40 kg, there are 13 different slides to ride on! Some require you to have a friend, while the big funnel looking one requires 4 people to ride. A few of them you even have to go down face first! Those were the best.
It’s small
Now you may think that’s a bad thing, but actually, if you are there with kids in tow, this makes your life so much easier. You don’t have to trek kilometres to go and get food or drinks, or go get something from the locker. You also don’t have to keep picking up your things and moving them around. The water park designers have also managed to pack in quite a lot of fun into a small space.
It’s fun!
It really is. You can easily spend 3 hours or more here which makes it worth it.
Is Tube Trek Water Park Chiang Mai safe?
Child safety
Well, as mentioned there are no lifeguards (that we saw) besides the people manning the large water slides and the walls and bottom of the lazy river could scratch little feet up, so you need to be mindful. The other thing that could be a safety issue is that it gets HOT. Really, really hot. Make sure you and the kids have your shoes handy because there is potential to burn the soles of your feet on the hot ground.
Are your things safe?
We did not get a locker while we were there, so we had to keep an eye on our things. Is the 60 baht locker fee worth making your mind feel a bit more at ease? Probably! 60 baht (about $2) is nothing at the end of the day compared to lost time and money if something is taken. It likely won’t be, but you never know.
Are the slides safe?
Yes, from what we could see they are, but I’m no engineering expert! The staff are particular about who can go on each big slide. They will literally weigh you before you can access the stairs.
Is the water clean?
Yes it was constantly moving and being filtered. The water is a chlorine system and was nice and clear.
When is the best time to go to Tube Trek Water Park?
While it is open all year round, it seems the park managers operate the park in reaction to the number of park goers. During the off-season (beginning of April to the beginning of October), it is not a good idea to visit during the week. The large slides are not even turned on or manned, which means you can only access the kiddy water park and the wave pool.
However, this may not be a bad thing, seeing as children and teenagers have to be over 40 kg to go on the large slides any ways, but you might want to have some fun! These periods come with a discounted rate to ask about which could save your family money.
This means that the best time to go is on weekends or public holidays when the locals are free to go too! Also during tourist season or high-season (October to March) are good times as there are lots of tourists to fill the water park.
For locals, expats, or tourists who happen to be here during hot season (March to June) you’ll want to be sitting in water 24/7. They aren’t joking when they say hot season – it gets to 45 degrees and there’s humidity! So to be able to escape into a water wonderland, yeah, count us in!
We recommend you message Tube Trek before going to check.
Get a souvenir
During your visit you’ll see men with paparazzi type cameras taking photos. No, it’s not likely someone famous is there (although that has happened for Thai celebrities), they are taking photos in the hopes that you want to take a family memory keepsake home. At the exit, there will be photos available for you to take home starting at 250 baht and costing as much as 500 baht. Who knows? Maybe it will be a family memory you’ll never want to forget!
How to get to Tube Trek Water Park Chiang Mai?
Tube Trek is located in the village of Bo Sang. Heading from the centre of town, it could take between 30-40 minutes to get here!
To get to the water park it’s bet to take a Grab which has a guaranteed price. Alternatively you could take a songtaew, taxi, or even rent motorbikes. If you are driving your family yourself, simply head westward along the 1317 or 1006 roads and keep your eyes peeled for signs.
Hours: Open 11 am – 6:30 pm daily.
Entrance fee:
Local price:
Adults 500 baht
Children (91 cm – 140 cm and up to 40 kg) 300 baht
Children (under 90 cm) FREE!
Tourist price:
Adults 850 baht
Children (91 cm – 140 cm and up to 40 kg) 450 baht
Children (under 90 cm) FREE!
Pet friendly: NO
Parking: FREE. Parking for cars and motorbikes in the parking lot.
Telephone: 052 010 123
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tubetrekwaterpark/
Location: Google Maps
Things to consider
Bring sunscreen and apply it liberally! Bring your own soap and shampoo if you want to shower off afterwards.
On another day you should spend some time at the other water parks in Chiang Mai 🙂
