What Are The Best Ways To Keep Kids Busy In Chiang Mai When They Can’t Play Outside?
Find the best things to do indoors with kids in Chiang Mai right now!
Rainy season isn’t typically that bad, but the grey skies can make you feel like not going outside. That being said, when it rains, it POURS! After it rains, it also gets really humid and sticky which makes you crave air conditioning. So where can you take the kids to entertain them when it rains in Chiang Mai?
What about dreaded smoky season? Are the kids going to be satisfied sitting at home with the air purifier on? Probably not. Where can you go?
Here are a list of activities for kids to do in Chiang Mai during the rainy season and potentially in smoky season.
Rainy Season In Chiang Mai
From about June to October is considered to be the rainy season. It typically rains heavily twice a day – once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. Overnight it can also rain quite heavily for most of the night. Typically, the heaviest rainy months are typhoon season from August to September.
The rains can be quite heavy making playing outside quite wet and muddy.
So where are the best indoor places to kids in Chiang Mai?
Become Art At Art In Paradise, Chiang Mai
A new Art in Paradise has opened in Chiang Mai! It’s a 3D art installation where the art appears to jump off the walls and you can become a part of it.
It’s located near downtown at the 1006 Road and First Ring Road intersection inside a huge red ‘box.’ Art in Paradise provides great family fun for about about 1 to 1.5 hours, or longer as you can go back and through it as many times as you like. There’s also a nice café to grab a bite or a cool drink.
How much does it cost?
Well, the only downside is that Art in Paradise practices dual pricing. Adult foreigners are 460 baht while children are 140 baht. Thai adults are 260 baht and Thai children are 140 baht. All children regardless of nationality if less than 100 cm tall are FREE!
Learn About Space At Chiang Mai’s Astro Park
This fantastic fully operational astronomy centre in Chiang Mai is an excellent way to spend time indoors. It’s perfect for space lovers and those curious about physics. The whole family will love it! You can spend hours here making it a perfect activity to do indoors with kids in Chiang Mai.
There are 3 floors of exhibits to explore with engaging and interactive exhibits that are all modern and functional. We were very impressed with everything! All information is in English and Thai and there are staff on hand to answer questions.
There’s also a surprisingly affordable kid-friendly restaurant on site and a Maker Space. Oh, and there’s a planetarium!
How much does it cost?
Get, this… it’s FREE! Yup, 100% free to see all exhibits. The only extras are the planetarium show and the Maker Space, but both are shockingly affordable!
Eat Indoors With A Play Area
There are a few places around Chiang Mai where you can eat and the kids can play inside. Each offers something different, although most are small play areas meant for younger kids.
There is no cost for kids to play if you order food and drink which is nice! Sometimes the staff will even help look after the kids while you enjoy a meal too. It’s nice to have this option to enjoy play time outside the house even when it’s raining.
Find FREE Things to do With Kids in Chiang Mai >> HERE!
Head To An Indoor Playground
What better to do then find somewhere to play indoors?! Kids can have hours of fun at an indoor playground while getting away from the rain.
Thankfully, there are plenty of indoor playgrounds in Chiang Mai! Every mall and super centre (Big C, Tesco) has an indoor soft play area for children. Most are designed for toddlers or kids under 140 cm, but there are a few playgrounds that are perfect for big kids too! Most play areas won’t eat into your family budget either.
Spend Time At A Bookshop
The Little Lion Children’s Bookshop is a perfect place for book lovers to escape the rain. There are special reading areas for kids to read with you or on their own and the books are age appropriate from baby up to early teen.
There is also a simple café that serves a small selection of drinks, and best of all the books are super affordable starting at 30 baht from what we saw.
Hours: Open daily 9:30 am – 4:30 pm daily
Phone: 093 583 6011
Wheelchair or stroller accessible: Yes
Facebook: Little Lion Children’s Bookshop
Location: Google Maps
Check Out A Museum
Visiting a museum is a great activity to do indoors in Chiang Mai with older children.
Right near the centre of town you will find the Three Kings Monument. Behind it and across the street from it are four museums. You can choose to visit each one by one and pay an entrance fee each time, or you can purchase an all in one ticket and get an all access pass for a single fee.
Dual pricing exists here, so if you have a Thai driver’s license, have it armed and ready to get local price! Even with the tourist price you won’t break the bank. Museum entrance fees are comparatively cheap compared to other museums you may have been to and will fit your family budget.
Pro tip: do not attempt to get local price at the Lanna Folklife Museum. Instead, get your tickets from the Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre behind the Three Kings Monument. The staff were much more accommodating and friendly there.
All access museum pass
Adult local price: 40 baht
Child local price: 20 baht
Adult foreigner price: 180 baht
Child foreigner price: 80 baht
All museums are closed on Mondays.
The Lanna Folklife Museum
What was once the governor’s house has been transformed into a very modern and beautifully presented museum covering two floors. This museum is more of a showcase of beautiful artifacts showcasing Lanna (Northern Thai) history in both English and Thai. Of all the museums, this one has the least amount to see and will take 40 minutes to an hour to visit.
Hours: 8:30 am – 5 pm Tuesday-Sunday. CLOSED Monday.
Adult local price: 20 baht
Child local price: 10 baht (Children under 4 FREE)
Adult foreigner price: 90 baht
Child foreigner price: 40 baht (Children under 4 FREE)
Website: http://www.cmocity.com/3Museum/3_museum.html
The Chiang Mai House of Photography
The photography exhibit is housed on the second floor of an original Thai Lanna style home just behind the Lanna Folklife Museum. Access is completely free and the exhibit showcases local photography talent usually from two different photographers. The latest photo exhibit we saw was all about local hill tribes from the surrounding mountain villages.
The photo exhibit changes at most twice per year and sometimes you can see one of the most intact photo collections of Chiang Mai’s photographic history. It’s fascinating to see then and now shots.
Hours: 8:30 am –4:30 pm Tuesday-Sunday. CLOSED Monday.
Price: FREE for everyone
The Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre
Located directly behind the Three Kings Monument is the Chiang Mai Cultural Centre. This is the most well known and popular museum in Chiang Mai with lots of school groups touring it from around the province and tourists alike.
Expect to spend up to 2 hours here if you’d like to experience everything and if your children are patient enough to let you read everything! The museum was recently remodeled and quite outstanding and meets western standards. All information is clearly displayed in Thai and English with interactive exhibits and screening rooms.
It will take you on a historic journey through the birth of Chiang Mai, ancient beliefs, and explain the old Thai way of life and the old calendar which explains Thai new year, Loy Krathong (Yee Ping), and other popular holidays.
Hours: 8:30 am – 5 pm Tuesday-Sunday. CLOSED Monday.
Adult local price: 20 baht
Child local price: 10 baht (Children under 4 FREE)
Adult foreigner price: 90 baht
Child foreigner price: 40 baht (Children under 4 FREE)
Website: http://www.cmocity.com/1Museum/1_museum.html
The Chiang Mai Historical Centre
We had no idea this museum even existed! It’s a hidden gem located behind the Chiang Mai Cultural Centre. It showcases the history of Chiang Mai city itself and even has a large archaeological dig site where you can see the city’s original foundations.
This is our favourite museum of them all because it was really kid friendly and had a comforting vibe about it – almost like visiting grandma and grandpas house.
There were many interactive displays and large corridors for kids to be able to move freely around. There’s also a beautiful grassy courtyard. The displays really made Chiang Mai of yore come to life with restorations made of some very familiar places like Wat Umong, which had one of its tunnels brought back to its former glory.
Hours: 8:30 am – 5 pm Tuesday-Sunday. CLOSED Monday.
Adult local price: 20 baht
Child local price: 10 baht (Children under 4 FREE)
Adult foreigner price: 90 baht
Child foreigner price: 40 baht (Children under 4 FREE)
Head To The Mall
Not just nice places to walk around and take in the free air con and cleaner air, each has its own unique indoor playground, movie theatre, shops, food courts, arcades, and more!
Central Airport Plaza Mall
Located on the 4th floor are three play areas. Two of them are found in the middle of the mall as you walk around and are specifically designed for infants and toddlers. The third indoor playground is brand spanking new and it’s fabulous!
You can find it next to the movie theatre and the arcade.
There are special promotional rates on right now and it’s a great way for older kids up to 10 years old to get out some of that pent up energy!
Promenada Mall [CLOSED]
Families with young kids love this mall because there is so much open space for them to run around! Some people even bring their kid’s Strider bikes to the mall so their children can ride around inside. Yes, there really is that much space!
Sometimes on weekends there’s also a free bouncy castle. Promenada also has an indoor rollerblading rink, movie theater, trampoline park and arcade. Their indoor playground is located in Building B on the second floor near the movie theatre.
Kad Suan Kaew Mall/Central Outlet [CLOSED]
Not only is the name of this mall hard to pronounce (kad-su-ann-gow), it’s even more difficult to navigate through. I refer to it as the maze mall, but it’s fun to explore and there are LOTS of deals to be had here.
This mall has a movie theater, an actual theater, a bowling alley, an arcade and a playground.
The indoor playground can be found at the back of the second floor. As you walk towards the back the mall splits into two sections. Stick to the right and look for the bright lights.
Maya Mall
This is the most modern mall in Chiang Mai. It’s small, but packed with interesting stores, restaurants and more. There’s also a movie theater, arcade and play zone.
Its play area is up on the top floor next to the food court. It’s designed for children 7 and under.
Central Festival Chiang Mai
You could easily spend most of the day at Central Festival. It’s got a movie theater, arcade (great for teenagers!), ice skating rink, and an enormous indoor playground that is great for kids up to about 10 years old.
Watch A Movie
Head out to any of the malls and watch a movie in the cool, clean air. It’s a perfect way to escape the hot weather, smoky air or rainy weather in Chiang Mai. Movie tickets can cost anywhere between 80 -600 baht depending on the day, the type of theater, and the seats you choose.
There is NO dual pricing at movie theaters!
Find out more about watching a movie in Chiang Mai including things to watch out for if you have young children, and the tips and tricks to getting movie tickets for less!
Hang Out At The Arcade!
There are many arcades in Chiang Mai, each with its own personality and game choices, each marketed towards specific age groups. There are train rides, animals rides, helicopter rides to name a few! For games, there may be air hockey, basketball, water gun races, shooting games or racing games. There will definitely be addicive games too like the ones where you are SO close to winning, you just have to try again.
Go Ice Skating
Now this is a great indoor activity for kids in Chiang Mai! How cool (literally) is it that Chiang Mai has an indoor ice skating rink?! During the hot mugginess of the rainy season, and the polluted air of smoky season, escape into the freshness of Sub Zero at Central Festival Mall.
How does ice skating cost*?
Skate rental and 90 minutes skate time: 250 baht (Mon-Fri) 300 baht (Sat-Sun)
Rent locker deposit: 50 baht
Rent a walker (penguin) to help you skate: 50 baht
*Small group or private lessons are also available through their Ice Skate Academy. Please inquire with Sub Zero to confirm pricing.
Find CHEAP Things to do With Kids in Chiang Mai >> HERE!
Hang Out At A Supercenter
These are similar to what Americans would call big box stores. The supercenters in Chiang Mai that are very kid friendly are Big C and Tesco.
Big C
Not only can you shop for your household needs here, you can have lunch in the food court and during alcohol hours, enjoy a tower of beer! The kids will be entertained because all of the Big C Supercenters have indoor soft play areas and can be located on either the first or second floor near the food court. Prices are based per hour.
Tesco Hang Dong
All Tesco Lotus supercenters are great places to shop for groceries and accessories. They also have a food court and shops and restaurants on the first floor to get food or nick-knacks.
The large Tesco Lotus south of Central Airport Plaza Mall on the 108 Road (Hang Dong Road) has an incredible large indoor soft play zone upstairs. It’s perfect for all kids 10 and under with a myriad of activities from painting, drawing, sliding, bouncy castles, trampolines, Lego and more!
Prices are also based per hour.
Go Rollerblading Indoors
There’s only one place to go rollerblading inside in Chiang Mai and it’s on the 4th floor of Central Airport Mall. It offers roller blades for rent in all sizes and even offer lessons for kids and adults too!
Each rental comes with all the safety gear. Just make sure to bring your own pairs of socks, but not to worry if you forget, you can purchase socks there for about 30 baht.
You are also welcome to bring your own roller blades and have a skate around.
How much does it cost?
Bring your own roller blades: 40 baht per day
Rent roller blades and safety gear: 100 baht per hour (Mon-Fri) 120 baht per hour (Sat-Sun, Holidays)
One on one lessons: 450 baht per hour (Mon-Fri) 500 baht per hour (Sat-Sun, Holidays)
