Nan: Camping in Northern, Thailand

Nan City

If you're looking for a central starting point, Nan City is the best place to rest your head the day before your camping retreat. It has a local airport to fly in from Bangkok, but if you're using ground transport, it's also the snack hub to prepare any last-minute packing essentials (Big C Supercenter is like the Walmart of Thailand). I also loved exploring this downtown area because it has a beautiful white temple (Wat Ming Muang) and a temple with a big golden Buddha (Wat Suan Tan).

The city may be modest in size, yet its charm extends far beyond its boundaries. With a vibrant night market, enticing clothing boutiques, and a selection of exceptional cafés, all within walking distance, it's safe to say that it beckons as an irresistible pit stop for any traveler.

Mae Charim National Park

We packed everything into our rental car in the early afternoon, and with less than an hour drive from Nan City, we found ourselves driving slowly along a gravel road with Siri on our Google Maps telling us to keep driving "northeast", until we finally found the sign for our first campground site (don't give up!).

It wasn't like we were the only people there, but it did have the feel that we rented out the place for our own private use...the boujee backpackers we were.

White Water Rafting (available between July and December): A park trooper came out from the stillness of this park to direct us to the campsite, and so we changed into our bathing suits and followed him down the path to the river for our white-water rafting adventure (make sure to let them know you'd like to raft in advance to reserve your guide).

We buckled in our life jackets, picked up our paddles, and the five of us (plus our guide), hopped into this yellow raft to begin our 19.2km descent downstream.

Now this was my first time rafting through rapids and I didn't love the idea...but thankfully, this was only a Class one of six, so it was more of a float trip with some periodic thrills and no fear of falling out.

Our guide pulled over every now and then to let us hop out and swim in the calmer water and take in all the nature around us...even catch some sightings of Water Buffalo!

At the end of our trip (2hr), we piled into the back of a pickup truck, still in our raft, but with our raft on wheels. Taking a scenic drive back up to our campsite to get showered and dine in for the night.

If you travel to Nan outside these months, I've heard the hiking trails are also a good alternative for bird watching, cave exploring, and climbing the mountaintops for an epic view.

The Camping: There is nothing fancy or luxurious about this campsite. The showers are communal and dirty, so if you'd rather not shower, just tell your tent buddy first...or the slow flow river to your left could be a more desirable option for a quick rinse.

To our displeasure and starving bellies, the restaurant here closes at 16:30. We weren't even close, as the sun was setting when we returned to camp. Thankfully, my friends brought snacks so our crispy Funyuns with an onion-infused flavor and hint of salt were our main dish as we depleted our resources that night and did not come prepared to cook.

However, the tent itself was so spacious (I won rock, paper, scissors so two to a tent was much comfier than three) and the camp provided pillows, a sleeping bag and my favorite, a mini foam mattress. Ground versus mattress makes a huge difference to your mood the next day. We were right up along the river, so falling asleep to the calm ripples of the water and insects whirring outside brought me into a deep sleep. But I highly recommend getting to bed somewhat early because you'll be awoken as soon as the sun comes up and the tent becomes an unbearable sauna.

Note to all: Start the white water rafting early so you can get back in time before the restaurant closes (unless you are ready to prepare your own dinner...grilling would have been a great idea here).

Doi Samer Dao National Park (camping available from October to February)

No need to do much hiking to reach this next campsite. The 3km well-paved road to the top brought us straight to the parking lot and our car was just a couple hundred feet from our assigned tent. Unlike last night's experience, we were surrounded by many tents, so we had to make sure to keep track of our stuff and not get lost among the string of them (while theft is rare here, it's still wise to be cautious and avoid leaving your belongings in plain sight).

The tent has a yoga-style "block" pillow and sleeping bag, but you'll be sleeping on the ground, which can get cold at night (bring layers!) and windy (earplugs too!). So while this was my favorite campsite for the views and ambiance, I definitely slept so much better at Mae Charim.

Being equipped with showers, toilets, a café, and restaurant, you will not starve here and there's more than enough people to give you the comfort and conversation you may have lacked at Mae Charim. Most of the visitors here are locals, so you'll be in awe just people-watching and admiring the grilling and social activity.

The evening grew even more magical as the sun went down (appreciating both sides of the mountaintops) and lying back on the grass lawn to look up into a sea of stars shining so magnificently, you'll get lost in a wondrous daze and can't peel your eyes away. We spent the later part of the night drinking a couple beers and talking about life and space until we hit the hard pillow and set our alarms for 4am.

While hitting the snooze button and retreating to bed might seem tempting, experiencing a sunrise of this magnitude above the clouds is unparalleled. And remember, it's not just about rushing to your 9-5 desk job. You'll cherish the tranquil, panoramic views painted with vibrant colors, all steps away from your tent.

Wrapping up our unforgettable morning, we indulged in a traditional Thai breakfast at one of the local stalls before embarking on our descent back down the mountain, heading towards Nan City.

Intrigued to experience such breathtaking moments? Let's plan your next adventure together! Reach out to me for more details or to book your tour in the chat box below!

I highly recommend that you bring your own food to grill and prepare at the campsites. Even though there were plenty of food stalls at Doi Samer Dao, the prices are steeper than in Nan City and not worth it in my opinion. Since you'll be driving or have a driver to take you around, there will be easy storage space to haul all the snacks and extra treats you could ever need in this two day timespan.