Myanmar has been much slower to open up to tourism than other countries in Southeast Asia, and many of us still question whether it is a safe and easy country to travel through. The answer to that question is yes. While some areas still remain off limits most of the country is safe and easy for backpackers to travel, including crossing over the Myanmar/Thailand border. One of the easiest and well-managed crossings of that region is Myawaddy to Mae Sot.
Myawaddy is a town in the southeastern part of Myanmar, in the Kayin State. It is situated about 3 hours east of Hpa-An, a town becoming increasingly popular for tourists due to its picturesque, unspoiled landscapes. Most backpackers that choose to travel overland will either use Hpa-An as their first destination in Myanmar, or their last one.
If you are using Hpa-An as your last destination then there is a way to get from Hpa-An, over the border and up to the northern city of Chiang Mai in the same day. From Hpa-An, book transport to Myawaddy. This will usually be a private vehicle because of road conditions, and you can book this through any guesthouse in Hpa-An (we used Soe Brothers Guesthouse). The cost is 10,000 kyat per person and the journey takes about 3 – 4 hours, leaving Hpa-An early morning (7am or 9am).
Once you arrive at Myawaddy you walk 5 minutes along the main road to immigration. Immigration into Thailand is very easy for most nationalities. There are no long lines and no one to charge you excessive fees; just a stamp in your passport and you’re on your way.
The friendship bridge connects Myawaddy to Mae Sot and takes 5 minutes to walk across. On the other side you will find ATM’s and banks to get Thai baht. Note that you cannot change kyat in Thailand so you must change it before you cross the border.
In Mae Sot there will be share Taxi’s that take people to the other side of Mae Sot where the minivan leaves to Tak Bus Station. Take the share taxi for 100 baht per person and then take the minivan for 78 baht per person indegenerique.com/. The minivan will take approximately 1 hour.
Once you arrive at the main bus station in Tak there are many buses going to Chiang Mai. You can choose a VIP bus that will cost around 230 baht, or a standard bus that will cost 180 baht. Both have air conditioning, one is just a little more fancier than the other. You can also get food and drink at the Tak Bus Station for your journey.
2018 Update:
The Green Bus company now run two busses daily directly from Mae Sot to Chiang Mai. Available to book online through our partners 12Go Asia or via their timetable below.
[timetable agent=”406229″ from=”Mae Sot” to=”Chiang Mai” lang=”en”]The journey from Tak to Chiang Mai takes approximately 4.5 hours, stopping once on the way. It will drop you at the Chiang Mai Bus Station, which is located about 3 kilometres outside of the Chiang Mai centre. A taxi should cost no more than 50 baht per person to get you to the centre of town.
Leaving Hpa-An Myanmar at 7 am should get you to Chiang Mai Thailand at around 5pm depending on layover times and traffic. If you’re on a budget or prefer adventure travel then this is a great option to get you from Myanmar to Thailand without spending too much money.
Hi,
This has been so useful! Thank you very much.
I’m looking to backpack this summer and was wondering are the buses going to Chiang Mai frequent or will I have to look up times?
Further information would be greatly appreciated!
Glad to help. The buses to Chiang Mai run every few hours so you won’t need to plan too far ahead.
Perfect! Thanks!!
Hello,
This guide is a great help. I have one question – how did you find a share taxi that goes to the other side of Mao Sot?
Thank you.
Do you mean from Mae Sot in Thailand over to Myawaddy in Myanmar? Or the other way around?
Thank you for this very usefull post. We’ve arrived to Chiang Mai around 6 pm, headed from Hpa An that morning at 7 am. We booked at the hotel shared taxi from Hpa An to Myawaddy, took us 3 hours. Changed all Kyat to Baht before crossing to Thai side. Crossed the border to Mae Sot, found taxi that took us to minivan station (80B per person). Took minivan (78B per person) to get to Tak bus statuon which was arround 1:30h long and sometimes slow drive mainly due to many construction works on the road. Took a bus to Chiang Mai at Tak; 4 hours later we arrived to Chiang Mai. Many thanks
Great to hear you found it useful! Thanks for detailing your trip too. All the best for the rest of your travels!
Hi! Thanks for the helpful post. Would you happen to know if there are late afternoon buses from Tak to Chiang Mai? I may not be able to get to Tak before 1 or 2pm on my trip. Thanks!
Thanks Kim! Yes we got a bus at about 3pm, they run every 30mins but some are more expensive than others.
Your explanations are clear and very helpful, thank you Bianca.
Well explained and so useful information. Thank you, Bianca.
Very well explained. Thank you
Hello and thank you for this wonderful info.
I was wanting to confirm that i am coming from the Thailand to Myanmar and am under the assumption the buses are the same just in the reverse travel order?
Look forward to hearing back
Kindly
Stephen
Hi Stephen and Merry Christmas!
Yes they are usually the same in reverse but may run at different times. We usually use 12 Go Asia to double check route times and tickets: https://12go.asia/?z=406229
Just crossed the border yesterday (december 2018) and adding my experience.
If you take the shared taxi from Hpa-an to Myawaddy, there’s a big chance that you will arrive around noon to 1pm. After crossing the border, I was told that there was no buses going from Mae Sot to Chiang Mai for the day anymore.
DO NOT BELIEVE THE SONGTHAEW DRIVERS. One of the songthaew driver was insisting that I would better stay the night in a guesthouse in Mae sot to take the bus to chiang mai in the next morning. According to him, there were no buses left for chiang mai for the day and the buses to Tak were all full because a lot of people were crossing the border for new year. He was offering to bring me and a group of people to the guesthouse for 75 baht.
It should cost around 20 baht to go to the bus station so I declined. Since they wouldn’t bring us to the bus station to Tak, I decided to stop a car. Someone stop to help in less than 5 minutes. He first brought me to the green bus station (for chiang mai). They confirmed that there were no buses for chiang mai anymore (looks like they only run in the morning). Then he brought us to the bus station to Tak. I could get in the bus that departed ten minutes later for 78 baht. Arriving in Tak, I was immediately called for the bus to Chiang mai that departed five minutes later for 215 baht.
I arrived in Chiang mai around 11:30 pm on the same day. It looks like there are also night buses going from Tak to Chiang Mai
Many thanks for sharing Yuan 🙂