I will be flying into Chiang Rai from BKK and need transport to the Anantara Resort in the Golden Triangle. The resort's fee transport is more than I'd like to spend.

What would be the best means of getting up there? Is renting a car and driving myself safe and managable? If so, how do I go about setting this up? If hiring a driver, what is a reasonable fee for them to charge and could you recommend someone?

Thanks!

i agree with you about anantara's fee....so i rented a car for about the same price for my 4 nite visit as anantara wanted for the round trip...i used budget and made the res from here in usa....

plus this allowed me to get around at will while at the resort...it is quite issolated so you almost need some transportation, or you have to rely on the hotel and they charge a lot....plus it allowed me to do everything on my own...

driving was a snap with amost no traffic at all once i left the airport...there were only about 5 turns (two right and all the rest lefts) from the airport to anantara...there are not that many roads so it is very easy to do....the one turn that was a bit difficult had an anantara sign at it, just outside chiang saen.....
get a road map of northern thailand and you will be just fine....we had a michelin map book of thailand---not very detailed , and it was all we needed...

they do drive on "the other side of the road" as is done in england....most cars are standard shift but not all...

we had a great little toyota corolla and it was almost new...

Dear rhkkmk,

Thanks for your quick response. Is there a Budget office for car pick-up and drop off at the CR airport?

Also, do you happen to know how long it takes to get from the Anantara to the Queen Mother's Garden/Home?

yes there is an office right inside the airport....

i think the drive to doi tung is about 30-40 min...we stopped off in a town along the way---the border town to myanmar, so it is hard for me to estimate....don't miss it though...

also the opium museum, directly across from the hotel, is the best non-western museum i have ever been to...

we did not do any elephant things at anantara, but wish we had

Agree with Bob - driving in that area would have been easy.

We used the Anantara's driver because we wanted to stop at the market in CR and have someone watch our luggage while we shopped.

There were also plenty of taxis at the airport that seemed fine. If you decide to take a cab, have the hotel info written down in Thai. Even our Anantara driver did not speak English.

BTW, the Thai pronounciation of the resort is a-NAHN-tara, with the stress on the second syllable.

its a one hour drive, btw