Doi Tung Royal Villa
Doi Tung Royal Villa
4.5
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The royal residence of HRH the late Princess Mother formerly served as her base of operations to monitor the work progress at the Doi Tung Development Project. It has since been transformed into a symbol of the Princess Mother's commitment to improving the local people's quality of life.
Duration: < 1 hour
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
407 reviews
Excellent
259
Very good
112
Average
26
Poor
8
Terrible
2
JRP-Bkk
Bangkok, Thailand1,744 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
The villa was the residence of late King’s mother who did a lot to improve the lives of the hill tribes .
The design is a mixture between a Swiss Chalet and Lanna architecture.simple but very high quality design and finishes .
Conservative dress required , long trousers provided for men .
No photos allowed inside .
Golf cart available at 1,000 baht per hour for those with limited mobility .
Great gardens as well .
The design is a mixture between a Swiss Chalet and Lanna architecture.simple but very high quality design and finishes .
Conservative dress required , long trousers provided for men .
No photos allowed inside .
Golf cart available at 1,000 baht per hour for those with limited mobility .
Great gardens as well .
Written February 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kris76
Bangkok, Thailand4 contributions
Jan 2021
Lovely experience. We done the whole experience of the flower garden, museum and touring the royal villa. The villa itself is still amazing and they have kept the villa as the way as the late queen stayed in there when visiting the area. gardens are very well looked after and have many butterflies!
Written January 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jo-Ann
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia17,186 contributions
Aug 2019 • Friends
90 Baht entrance fee. The grounds is beautifully maintained with a garden of flowers. Cool visit inside the villa. Tour tapes for all visitors so you may take your own sweet time to visit each room and listen to its history. No photos allowed inside the villa. No shoes allowed too.
Written August 13, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pianocello
Shah Alam, Malaysia1,940 contributions
Mar 2023 • Family
The best thing about this is the gardens which are really pretty. The actual building will probably only appeal to Thais. You have exhibits of everyday things like spectacles and toothbrushes which may not appeal to everyone.
Written March 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Iryshe
Washington DC, DC664 contributions
Aug 2015 • Family
The Royal Villa is former home of the Princess Mother - the mother of the current and previous kings of Thailand. She loved nature, learning, conservation, and the people of Thailand. The home is beautiful and still used on occasion by the crown princess. The audio tour is very informative and allows all visitors to get the most out of their visit in various languages.
Written July 18, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DY2556
Manchester, UK49 contributions
Feb 2016 • Couples
Mae fah luang is stunning, and should be kept like this forever in true respect for her majesty Som Det Yaa. The grandmother of the people, the mother of the king.
The tour and museum explain what a great woman she was, if you didn't know already. What she did to help and change the lives of the people of Northern Thailand is remarkable.
The place and the gardens are stunning, nicer than any botanical gardens i have been to.
Should be number 1 on things to do in Chiang Rai
The tour and museum explain what a great woman she was, if you didn't know already. What she did to help and change the lives of the people of Northern Thailand is remarkable.
The place and the gardens are stunning, nicer than any botanical gardens i have been to.
Should be number 1 on things to do in Chiang Rai
Written May 3, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Patt S
Bangkok, Thailand44 contributions
Feb 2016 • Friends
This place reminded me the lovely lady, princess Srinagarindra. The villa of king's mother is very lovely. I love how they decorated it especially the alphabet wall and the ceiling. The garden is beautiful. Wearing shorts or sleeveless shirt are not allowed to enter the villa but they have sarong and shirt for you to borrow.
Written February 20, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joyful_G_C_Chan
Samut Prakan, Thailand73 contributions
Feb 2016 • Family
Garden was at its best this time of the year. Weather was great - 12 degrees
Royal villa was closed this period.
Transport wise - book a tour or a private car. As I was a solo traveller, I had to take a motorcycle cab all the way up from the base of the hill. Quite an experience. Thankfully the driver was a careful driver. Was told there was a public song taew up to the hill but could not locate one. Even the tourist police whom I approached told me to take the motorcycle cab.
Royal villa was closed this period.
Transport wise - book a tour or a private car. As I was a solo traveller, I had to take a motorcycle cab all the way up from the base of the hill. Quite an experience. Thankfully the driver was a careful driver. Was told there was a public song taew up to the hill but could not locate one. Even the tourist police whom I approached told me to take the motorcycle cab.
Written February 9, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve H
United Kingdom2,299 contributions
Jan 2016 • Friends
Built for the mother of the current King, it is a beautiful creation and lived in home by the Kings Mother. This is a real home built for royalty but with day to day needs. Not the usual luxury palace design but a place that shows royalty at home in a relaxed atmosphere overlooking stunning gardens and the mountains of Myanmar in the background. Well worth a visit as part of a tour to this area.Ladies should wear at least short sleeves and long trousers and men should wear long shorts over the knees and short sleeve shirts, there is a small office that will lend shirts and trousers, no charge. The gardens are beautiful with mountains of Myanmar in the distance. A very intersting tour of gardens with brilliant orchids, shrubs, trees, statues and other objects made from wood and rags which just add to this wonderful experience. ,
Written January 23, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Martha2950
San Francisco, CA30 contributions
Dec 2015 • Family
We spent the day at Doi Tung/The Royal Villa/Etc. on December 1, 2015. If you have a love for architecture, beauty and gardens – this is a special place to visit. This villa was built for HRH Princess Srinagarindra in 1988 (the King’s mother). Upon arrival, you will see shops along both sides of the street (clothing, gift, nursery, ice cream, restaurants). We ate in the cafeteria café – reasonable and good. You must purchase a ticket to enter The Villa, Mae Fah Luang Garden (12 acres of garden with hundreds of species of beautiful plants and flowers, the Hall of Inspiration (the stories honoring the Royal Family), and the Arboretum. Please note that you must dress appropriately to enter the Villa – cover shoulders and knees. If not, the people at the security station checkpoint will provide you with a wrap. You will walk about 10-15 minutes uphill to the Villa. You are required to remove your shoes and you will receive a headset in English for your guided tour of the Villa. No photography is allowed. Wow – mountain views and gorgeous flowers around the Villa. The Villa is still occupied by the Family and a military guard is posted. You will learn that HRH Princess Srinagarindra was a remarkable woman and revered by the people of Thailand. She was able to destroy the poppy fields and opium trade in Thailand. She got the citizens to rebuild in the Doi Tung mountain region and now it is a flourishing agricultural area.
We then visited the air conditioned Hall of Inspiration and learned about the Royal Mahidol family. At the end, I had a sense of gratitude and pride for the present King and Queen and their descendants.
The Mae Fah Luang Garden and the Arboretum (a short drive away) were amazing. Absolutely stunning and I encourage you to take your time to enjoy it. Also, there is a coffee shop in the garden. There are vendors outside of the Arboretum parking lot selling wine, crafts, souvenirs, etc.
Please note that there are many tourists and locals visiting this site. You just have to ignore them and go at your own pace to enjoy the Villa, Hall, Garden and Arboretum. Our view of the Arboretum was great since we were the last group (14 of us) to walk the grounds before closing. Also, at this particular time, the sun was going down and it was a comfortable coolness.
We all agreed that the day was very well spent at this one location since we originally were only planning to spend a few hours here. Please note that the drive to this area is very twisty on a two lane highway (one lane in each direction). Also, even though we are in a mountain region, the weather was sunny and hot.
We then visited the air conditioned Hall of Inspiration and learned about the Royal Mahidol family. At the end, I had a sense of gratitude and pride for the present King and Queen and their descendants.
The Mae Fah Luang Garden and the Arboretum (a short drive away) were amazing. Absolutely stunning and I encourage you to take your time to enjoy it. Also, there is a coffee shop in the garden. There are vendors outside of the Arboretum parking lot selling wine, crafts, souvenirs, etc.
Please note that there are many tourists and locals visiting this site. You just have to ignore them and go at your own pace to enjoy the Villa, Hall, Garden and Arboretum. Our view of the Arboretum was great since we were the last group (14 of us) to walk the grounds before closing. Also, at this particular time, the sun was going down and it was a comfortable coolness.
We all agreed that the day was very well spent at this one location since we originally were only planning to spend a few hours here. Please note that the drive to this area is very twisty on a two lane highway (one lane in each direction). Also, even though we are in a mountain region, the weather was sunny and hot.
Written January 6, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hola! Cuánto cuesta comer en el restaurant?
Written October 27, 2019
Hi, I will be staying in Chiang Mai from 8-12 August 2017 and would like to know if there are conducted day tours to Doi Tung Royal Villa and its gardens from Chiang Mai.
Thank you, Michael from Singapore
Written May 13, 2017
Hi Michael,
All my apologizes for the delay.
I cannot tell you since we did it by ourselves. I am quite sure there are daily tours.
Another option could be to find a driver.
If you do so, maybe go back to Chiang Mai at Sunset along the Myanmar border. You will have an amazing view.
I hope you will enjoy your trip !
Nathalie
Written August 3, 2017
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