VacationSelector
Wat Chiang Man in the old city, Chiang Mai
Chiang MaiWat Chiang Man in the old city
Charles Bridge and the Old Town Bridge Tower, Prague
PragueCharles Bridge and the Old Town Bridge Tower

Photos: Chiang Mai by Gije Cho, Pexels License; Prague by Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Chiang Mai or Prague?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Chiang Mai for

  • wellness
  • food and drink
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Chiang Mai’s own page.

Choose Prague for

  • live music and the arts
  • getting around
  • day trips

What lies behind each score is written up on Prague’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Chiang Mai 6, Prague 10: Prague leads by 4 points.
Food & drink. Chiang Mai 78, Prague 50: Chiang Mai leads by 28 points.
Culture & sights. Chiang Mai 65, Prague 83: Prague leads by 18 points.
Nightlife. Chiang Mai 45, Prague 65: Prague leads by 20 points.
Nature & outdoors. Chiang Mai 73, Prague 58: Chiang Mai leads by 15 points.
Day trips. Chiang Mai 48, Prague 77: Prague leads by 29 points.
Good for families. Chiang Mai 55, Prague 50: Chiang Mai leads by 5 points.
Getting around. Chiang Mai 38, Prague 83: Prague leads by 45 points.
Shopping & style. Chiang Mai 62, Prague 50: Chiang Mai leads by 12 points.
Affordability. Chiang Mai 90, Prague 62: Chiang Mai leads by 28 points.
Live music & performing arts. Chiang Mai 30, Prague 76: Prague leads by 46 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Chiang Mai 82, Prague 40: Chiang Mai leads by 42 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Chiang Mai and Prague.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Chiang Mai
56match

Wins on wellness and food and drink with your weighting.

Prague
Best match
59match

Wins on live music and the arts and getting around with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Chiang Mai in July

32 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
153 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
13 hdaylight a day

Prague in July

25 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
76 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
Chiang MaiPrague

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Chiang Mai: 1991-2020 normals, Chiang Mai (0.6 km from centre). Prague: 1991-2020 normals, Praha-Libus (8.1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureChiang MaiPrague
Official languageThaiCzech
CurrencyBaht (THB)Czech Koruna (CZK)
SocketsABCF220 V, 50 HzCE230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+7UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency numberPolice 191, ambulance 1669, fire 199112
Elevation310 m235 m
Main airportChiang Mai International Airport (CNX)3 km from centre28 non-stop destinationsVáclav Havel Airport Prague (PRG)12 km from centre178 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year-13 days

By the numbers

MeasureChiang MaiPrague
City population1,198,0001,397,880
People per km²2,9582,817
Museums within 10 km688
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Chiang Mai or Prague somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.