What can non-golfers do in Chiang Mai while the others play?
Treat the golf mornings as your own free time. Chiang Mai rewards a slow half day: temples and coffee in the old city, a cooking class, a long massage or a quiet morning by the pool. Save the afternoon for something the whole group can do together once the golfers are back, so nobody spends the trip feeling like a spare caddie.
Most golf days follow the same shape. The players leave early, play through the cooler part of the day and come back hungry around lunchtime. That gives everyone else a clear block of hours to fill, and it helps to plan those hours as carefully as the tee times.
Pick one main thing per morning and leave room around it. A trip with four golf days can give you four very different mornings: one for temples, one for food, one for doing nothing at all and one for shopping or a market.
How do you spend a golf morning in the old city?
Start early, while the streets are quiet and the light is soft on the temple roofs. Walk the lanes inside the old moat, stop at two or three temples that catch your eye, and break for coffee in a shaded courtyard. Keep it to a few hours, then head back for lunch before the heat of the day settles in.
The old city is compact enough to explore on foot, and it suits a morning alone or with a friend. Temples ask for covered shoulders and knees, so pack a light scarf or wear loose trousers. Small cafés sit between the temples, and many have garden seating where you can read for an hour without anyone hurrying you along.
If you want a ready-made route, our half-day plan for the old city lays out an order that keeps the walking easy.
What if you just want a slow day off?
Take it. A golf trip often runs on early alarms, and a morning with nothing booked can be the best part of the holiday. Book a Thai massage, sit by the hotel pool, or find a café with a garden and a good pastry. Chiang Mai is generous with shade and slow mornings, so a quiet day here never feels wasted.
Rest days work best when they are deliberate. Decide the night before that tomorrow is for lounging, then hold to it. A massage in the late morning followed by a long lunch is a simple plan that rarely disappoints.
For more ideas on gentle days, see our guide to a rest day between tours in Chiang Mai. It was written for people recovering from trekking and day trips, and it suits anyone recovering from watching golf scores on a phone.
Where can golfers and non-golfers play together?
Mini golf is the easy answer. It uses the one skill golfers are proud of, putting, yet it levels the field enough that a partner or a child can win. A round takes about 1 to 2 hours, so it slots neatly into a late afternoon after the golfers have showered and rested, with time left for an early dinner afterwards.
Mini Golf CNX is an 18-hole garden course in Chiang Mai, and it works well as the shared part of a golf trip. Golfers get a putting contest with bragging rights. Everyone else gets a relaxed game in a garden setting, with cold drinks, snacks and ice cream on site. Anyone who would rather sit out can settle into the shaded garden seating or pick up a game of cornhole or frisbee on the lawn.
| Detail | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Course | 18-hole garden mini golf |
| Booking | None needed, walk in |
| Hours | Open every day, 09:00 to 18:00 |
| Round length | About 1 to 2 hours |
| Food and drink | Cold drinks, snacks and ice cream |
| Seating | Shaded garden seating |
| Extras | Lawn games: cornhole, board games, frisbee |
| Groups | Groups, birthdays and events welcome, message ahead |
There is more about the course on the course page if you want a look before you go.
How do you handle the heat on a golf trip?
Follow the golfers' lead and do your active plans early. Temples, markets and walks are most comfortable in the first hours of the day. Use the middle of the day for shade, lunch and a rest indoors, then head out again in the late afternoon when the sun is lower and the air begins to cool before dinner.
The hottest weeks of the year can make long sightseeing days hard work, especially for children and older travellers. Plan shorter outings with a cool place to land at the end of each one: a café, an air-conditioned shop or a shaded garden.
When the afternoon feels too warm for anything ambitious, our guide to what to do when Chiang Mai is too hot for temples has gentler options that keep the day moving.
How do you plan the whole trip so everyone enjoys it?
Split each day into a golf half and a shared half. Mornings belong to whoever is playing and to the non-golfers' own plans. Afternoons and evenings belong to the group: a meal, a market, a massage or a round of mini golf. Agree the shared plans early in the trip so nobody has to negotiate them over breakfast every day.
A rough plan on the first evening saves a lot of friction. Note the tee times, mark which afternoons are shared, and give each non-golfer one morning that is entirely their choice. If your group is large or you are marking a birthday, message the venue ahead so space is set aside.