A.B.C.D.
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Smoke-free indoors
- Brunch
Wi-Fi in a city that has long been a remote-work base.
Photo: picjumbo.com, Pexels License
Wikivoyage calls Chiang Mai a hotspot for digital nomads, and notes that guesthouses, hotels, cafés, bars, restaurants and even swimming pools offer Wi-Fi.1 The connection is rarely the problem. Hours, air-conditioning and the smoky months matter more when you plan a working day here.
Wi-Fi is easy to find: Nimman has the most cafés with it, followed closely by the Old City, then the east bank of the Ping and Santitham.
Local tip: In the smoky weeks from late February, pick a Wi-Fi café with air-conditioning, such as Coffee INC. Nicohub on Nimman Soi 5 or Gravity Cafe & Bistro in the Old City.
Where these cafés are: Nimman (60), Old City (55), Riverside & Wat Ket (31), Santitham (25), Tha Phae & Night Bazaar (18), Suthep & CMU (17), South Chiang Mai (8), Chang Phueak & north (1).
Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Chiang Mai.
A few cafés say so in their names. The Peaberry Cafe & Coworking in the Old City opens 07:00–15:00, and Fellowship Cafe & Co-working, on the Chiang Mai–Lamphun Road in Wat Ket, 07:00–21:00. In Nimman, The Jungle Café, also known as Jungle Cowork Café, runs 07:30–22:00 Monday to Saturday and until 16:00 on Sundays.
Coffee INC. Nicohub, at 26/1 Nimman Soi 5, opens 07:00–21:00 and has Wi-Fi, air-conditioning and card payment. Air-conditioning is rarer than Wi-Fi, so note the cafés that have both. In Nimman, Creativitea on Sirimangkalajarn Road Soi 5 runs 08:00–20:00 daily, and Chapter One 08:30–18:30, closed on Mondays. In the Old City, CoolMuang at 3 Moon Muang Road opens 08:00–20:00, and Bowls & Breads 08:30–15:30, closed on Wednesdays.
Most Wi-Fi cafés keep daytime hours and are shut by 18:00. The ones that run late are scattered. Posrest in Nimman opens 10:00–00:00, Bannom in Santitham 11:00–00:00, and Haiya Ta-bur Experience Space in the Old City 08:00–00:00, except on Wednesdays.
Yesterday, at 24 Nimmanhaemin Road, is open 07:00–00:00, and Shewitkhontammada Coffee House until 23:15. Wake Up Coffee's two branches and Wide-awake 24 hours in Nimman have Wi-Fi and never close. For late hours with air-conditioning as well, Gravity Cafe & Bistro in the Old City runs 07:00–22:00 and Uncle Home in Santitham 07:00–23:00.
Many of Chiang Mai's coworking spaces are in Nimman and sell day, week and month passes.1 In listings last updated in 2024, Wikivoyage gives Yellow Coworking, open 24/7, at 6,000฿ a month, The Brick Startup Space at 250฿ a day and Hub53 at 190฿ a day or 1,900฿ a month.1
In Nimman, a café called Librarista also goes by the name Yellow.
The burning season starts around Makha Bucha, in late February or early March, and lasts about a month, when smoke from field and forest fires can cover the whole north and tens of thousands of people are treated for smoke inhalation.1 The fires are set for many reasons, from clearing land for maize and burning sugarcane before harvest to coaxing out earth-star mushrooms and fresh grass for cattle.4 Those are the weeks to book an air-conditioned table.
More than half of payments at Thai coffee businesses are now made electronically, according to the Department of Business Development.2 Tipping is not common in Thailand, and Thais themselves don't do it; where it is expected, 50฿ is the ceiling.3






By area: Old City Nimman Santitham Tha Phae & Night Bazaar Riverside & Wat Ket Suthep & CMU Chang Phueak & north South Chiang Mai
Posrest in Nimman (10:00–00:00), Bannom in Santitham (11:00–00:00), Haiya Ta-bur Experience Space in the Old City (08:00–00:00, closed Wednesdays) and Yesterday on Nimmanhaemin Road (07:00–00:00) have Wi-Fi and late hours. Wake Up Coffee's two branches and Wide-awake 24 hours are open around the clock. Most Wi-Fi cafés close by 18:00.
Many of Chiang Mai's coworking spaces are in Nimman, with day, week and month passes. In Wikivoyage listings last updated in 2024, Yellow Coworking, open 24/7, costs 6,000 baht a month, The Brick Startup Space 250 baht a day, and Hub53 190 baht a day or 1,900 baht a month. Check current rates before you go.
No tip is expected. Tipping is not common in Thailand and Thais themselves don't do it; where tips are expected, 50 baht is the ceiling. Electronic payment is common: more than half of payments at Thai coffee businesses are electronic.
Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.