What to Do Near Chiang Mai: A Day Trip to a Chocolate Farm, Classic Cars, and Coffee in Mae On

Every Chiang Mai travel guide produces the same list. Doi Suthep temple. The Elephant Nature Park. Doi Inthanon national park. Mae Kampong village. The San Kamphaeng Hot Springs. These are all genuinely good. Doi Suthep is extraordinary. The Elephant Nature Park is one of the most ethically serious wildlife experiences in Southeast Asia. Doi Inthanon on a clear morning, with the mist in the valleys below the summit, is a memory that stays.

But they are the list. They are what everyone does, in the order that the tour agencies have established, on the schedule that the tuk-tuk drivers know by heart. For the British traveller who has been to Chiang Mai before, or who arrives with more curiosity than the standard itinerary accommodates, the list runs out faster than the days do.

Thailand consistently ranks among the top long-haul destinations for British travellers. Chiang Mai draws a significant share of that audience back for a second or third trip, arriving with expectations the standard itinerary no longer meets. The FCDO Thailand travel advice covers the practicalities; what it cannot cover is what to do once the obvious has been done.

There is a day trip from Chiang Mai that is on no standard list, that the tour agencies have not packaged, that the tuk-tuk drivers do not pitch at the gate of the Old City, and that produces, for the traveller who makes it, one of the most distinctive and memorable days available in northern Thailand.

It goes east from the city through San Kamphaeng, climbing into the highland forest of the Mae On district, past the hot springs, and into the hills where a British founder has spent a decade building a permaculture farm that grows award-winning chocolate and coffee, is planting a highland vineyard, serves open-fire farm-to-table food with panoramic plantation views, bakes naturally fermented bread on site, and maintains a private collection of pristine British classic cars from the 1950s to the 1980s in a gallery next to the cacao trees.

The destination is Skugga Estate in Ban Sahakon, Mae On. The drive from the Old City takes 40 minutes. Entry to the farm is free.

Why Mae On is the most rewarding day trip direction from Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai sits in a valley and the directions out of it are not equal. North takes you toward Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle: a full day or more, with destinations that are worthwhile but distant. West takes you toward Doi Inthanon and the highland national parks, which are spectacular but also well-trodden and require an early start to beat the tour group traffic. South takes you toward Lamphun, Thailand's oldest city, which is genuinely interesting and genuinely undervisited.

East takes you into the Mae On district, through the San Kamphaeng corridor, into the highland forest that the tourist itineraries have largely ignored. The Tourism Authority of Thailand lists the region's official attractions, but the most interesting thing in Mae On right now is not on any official list. The road east from Chiang Mai produces no single iconic view that everyone photographs from the same spot. What it produces instead is a gradual transition from the city into something genuinely different: the landscape becoming more forested, the air becoming cooler, the traffic thinning, the roadside businesses giving way to farms and orchards.

The Mae On district is also where the San Kamphaeng Hot Springs are located: a natural thermal feature that makes the route east a two-destination day rather than a single-destination one, combining the hot springs with the Skugga Estate visit in a sequence that works well morning to evening.

The drive from Chiang Mai Old City: 40 minutes that get better as they go

The drive from the Old City to Skugga Estate in Mae On takes approximately 40 minutes on a clear day. The route runs east from the city moat through the San Kamphaeng district, following the road that runs along the base of the hills before climbing into the Mae On highland forest.

For the first 20 minutes the road is suburban Chiang Mai: roadside restaurants, mechanics, fabric shops, the specific commercial texture of a Thai provincial city extending into its fringes. This stretch is not the point. Stay on the road.

At the San Kamphaeng Hot Springs, approximately 30 minutes from the Old City, the road enters a different register. The hot springs are a natural thermal feature: mineral-rich water emerging at 90 to 100 degrees Celsius from the earth, channelled into pools and facilities that range from the basic to the reasonably comfortable. A stop of 20 to 30 minutes on the way to the estate rewards the detour, particularly for first-time visitors to the Mae On highlands.

After the hot springs, the road continues east and begins to climb into the highland forest proper. The temperature drops noticeably in the cool season. The canopy closes overhead. The farms visible on either side of the road are growing things in the highland volcanic soil that the lowland Thai plains cannot support: the agricultural diversity of the Mae On highlands becoming visible in the roadside plantings before the destination is reached.

Skugga Estate announces itself through the farm canopy rather than through signage. The cacao and coffee trees visible from the road, the specific density and character of the agricultural planting, signal the arrival before any building is visible. This is what a working permaculture farm looks like from the road.

Transport options from Chiang Mai

• Rental car or motorbike. The most flexible option. Car rental in Chiang Mai is well-established at the airport and throughout the Nimman area. The drive east is one main road, no navigation sophistication required.
  

• Private driver hired through the hotel or a Chiang Mai transport company. Most hotels can arrange a Mae On day at reasonable rates. The advantage is full flexibility: stop at the hot springs, stay at Skugga as long as the day warrants, return on a schedule that suits the traveller.
  

• Songthaew negotiated from the Old City or Nimman area. A red shared pickup truck taxi can be negotiated for a Mae On day trip. Confirm the destination clearly: Ban Sahakon, Mae On, past the San Kamphaeng Hot Springs. Agree the return as part of the arrangement. Full address and directions are on the Skugga location page.
  

• Scooter rental for confident riders. The Mae On road is wide enough, well-surfaced, and scenic in a way that rewards the exposure of two wheels. An international driving licence covering motorcycles is technically required.

Arriving at Skugga Estate: what to do in what order

Entry to the farm grounds, cafe, restaurant, and Classic Car Gallery is free. No ticket, no booking required for a walk-in visit. The full list of bookable experiences at Skugga Estate is on the estate website, covering the guided farm tour, chocolate workshops, and vineyard events and tastings. The cafe and Coffee Roastery are open daily from 9am to 7pm. The BarBQ Bistro is open daily from 11am to 8pm.

On arrival: the farm orientation

The first thing to do on arriving at Skugga Estate is to walk the property before entering any building. The farm is the context for everything else: the coffee, the chocolate, the bistro food, the wine in the vineyard. Spending ten minutes walking the perimeter establishes the agricultural reality that makes the tasting experiences meaningful rather than merely pleasant.

What is visible from a walk around the Skugga property: the cacao trees, identifiable by the pods growing directly from the trunk and main branches. This botanical phenomenon is called cauliflory — Royal Botanic Gardens Kew documents it in their cacao tree profile, noting that the Latin name Theobroma means food of the gods. The coffee shrubs under the shade canopy. The kitchen garden. The nascent vineyard, planted in 2025, with young vines beginning their patient work in the highland volcanic soil. The beehives on the cacao plantation. The fermentation boxes and drying beds that make clear this is a working farm rather than a farm-themed attraction.

For travellers who want a guided introduction, the full estate tour runs 1.5 hours through the cacao and coffee plantations with explanation of the permaculture farming practices, a visit to the beehives, fresh fruit tasting, and a tasting flight at the end. Advance booking required at least 24 hours before the visit.

The Coffee Roastery and the specialty pour-over bar

After the farm walk, the Coffee Roastery is the first stop. The Black Pig roaster — the estate's coffee roasting machine, named with the specificity of a piece of equipment that has been given a personality by the people who operate it — may or may not be in operation depending on the day's roasting schedule. When it is, the smell of the Mae On highland Arabica moving through the roasting curve is one of the most compelling olfactory experiences the estate offers.

The specialty pour-over bar is always available during cafe hours. This is the place to taste Skugga's shade-grown highland Arabica in the format that reveals its character most clearly: individually brewed by hand through a filter, at controlled temperature and flow rate. The Specialty Coffee Association defines the grading standards this highland Arabica is measured against. Skugga's coffee earns its specialty classification through altitude, shade canopy, and processing method, not marketing.

Order the following, in this order, if the current offerings allow:

1. The washed-process Mae On Arabica. The clearest expression of the origin's character: the baseline from which all comparisons are made.

2. If available, a natural or honey-process lot. More fruit-forward, heavier body, the processing method's contribution visible alongside the origin character.

3. The Carbonic Maceration roast. Highland Arabica processed using a technique borrowed from wine production, producing intense wine-like fruit notes and a syrupy sweetness outside the normal range of coffee flavour. For the traveller whose coffee vocabulary is already sophisticated, this is genuinely interesting. For the traveller who thinks coffee is coffee, this is the cup that changes the premise.

The Chocolate Lab and the Chocolate Bar

From the Coffee Roastery, the Chocolate Lab is the next destination. The Lab is the production facility where Skugga's cacao harvest becomes single-origin Thai chocolate through the full tree-to-bar process: roasting, cracking, winnowing, stone-grinding, tempering, and moulding. Kew Gardens traces this exact process from pod to finished bar, covering the fermentation, drying, and roasting stages that are visible in the Skugga Lab. The Lab is open to observation during estate hours.

The Chocolate Bar adjacent to the Lab is where the estate's chocolate is experienced in its finished forms. The menu includes signature cacao cocktails built around Skugga's Mae On cacao, cacao smoothies, and tasting flights of finished chocolate at multiple percentages. The Fine Chocolate Industry Association documents the standards that place single-origin bean-to-bar chocolate in a materially different category from commodity confectionery. The tasting flight at the Chocolate Bar makes that distinction concrete rather than theoretical.

Ceremonial cacao: the other experience worth knowing about

Alongside the chocolate production and tasting, Skugga Estate offers ceremonial cacao as a distinct experience: minimally processed cacao from carefully selected IM1 variety beans, prepared and shared in a guided, intentional setting. Ceremonial cacao is not a chocolate tasting. It is closer in structure to a tea ceremony: the preparation is deliberate, the setting is calm, and the focus is on the compound effects of high-concentration cacao consumed with attention. For travellers with an interest in wellness or in understanding what cacao is before it becomes chocolate, this is the most direct encounter the estate offers with the raw material.

The Chocolate Maker's Workshop (book 24 hours in advance)

For travellers who pre-booked the Chocolate Maker's Workshop, this is the hands-on chapter of the Chocolate Lab visit: roasting, cracking, winnowing, and grinding cacao beans from the estate to produce a chocolate bar to take home. The workshop uses the same equipment and the same cacao as the estate's commercial production. The result is a bar made from beans grown 50 metres from where the workshop is happening, processed by the participant's own hands. The Mini Chocolate Workshop is the family version, designed for younger visitors. Both require advance booking.

Lunch at the BarBQ Bistro

The BarBQ Bistro is open from 11am and walk-in accessible without advance booking. Open-air, with panoramic views of the plantation, serving slow-smoked meats, organic farm vegetables from the Mae On kitchen garden, and naturally fermented breads from the Roll Bar Bakery.

The open-fire cooking is not a conceit. The slow-smoking method — low temperature, long time, wood smoke from local hardwoods — is a serious culinary commitment that produces results that hotel kitchen equipment and restaurant ranges cannot replicate. The meats develop the specific texture and flavour that only extended exposure to smoke and indirect heat produces: a bark on the exterior, a pull-apart interior, and a smoke ring that is the visual proof of time taken rather than shortcuts found.

The vegetables come from the estate's kitchen garden and from local Mae On producers farming in the same highland microclimate. The bread from the Roll Bar Bakery, naturally leavened, long-proved, baked on site, has the specific depth of flavour that fermentation produces in dough and that industrial bread manufacturing cannot achieve regardless of ingredient quality.

Eat slowly. The view of the plantation is part of the meal. The air in Mae On in the cool season is part of the meal. The knowledge, established by the morning's farm walk and chocolate and coffee tasting, of exactly where everything on the table comes from is part of the meal.

The Classic Car Gallery

After lunch, the Classic Car Gallery. Free for all dining guests. No advance booking. Walk in through the gallery entrance near the dining area and find a private collection of pristine British classic cars from the 1950s to the 1980s, maintained by the estate's British founder Anthony McDonald in the cool highland air of Mae On.

For British visitors, the response tends to be immediate and specific. The recognition of a particular marque, a particular body line, a particular shade of British Racing Green or Old English White: the visual memory of these vehicles as part of the landscape of British childhood and youth, encountered completely unexpectedly in northern Thailand. It does not require automotive expertise to produce. It requires only the shared cultural memory of growing up in Britain during the decades when these cars were part of everyday life.

For automotive enthusiasts — members of classic car clubs, subscribers to Classic and Sports Car, attendees at the Goodwood Revival or visitors to the British Motor Museum — the response is additionally technical. The assessment of condition, the recognition of specific models and variants, the conversation that follows about provenance, maintenance, and the specific challenges and pleasures of keeping British classics in the Thai highland climate.

The Gift Shop

Adjacent to the Chocolate Bar and accessible throughout estate hours, the Gift Shop stocks the full range of Skugga's products: roasted coffee, single-origin chocolate bars, estate tea, and other products from the Mae On farm. For travellers returning to the UK, this is the opportunity to bring back products that are not available at home. Skugga products are also available online after the visit for those who want to reorder.

The vineyard walk

Before departure, the vineyard. Planted in 2025, the vines are in their early years: the patient, unspectacular beginning of what the farm intends to become over the next decade. For the traveller who walks the vineyard at this stage, the experience is specific to this moment: being present at the beginning of something, before the first commercial vintage, when the project is still entirely potential and entirely promise. Visiting now is visiting the origin story before it becomes history.

Travellers who want to extend the day into a night can book one of the farm cabins on site. Those who want to follow the vineyard's progress from home can join the Skugga Wine Club for early access to estate wines as they come online.

The full Mae On day: combining Skugga with the San Kamphaeng Hot Springs

The San Kamphaeng Hot Springs are on the route between Chiang Mai city and Skugga Estate, approximately 10 minutes before the estate. Combining the hot springs with the Skugga visit makes the most of the day's travel investment and produces a full and varied Mae On experience.

Time	Activity
8:30am	Depart Chiang Mai Old City or Nimman area.
9:00am	Arrive San Kamphaeng Hot Springs. Early morning, before tour groups. Thermal pools, egg-boiling in natural springs. Allow 45 minutes to one hour.
10:15am	Depart hot springs. Continue east on the Mae On road.
10:30am	Arrive Skugga Estate. Farm walk to orientate. Coffee at the specialty pour-over bar.
11:30am	Guided estate tour (1.5 hours, pre-book) — or Chocolate Maker's Workshop (pre-book) — or self-guided Chocolate Lab and Chocolate Bar.
1:00pm	Lunch at the BarBQ Bistro. Open-air, panoramic plantation views. Farm vegetables, slow-smoked meats, Roll Bar Bakery bread.
2:30pm	Classic Car Gallery. Free for dining guests. No booking required.
3:30pm	Gift Shop. Roasted coffee, single-origin chocolate, estate tea.
4:00pm	Vineyard walk. Young vines planted 2025 in highland volcanic soil.
4:30pm	Depart Mae On.
5:15pm	Arrive Chiang Mai. Nimman cafe scene or Sunday Walking Street if applicable.

This itinerary is full without being rushed. Each element has time to be experienced properly rather than glimpsed on the way to the next. The hot springs in the morning and the farm in the afternoon produce two genuinely different experiences of the Mae On highlands that are complementary rather than competing.

What to buy at the Skugga Gift Shop: the take-home list for British travellers

Roasted coffee. The shade-grown highland Arabica from the Black Pig roaster is the product that best survives the journey home and produces the longest post-visit pleasure. Buy whole bean rather than ground — ground coffee loses flavour significantly faster than whole bean. One 250-gram bag brews approximately 15 to 20 cups on a home pour-over setup. Two bags is a comfortable luggage investment.

Single-origin chocolate bars. The tree-to-bar Mae On chocolate at multiple percentages — a 70 percent, an 80 percent, and any flavoured or specialty bars the estate produces. Chocolate travels reliably at room temperature below 25 degrees Celsius. UK-bound travel in the cool season is safe. Keep bars away from direct sun during transit.

Estate tea. The wild Assam tea from the highland forest is lightweight, travels perfectly, brews in any format, and is the least likely product to be found in any UK retailer.

A gift set. The combination of Skugga coffee and Skugga chocolate from the same highland Mae On farm is the most complete expression of what the estate produces. The recipient who receives it will be told the story of the farm. That story is part of the gift.

Practical information

Distance from Old City	Approx. 40 kilometres, 40 minutes by car
Distance from Nimman	Approx. 35 kilometres, 35 minutes by car
Cafe & Coffee Roastery	Daily 9:00am to 7:00pm
BarBQ Bistro	Daily 11:00am to 8:00pm
Entry cost	Free. Guided tour and Chocolate Maker's Workshop charged — book at least 24 hours in advance
Parking	Ample free parking on site
Best season	November to February (cool dry season). Open year-round.
What to wear	Comfortable walking shoes. Light layer for cool season afternoons. Sun protection for the farm walk.
What to bring	An appetite. Reusable bag for Gift Shop purchases. Camera.
Address	Ban Sahakon 2, No. 29, Mae On District, Chiang Mai 50130

Beyond the estate: other Mae On district experiences worth knowing

• Mae On Nature Trail. The forested hills have hiking trails through highland forest that are less visited and less developed than the Doi Inthanon trails. A morning on the Mae On nature trails before arriving at the estate adds a physical dimension to the agricultural story.
  

• Local Mae On markets. The district has a weekly market where highland producers sell vegetables, herbs, and products that represent the agricultural diversity of the area around Skugga. For food-focused travellers, the market is a direct encounter with the raw material that the Skugga kitchen works with.
  

• San Kamphaeng district craft workshops. The San Kamphaeng corridor has traditionally been associated with Thai craft production: silk weaving, lacquerware, ceramics, umbrella making. Many workshops are open to visitors and allow observation of the production process. Worth an hour on the way out or back.

FAQ

How far is Skugga Estate from Chiang Mai Old City?

Skugga Estate is in Ban Sahakon, Mae On, approximately 40 minutes from Chiang Mai Old City by road. The route goes east through San Kamphaeng, past the San Kamphaeng Hot Springs, and into the highland forest of the Mae On district. Free parking is available on site.

Is there an entrance fee to visit Skugga Estate?

No. Entry to the farm grounds, cafe, Chocolate Bar, restaurant, and Classic Car Gallery is free. Charges apply only for the guided estate tour and specific workshops. The cafe and roastery are open daily from 9am to 7pm. The BarBQ Bistro is open daily from 11am to 8pm.

Do I need to book in advance?

The guided estate tour (1.5 hours) and the Chocolate Maker's Workshop both require advance booking of at least 24 hours. Everything else — the pour-over bar, the Chocolate Bar, the BarBQ Bistro, the Classic Car Gallery, and the Gift Shop — is walk-in accessible during estate hours.

What is the Classic Car Gallery at Skugga Estate?

The Classic Car Gallery houses a private collection of pristine British classic cars from the 1950s to the 1980s, maintained by the estate's British founder Anthony McDonald. Admission is free for all dining guests. The collection is one of the most unexpected and characterful elements of a Mae On day trip and consistently surprises visitors who were not expecting it.

Can I combine Skugga with the San Kamphaeng Hot Springs in one day?

Yes. The San Kamphaeng Hot Springs are on the route between Chiang Mai city and Skugga Estate, approximately 10 minutes before the estate. A morning at the hot springs followed by a full afternoon at Skugga makes a complete and satisfying Mae On day. The suggested itinerary in this article works morning to evening without being rushed.

What is the best time of year to visit Mae On and Skugga Estate?

November through February is the cool dry season in northern Thailand and the optimal period for a day trip to Mae On. Temperatures are comfortable for farm walking and outdoor dining, the sky is clear, and the highland air is at its most distinctive. The estate is open year-round. The rainy season (June to October) has its own appeal but afternoon rain is reliable and affects some outdoor activities.

Is Skugga Estate suitable for families with children?

Yes. The estate is family-friendly, with the Mini Chocolate Workshop specifically designed for younger visitors. The open farm environment, cacao pods growing from the tree trunks, the Classic Car Gallery, and the chocolate drinks at the Chocolate Bar make Skugga a strong family day trip choice from Chiang Mai.

What should I buy at the Skugga Gift Shop?

The priority purchases for British travellers are the roasted shade-grown highland Arabica coffee (buy whole bean, two 250-gram bags is a practical luggage allocation), the single-origin Mae On chocolate bars at multiple percentages, and the estate wild Assam tea. The combination of coffee and chocolate from the same Mae On farm makes the most compelling gift set available at the estate.

Is there good food at Skugga Estate?

Yes. The BarBQ Bistro serves slow-smoked meats, organic farm vegetables from the Mae On kitchen garden, and naturally fermented breads from the Roll Bar Bakery in an open-air setting with panoramic plantation views. The food is farm-to-table in the genuine sense: sourced from the estate and local Mae On producers. It is consistently one of the highlights of a Skugga day and worth planning the visit around.

How do I get to Skugga Estate without a car?

Options include a private driver hired through a Chiang Mai hotel or transport service (the most comfortable non-driving option), a songthaew negotiated from the Old City or Nimman area (confirm the destination in advance: Ban Sahakon, Mae On), or a scooter rental for confident riders. The 40-minute drive east through San Kamphaeng is well-suited to all of these options.

Can I stay overnight at Skugga Estate?

Yes. Farm cabin rentals are available on site for guests who want to extend the Mae On experience into the evening and the following morning. Staying overnight allows a second-day visit to the farm at its quietest, before day-trip visitors arrive.

About Skugga Estate

Skugga Estate is a regenerative agritourism farm and lifestyle destination in Ban Sahakon, Mae On, 40 minutes from Chiang Mai Old City in the forested highlands of northern Thailand. The estate produces shade-grown Arabica coffee roasted in the on-site Coffee Roastery, single-origin tree-to-bar Thai chocolate from the Chocolate Lab, wild Assam tea, and highland wine grapes planted in 2025. Guests visit the Chocolate Bar, specialty pour-over bar, BarBQ Bistro, Roll Bar Bakery, Gift Shop, and Classic Car Gallery. Farm tours and the Chocolate Maker's Workshop are available by advance booking. Entry to the farm is free. Open daily.

Plan your visit at skuggalife.com — or contact the team to book a guided tour, workshop, or overnight cabin.