Chiang Mai money exchange: the Old City, Night Bazaar and Nimman
Article updated: 2026-10-15
Best rate USD · Chiang Mai: 33.43 — Super Money Chiangmai — Loi Kroh Road · Nov 8, 05:52 → Details
Chiang Mai has fewer exchange shops than Bangkok or Phuket, but the ones it has are concentrated in a walkable area, which keeps them honest. The site tracks two counters in the city, both belonging to Super Money Chiangmai, and on 15 October 2026 they were quoting rates that matched Bangkok’s best boards on most currencies.
Where the shops are
Loi Kroh Road and the Night Bazaar. The traditional centre of exchange in Chiang Mai. Super Money Chiangmai’s main office at 34/4 Loi Kroh Road has been operating for years, and several independents are within a few minutes’ walk. If you are staying anywhere between the Night Bazaar and the river, this is your counter.
Sri Phum Road, Old City north moat. Super Money’s Ratchawithi branch at 25/4 Sri Phum Road is the one to use if you are staying inside the Old City. It is the second tracked counter and quoted exactly the same rates as Loi Kroh on 15 October, so there is no reason to cross town from one to the other. It has its own page with a map.
Tha Phae Gate area. Booths aimed at tourists. Convenient, but none of them publishes its rates, so check the number against the Chiang Mai page before handing anything over.
Nimmanhaemin. Surprisingly thin for exchange shops given the area’s popularity with long-stay visitors. Most people here use ATMs or head to Loi Kroh. A songthaew from Nimman to the Night Bazaar is a small fare, and on a few hundred dollars the Super Money rate pays for it several times over compared with an ATM withdrawal.
Central Festival and Maya. Mall counters with reliable hours. They are not tracked, so there is no number to compare, but mall desks in other cities typically run slightly behind the standalone shops.
What the boards said on 15 October 2026
Both Super Money counters quoted identical rates, so the Chiang Mai spread was zero on every currency. What matters is the comparison with Bangkok.
| Currency | Chiang Mai (both counters) | Bangkok best | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| US dollar | 33.48 | 33.51 | 0.03 |
| Euro | 37.50 | 37.50 | none |
| Pound | 44.40 | 44.40 | none |
| Yen | 0.2115 | 0.2115 | none |
| Swiss franc | 40.15 | 40.15 | none |
On dollars Chiang Mai was 0.03 baht behind the best Bangkok counter, which is 30 baht on US$1,000, less than a tenth of a per cent. On euros, pounds, yen, Swiss francs, Chinese yuan (5.01 against 5.02) and Taiwan dollars (1.025 against 1.03) the difference was zero or a rounding error. With the mid-market dollar rate at 33.58, the Chiang Mai board sat 0.3% below mid.
That is not enough to justify carrying extra cash up from Bangkok. It is also worth noticing that Chiang Mai beat most of Bangkok’s 86 counters that day: the worst dollar rate in the capital was 33.15, a full 0.33 baht below Super Money.
Denomination tiers
Super Money tiers dollars hard. On 15 October the Loi Kroh board paid 33.48 for US$50 and US$100 notes, 33.23 for US$10 and US$20, and 32.88 for US$1 to US$5. That is 0.7% less for a twenty and 1.8% less for small notes, which is a wider gap than the Bangkok head offices apply. Bring hundreds. The currency-by-currency detail is in which banknotes to bring.
Opening hours are shorter
This is the practical difference from Bangkok. Both tracked counters open 08:30 to 17:30, seven days a week, and both were open on Sunday. Bangkok’s late evenings, with a counter on Soi Thaniya open until 23:00 and the Suvarnabhumi rail-link desk until midnight, are not the norm here; no tracked counter in Chiang Mai opens at 21:00 or later.
If you land in the evening, plan for the airport counter or an ATM. The ATM route costs the flat 220-baht machine fee per withdrawal, so take one large withdrawal rather than several small ones; Thai ATM fees has the arithmetic.
Changing baht back before you leave
The same two counters sell foreign currency, and the gap between the buying and selling columns is small. On 15 October Super Money was buying dollars at 33.48 and selling them at 33.55, a round trip of 0.07 baht, about 0.2%. Euros were 37.50 against 37.60 and pounds 44.40 against 44.50. If you leave Chiang Mai with a real amount of baht, changing it here is cheaper than carrying it to the airport, and the whole reasoning is in leftover baht.
Heading further north
If Chiang Rai, Mae Sai or the Golden Triangle is on your itinerary, change what you need in Chiang Mai first. Options thin out quickly outside the city and hours are shorter still.
Super Money also has a Chiang Rai branch on Prasopsuk Road, open 08:30 to 17:30 but closed on Sunday, and Twelve Victory has a branch in Mae Sai on the Myanmar border that closes at 16:30. On 15 October both were quoting dollars within 0.02 baht of Chiang Mai, so the rate is not the problem; the hours are. Both are covered with maps on the Chiang Rai page, and the northern border guide goes through what to carry across.
Practical notes
- Bring large denominations; the Super Money tiers above are the cost of anything smaller.
- Passport required. Licensed shops must record identification; see passport and ID rules.
- The airport has counters. No figure is published here for them, and the usual advice applies: change enough for the songthaew and a meal only, then walk to Loi Kroh the next morning. What is known about the terminal is on the Chiang Mai airport page, and the airport-to-Old-City guide prices the ride.
- The live boards for both counters, and the mid-market rate alongside them, are on the Chiang Mai page. The Super Money guide covers the chain in more detail.
Before you exchange:Klook ↗Trip.com ↗Yesim ↗