Advertisement
House of Opium

House of Opium

House of Opium
4
Speciality MuseumsHistory Museums
07:00 - 19:00
Monday
07:00 - 19:00
Tuesday
07:00 - 19:00
Wednesday
07:00 - 19:00
Thursday
07:00 - 19:00
Friday
07:00 - 19:00
Saturday
07:00 - 19:00
Sunday
07:00 - 19:00
About
Located in the heart of the infamous Golden Triangle, this museum is dedicated to educating visitors about the history of the opium trade and the dangers of addiction.
Duration: < 1 hour
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience House of Opium
See what travellers are saying
  • Scott B
    Columbia, Missouri572 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    History of Opium in the Golden Triangle
    Very interesting museum about the history of Opium and its effects on the people living in the Golden Triangle. Lots of displays, antiques, artifacts and general information about the opium poppy. There are over 2000 objects relating to the opium trade and some of the antiques are over two hundred years old. Having practiced as a pharmacist for over 43 years, I found the museum to be very unique and interesting!!!! It is definitely a good educational experience for everyone!!!
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 11 March 2024
  • macedonboy
    Glasgow, United Kingdom186,766 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Superb Museum and I Learned A Lot
    If you ever wanted to know anything about opium, this museum is the best for that. The museum has exhibits explaining the mythical origins of poppies through the history of the trade of the narcotic to the modern fight against the production. The exhibits are outstanding in the quality of the displays and information boards, especially the collection of weights and opium paraphernalia. I learned a lot from this museum and highly recommend it.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 17 April 2024
  • Jeffrey P
    Boston, Massachusetts230 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Visit to the House of Opium
    I didn't know much about the history of opium and its significance in the region, so it was really interesting to learn about it. Some rooms had videos, some had artifacts, and one section even had a wall of famous people that had died from opiates. What I found fascinating is that in small quantities, opium was used for medicine, and it was actually a really positive thing, but obviously too much can get you addicted and cause serious problems. There is such a fine line between the two. There were also the opium wars where Britain/India wiped out China to take all of their opium and start a war in the region. Overall, the experience at the museum was fun and informative.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 17 April 2024
  • Travelwithfamilyguru
    Kelowna, Canada44 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Worth a visit - spend 30 min & learn about opium in the Golden Triangle
    Nice museum that explained the opium trade in the Golden triangle area of North Thailand. Simple museum that is not large but has nice displays of how/where poppies grow & how opium is harvested. Info panel write ups in English that are not over-wordy. Great gift shop, bathrooms & you get a keepsake postcard with admission. You can go through it fairly quickly in about 30 min.
    Visited January 2025
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 17 January 2025
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles1,037 reviews
Excellent
414
Very good
363
Average
210
Poor
34
Terrible
16

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.

Graham L
Edinburgh, UK66 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021 • Solo
Had wandered into the grounds of the museum much taken by the immaculate gardens and when one of the locals showed me a shortcut, flirting with a free-flowing water feature, to the museum entrance, well, it would have been rude not to go in. Thought I was going to be escorted by a guide throughout, but I think she was there to see me safely through an impressive audio visual tunnel into the start of the exhibit. Plenty of paraphernalia from the opium trade and explaining both its origins and how it came to become such a part of Golden Triangle folklore. Very decent mix between education and entertainment and a powerfully thought-provoking ending to the strains of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World, rather than, what you might have expected, a stark anti-illicit drugs warning.
Written 4 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

melkeet
Ipoh, Malaysia1,383 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
We reached this museum while on a taxi tour to the golden triangle and the old temples in Chiang Saen. Entry was by a ticket for 50 Baht. The museum exhibits the history of opium, the process of production and the equipment used, the trading of this drug, positions for smoking, opium poppies,latex mass, dry opium pods, weight scale for opium trades, opium smoking pipes, its effect on the addict. It’s educational and worthwhile.
Written 29 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ummagumma515Yorks
Doncaster, UK151 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Fascinating tour of the House of Opium with our own personal guide who explained the history of the cultivation of opium and how the opium wars came about between the UK and China.
Some amazing exhibits from centuries ago.
Well worth a visit.
Written 12 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sarah M
Queenstown, New Zealand49 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2022 • Solo
This museum has been recently renovated and it shows. Beautifully laid out and curated, the quality of the artifacts is amazing. Great information provided and all very easy to understand. Only 50thb for entry and you also receive a postcard souvenir as well. Welcome relief from the heat with aircon.

I will be honest, this wasn't on my list of things to do but it was included in a tour and I'm glad it was.

So worth a visit, so don't miss it on your way through passed the golden triangle. Highly recommend.
Written 5 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wow! Your review made my day. Thank you very much for visiting and writing this wonderful review. 🙏♥️
Written 3 August 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Medschool2012
River Ridge, LA76 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2022 • Friends
I enjoyed visited the opium house. It provided lots of knowledge about opium and its history and the tools for handling it and laws regarding its usage. There’s quite a bit to read. So be sure to give yourself enough time. There were a few cool exhibits. The gift shop had some nice gifts for purchase.
Written 8 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you very much for visiting and writing this wonderful review. I really appreciate it. 🙏♥️
Written 3 August 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

danielle
Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands22 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2024 • Family
The museum
Located on the main road , has ample parking. When we were there it was very quiet. It was also a day with a lot of rain. Some global information and in particular attributes to smoke and weigh opium have been exhibited. Not very special. You'll be out in half an hour.
Automatically translated
Written 31 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

macedonboy
Glasgow, UK186,766 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2024 • Friends
If you ever wanted to know anything about opium, this museum is the best for that. The museum has exhibits explaining the mythical origins of poppies through the history of the trade of the narcotic to the modern fight against the production. The exhibits are outstanding in the quality of the displays and information boards, especially the collection of weights and opium paraphernalia. I learned a lot from this museum and highly recommend it.
Written 17 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

XineF
Mississauga, Canada187 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2013 • Couples
"Hall of Opium Museum" is the larger of the two, but not open on Mondays, which is when we were in the area. So our guide took us to "House of Opium Museum". Fascinating. Won't interest young kids, as is pretty serious in tone. Although, the museum is mostly dominated by a huge collection of old weights, scales, fancy opium pipes and other paraphernalia of the period of opium trade the museum also highlights cultural aspects of Northern Thailand.
Written 3 November 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

anbkk
Chiang Rai, Thailand52 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2015 • Friends
There are two museum of the same names very close to each other. One is a small museum tourist/shopping place in town. The other one is a bit out of town and a stand alone on a relatively large property. The one out of town is a project by her royal hiness King's mother and it is a proper museum rather than a shopping place.
Written 1 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Captain_Rob_D
Calgary, Canada4,689 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2011 • Couples
This is a very well told story. The history and battle against drugs is well told by antiques and displays and it taught me a lot about the Golden Triangle and why the Thai people loved the Princess Mother so much.
Written 6 February 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 651
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

HOUSE OF OPIUM: All You MUST Know Before You Go (2025)

All Chiang Saen HotelsChiang Saen Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in Chiang Saen
All things to do in Chiang Saen
RestaurantsFlightsTravel StoriesCruisesCar Hire