MOTORBIKE ROAD TOURING IN THAILAND

Our route starts in Chiang Mai, Thailand’s Northern Capital heading east towards the upper Mekong delta. Bikers that have ridden this tour have called it “absolute bikers heaven”. Jam-packed with roads you just want to ride again and again. Long winding routes twisting over the Northern part of Thailand with magnificent scenery, but keep your eyes on the roads as one minute your cruising on at a steady speed on open smooth tarmac highways when all of a sudden you meet a brow of a hill with unexpected hairpins directly over the other side. This route really keeps you on your toes and in our view offers some of the best 7 days motorbike road touring in Thailand.

You will be riding with Andy (MBT’s owner) who has ridden over 200,000 km around Thailand with extensive knowledge of biking in this amazing country. You will also be joined by John, our Australian road tour assistant equally experienced in riding in Thailand. Nobody knows this route better than John (who rides it once a month every month) and both guarantee a biking tour to remember!

You will be riding our Honda Super 400’s (or similar). This machine is a good lightweight bike well suited to the winding, twisting mountainous roads we will be riding.

Our motorcycle tours are about riding great roads with a good group of friends (new and old) as well as interacting with Thailand and its people. We visit Burma to catch a quick glimpse of this beautiful yet impoverished country also a chance to stock up on many items from the Burmese local market including CDs, cigarettes, and alcohol at ridiculously low prices providing you brush up on your bargaining skills!

7 Days

– 1^st day: After a safety briefing, our first day of riding toward the town of Phrae (~340 km)

– 2^nd day: Heading out to ‘Nan’ today and a great day riding (~320 km)

– 3^rd day: Today is ‘Bikers heaven’ on the Doi Phukka Loop (~200 km)

– 4^th day: Heading farther north today to Chiang Khong again equalling, if not better than, the previous day (~240 km)

– 5^th day: Now heading to the Golden Triangle where Thailand meets Burma and Laos divided by the Mekong River (~200 km)

– 6^th day: 2 Hours visiting the bustling market town of Tachielek, Burma, and then south to Chiang Dow. Another great days riding (~210 km)

– 7^th day: Leaving Chiang Dow heading back into Chiang Mai with superb scenery good mountain roads (~145 km)

Notes

– Our tours are designed by riders for riders. We operate our tours with safety first and then fun and adventure. You will not find us flying red flags on our motorcycles or holding up umbrellas for you to follow the guide. We all work as a team in making choices for what we do and see each day.

– We stay in different accommodations every evening and dine on world-renowned food every day. Most of our motorcycle tours include good accommodation unique to Thailand but on one Enduro tour, we live and sleep in tents in the jungle and cook our own food under the stars.

– We usually include a few nights in the city for those wishing to experience Thailand’s famous nightlife and we can also include extensions in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

MOTORBIKE ROAD TOURING IN THAILAND – CRUISING THE MAE HONG SON LOOP

We are going to take you on one of the world’s top ten biking routes known as the ‘Mae Hong Son Loop’, a long winding road looping out of and back into Chiang Mai, Thailand’s northern capital.

Our tours start in Chiang Mai heading west towards the Shan town of Mae Hong Son lying close to the Burmese border. We will ride over mountain passes within the sub Himalayas over the most winding roads in Thailand. Our route will take us through 1,823 hairpin bends of up to 270º, over a distance of approximately 900 kilometres.

Our bikes will be the Honda CB super 400 perfectly suited to this terrain offering easy, light maneuverability with enough power to cope well with the steep mountain passes. Regardless of the bike, the average speed along this famous road is around 50-60 kilometres per hour and we will cover on average 140-260 kilometres in a day.

It’s not all riding, we will have many chances to stop and visit local attractions and enjoy some of the best views in North Thailand. Options are available for elephant trekking and bamboo rafting and we will also visit some of the many hot springs in the area. Depending on the current political situation we have included a 1-day Burmese visa to enter the Burmese border town for a half-day visit to this amazing country.

One of the highlights of this tour is the accommodation which includes unique jungle-style huts and a night at our own motorcycle lodge 1,000 meters above sea level in a small Lisu hill-tribe village.

The area we will be riding is hill-tribe territory including the Lisu, Lahu, and also Karen tribes all unique in their culture and customs.

Motorbike Road Touring In Thailand Notes

– This is a very laid-back tour riding glorious roads perfectly suited to the road bike. We have included all essential items such as bike, fuel, and guides, etc. We can arrange flights for you if traveling from the UK otherwise we can assist in arranging flights if travelling from outside the UK. The best time to ride this route is between November and January when the temperature is warm in the daytime and cool in the evenings and usually zero rainfall.

– In between riding this famous route we will also spend time visiting the hill-tribe people of the area, see towering waterfalls, and ride to the top of Thailand’s highest mountain.

RIDING IN THE SOUTH OF THAILAND

Our team has ridden the whole of Thailand including the far south down to Malaysia and the East to Cambodia, however, we chose to concentrate in the North due to its more relaxed atmosphere and far less road traffic. We are often asked to ride from the north to the south and this is possible but, please remember Thailand is the same size as the largest country in Europe (France)! To fully appreciate the riding in this country, riding the whole of Thailand, or even just the length of Thailand, please allow a decent amount of time.

Our unique partnership with Motorbike Thailand means we can offer tours in Vietnam alone or a twin country biking tour in Northern Thailand and Northern Vietnam. Enduro, road touring, and scooter tours in either country await the adventurous motorcyclist. Contact our staff in Vietnam or Thailand to start an adventure of your lifetime.