Motorcycle trip

Thailand

The most famous road in the north is the Mae Hong Son loop: Route 1095 between Mae Hong Son and Pai is said to have 1,864 bends and runs through teak and pine forest close to the Myanmar border. You ride it on our 12-day tour On the Edge of Siam Kingdom, straight after Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in the country.

• Doi Mae Salong and the Golden Triangle: winding mountain roads lead to the Chinese hill village of Santikhiri and its tea and coffee plantations, then to the point where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet on the Mekong.
• Chiang Dao and Doi Ang Khang: karst cliffs, teak forest and a road climbing to almost 2,000 metres, on the short tour The Mountains of the Golden Triangle (7 days).
• Phu Chi Fa and Nan province: endless hairpins up to a viewpoint over Laos, then a long stage through Doi Phu Kha National Park.
• Across the Mekong into Laos: on Beyond the Mekong, you leave Thailand at Chiang Khong and ride through northern Laos to Luang Prabang, on rougher roads with a full day on dirt tracks.

A riding day starts after breakfast. Our English-speaking tour leader rides in front; the mechanic and the support vehicle carrying your luggage follow the group. You ride about 105 miles (170 km) a day on average, from 37 miles (60 km) on the Chiang Rai day to 162 miles (260 km) on the stage to Nan on the 12-day tour. That sounds modest, but on mountain roads you rarely go faster than 25 to 30 mph (40 to 50 km/h), which leaves time for photo stops, a coffee in a hill village, temples and markets.

You stop for lunch along the way and reach the hotel in the late afternoon: a standard hotel in town or a comfortable hotel in the mountains, depending on the stage. Most roads are paved; our two Thailand tours include only short stretches of dirt track.

• The temples of Chiang Mai: more than 300, including Wat Chedi Luang in the old town and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep above the city, which we ride up to on the last riding day of the 12-day tour.
• Tham Lod: a cave crossed by a river, explored on a bamboo raft.
• Chiang Rai: the White Temple, the Blue Temple and the Baan Dam Museum (the Black House).
• Wat Phra That Lampang Luang: one of the finest Lanna-style temples, known for its woodcarvings.
• Northern food: try khao soi, the curry noodle soup of Chiang Mai, and eat at the night markets of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
• Loy Krathong and Yi Peng: in November the north celebrates the festival of light, with thousands of lights on the rivers and lanterns in the sky above Chiang Mai.
• A Thai massage in the evening after a day on the bike: in the north it is part of everyday life.

Thailand has a dry season and a rainy season, roughly from June to September. For a motorcycle tour in northern Thailand, the dry season is ideal: from November to February the skies are clear and the days warm, but mornings in the mountains are crisp, often 5 to 12°C in December and January. Bring a warm layer.

From late February, farmers burn their fields, haze settles over the mountains and the heat rises noticeably in March and April. That is why our Thailand tours depart from October to February; only Beyond the Mekong runs until April. We do not ride during the monsoon.

From Chiang Mai, domestic flights go to Bangkok and to the islands of the south, such as Phuket or Koh Samui: after the bends and the hill villages, a few days on the beach round off the trip nicely. For extra nights before or after the tour, talk to your travel advisor.

And if Southeast Asia has won you over, our Asia motorcycle tours also take you to Vietnam, Laos and Indonesia.

Stories and practical advice from our riders and tour leaders:

• The Mae Hong Son Loop by motorbike: route, stops and riding tips
• The 3 most beautiful motorcycle roads in Asia
• Floating through the clouds of Northern Thailand
• Loy Krathong, Thailand’s festival of light