Thailand Motorbike Tour

You reserve your spot for free and pay nothing to join. Once enough travellers have signed on, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price. You pay it by card or bank transfer within 7 days, in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, and the price shown for each date is what you pay.

Yes. The price covers a rental motorbike if you self-drive, or a seat behind a local rider if you don't, arranged through our local partner. You don't need to arrange either yourself. Fuel for self-drive riders is extra.

Solo travellers aged 18 to 40 who want a real motorbike trip through the mountains. Most people come on their own, and some come with a friend. The maximum for each departure is shown with its dates. Group riding on shared mountain roads works best kept small, so this trip runs a smaller group than SoloNomads' non-riding trips. The Trip Host travels with the group for all six days, sets the pace, and is the person you go to if anything goes wrong. A licensed local agency and licensed local guides deliver the ground services.

Both in Chiang Mai. It starts at our hostel on the afternoon of Day 1, and we send the address when you book. It's a loop, so it also ends in Chiang Mai on the evening of Day 6, with no extra transfer needed.

November to January is the clearest, coolest window for riding the loop. Smoke season runs from about February to April and is worst in March, so this trip doesn't run then. We also avoid the wet season, roughly June to October, when landslides can close roads: sections of Highway 108 near Khun Yuam were cut in June 2026.

Many passports get visa-free entry to Thailand for a set number of days, and others need a visa in advance. Rules change, so check our Thailand visa guide for your passport before you book flights.

Our Northern Thailand Cycling Loop rides a road bike between Chiang Mai, Pai and Chiang Rai. Our Northern Thailand Adventure and Thailand in 2 Weeks trips reach Chiang Mai and Pai by train and van, with free time on foot in each town, and continue on to Chiang Rai or the Gulf islands. This trip is the one where the journey itself, riding the mountain road by motorbike, is the point. It loops back to Chiang Mai rather than finishing somewhere else, and it adds Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang and Doi Inthanon, none of which those trips visit.

A hostel near Chiang Mai's Old City to start and finish, and guesthouses picked for location in Pai, Mae Hong Son and Mae Sariang. You share a twin or small dorm room with travellers of the same gender. Six meals are included. Street food in Pai costs about 30 to 80 baht a plate, and three meals a day on the loop usually cost about 200 to 400 baht, so budget around that for meals not included, plus drinks.

Closed shoes, long trousers and a light jacket for the ride, whichever option you choose, plus sunglasses, sunscreen and a buff or scarf for dust. If you're self-driving, bring your motorcycle licence and International Driving Permit. Helmets are compulsory by Thai law for rider and pillion, and you wear one whenever you're on a bike. Off the bike, light clothes, something that covers your shoulders and knees for temples, a light layer for cool mountain mornings and evenings, a swimsuit for the hot springs, and a dry bag or rain cover for anything you don't want wet. Pack light, in a soft bag, because space on a bike is limited.

Yes, if you hold a motorcycle licence from your home country and an International Driving Permit that carries the motorcycle category. Thai law needs a motorcycle licence that is valid in Thailand, and a car-only licence or permit doesn't cover a motorbike. Tell us which option you want when you book, and we check both documents on Day 1. Police checkpoints are common on this route, including in Chiang Mai and Pai, with fines of up to about 2,000 baht, and most travel insurance excludes claims when the rider has no valid licence. Anyone without the right paperwork rides pillion instead.

You ride pillion behind a local rider for the whole loop. You see everything the self-drive riders do, without needing a licence or handling the bike yourself. You don't need riding experience or any particular fitness. Self-drive riders should be comfortable handling a motorbike on curving mountain roads for up to about 200 km in a day.

Yes, it's a condition of joining, and it must cover motorbike riding, or riding pillion, as it applies to your role on the trip. Check your policy before you book: most travel insurance excludes claims if the rider has no valid licence for the bike, and some policies exclude motorbikes altogether or limit the engine size. Read the wording whether you ride or sit pillion.