6 daysThailandAges 18–40
6 days · Chiang Mai, Pai & Chiang Rai
Northern Thailand Cycling Loop is a 6-day cycling group trip for solo travellers aged 18 to 40 who want to ride between Chiang Mai, Pai and Chiang Rai on a road bike. It's graded Moderate, but the support van shuttles the steepest mountain sections, so you ride the valleys and farmland instead of grinding up the full Mae Hong Son road. Your Trip Host rides with the group the whole way.
Updated
From, per person
$810 / £608 / €710 / A$1,150 / CA$1,150 / NZ$1,430 / ₹77,500
Free to reserve
Sarthak's best travel memories come from going solo: hostel dorms, a new activity most days, new cultures and new food. SoloNomads grew out of that.
Sarthak travels with every group, from the first day to the last, so there's always someone on hand to sort things out when plans change and to make sure nobody gets left out.
In every country, a licensed local agency and licensed local guides look after the ground services, so you get local know-how too.
Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, 3 stops in 6 days.
3 stops
6 days
Day 1
Arrive in Chiang Mai whenever your flight lands. The Trip Host meets everyone at the hostel in the afternoon to fit your road bike and run through the route and how the support van works on the shuttle days. In the late afternoon we ride an easy 10 km loop around the Old City's moat, flat and on paved streets, to get used to the bike. In the evening the group has a welcome dinner.
Day 2
The support van drives the group over the steepest, curviest half of the Chiang Mai to Pai road, a stretch that's too much sustained climbing for a social trip on consecutive days. From the halfway point we get on the bikes for the last, mostly descending 25 to 30 km into the Pai valley, on paved roads with rolling terrain and a net drop in elevation. We're in Pai by the afternoon.
Day 3
An easy rest day off the bike's harder side: a flat 25 to 30 km loop around the Pai valley on paved roads, with under 100 metres of climbing. We stop at the hot springs, park the bikes to walk the rim trail at Pai Canyon, and finish at the Land Split. The afternoon is free for the town's cafes and night market.
Day 4
The van shuttles the group past the mountainous section of the Pai to Chiang Rai road, and we ride the flatter farmland stretch into Chiang Rai and Mae Suai, 45 to 50 km with under 200 metres of climbing on paved roads. We're in Chiang Rai by the evening.
Day 5
A morning visit to Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, then an afternoon ride of 40 to 45 km on flat river-plain roads out to where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet at the Golden Triangle. Dinner together in Chiang Rai in the evening.
Day 6
An optional easy 15 km morning ride around Chiang Rai for anyone who wants one more spin, then the trip ends. Transfer back to Chiang Mai by van, or fly out from Chiang Rai (CEI).
Prices are per person, and reserving is free. A date goes ahead once about 10 travellers have joined. You pay nothing until then. Once it's confirmed, we send you an invoice for the full price, and you have 7 days to pay it (or until the trip starts, if that's sooner).
16 Nov – 21 Nov 2026
AvailableEarly cool seasonMax 14 people
Price
$810 / £608 / €710 / A$1,150 / CA$1,150 / NZ$1,430 / ₹77,500
4 Jan – 9 Jan 2027
AvailableCool, dry mountain airMax 14 people
Price
$810 / £608 / €710 / A$1,150 / CA$1,150 / NZ$1,430 / ₹77,500
1 Feb – 6 Feb 2027
AvailableLast of the clear cool season before hazeMax 14 people
Price
$810 / £608 / €710 / A$1,150 / CA$1,150 / NZ$1,430 / ₹77,500
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, paid by bank transfer in your own currency within 7 days.
US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees. Once your departure is confirmed, we send the invoice by bank transfer in whichever currency you choose, and the price shown for each date is what you pay.
Yes. A road bike and helmet for the trip come from a local rental partner, and they're fitted to you on Day 1. You don't need to bring or ship your own bike.
Solo travellers aged 18 to 40 who want a genuine cycling trip. Most people come on their own, and some come with a friend.
The maximum for each departure is shown with its dates. Group cycling on shared mountain roads works best kept small, so this trip runs smaller than SoloNomads' non-cycling trips.
The Trip Host rides 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, including the support van and bike rental.
It starts at our hostel in Chiang Mai on the afternoon of Day 1, and we send the address when you book. It ends in Chiang Rai on Day 6, with a transfer back to Chiang Mai or a flight out of Chiang Rai (CEI).
November to February is the best time to ride this route: cool, dry mountain air and clear roads. This trip doesn't run during the hot season from March to May, when haze from agricultural burning settles over the north, or in the wet season from June to October, when mountain roads can be slippery.
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.
No. This trip rides a shorter, shuttle-assisted stretch of the road on a bicycle and finishes in Chiang Rai. Our Mae Hong Son Loop trip rides the full circuit on a motorbike, self-drive or pillion, all the way round through Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang and Doi Inthanon and back to Chiang Mai.
Social hostels and guesthouses picked for location: near the Old City in Chiang Mai, close to Pai's town centre, and within reach of Chiang Rai's night bazaar. You share a twin or small dorm room with travellers of the same gender.
Two meals are included. Street food and local restaurants cost about 40 to 100 baht a dish. Budget roughly 500 to 800 baht a day for meals not included and drinks.
The bike, helmet and a repair kit come from us. Bring padded cycling shorts if you have them, a pair of comfortable trainers or your own cycling shoes and pedals if you use clip-ins (flat pedals are fitted as standard, so this is optional), sunglasses, sunscreen and a light layer for the cooler mountain mornings.
Light clothes for off-the-bike time, plus something that covers your shoulders and knees for temples, a swimsuit for the hot springs, a refillable water bottle and a phone pouch you can wear while riding.
Yes, it's a condition of joining, and it must cover you for guided cycling touring as well as medical treatment and evacuation. Check your policy before you book. Most standard travel insurance covers organised, guided cycling, but it's worth confirming with your provider rather than assuming.
You should be comfortable riding 25 to 50 km on consecutive days on rolling terrain. The support van shuttles the steepest, most sustained mountain sections of the route, so you don't need serious climbing fitness or previous cycling experience, but you should have ridden a bike regularly in the months before the trip.
That's fine. The support van rides with the group on every riding day, and you can hop in for any stretch you'd rather not ride and rejoin further on.
Ask here and someone on the team will email you back within 1 to 2 business days.
From
$810 / £608 / €710 / A$1,150 / CA$1,150 / NZ$1,430 / ₹77,500