No Limits! 4 Days Motorcycle Tour to Mae Hong Son: The Ultimate Tribal Backroads of Thailand

TBB Tours would like to introduce participants to what has often been described as “one of the world’s top ten motorcycle rides”. They are fortunate, as this is right on their doorstep, so they have built a great four-day tour for their enjoyment. Mae Hong Son Province is officially the most mountainous province in Thailand, so as participants may imagine, that means it is under-populated and has great roads with stunning scenery!

The tour is run over four days and three nights, with the itinerary as follows:

Day 1: Chiang Mai to Pai

Depart TBB base after completing the necessary formalities and getting kitted up, and head north out of the city. The traditional route to Pai would have them arriving by lunchtime, so to extend the day and throw in some great curves, they first head to Phrao before taking an exquisite small road back to the main route 107. After a lunch stop, they continue south back towards the city, and about 30 kilometers from Chiang Mai they turn onto the Pai road and the start of the Mae Hong Son loop.

This is truly a rider's dream – a mix of fast-flowing curves and tighter switchbacks to keep them on their toes. They’ll stop for snacks and lunch along the way and aim to arrive in Pai by approximately 16:00 to take advantage of the fact that the hotel they use there has a pool. The evening can be spent wandering the “walking street” market and/or shacked up in one of many bars/restaurants serving an excellent choice of dishes.

Day 2: Pai to Mae Hong Son

In this writer’s view, probably the sweetest section of the loop will be ridden today. It is a favourite for the combo of fantastic roads, lack of traffic, and beautiful scenery. It is not that far (about 150 kilometers) but as with all TBB Tours' tours, they try to avoid going directly. Participants will be taken to a picturesque Chinese village right on the Burmese border for lunch at a restaurant situated on a lake and then backtrack to the main road and arrive in Mae Hong Son mid to late afternoon as again, the hotel they normally stay at has a pool.

Mae Hong Son has a very ethnic feel about it as it is close to the Burmese border and the Shan state. There is a good choice of restaurants and again, as in Pai, a nightly walking street (much smaller than Pai).

Day 3: Mae Hong Son to Mae Sarieng

After breakfast, participants will leave MHS and head towards the border, where they will swap the bikes for a long-tail boat, which will ferry them to a village where the Karen “Long Necks” (Padaung tribe) live. These are the ladies with the brass rings on their necks.

Leaving the Karen people, they head south, stop for lunch and a trip around the Japanese War Museum, then make their way again, along fast, grippy tarmac to their final overnight stop at Mae Sarieng. Once more, the hotel has a great pool and is situated on the Salween River, and also hosts a nice restaurant.

Day 4: Mae Sarieng to Chiang Mai

After breakfast by the river, they start their journey back via peaceful, remote pine forests before heading to the foot of Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain at 2,565 meters. It is a lunch stop at a beautiful waterfall in Doi Inthanon National Park then they aim to be back in Chiang Mai for approximately 16:00. That’s it, congratulations, they have now completed the famous “Mae Hong Son Loop”.

Total distance covered is approximately 750km.

Skill level required

This is a tour suitable for anyone with a reasonable amount of “big bike” experience, and pillions are welcome. Participants will not ride extremely fast and definitely not recklessly, but they must be competent and comfortable with speeds averaging between 80 - 120 kph.

Note:

The motorbikes (all with ABS) to choose from are:

• Suzuki VStrom 650
• Honda CB500X
• Honda Transalp XL 750 (please note this bike comes with a daily supplementary fee)