About this Cycle Tour
Our mountain bike journey takes us from the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai through the mountains to the Golden Triangle, where the Mekong River marks the borders of Thailand, Burma, and Laos.
Our mountain bike journey takes us from the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai through the mountains to the Golden Triangle, where the Mekong River marks the borders of Thailand, Burma, and Laos.
Spice Roads did it again. This is our second trip with them and they got EVERYTHING right. Knowing we were in expert hands with our guide and our driver tending to our needs, we were able to fully immerse in experiencing the culture, exquisite food, and natural beauty of Thailand. Mind-blowing experience.
Spice Roads far exceeded our expectations. The accommodations were lovely, the food was fantastic and, most importantly, we were in such good hands with Nok as our guide and Bong as our porter. Nok was so very knowledgeable in answering all our many questions about the culture, the food, and the biology of the area. He was very careful to adapt the tour to our needs. We suffered a few cuts and scrapes and insect bites, which is to be expected and he was always right there to administer first aid. Pong kept the van spotless, kept the bikes in perfect running order checking them thoroughly every day and making tune ups as needed. He made sure we had all kinds of local fruit and delicacies for snacks and observed us quietly to determine our tastes and adapted the fare he offered accordingly. This is just the perfect way for my son and I to spend quality time together making memories that will last us a lifetime.
View more: Touring
Tours in: ThailandThailand - Chiang Mai
We ride 518 km, about 30% off road, in 10 cycling days. We designed the route to give a wide variety of riding. There are some first-class single-track trails to gentle back roads. Northern Thailand is a mountainous region, and there are very few flat rides, however, most of the big climbs are optional and on tarmac. Many roads and trails traverse the mountains, and our route winds up and down hillsides. We guarantee you will never be bored by the riding. There are some outstanding descents and stunning views across rolling hillsides and valleys at almost every turn!
Although our escort vehicle is always close by and our guides have powerful two-way radios, some rides are not supported due to the remoteness of the trails. Your guide’s expert knowledge of the area and terrain means that you always know what is coming up in terms of distance and difficulty. This makes a tremendous difference, as does the constant supply of cold drinks and fresh fruit.
We use a nice variety of accommodation including a village homestay as well as some deluxe resorts. Every day you will get a comfortable room (except with the homestay) and often a swimming pool to jump into at the end of the ride.
Suitability: You should be confident of your physical condition and bike-handling skills. Some climbs are challenging, and some rides are off road, but overall, the trail isn't too technical. It can be managed by most riders, but it is advisable to have at least some off-road and preferably downhill experience. Fitness, of course, will be a huge asset but it is not crucial. It is possible to dodge the big climbs. If you are in doubt, please contact us for advice or a list of references.
Biking Conditions: We have a mixture of tarmac, vehicle width dirt roads, and single track. Some off-road riding experience is an advantage.
Welcome to Chiang Mai, the "Rose of the North"! We’ll meet at our tour hotel in the early afternoon before transferring to Wiang Kum Kam, an archaeological site featuring the ruins of a 13th-century city. Surrounded by peaceful countryside, it’s the ideal place to get comfortable on our bikes. From here, we follow the course of the Ping River south for about 15 km, cross a bridge, and loop back north along quiet roads through lush longan orchards. To avoid the busy traffic, we’ll jump in the support van for a quick transfer back to the hotel. In the evening, we’ll gather for a welcome dinner. If you need help with airport transfers or pre-tour hotel bookings, just let us know.
We begin the day with a 1.5-hour transfer to a small temple near Mae Kuang Dam, where we set up our bikes and hit the trails. The first part of the ride covers 15 km of single-track, gravel, and sandy paths leading through a dense forest, part of which is home to teak trees, one of the world’s most prized timbers and protected from logging in Thailand. Emerging from the forest, we reach the Bua Tong Waterfall, known as the “sticky waterfall” due to its unique grippy limestone surface. From here we continue another 15 km along well-paved roads to Mae Ngat Reservoir, where we’ll have lunch overlooking the calm waters of this man-made lake. The final section then takes us on a mix of paved and dirt roads through small villages, rice paddies, and fruit orchards. Our ride concludes at Wat Ban Den, a sprawling temple complex renowned for its colourful architecture and large sculptures of mythical creatures. We transfer around 1 hour to our hotel further north in Chiang Dao district, where the towering Chiang Dao Mountain, Thailand’s third-highest peak, majestically overlooks the valley.
We begin with an easy 12 km ride to the sacred Chiang Dao Caves, where we’ll stroll through narrow chambers housing an eclectic mix of stalagmites, stalactites, Buddha images, and other religious relics. Afterward, we weave across the valley floor, filled with farms and framed by rugged limestone massifs. To the east lie the mountains of Sri Lanna National Park, and we’ll tackle some climbing as we rise along the hillside contours. The roads vary between paved countryside routes and hard-packed dirt paths through farms and forests, offering a stunning ride in northern Thailand’s rural hinterland. At around 70 km, we join a quiet provincial road leading us down into the Fang valley. By around 90 km, we’ll call it a day and skip the busy highway by transferring 30 minutes to our hotel in the town of Fang.
Today’s route takes us to the far north of Thailand, where the mountains form a natural border with Myanmar. We begin by leaving Fang and heading onto paved country lanes, passing expansive rice paddies and village temples dotted along the way. This region is also famous for its vast orange orchards. By the 40 km mark, we reach the Kok River, the lifeblood of the area, and follow its eastern banks to the market town of Tha Thon. By around 55 km, we’ll arrive at our riverside hotel. For those seeking a challenge, there’s the option to tackle a steep, winding mountain road up to the hilltop Tha Thon Temple, which offers sweeping views over the valley and into Myanmar. After soaking in the vistas, we’ll descend back to our tranquil hotel, where peaceful gardens and a refreshing pool await. The afternoon is yours to relax and enjoy at leisure.
We start things a little differently today. After a short transfer to a pier, we’ll hitch a ride on a long-tail boat that takes us downstream on the Kok River. After about an hour, we’ll disembark and saddle up to follow the river as it cuts through a narrow valley dotted with hill tribe villages and surrounded by forested slopes and terraced agricultural fields. The first 20 km will be along a mix of dirt roads and unevenly paved, occasionally cratered, rural lanes. We’ll even cross a suspension bridge! Gradually, the roads become smoother, and after around 30 km, we spill out onto the plains surrounding the city of Chiang Rai. Rather than heading straight into town, we take a detour to visit the eccentric White Temple, Chiang Rai’s top attraction, where traditional Thai temple architecture meets modern art and pop culture. After our visit, we ride to our hotel in Chiang Rai City. In the evening, we’ll head out for a stroll through the lively Night Bazaar, full of local products, trinkets, and snacks.
This morning, we’ll transfer about an hour to our cycling start point, stopping en route to visit the eclectic Black House — one of Chiang Rai’s unique colour-themed attractions, renowned for its dark, mysterious art collection. We then begin our ride at the base of Doi Mae Salong, one of Chiang Rai’s most beautiful mountains offering one of the north’s most iconic climbing challenges! The first 15 km offer a gradual warm-up, but soon the gradients pick up. A winding road takes us through tea plantations, coffee farms, cornfields, and remarkable views over the highlands of Chiang Rai Province. Around the 35 km mark, we reach the mountaintop village of Mae Salong, a community almost entirely populated by descendants of Chiang Kai Shek's Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang Army, giving it the look and feel of China’s Yunnan province rather than Thailand. From the village, a particularly challenging 4 km climb up to a mountaintop temple awaits, with gradients reaching double digits! The views from the top make it worthwhile, and we then descend back down and complete the distance to our highland hotel in the tea fields.
Located at the summit of Doi Mae Salong, we have nowhere to go but down! The first half of today’s ride features a stunning descent into the valleys. We follow a secondary road down the mountain, maintaining a steady pace to navigate some uneven surfaces while soaking in views of the forests, hill tribe villages, and terraced agricultural fields etched into the hillsides. Although the ride trends downhill, there are still undulations and short climbs to keep our legs moving! By the 18 km mark, we return to lower ground for a relatively flat ride to our next stop: the popular Choui Fong Tea plantation, renowned for its stunning rows of tea bushes and high-quality brews. A final 5 km, including an uphill burst towards the end, leads us to our nature-based mountain resort for the night.
Departing from our hotel, we ride 4 km to a forest temple where local monks collect alms on horseback in the mornings. We then continue on rural roads flanked by rice paddies and fruit orchards. While this section is flat, the jungle-clad mountains ahead hint at the climbing that awaits us! At the 15 km mark, we begin our ascent of another of northern Thailand's iconic climbs: Doi Tung Mountain. The road gradually winds uphill, featuring occasional double-digit gradients. By the 30 km mark, we reach the top of the pass, which straddles the border with Myanmar. From there, we enjoy a thrilling descent with expansive views of the rugged mountains and deep jungles of Myanmar. By the 50 km mark, we return to lower ground, riding through the fertile rice-growing region of eastern Chiang Rai Province to reach the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos converge at the confluence of the mighty Mekong River. We end the ride here and transfer a short distance to our riverside hotel in the town of Chiang Saen. A sundowner overlooking the river to celebrate today’s impressive cycling feat may be in order!
This morning, we embark on a scenic loop into the countryside of the Golden Triangle. Once notorious as a hub for the illicit opium trade, this region has shed its troubled legacy, transforming into a peaceful, agrarian landscape and a thriving cross-border commercial hub. Starting from our hotel, we begin with a 10 km stretch along the shoulder of the main road which runs parallel with the Mekong River. We then veer inland and ride on quiet, rural roads back to our hotel in Chiang Saen, the final few kilometres taking us along the remnants of fortification walls of the ancient town which once stood here. After lunch, we hop in the van for a transfer back to where it all began: Chiang Mai, with a total driving time of around 4.5 hours.
We’ll make the most of our final morning in the north with one of Thailand’s most accessible and exhilarating downhill mountain biking trails. We begin with a drive up to Wat Doi Suthep, the most sacred temple in northern Thailand. Perched on a mountaintop overlooking Chiang Mai, it offers stunning panoramic views on clear days. At the heart of the temple complex is a large, stepped, gilded stupa—a celebrated symbol of Chiang Mai’s deep-rooted spirituality. After exploring the temple, we continue further up the mountain to Doi Pui, where we saddle up and begin our descent. Winding our way down for nearly 20 km, the trail takes us through the thickly forested slopes of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and highland farms cultivated by hill tribe villagers. Please note that due to safety reasons, e-bikes are not permitted on the downhill trail. If you have hired an e-bike then we will replace it with a regular mountain bike for this ride. The ride concludes at the Huay Tueng Thao Reservoir, a favourite local recreation spot with a large lake. We’ll enjoy a celebratory farewell lunch before transferring to your post-tour hotel or the airport.
Disclaimer: The adventure cycling tours we operate often go beyond the beaten track, and the countries where we ride are not always predictable. Due to these reasons, it is occasionally necessary to reroute or update itineraries. Our guarantee is that we will not change a trip unless for safety or to improve it. Our listed hotels are always accurate at the time of writing, but should we have to change any hotel, it will always be for a similar or better one.
Because some people can't imagine going on a trip without their own beloved bicycle, we do not provide them as part of this tour. However, you can hire bikes locally for the price listed in the tour pricing section.
If you bring your own bike, please make sure it is a mountain bike, preferably with front suspension in good mechanical order.
Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.
Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.
You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.
We recommend that you visit a travel medical doctor and ask about the following vaccinations: typhoid, polio, tetanus and hepatitis A. A certificate for Yellow Fever is required when arriving from an infected area within six days.
Thailand generally has a tropical climate with fairly high humidity. The North and Central region have a tropical climate with fairly high humidity. Northeast Thailand has a humid hot and dry weather alternatively with medium rain while the coastal areas of the east is humid and hot with intermittent rain. The South of Thailand has a tropical climate with fairly high humidity.
There are three seasons: from March to June it is hot and dry, with temperatures between 27˚C/80 F and 40˚C/104 F, with night temperatures in the 20s. The rainy season is from July to October, but temperatures are slightly lower, because of the effect of the rain. During this time it will not rain continuously, but in sharp bursts, and the sun can come out quickly. The cooler season is from October to February, with average temperatures between 20˚C/68 F and 30˚C/86 F.
Meals are included as per the itinerary where B = breakfast, L = lunch, D = dinner. Most meals are local and feature noodles, rice, curries, and soups. Any special dietary requirements can also be catered for as well. Please let us know at the time of booking.
Keeping you completely hydrated is a job we take very seriously. Cold water, some energy-restoring local fruit, and soft drinks are included in the tour price while riding. Soft drinks and other beverages during meals are not included. Beer is freely available everywhere but is NOT included in the price.
SpiceRoads does not require you to pay a surcharge for traveling alone. We will arrange for you to share accommodation with another traveler of the same gender and if we cannot match you up we will provide a single room at no extra charge. If you prefer not to share a single supplement is payable to guarantee your own room. The cost of the single supplement is listed above.
We recommend that you tuck away a few extra dollars, perhaps US$20 per day, for incidentals.
The Thai currency is the baht. ATMs, which are abundant, are the easiest ways to get Thai baht. Have a supply of US dollars in cash on hand, just in case your card doesn’t work. Banks or the rarer private moneychangers offer the best foreign-exchange rates. Credit cards are accepted in big cities and resort hotels but you’ll need baht for family-run guesthouses or restaurants.
If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:
Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.
You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.
There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.
From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).
If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.
Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.
We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.
The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.
In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.
In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.
The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.
If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).
If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).
Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.
If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.
The information in this document is given in good faith, and covers the average range of conditions likely to be found on this trip. Please note that the itinerary is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, however, we will always do our best to adhere to this original itinerary
My husband and I just finished our bike adventure with the help of Nok and driver Egg. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and thought it was very well designed with hard days followed by easier cycling days. Each days took bike skills, strength and endurance but it was mostly doable for me as a 67 yr old woman. I did have to push my bicycle up a few of the very steep hills but everyone waited patiently. Our guide,Nok, was the best. He spoke English very well and has a wonderful sense of humor. Egg took good care of us and our bicycles. Never could we have managed to find and explore such rich culture and beautiful Thailand without them. Thanks for a memorable trip.