Mae Hong Son Loop, North Thailand – 2. Route & Motorcycle

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Route

The Mae Hong Son Loop of North Thailand takes us from Chiang Mai through Doi Inthanon to Khun Yuam and finally to Mae Hong Son. From Mae Hong Son, the route continues to Pai before taking us back to Chiang Mai. As a short weekend ride, there is not enough time for adequate sight seeing. The time is just about enough to finish the loop with minimal stops. More days are certainly advised for Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son and Pai. The total distance we traveled was around 640km.


Map of North Thailand and route taken

The roads are twisty but well-paved. There is no off-road riding if you keep to the main routes. The only non-tarmac roads we encountered are the junction before Mae Ya Waterfall and the junction before Tham Lot. Even then, any motorcycle should be able to handle these roads easily.


This is about as bad as the road goes

If you have rode in Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos before, you should not have any problems navigating the roads in North Thailand. Road signs are available through out the loop, especially at major junctions. Petrol should not be a problem as well. If you do not see petrol stations, you can still find stalls by the road sides selling bottled petrol. Remember to top up your tank whenever you can, especially if you are not sure of the distance to the next town/village.

Since I brought along my Garmin GPS receiver during this trip, I tracked my routes and took down my waypoints. If you would like a copy of the file in Garmin GDB format, just post a comment and I will send the download link to your email. The size of the file is around 712KB.

Motorcycle

The bike rental scene is well-established in Chiangmai. You would find a great variety of bikes from Honda waves, Honda Phantoms, Honda Super 4, Honda scramblers to BMW tourers. We decided to go for scramblers at the most popular bike rental shop in Chiangmai – Mr Mechanic. Mr Mechanic is located at 4 Soi 5, Moonmuang Rd. T.Sri Phum, A.Muang, Chiangmai. They can be contacted at (+66)53-214708 (tel), (+66)53-41837 (fax), (+66)1-8824402 (mobile) or mrm@yahoo.com. Because of our tight schedule, we booked three honda scramblers in advance at 600B per day for each bike. Upon arrival, we received 2 Honda Degrees and 1 Honda AX-1. Both models are quite similar but Honda AX-1 is much more fuel efficient.


Mr Mechanic (Photo taken from Mr Mechanic website)

171 thoughts on “Mae Hong Son Loop, North Thailand – 2. Route & Motorcycle”

  3. Some friends and I are planning a motorcycle trip to Thailand towards the end of the year. Grateful if you could send the track file so we can get some ideas.

  6. Hi there.

    please email me the trackfile too. I made an almost identical journey two years ago but only got as far as Pae Pa hot springs, it was awesome though. Might do the whole loop when I return to Thailand in January 2010, hence the need for the trackfile. Thanks dude.

    Mark

  7. I too would appreciate the track file.
    Am going there in Oct and sure it would be of some use.
    Rgds Russ.

  9. Hello I am off to Mae Hong Son next month, I will be driving around the loop and would like to know about the best places to visit, can you send me your files please.

    Thanks alot.

  13. Am an elderly female, going to do this ride feb10. would appreciate any good advice and trackfile too.
    Moira

  14. should ask. Did you find many shaks to be able to sleep over in en route, am looking at taking my time.

  15. We are looking at riding the loop in February. I would be grateful for any info including the trackfile.
    Your article is very helpful.

    Geoff and Moira

  16. Huh, Didn’t know Moira had already written to you. She must be getting excited about the trip. PS. She aint THAT old.

    Geoff

  17. Hi,

    File sent to both. Does ‘shak’ means guesthouses? Major towns and cities definitely have them i.e. Pai, Mae Hong Son, Khun Yuam, Chiangmai. For smaller towns, you would need to check the guides or google online. Sorry I couldn’t give a better reply as I am out of country and didn’t have my notes and books with me.

    Have a great trip! 🙂

  18. Hello I am off to MHS end of this month , Will be riding around the loop and would like to know about the best places to visit, can you send me your files please and route u take.

    Thanks alot.

  19. Hi Bob,

    I have a pretty rushed trip. Places visited are as mentioned in my trip report. Given more time, I would check out places in Mae Hong Son and Pai. If you are interested in visiting the “long-necks”, arrangements can be made at Mae Hong Son.

    File is sent to your email.

  20. Your article is great! Really informative. I’m planning to do this trip next month. Please send me a track files. Thank you very much!

  22. Hi

    Thanks for the great info. Four of us are going to do the loop in March. I would really appreciate getting the track files. Thanks a lot!

  26. Hi Im sure this is like a job for you now, if you could could you send me the file, thanks so much for helping out so many people!
    Thank you

  28. Hello, I am considering to do that route on Friday. I would really appreciate your GPS track. Thank you!

  32. Would really appreciate the track file for our trip later this year. Many thanks!

  34. We just came back from Thailand and made about the same trip but in 5 days. We took the longer route by following the 108 through Me Lae Noi which I would recomnmend a lot since this was probably the nicest part.

    Thanks for you adise, it was very helpfull.

  37. Hi. My Fiance & I are thinking of doing this route in November. Could you please email me the track file. Cheers 🙂

  39. Hi, great info:-) i am planning on doing this trip in january 2011, taking my time. Does it seem ok to do on a honda dream (or other similar 125cc scooter)?
    Didn’t plan on taking a gps device, just GT map, should i still plan on gps?

    Thanks!

  40. In my opinion, Honda Dream is sufficient. Most locals ride similar bikes and you would have no problems finding help if required.

    GT map and a compass are good enough. I don’t have any map loaded to my gps device. I just use it to track my route and for bearings.

    Have a great trip. 🙂

  41. Thanks so much for both responses, greatly appreciated:-) i’ll start with guided circuit in North West Vietnam (as seems the trickiest from your reply) and self guided around Chiang Rai.

    Happy travels!

  42. Hi, i want to go cycling this loop in december.
    Can you sent me the gps track please.
    This Will be helpfull for the preparation.

    Thanks in advance!

  45. Hi Mustakim,

    Link sent to your email.

    Is that a F650GS/F800GS you are riding? I hope I can afford such a bike one day. I am currently riding a wimpy Vespa LX150. 😛

    Anyway, I enjoy reading your trip reports.

  46. Hi,

    I’m planning the trip next week. Can you please share with me your waypoints?

    Thanks!

    CLEM

  48. Going to Chang Mai mid January and planning a motorcycle trip – would be very grateful if you send me the track files – thx!

  50. Hi

    Could you please send me your GPS track(s)/waypoints.

    I had my GPS stolen in Thailand before I could download my tracks 🙁

    Thanks

    Adam

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