Beautiful North Thailand & Laos

Upon arrival at Chiang Mai airport, transfer to the hotel (recommended arrival to Chiang Mai, no later than 1 pm).
At 3 pm transfer to Bike Tour Asia for a welcome briefing, answer any questions you might have and motorcycle hand over. Short ride back to your hotel followed by common dinner. Please plan your arrival to Chiang Mai accordingly. Overnight in Chiang Mai.

We start our 1-week motorcycle tour of Thailand and Laos by riding from Chiang Mai in eastern direction. We cruise on hilly roads via Phayao to Nan. In Phayao ride along the lake and enjoy lunch before we continue to Nan. The roads during the rest of this day are small provincial roads passing endless villages and rice paddies. Coffee stop at Chiang Muang, it doesn’t get much more local than this. Last hours riding to Nan is crossing a mountain range, lovely curvy roads leads us to this sleepy provincial capital. Overnight in Nan.
(300 km/186 miles)

The first hours of this day are probably the best riding Thailand has to offer. The scenery is great, roads are curvy, traffic is almost non-existent, a true motorcycle Paradis. The stretch between Santisuk to Bo Kluea you can ride time and again. At Bo Kluea we visit the salt mines where we learn the ancient way of extracting salt.
We cross into Laos at Huai Kon border point. From the Lao border, it’s a nice and relaxing ride to Pakbeng were we meet the Mekong River for the first time. Pakbeng is a colourful village situated at the junction of the Mekong River and the smaller Beng River, hence the town’s name ‘Pak’ meaning ‘mouth’ in Lao. The scenery is stunning, the pace is slow and it's the perfect way to relax into the slower pace of Laos. Overnight in Pakbeng.
(200 km/124 miles)

Another incredible day on our 1-week motorcycle tour of Thailand and Laos: Fresh air in the morning, spectacular views over the Mekong river, get used to it, we will follow and cross the Mekong during several times the coming days. We ride over the new bridge crossing Mekong River back to Muang Ngeum and continue to Hongsa. Shortly after Hongsa we leave the main road and start our real part of the adventure today on the new road passing through some villages, negotiation some mountain ranges and rivers. We are riding in a remote area, there are plenty of small forest roads, better to stick to the main road. Well-deserved lunch and break at Ban Samphanxay, take the opportunity to mingle with the locals. Not many tourists come here, enjoy the moment. Continuing further we meet the Mekong River again at Pak Long where we ride the last stretch to the ferry point. Here our eye’s meets Luang Prabang for the first time. Short ferry crossing and we are at this former capital of Laos. Overnight in Luang Prabang.
(280 km/174 miles)

As this is a rest day the day is totally at our disposal.
In the morning we will have the option to rise early to view the procession of monks on their daily outing collecting alms, a practice that dates back centuries. It is done early, as the monks cannot eat anything after midday. By giving food to a monk you make merit, which should augur well for your next life.
You may also want to visit the beautiful Kuang Si Waterfalls. It’s possible to swim in the lagoon, so bring your swimming gear. A great way to get there is to take a local “Tuktuk”.
Once back in Luang Prabang you can visit the major temples, including the magnificent Wat Xieng Thong, which nestles at the meeting of the Mekong and the Nam Khan Rivers, and Wat Wisunalat, which is the oldest temple in the city. Another great optional activity is to sample a traditional Lao massage and herbal sauna. Take a boat cruise to enjoy the sunset on the Mekong River is another option. Enjoy and have fun! We stay another night in Luang Prabang.

After waking up in the cool air to the spectacular views of the Mekong we restart our week motorcycle tour of Thailand and Laos, by riding along the river in east direction to Pak Ou Caves. Reaching the villages of Pak Ou we park our motorcycles and take a boat across the Mekong River to the cave complex. Walking through the lower and upper cave filled with thousands of Buddha images. Once back on our motorcycles we continue on a narrow road along the river for a while reaching back on the main road. From here we cross over the mountain on the newly built road to Oudom Xai. That 150 km took the whole day to cover some years ago. Today it’s a pure pleasure to negotiate the curves and enjoying the scenery. There are plenty of great photo opportunities, nature, villages, people, children, animals, rice paddies etc. Overnight at a lovely resort outside Oudom Xai.
(220 km/137 miles)

Another good riding day in Laos is in front of us. The first part is towards Luang Namtha, a town located close to the Chinese border. This is the main entry point into China from Thailand and Laos. After lunch in Luang Namtha, we continue road 3 south towards Houei Xai and the Mekong River, forming the border between Laos and Thailand. The road has normally a bit more traffic, especially trucks. The scenery is good, we are passing through a couple of villages, there is time to stop and “mingle” with the locals. At Huay Xai, we make the custom and immigration formalities and ride over the bridge to Chiang Khong and we are riding on the left side of the road again. Tonight, we dine again by the Mekong river, this time we have Laos on the other side. Overnight in Chiang Khong.
(320 km/199 miles)

The final day of the week motorcycle tour of Thailand and Laos. We leave the Mekong river behind us for the last time. Cruising provincial roads to Chiang Rai where we have a break at the White Temple, one of the new landmarks in north Thailand, opened to visitors since 1997. Continue to Chiang Mai on twisty and open mountain roads. We enter Chiang Mai on back roads, enjoy rice paddies and villages one more time. Tour ends at Bike Tour Asia Service Center where we expect to arrive around 5 PM. Transfer to your hotel in Chiang Mai followed by farewell dinner. Overnight in Chiang Mai.
(340 km/211 miles)

Transfer to Chiang Mai airport or prolong your stay in north Thailand.