Thailand Motorcycle Tour Companies: The Complete Guide

Thailand has the most developed motorcycle touring industry in Southeast Asia, which is good news and a complication at the same time. Good news because you can book anything from a one-day ride out of Chiang Mai to a ninety-day expedition across the region. A complication because those two products come from companies with almost nothing in common, and the words on their websites — "adventure", "guided", "all-inclusive" — do not distinguish them.

This guide covers every company with Thailand tours listed on Moto Mass, where each one is based, what they run, and who each suits. Prices are the figures published on our listing pages, in the currency the operator quotes; confirm current rates and departure dates before booking.

How Thai operators differ

Three axes separate them, and none of them is price:

• Geography. Chiang Mai companies sell mountains — the Mae Hong Son Loop, Doi Inthanon, the Golden Triangle. Pattaya and eastern-seaboard companies sell coast, islands and the roads west towards Kanchanaburi. Both are excellent; they are not interchangeable.
• Trip length philosophy. Some operators build a portfolio of one- and three-day rides you can slot into an existing holiday. Others exist to run multi-week international expeditions and treat anything under a fortnight as a warm-up.
• Bike class. A Honda CB500X, a Triumph Tiger 900 and a Honda CRF300L all do the Mae Hong Son Loop well, but they produce different days. Ask what is actually in the fleet, not what appears in the photographs.

If you already know which month you are travelling in, read the best time to ride in Thailand first — burning season in the north rules out several of these itineraries for a good chunk of spring.

The operators

Motorbike Madness (Pattaya)

Motorbike Madness has the largest catalogue on Moto Mass — eight tours — and the broadest geographic reach within Thailand. They are based in Pattaya on the eastern seaboard and have been running since 2008. The fleet is built around the Honda CB500X and Yamaha Ténéré 700, both sensible mid-weight choices for Thai roads, and they run both road tours and off-road instruction.

What makes them useful is the range of trip lengths, from a single day to a fortnight, and the fact that their tours reach parts of Thailand almost nobody else sells: Isan in the northeast, the Mekong corridor, and the western border country around Kanchanaburi.

• A Great Day Out — 1 day, ฿6,900, a full day's guided riding from Pattaya.
• The Eastern Thailand Isan Adventure — 6 days, ฿54,000, through Thailand's least-touristed region.
• West Thailand Kanchanaburi Tour — 9 days, ฿89,000, River Kwai, Erawan and the Myanmar border roads.
• Golden Triangle Grand Tour — 15 days, ฿135,000, their longest northern itinerary.

All eight are on the Motorbike Madness profile, including Mekong, southern Thailand and island tours.

Bike Tour Asia (Chiang Mai)

Bike Tour Asia is the expedition company. Based in Chiang Mai and operating for over a decade, they run guided, self-guided and private tours not just in Thailand but across Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and China. The fleet leans premium adventure — BMW R 1300 GS and F 900 GS for road work, Honda CRF300L for dirt.

Their Moto Mass listings show the ambition clearly: several are multi-country crossings measured in weeks rather than days. If your idea of a motorcycle holiday involves a border post before breakfast, this is your shortlist of one.

• Ride to the Andaman: Chiang Mai to Phuket — 10 days, the length of the country.
• The Four Corners of South East Asia — 25 days across the region.
• Chiang Mai to the Great Wall — 25 days, Thailand to northern China.

Their full catalogue, including the 90-day Ride of a Lifetime, is on the Bike Tour Asia profile.

Big Bike Tours (Chiang Mai)

Big Bike Tours has operated out of Chiang Mai since 2009 and holds a Tourism Authority of Thailand licence, which is worth checking for with any operator in the country. Groups are capped at ten to twelve riders, and the pitch is straightforward: good roads, minimal traffic, mountain passes, professional mechanics.

They are the best option in this directory for short, high-quality riding days if you are already in Chiang Mai. Their two one-day tours function as a genuinely good way to test whether Thai mountain roads suit you before you commit to a week.

• 1 Day Tour: Samoeng Loop — $210, the classic short loop with Doi Suthep and Mae Sa.
• 1 Day Tour: Doi Inthanon — $210, up Thailand's highest mountain and back.
• 3 Day Tour: Sukhothai Loop — $900, northern Central Thailand and the old capital.

They also run a 20-day Vietnam, Laos and Thailand crossing — see the Big Bike Tours profile.

Thailand Moto Tours (Chiang Mai)

Thailand Moto Tours does one thing and does it in two versions. Both of their listings are eight-day Chiang Mai loops through Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son and Pai; one is on the road, one is on the trails. That symmetry is genuinely useful, because it lets a mixed group of friends split the difference, and it removes the ambiguity that plagues so many "adventure" listings.

• OnRoad Tour — 8 days, the Mae Hong Son Loop as a sealed-road ride.
• OffRoad Tour — 8 days, the same region on trails, via Mae Win.

Both are price-on-request through the Thailand Moto Tours profile. If the loop itself is what you are researching, our Mae Hong Son Loop guide covers the route section by section.

RIDE Adventures (US-based, operating in Chiang Mai)

RIDE Adventures is an American company headquartered in Bend, Oregon, running guided and self-guided tours on five continents since 2010. Their Thailand product is a single, very complete thirteen-day Northern Thailand Experience out of Chiang Mai, and the inclusions list is the longest of any Thai tour on the platform: bilingual guide, support truck and trailer, panniers, crash protection, Thai permits, twelve nights' accommodation, fuel, third-party liability insurance, almost all meals, luggage transport, tools, a satellite phone and airport transfers.

• Northern Thailand Experience — 13 days, $5,749, roughly 2,500 km on a Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro or BMW R 1250 GS.

See the RIDE Adventures profile. They also run a northern Vietnam dual-sport tour, covered in our Vietnam operator guide.

Thailand operators at a glance

OperatorBaseTours on Moto MassDuration rangeListed price rangeFocus Motorbike MadnessPattaya81–15 days฿6,900 – ฿135,000Nationwide road tours, all regions Bike Tour AsiaChiang Mai610–90 daysOn requestLong-distance and multi-country expeditions Big Bike ToursChiang Mai3 (+1 regional)1–3 days$210 – $900Short guided rides from Chiang Mai Thailand Moto ToursChiang Mai28 daysOn requestMae Hong Son Loop, road and off-road RIDE AdventuresBend, Oregon (US)113 days$5,749Fully supported premium northern tour

The price columns are in three currencies because the operators quote in three currencies. We deliberately do not convert them here — exchange rates move, and a stale conversion is worse than none. For a like-for-like per-day comparison, see the Thailand motorcycle tour cost guide.

How to choose

If you have three days and you are already in Chiang Mai

Book a one-day guided ride first. It costs little, it tells you immediately how you feel about riding on the left in Thai traffic, and a good guide will tell you honestly whether you are ready for the mountain loop.

If you want the Mae Hong Son Loop

Decide road or dirt before you shortlist. Operators who sell both will let you pick; operators who sell one will quietly sell you theirs. The loop itself is around 600 km on Highways 108 and 1095 and takes most groups four to eight days depending on how many side roads they add.

If you have two weeks or more

This is where Thailand stops being a destination and becomes a starting point. Multi-country itineraries into Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia are common, but check visa and carnet arrangements carefully — border crossings on a hired motorcycle are an operator competency, not a formality.

If you are riding with a non-rider

Look for support-truck tours. Any itinerary listing a support vehicle and luggage transport can usually accommodate a passenger for part of the day, which turns a long transfer stage into something both of you enjoy.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licence and an IDP to join a Thailand tour?

Yes. UK government advice states you should carry both the 1968 version of the international driving permit and your home driving licence while driving in Thailand, and that riding without a valid licence can invalidate your travel insurance so you cannot claim after an accident. Helmets are a legal requirement. Reputable operators will ask to see your licence; treat it as a warning sign if nobody does. Current guidance is on the UK Foreign Office Thailand page.

What is a fair group size for a Thai tour?

Between six and twelve riders is normal for road tours, and operators here cap in that range. Off-road groups run smaller. Larger groups slow down at fuel stops and photo stops far more than people expect — with twelve riders a five-minute stop routinely becomes twenty.

Are self-guided tours worth it in Thailand?

They work well. Thailand is one of the easier countries in Asia to navigate independently: roads are signed in Roman script, fuel is everywhere and accommodation is easy to find. A self-guided package gets you a prepared bike, a route and a phone number if things go wrong, at meaningfully less than the guided price. The trade-off is that you lose the local knowledge that finds the good lunch stop and the unmarked viewpoint.

Which operator covers southern Thailand and the islands?

Coverage of the south is thinner than the north across the whole market. On Moto Mass, the southern and island itineraries come from the Pattaya-based operator and the Chiang Mai-to-Phuket runs from the expedition company. Expect hotter, busier riding and more main-road kilometres than in the north.

Can I extend a Thailand tour into Laos or Vietnam?

Yes, and several operators build exactly that. It is not a decision to make on the day — temporary import paperwork for the motorcycle, visas and insurance all need arranging in advance. Book a company that already runs the crossing rather than asking one to improvise it.

How far in advance should I book?

For the November-to-February peak in the north, three to six months. Fleets of large-capacity bikes in Thailand are small, and the good machines on popular dates go first. Shoulder-season and wet-season departures are usually available at much shorter notice.