Paradise Island Tour (1 Week)

Motorbike Madness sells two versions of its island trip and this is the longer one, seven days and six nights based out of the company's facility at Pong near Pattaya. It is graded intermediate, groups run up to twenty riders, and the bike is a Honda CB500X unless you upgrade. The structure is unusual for a tour of this length because it front loads the preparation. The whole of day one is spent at base camp, with airport or hotel transfer, a safety briefing, gear fitting and time on the onsite training course, which suits riders who have not ridden in Thailand before. Riding begins on day two, heading through rural villages to Amphoe Khao Chamao National Park with its mountain waterfalls and jungle pools, before an overnight in beachside villas at Chanthaburi. Day three is the crossing. The route runs from Chanthaburi to the ferry port at Trat and takes a forty to fifty minute sailing over to Koh Chang, Thailand's second largest island, with the afternoon spent at Kae Bae Beach and dinner at a cliffside restaurant. Day four explores the island itself, taking in the Khlong Phlu waterfall, the quieter east coast at Dan Mai, the Klong Nonsi waterfall and the mountain peaks in the interior. Day five is a deliberate rest day with nothing scheduled, and the operator lists boat tours, diving, snorkelling, fishing, kayaking and massages as options. The return leg ferries back to the mainland and follows the eastern seaboard coastal roads through a fishing village to the King Taksin shrine at Chanthaburi, then finishes on the last day with the vineyards around Silver Lake, the ring road circling Big Buddha Mountain and some off road jungle trail before the base camp. Unusually for this operator, breakfasts, lunches and dinners are all included on this tour, as are the ferry tickets in both directions. Fuel, private hotel rooms, helmets, transfers and third party liability cover are also part of the price. The operator publishes no total distance for the route.

This is the week long version of the Motorbike Madness island trip, running from the company's Pattaya base down the eastern seaboard to Koh Chang and back. Day one is spent at base camp on the safety briefing, gear fitting and the onsite training course, and the riding starts the following morning with rural villages and the waterfalls of Khao Chamao National Park on the way to a beachside night at Chanthaburi. From Trat the group takes a forty to fifty minute ferry across to Koh Chang, where two days go to the island: Kae Bae Beach and a cliffside restaurant, then the Khlong Phlu and Klong Nonsi waterfalls and the mountain interior, followed by a free beach day. The return runs the coast road back to Chanthaburi and finishes over Silver Lake and Big Buddha Mountain.