Off-Road Adventure

Six nights in a loop from Chiang Mai, guided, 1,200 kilometres over five riding days on a mix of tarmac and dirt.

The route follows the trail used for the 2016 International GS Trophy in south-east Asia, which was BMW’s own global off-road competition, so the terrain was chosen by people looking for difficulty rather than comfort: single track, gravel road and enduro-style sections. At this price it is also the cheapest tour the operator sells, which says something about where the money goes on the others.

The famous 1,864-curve Mae Hong Son Loop is on it, with Pai, then riding along the Myanmar border and the Salawin River, a visit to a Long Neck Karen village, and Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand. The subtropical mountain forest is the backdrop throughout, and the food along the way is a genuine part of the appeal: northern Thai cooking is not what gets exported, and a guided group gets fed where a solo rider would not think to stop.

The tour is guided; the full inclusions are not itemised on the operator’s page and are worth confirming at booking, and quality off-road gear is required but not supplied. The riding runs 150 to 300 kilometres a day across paved and unpaved sections, and real off-road experience is assumed. The cool dry season from November to February is the window, since the wet turns the trails to mud. This is the tour to book for anyone who has ridden dirt elsewhere and wants a route that was laid out for competition rather than for sightseeing, though the famous loop keeps the scenery in it.