Long Way Down: Chiang Mai to Phuket

Thirteen nights from Chiang Mai to Phuket, guided, 2,223 kilometres the length of Thailand, with complimentary hotel nights at both ends.

North to south across a whole country is the shape, and it takes in two coasts: the Gulf of Thailand on the way down and the Andaman Sea at the end, which are different seas with different weather.

Mae Sariang and Mae Sot open the route down the Myanmar border, then Nakhon Sawan on the plains and Kanchanaburi, where the bridge over the River Kwai stands on the Thai-Burma railway, built by prisoners of war and conscripted labourers under the Japanese at a cost of tens of thousands of lives, and treated here with the seriousness it requires. Hua Hin follows with a rest day, then Chumphon, and a ferry to Koh Samui with a second rest day. Phatthalung, Koh Lanta, Phang Nga Bay with its limestone stacks and Phuket close the route.

The choice of motorcycle with three base models included and upgrades available, and the complimentary hotel nights at Chiang Mai and Phuket, are included; the full inclusions are not itemised on the operator’s page and are worth confirming at booking. The price shown is for one rider. The cool dry season from November to February suits the north, and the Andaman coast is drier between November and April, which makes this route’s timing simpler than most. Fourteen days with two rest days and a ferry in it is a proper expedition rather than a loop, and the landscape changes completely over its length: mountain forest at the start, flat plains through the middle, and islands and limestone at the end.