Cycling in Thailand

ozzy jr

Anyone got any experience of doing a bit of touring in Thailand?

I've looked at a couple of websites of companies advertising road tours, but would prefer any first hand knowledge if anyone has any?

This one looks good, if a little pricey. I sent an email to them but never heard back, so it doesn't fill me with confidence.

http://www.spiceroads.com/destinations/thailand

I don't plan on bringing my own bike, not at the moment anyway.

carmo13

hi.
I was cycling in Thailand twice as part of a group (Blazing Saddles) and we used this guy. www.activethailand.com. he supplied the bikes also. had a great time on both trips.

polariz

Hi,

I went touring there back in October. We bought second hand mtbs from :
http://grasshopperadventures.com/ run by a couple of Aussie guys. They've a shop in the centre of Bangkok where you can pick up maps, spares, etc. I think they do tours in Thailand but we were doing our own thing so I didn't ask. They were very helpful, if a tad bit pricey but having said that the gear was good quality and the bikes lasted the distance, I even brought my bike home. Anyway, have a look, If you want any more info let me know..

at1withmyself

I went back in December with Redspokes. I've used them 3 times now and will definitely use them again. Check there website for details on there tours:

http://www.redspokes.co.uk/

They do bike hire and other extras on the tour.

ozzy jr wrote: »

Anyone got any experience of doing a bit of touring in Thailand?

I've looked at a couple of websites of companies advertising road tours, but would prefer any first hand knowledge if anyone has any?

This one looks good, if a little pricey. I sent an email to them but never heard back, so it doesn't fill me with confidence.

http://www.spiceroads.com/destinations/thailand

I don't plan on bringing my own bike, not at the moment anyway.

whysomanyhills

Wanted to do this in Koh-Samui when I was there but never got the chance - due to being at the full moon party

Full Moon Mountain Bike Ride: Our healthy alternative to the usual Full Moon Party. With our intense Nite Rider helmet and handlebar lighting system we ride mountain bikes through the moonlit jungle to celebrate Moon Power from the top of the mountain. Breathe in the glittering moon light overlooking the silver sea. A magical experience. All levels welcome. Great photograph opportunity.

<<http://www.samuireservation.com/mountainbike.htm>>

Say it's awsome if you get the chance

blorg

Probably the most important thing to understand is that Thailand is dirt dirt cheap. Like you simply cannot comprehend if you haven't been to a developing country before. In fact for some reason Thailand is cheap compared to its level of development; it is one of the richer and more developed developing countries but general from what I can gather costs are actually lower than substantially poorer countries such as Laos.

I say this simply as many people book things from home with no conception of how cheap local prices are and you could do it for a fraction of the price if you just book the flight and turn up. You could live from €10/day without trying too hard, to give you an idea. Obviously if you are only spending two weeks you could spend a bit more and expect to live like a king.

Disclaimer: I have only spent two weeks in Thailand so far and all around a small town in the north of Isan. However everyone I have met who has been there concurs that it isn't expensive compared to Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia, which I have ridden through. I'll be riding through it from Cambodia to Malaysia in March/April I expect.

It seems like a very easy country to get along in, certainly there would be no issue going your own way. Depending on how long you are planning on going you could either rent or buy the bikes; but bear in mind if buying that it can be difficult to sell them on after.

PWEI

Apologies for bumping up an old thread. I'm wondering how the OP got on or if anybody else has done any cycling in Thailand in the last six months. I'm over there in July and would like to go on a cycling tour preferably heading north. Spiceroads have the best routes but they are ridiculously overpriced especially for Thailand.

ozzy jr

I haven't been yet, haven't decided what I'm doing yet. You're right about the prices though, way over priced for Thailand.

setanta159

PWEI wrote: »

Apologies for bumping up an old thread. I'm wondering how the OP got on or if anybody else has done any cycling in Thailand in the last six months. I'm over there in July and would like to go on a cycling tour preferably heading north. Spiceroads have the best routes but they are ridiculously overpriced especially for Thailand.

am looking at heading there for a month from mid-july hopefully but looking to head south from bangkok to phuket. should take 1 week. lived there for a few yrs and can concur that it is cheap, the roads are excellent (put ours to shame). ultimately however might be nice to do trip with someone. Id look at hiring road bike in bangkok and then start cycling from just outside the city

PWEI

setanta159 wrote: »

am looking at heading there for a month from mid-july hopefully but looking to head south from bangkok to phuket. should take 1 week. lived there for a few yrs and can concur that it is cheap, the roads are excellent (put ours to shame). ultimately however might be nice to do trip with someone. Id look at hiring road bike in bangkok and then start cycling from just outside the city

I'm over there from mid July & will end up down South also. But I'm heading to Samui. I had planned on doing a bit of cycling up North but I could head down South as that's where I'm going to end up anyway.

PWEI

I found a list of all the bicycle tour operators in Thailand, there's a lot more than I expected & also a few road bike specialists;

http://bicyclethailand.com/tours/

Unfortunately I've yet to find one that suits my dates yet. I like some of the tours that siambiketours offer but they don't start until August. Grasshopper Adventures also have some good ones but they start before I arrive.

sweetswing

PWEI wrote: »

I'm over there from mid July & will end up down South also. But I'm heading to Samui. I had planned on doing a bit of cycling up North but I could head down South as that's where I'm going to end up anyway.

They resurfaced the main roads in samui with beautiful Tarmac "enjoy"

Planet X

Guys......is July / August not the Tropical rainy season? Think it is. Watch out for that. My wife is Asian and "they" never go on vacation in "our" Summer time 'cos of the rain. They gp after the rainy season, our winter time.
........just sayin'......

dub50

this article might interest you

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/1b55ca1c-8fd1-11e1-98b1-00144feab49a.html#axzz1u15PEJO1




Better by bike
By Anthony Sattin
Bangkok’s teeming streets might seem poorly suited to cycling but a two-wheeled tour is the ideal way to explore
What does Bam know that I don’t? That’s the question I keep mulling over as my taxi crawls through the Bangkok rush hour. There are cars in front and many others behind, cars overhead and a long, long line of them below. Welcome to the city of angels.
I think of Bam when I see a cyclist weaving through the traffic, a single mobile person in a gridlocked city. What I know is that cycling in Bangkok sounds mad and probably is mad. But Bam is part of a road safety campaign to persuade Thais, and children in particular, to wear helmets when they ride...........................

PWEI

sweetswing wrote: »

They resurfaced the main roads in samui with beautiful Tarmac "enjoy"

I've heard about the new roads in Koh Samui but I would be very apprehensive about cycling in Samui. I've spent a lot of time there in the past
& have friends living there but Samui has an appalling road safety record. Especially with people getting killed off motorbikes & if you were on a bicycle you'd be even more vulnerable than on a motorbike.
The island is also full of deep drains on the side of the road with no barrier between the drain & the road. If you were forced over to the left of the road by a vehicle overtaking you'd be at risk of falling in to one of the drains. This is actually how quite a few people were killed off motorbikes.

sweetswing

PWEI wrote: »

I've heard about the new roads in Koh Samui but I would be very apprehensive about cycling in Samui. I've spent a lot of time there in the past
& have friends living there but Samui has an appalling road safety record. Especially with people getting killed off motorbikes & if you were on a bicycle you'd be even more vulnerable than on a motorbike.
The island is also full of deep drains on the side of the road with no barrier between the drain & the road. If you were forced over to the left of the road by a vehicle overtaking you'd be at risk of falling in to one of the drains. This is actually how quite a few people were killed off motorbikes.

I believe the reason for most of the accidents on the roads there were because of the state the roads were in and the first place and the amount of drunk drivers .
I've cycled all over the island , and daily around the ring road with not a bother , the new surface is flawless , I felt a lot safer on the road over there than I do on the roads over here :-)

PWEI

sweetswing wrote: »

I believe the reason for most of the accidents on the roads there were because of the state the roads were in and the first place and the amount of drunk drivers .
I've cycled all over the island , and daily around the ring road with not a bother , the new surface is flawless , I felt a lot safer on the road over there than I do on the roads over here :-)

That's good to hear. I'd say the roads on the west of the island can be fairly quiet. Did you bring your own bike or did you rent one over there?

ozzy jr

This is a good site for information on cycling in Asia,

http://www.mrpumpy.net/

I still haven't sorted my trip yet :rolleyes: