The Mae Hong Son Loop is nothing short of a motorbiker’s dream.

It’s a loop starting and ending (as a loop generally suggests) in Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand.

Not only is the scenery breathtaking, but the mountainous terrain makes for very entertaining roads- the Mae Hong Son Loop has over 2,000 turns, and if you take detours (which you should and will), that number will only increase.

I’m going to go through a few tips I thought of as I was doing the loop- some things I did that I loved, some I didn’t, and some that I wish I had known beforehand.

So let’s get started with the best tips you’ll find anywhere for the Mae Hong Son Loop.

Bike Tips for the Mae Hong Son Loop

Needless to say, your choice of bike is going to be important.

You’ll be on that thing for many hours over the course of many days, and if you run into problems it’s not like you can just head back to the rental shop to switch it out.

Here are a few tips for getting your bike for the Mae Hong Son Loop.

Get a Semi-Automatic Bike

There are a few reasons why I recommend using a semi-automatic bike on the Mae Hong Son Loop.

The first is that it gives you significantly more power for your dollar (or baht, more like). It won’t make a difference on flat roads, but when you start getting to the steeper roads and mountain passes it’ll be a game-changer.

I did a steep section of the loop with this guy who had a 125cc automatic Honda Click. I had a 125cc semi-auto Honda Wave and all he could do was floor the throttle and move up the roads like a sloth while I simply clicked the bike down into second gear and shot passed him. And then waited at the top. Over and over.

Control over the engine braking while going downhill was also beneficial and made me feel safer on the really steep roads.

As a last note, if you’re planning on driving the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam the practice will serve you well- I haven’t done it, but I’ve heard almost all of the bikes are semi-auto.

For those who haven’t ridden a semi-automatic bike (or heard of one- I’ll be honest, I didn’t know they existed and I’m not sure they do outside of Southeast Asia), watch this video. It’s pretty straightforward- if you’ve ridden a manual, it’s the same without the clutch. If you’ve only ridden automatic, the rear brake shifts to your right foot and you adjust the gears with your left foot.

Just watch the video.

Bargain for the Best Price

The first price you’re given is almost never the best price when renting a bike in Thailand.

If you’re like me and are just looking for the cheapest, most beat down bike you can find (to the point where you’re still confident it won’t break down on you 200 miles away), you can get it down to 200 baht (around $6) per day for a 125cc semi-auto bike if you put in the effort (as of Feb 2025). I’d settle for 220.

Make sure to tell them you’re planning to take the bike for 7-10 days or however long you’re planning on doing the loop for. The longer you take the bike, the more likely they are to give you a bigger discount.

Of course, the prices I just gave you are for the semi-automatic bikes. You may be able to find a 100cc automatic for a similar price, but just take my word for it and don’t do that. I met a couple who had one and the guy had to make her walk up the steepest hills just to get the bike to the top- and he barely went faster than she did. She looked ready to murder.

If you don’t feel confident with the semi-auto I’d suggest getting a 125cc automatic bike at a minimum, but you really want 150cc. The problem is your costs will be higher, I think around 300/day or so. Which doesn’t sound too bad, but it’ll add up over the course of a week or more.

Check and practice with the bike before starting the loop

The Mae Hong Son Loop is pretty long. 660 kilometers to be exact, and likely much longer if you take detours (as you should- we’ll get to that).

All this is to say that you’re going to quickly be a long ways from the rental shop and if the bike breaks down, it won’t be much fun for you.

When I went to rent my bike, the guy there gave me two options for a semi-automatic bike- one old and one new, he said. I said old of course, so he asked me where I was going and I told him the loop. He then highly advised me against taking the old bike, saying I might run into problems do to its advanced age. What a nice guy! Class act. A shining beacon of light in this dark, dark world.

Except that the ‘new’ bike turned out to have 150,000 kilometers on it and was promptly returned. It’s incredible what some of these guys think they can sneak past us. Maybe I look stupider than I thought.

By the way, most of the locals are awesome. But there’s always a few bad apples, even in the finest of harvests.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that you should do your checks before heading out of Chiang Mai. Take a day to ride the bike around town and see if there are any issues. Check to make sure you’re comfortable with a semi-automatic bike. Things like that, things that are better to figure out when you’re close to civilization.

Learn how to secure your bag(s)

Don’t be that guy who carries his massive backpack on his back for hours of driving each day. For one, it’s incredibly uncomfortable, especially after long periods of time. It also limits your driving ability, making it rather unsafe.

When you rent your bike, ask for some cords to secure your bag(s) to the back of the bike. Two should do the trick, unless you’ve got some really massive bag (which you shouldn’t).

And learn how to properly secure your bags with the cords. I went half of the loop with my bag sliding up the seat every time I hit a bump until some local guy at a gas station wordlessly yanked the cords out and reattached the bag securely with an amused look on his face.

You’ll always have a spot on either side of the bottom of your bike that you can hook the cords up to. Just make sure you’re not hooking it up to any part of the bike that needs to move, or you’ll have problems.

I originally had my cords making an X shape over my bag, which kept it from falling but didn’t prevent it from sliding up and down the seat. What you need to do is really stretch one of the cords and loop it over the bag vertically, like in the middle picture. This is what will stop the bag from sliding.

If you don’t think you have enough length, just keep pulling. Those things can really stretch. Just remember to pull from the cords, and not from the hook as they can break off.

The second cord is less important. But not a bad idea for some extra security.

Route and Stop Tips for the Mae Hong Son Loop

After getting your bike, it’s time to set off.

The next few tips are specifically about how to tackle the Mae Hong Son Loop: specifically, the best route to take and the best places to stop.

If you specifically want only tips on the best places to stop, you can read my article on the absolute best stops on the Mae Hong Son Loop!

Go clockwise

It’s a little hard to ascertain which direction is most popular when doing the Mae Hong Son Loop. Most online will tell you it’s clockwise. But when I went, it seemed the majority were going in the other direction.

Not that this matters so much. There are pros and cons to going in the same or opposite direction as others. It’s always nice to bump into someone and then do the next day or two of the loop together. But it’s equally nice to exchange tips if you’re coming from opposite directions.

But this isn’t why I want you to go clockwise. The reason I’d go clockwise is to get the boring part over with quickly. The first two hours or so in the clockwise direction is practically all highway on the way out of Chiang Mai and not very interesting at all. But from there on out, it’s all interesting.

If you go counter-clockwise, your first stop is Pai, a town known for it’s laid back, lazy vibes. To me, it’s a much better place after a nice long week of riding when you’re nice and exhausted. Certainly not as a first stop.

Sunrise on Doi Inthanon (at least stop here)

So I didn’t even get to experience this, personally.

I got completely screwed over. I stayed in a tent on a rice field at the base of the mountain (stay tuned for later), and woke up at 5:00 AM to start my hour long drive up the mountain.

After an hour of being the coldest I’ve been in a while (bring a jacket), I arrived near the top just to hear that due to a cycling competition, the road to the top was closed to private vehicles and I had to turn back down and take a shuttle.

By the time the shuttle arrived and brought me up to the top it was too late. An absolute tragedy.

So, some advice- pick any day of the year other than the day when they’re hosting the annual cycling competition, or you may get screwed like me.

The most popular place to watch the sunrise is from the Pagodas- or so I hear. I would also suggest watching it from the Kew Mae Pan Trail. The viewpoint from the trail mainly faces west, but you get a good view eastward from a few spots. The Kew Mae Pan Trail is something you absolutely have to do anyway, regardless of if its for sunrise or not.

And bring a jacket. At the top of Doi Inthanon in the early hours of the day, temperatures can reach freezing. It was close when I was there, and I definitely was not well equipped.

Take Detours

A pretty unspecific tip, I know. But you’d be surprised how many people just stick to the main road and never leave. It’s as if they’re doing the loop just to say they did it. If only they knew what they were missing…

Doi Inthanon

Doi Inthanon, of course, is one of them. It’s about an hour out of the way, but you better not skip it.

I’d recommend staying at a campsite inside the national park- there are plenty, and it’ll make it easier to see the sunrise from the top in the morning, which is a must. You can also stay near the base of the mountain in a town called Chom Thong, but you’ll have to wake up real early and drive about an hour. However there does happen to be an awesome place to stay here- stay tuned for later in the article.

Doi Khunkham

This one’s a detour on the way to Mae Hong Son (the town of Mae Hong Son, not to be confused with the whole region) from Mae Sariang. About 45 minutes from Mae Sariang you’ll take a right turn, and within minutes you’ll be greeted by beautiful rice fields and incredible steep winding roads.

If you plug Doi Khunkham into Google Maps, it’ll take you to a nice viewpoint. However, I’d suggest continuing past this viewpoint, as the roads become even more fun to drive.

Drive until you get bored, then turn around and head back to the main road.

Thung Bua Tong Fields & Mae Surin Waterfall (Secret Entrance)

The Thung Bua Tong Fields are a massive expanse of sunflower fields on another detour on the way to Mae Hong Son from Mae Sariang.

There’s a viewpoint you can stop at where an elevated platform will give you an incredible and expansive view over the fields, which reach full bloom in November and December.

You’ll reach the Mae Surin Waterfall soon after the Thung Bua Tong Fields, which is the tallest waterfall in Thailand, and as incredible as you’d expect.

The entrance to the national park (yes, it’s part of a national park) is 200 baht. However, there happens to be a secret entrance to the waterfalls where you can bypass the ticket counter.

Just drive past the main entrance for a couple minutes until you see a narrow road on your left. That’s it.

I generally have some reservations scheming the system, but they really made this one a little too easy.

Ban Rak

Ban Rak is a tiny, picture perfect Chinese village. It’s situated at a high elevation around a small lake that you can walk around, with classical Chinese architecture every which way.

Getting here will take about an hour from Mae Hong Son Town, and it’s quite the ride to say the least. This drive had some of my favorite sections of road on the whole loop- yet another reason to visit.

When you’re in town, walk around the lake and do a tea tasting at one of the little cafés (for lack of a better word). Lee Wine should do the trick. Also make sure to check out the Lee Wine Rak Thai Resort across the road. Talk about building tastefully. I won’t explain it further, just take a gander at the picture.

You’re also welcome to stay in Ban Rak overnight if that intrigues you– I certainly would have looked into it if I had more time. I heard from a few reliable sources that Ban Rak is incredibly special to see in the morning, with mist rising off the lake every day at dawn. Sounds incredible.

Ban Ja Bo & Mae Lana Cave

Ban Ja Bo is a tiny little village perched upon a steep mountainside overlooking the northern Thai mountains. Even calling it a tiny little village is a stretch- it’s one street that you can walk down in about a minute.

I highly recommend that you stay a night in Ban Ja Bo- there are a bunch of homestays available, so find one with a balcony and you’ll witness one of the most incredible sunrises.

And during the day you can visit the nearby Mae Lana Cave.

If you haven’t been caving before, this will be quite the introduction. Mae Lana Cave is 12 kilometers long, following a little river hours into a mountain. I’m pretty sure it’s the longest cave in Thailand.

Now, you don’t have to do all 12 kilometers. By the sound of it, nobody really does. You have two options, pretty much. One is a quick two-hour journey- one in, one out. But I highly recommend you do the four-hour tour. This will allow you to see much more, including a waterfall two hours deep into the cave that will be your stopping point.

You can’t go into Mae Lana Cave alone, and will have to pay for a local guide which will cost 500 baht for the four hours (and 300 for two hours, if I recall). An expensive price. But I’d say worth it.

Secret Sunset Viewpoints

There are two sunset viewpoints that absolutely blew me away.

The first was on the way from Mae Surin to Mae Hong Son Town, and the second is a quick 20-25 minute ride from Mae Hong Son.

To see the exact locations, check out the map in my post giving tips about the best stops on the Mae Hong Son Loop. The first spot is labeled simply as ‘Viewpoint’ and the second as ‘Sunset Viewpoint’. Don’t worry though, both are great for sunset.

I’d particularly recommend the second one (closer to Mae Hong Son Town). If you can only do one of them, the second is an absolute must. That being said, if you go to Mae Surin you’ll be passing by the first anyway, so you don’t have much of an excuse.

Take Alternate Route from Pai to Chiang Mai

The road from Pai to Chiang Mai is a famous route, traversed by throngs of tourists and locals alike, known for it’s steepness and windiness. Walk the night market in Pai and you’ll see lots of tourists sporting shirts flaunting the road’s 762 turns, looking all happy with themselves.

However, I advise you not to take the main route. Not that it’s not scenic or fun, but I personally don’t like a few aspects about it. Mainly the safety aspect.

In other words, I don’t like the sheer amount of idiots on the road. The tourists, in other words. Incompetents, overconfidents, and English alike. Along with the bus drivers taking the rest of the tourists who drive like madmen. Which makes sense, as they’re paid based off of how many drives they can do in a day.

A fascinating system. Economically intelligent perhaps, served with a side of a few minor issues. Only in Thailand.

In any event, you have a better option. The newly paved route 1265 to 1349, which you can read about in detail here.

Along this route you have several nice points, but my favorite by far were the vast expanses of strawberry fields about halfway through the drive. The Mae Dad Noi Viewpoint is the best place to stop to take them in. And perhaps to pilfer a strawberry or two.

Places to Stay Tips for the Mae Hong Son Loop

Picking the right places to stay will add tremendously to your experience on the Mae Hong Son Loop. Some will argue that a bed is a bed, but why miss out on the opportunity to interact with locals and learn about the culture? Why sleep in a hostel when you can camp by a rice field or high upon a mountainside?

Camp on a Rice Field at The Farmer Coffee & Farmstay (Chom Thong)

Boy, did I love this place.

The Farmer is located just outside the town of Chom Thong, which itself is located at the base of Doi Inthanon.

I mentioned earlier that you should stop at Doi Inthanon, and I did suggest camping on the mountain as it makes it easier to see the sunrise in the morning. But I enjoyed my time so much at the Farmer that the inconvenience didn’t bother me so much, and I feel the need to mention it here.

The owner’s name is Boy (catch the pun at the top?), and he’s one of the best people I’ve met while traveling. He speaks pretty good English and is really just an amazing guy, helping you get settled in and giving you tips.

You have a choice of either a tent or a little house on the edge of Boy’s rice fields, which are absolutely stunning. It’s quite a place to sleep and wake up to.

The only complaint I have is the price. If you pay directly with Boy it’ll cost 500 baht ($15) for a tent. But the tents are massive and really meant for two, so if you’re not on your own you can split that cost in half. Not to mention the free breakfast, so you’re ultimately looking at an equivalent cost of around $5 a night per person.

Again, I understand if you want to go camp up on the mountain. I would have done the same thing myself in hindsight. In fact, what I would have done is camp on the mountain, spend the next day exploring Doi Inthanon, then stay at Boy’s for a night before heading off to Mae Sariang.

A master plan.

Cook Dinner at Crossroads House (Mae Hong Son Town)

This one’s a hostel, though beyond the lodging itself being great I have a very specific reason for recommending it.

Every night at 7:30 PM, they offer the chance for guests to cook dinner. What you essentially get is a cooking class that usually costs much more and a large portion of food for 100 baht ($3 USD).

Generally there are others who will be participating as well, and if you choose different dishes you can get to learn how to make multiple things- and of course, eat multiple things.

Trust me, the amount of food you’ll have to eat is just about worth the price on its own. This one is a no-brainer.

The hostel offers a variety of sleeping options ranging from $6 to $15 or so. There are also tents that may be even less, though I’m not positive as they aren’t listed online.

And if the hostel is somehow full (which I doubt) or only more expensive options remain, I’m sure they would still allow you to participate in the nightly cooking class.

Watch the Surnise from a Ban Ja Bo Homestay

I mentioned Ban Ja Bo earlier, a tiny village perched upon a steep mountainside overlooking the northern Thai mountains.

To get here, you’ll turn right off the main road between Mae Hong Son and Pai and drive 10-15 minutes up into the mountains. You’ll know you’ve reached it when you come across a minute-long stretch of road with homes on each side, and a pretty impressive view to your right.

This view is due east, making it perfect for sunrise viewing. So I highly recommend that you stay at one of the many homestays offered here, and wake up to the glowing pinks, reds, and oranges over the mountains.

Pick one of the ones on the side of the road facing the view- for what I hope are obvious reasons. I can specifically recommend the homestay that is part of the main restaurant in town, located in about the center.

Just go- maybe have a meal- and then ask if they have a place for you to sleep. They’ll then lead you to a little ‘house’ that’s far from luxurious, to say the least- but it does has a massive balcony with a view that upgrades it to 5-star hotel level, in my book.

Then all you have to do is not sleep through your alarm and enjoy.

Miscellaneous Tips for the Mae Hong Son Loop

And now for my final few tips for the Mae Hong Son Loop that didn’t fit nicely into any of the prior sections.

They’re mainly broad tips. Aside from the last one, as you’ll see.

Take a Friend

This isn’t about the pros and cons of traveling by yourself versus traveling with a friend. I prefer to travel alone, myself.

It’s about disaster prevention. If you get a flat tire, your bike breaks down, or God forbid you get into an accident it always helps to have a friend with you. Sure, most of the time a local will have mercy on you and give you a hand but it just makes things a whole lot simpler to have someone by your side.

You don’t even have to specifically do the loop with someone. It’s easy enough to meet people at places you stay and do a day of the loop together.

Or just say screw it and hope everything will be OK. I’m being a bit hypocritical with this tip as that’s what I did the majority of the time. But after getting a flat tire in a rather inconvenient spot, I realized how quickly big problems can arise. A few locals managed to guide me to a friend of theirs who replaced my tire- but that was incredibly fortunate and I wouldn’t rely on that happening.

That being said, I respect the “screw it, what’s the worst that can happen” mindset. That being said, it’s a mindset that has been responsible for quite a few homeless nights for me. And that being said, those homeless nights were quite memorable and make for great stories.

You can always spin things in any which direction.

Ask Locals for Help

What a perfect segue.

Yes, you should always ask locals for help. Whether that’s to get tips for places to see along the loop or if you happen to find yourself in a tricky spot, like me with my flat tire in the middle of nowhere.

I found that the locals along the loop are just truly incredible people, generally speaking. They live such simple lives- often with little to no money- and yet they’ll almost always greet you with a smile on their face and a helping hand.

In fact, you’ll probably have locals offering you help before you even ask for it.

There definitely are quite a few lessons a lot of us can learn from them.

Don’t Rush it

If you’re already putting in the time to do the loop, don’t try and rush it.

I know some people who did the whole thing in 4 or 5 days, and it just isn’t worth it. At that point you’re driving so much each day where you neither can nor will want to take any detours- which, of course, is where it’s all at.

Simply adding one or two days to your trip allows you to not only see so much more, but be able to enjoy it at a higher level. Driving for hours has a really draining effect, and I’ve found that it often leaves me feeling pretty detached from what’s around me.

Take a week, at least. A night or two near Doi Inthanon, one in Mae Sariang, two in Mae Hong Son Town, one in Ban Ja Bo and two in Pai is what I would recommend.

Get Some Cashews

My final tip for the Mae Hong Son Loop is quite a random one- but necessary to mention.

There are a few, rare moments in life where a select food item enters your mouth and leaves you in a state of utter shock and satisfaction.

I experienced this when consuming a roasted, skin-on cashew on Doi Inthanon.

It was unlike any cashew I’ve ever tasted. It had all the good hallmarks of a great cashew, but with an added taste that I can only compare to the taste of browned butter in sauces and baked goods. An intense butteriness and nuttiness, we could say. And it comes mainly from the skin.

Truth be told, you can find these cashews in a lot of other places in Southeast Asia. But Doi Inthanon was my introduction to them, and I’ll never forget it. So if you haven’t had the pleasure, go grab yourself a bag and enjoy the phenomenal, awe-inspiring effects that will soon be coming to your palate.

And on that note, happy travels.