Great Road trips in Thailand

[ExpatOilWorker]

Top Gear have done many road trips over the years and there must be plenty of great road trips to be discovered in Thailand. Please share your favorite road. Turn, twists and hills are welcome.

I just went up along the east coast of the Srinakarin Dam, north of Kanchanaburi and what a great drive. Very little traffic and two sections are full of twisting mountain roads with 8% gradient.

Very green and lush nature. Sometime you are in a tunnel of green when the trees close in over the road and sometime you drive right next to the lake. All black top road.

[phuketrichard]

Phuket up the east coast to acroos to Tak-Mae Sot- Mae Hong Son-Pai-Chiang Dao-Mae Cha-Wiang Haeng- Piang Luang-Nong Oak-Doi Ang Khong- Fang-Mai Ai-Doi Mae Salong-Thoed Hai- Mae Fah Lunag- Mae Chan-Chiang Khong an off to laos :-)

Lots of twisty roads an following ridge tops and seeing very very few cars especailly after Chiang Dao till we hit Fang

[brianP]

Trat to Kao Yai and Sisaket, via back roads.

[ExpatOilWorker]

Phuket up the east coast to acroos to Tak-Mae Sot- Mae Hong Son-Pai-Chiang Dao-Mae Cha-Wiang Haeng- Piang Luang-Nong Oak-Doi Ang Khong- Fang-Mai Ai-Doi Mae Salong-Thoed Hai- Mae Fah Lunag- Mae Chan-Chiang Khong an off to laos :-)

Lots of twisty roads an following ridge tops and seeing very very few cars especailly after Chiang Dao till we hit Fang

Sound like a great and very long trip. Car or motor cycle?

I will really like to try some of the smaller roads in Nan province. Looks like some great mountain driving.

[donmuang37]

My wife and drove from Bangkok to Singapore and back. It was our first trip to Malaysia so we spent the bulk of our 2 week trip in that country. The roads are good and the drivers seemed more polite than in some Asian countries. The toll road from the Thai border to the Singapore causeway was excellent with clean rest stops every 50 to 100 km, They also featured good food, fuel and shops. The people were pleasant and friendly. We were stopped at a few police checkpoints check points, but never asked to pay a bribe. It isn't safe to use credit cards in Malaysia, but we had no problems with ATMs at major banks. Be sure to have a Singapore map and local currency before entering because you have to buy a road pass before entering and they only take S$. When the Singapore border security saw Thai plates and my Thai wife they stopped us and tore our car apart looking for drugs, but they were very polite and they put everything back. A small inconvenience that only took about 10 minutes. A great trip - we are planning to do it again next year.

[misterphil]

I rented a Mazda MX5 convertable in Chiang Mai some years back. It was a gret drive up and down the mountain roads and will definitly do it again.

[phuketrichard]

took the car,

have driven a few roads around Nan,

Look at the gt-riders site for great motorcycle ( car) trips.

Laos is fantastic for bikes and cars,

In Oct we drove from Phuket down to Satun and then entered malaysia and across the top , great roads with fantastic scenery and than came back to Thailand at Betong and then up to Yalla.

Tore ur car apart an put it back togeather in 10 minutes!!!!

WOW those Singporeans work FAST :-)

Edited December 19, 2013 by phuketrichard

[Just1Voice]

From Chiang Mai I have taken road trips on CBR to Chiang Rai, Lampang, Phitsanulok, Chum Phae, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Roi Et., Kamphaeng Phet, Tak, Nakon Sawan, Sari Buri. Loved every one. Then had a minor stroke, and had to sell the bike. But I am recovering and should be able to ride again around the end of Jan. Then I start again, this time on the new Ninja 300.

[Hoven]

Look at the gt-riders site for great motorcycle ( car) trips.

Rideasia dot net is better.

[flyingdoc]

Lovely trip to Loei then on to the magical Chiang Khan, with spectacular hilltop views down across the meandering Mekong River!

[villagefarang]

I have posted a couple of road trip this last year. The first is a 4 parter with a map.

Road Trip 2013 Part 1

The most recent one is a 2 parter and locate here.

Driving Mountain Roads

Northern Thailand is a treasure trove of magical road trips and beautiful views.

[Carrerakiss]

Recently bicycled from Udon Thani to Loei, stopped overnight and then on to Nakon Thai. That section passes the outskirts of Phue Rhea national park, some long climbs and stunning views across to Laos.

After stopping at Nakon Thai overnight, I cycled on to Uttardit. 90% of this section was on small meandering back roads with an amazing change in scenery from mountain roads onto a wide flood plain.

I cycled on to Chiang Mai, but mostly on main roads so not so interesting

[Baan Buakao]

We don't live in LOS but have driven almost everywhere North and NE and down to Trat. Mae Chan down to CM via Fang is a great trip. Thus Jan will be exploring Phayao to C Rai - Fang - Doi Ankhang then back to CM. Dunno if we can fit in Nan. Worth it anyone?.. My fave trip so far though is Nong Khai - Loei - Phetchabun - CM. The drive along the Mae Khong was like a trip back in time. Well 7-8 years ago it was anyway.

[Hoven]

http://thaimotorbikerides.blogspot.com/

[villagefarang]

We don't live in LOS but have driven almost everywhere North and NE and down to Trat. Mae Chan down to CM via Fang is a great trip. Thus Jan will be exploring Phayao to C Rai - Fang - Doi Ankhang then back to CM. Dunno if we can fit in Nan. Worth it anyone?.. My fave trip so far though is Nong Khai - Loei - Phetchabun - CM. The drive along the Mae Khong was like a trip back in time. Well 7-8 years ago it was anyway.

Some of the roads around Nan are great, so I would say worth it. Take the 1148 when you leave Nan and head for Chiang Rai. I love that road, as well as many others in the area.

[NumbNut]

Awesome thread, thanks for sharing your trips guys. Looking forward to getting back into LOS in the new year sometime and doing some exploring

[dddave]

Took a really nice day trip out of Bangkok, past Hua Hin, down through Prachuap Kiri Khan and around the coastal roads of Prangbury; a little more than 3 hours to get there.

Stunning limestone kharsts similar to Krabi are everywhere and small fishing villages dot the coast. Surprisingly unspoiled for a coastal area so close to Bangkok. We were told that local property prices are skyrocketing so it wont last this way for long.

[ExpatOilWorker]

3372 in Kanchanaburi is a great and hilly road. All black top and it takes you up to 1,000 m. Good view overlooking both Burma and Thailand at the end.

PTT is constructing a gas pipe line from Burma at the end of the road.