Starting at the Sarasin Bridge
(the bridge to Phuket), you will course your way north
through rural farmland, rubber plantations, secondary
growth, and past small villages. This route ends at
Baan Nam Kem.
Baan Nam Kem is just
north of the touristy Khao Lak area.
You will not ride in touristy areas. The terrain is
mostly flat throughout the ride.
This bicycling route is designed
for cyclists who don’t particularly like playing
in mud and dirt. The route is mostly on roads,
though there are some nice stretches of easy dirt
track and trails along the way just to break of the
road sections. If you absolutely do not want dirt,
it can be modified to be entirely on road.
The roads chosen for this particular
cycling trip are not busy with traffic. Almost all
of them feature nice wide cycling lanes. They are
actually motorbike lanes, but they are perfectly suited
for mountain bikes as well.
The route can start right on a beach
within sight of the Sarasin Bridge. 
If
you start here, you will be on dirt for a short period,
and then you will cross the main highway and be on
dirt trails in a rubber tree plantation. These trails
are flat and smooth. Soon, you will be on a country
road. Breaking off of that, you will ride on level
dirt roads for a while.
You will eventually end up in a small
town called Kok Kloy. This charming
small town plenty of places to eat. This is where
you will have lunch. As this is a traditional Thai
town with no real tourism, you will have the option
of trying Thai dishes that you might not try otherwise.
If you are not interested in trying new dishes, there
are standard Thai dishes available.
From Kok Kloy, you will travel towards
the coast and head north up a coastal road. Frequent
glimpses of the ocean are available here. This is
a nice, quiet section of road.
You will eventually cross the main highway
again and head through more rural countryside. There
is an optional shady dirt road section here. Linking
back up with the road that you previously left, you
will proceed on smooth country roads until you reach
a wonderful mixture of dirt and gravel roads. This
will take you all the way into Thung Maphrao.
This is about halfway, so the support vehicle will
pick you up and transfer you to Tap Lamu, the village
used for boat traffic heading to the Similan Islands.
You will spend the night in this small village area.
There are plenty of great restaurants. Air conditioned
or fan bungalows are available.
Returning to where you stopped on the
previous day, you will ride on nice roads until you
reach a section that offers a bit of dirt road. Again,
this dirt section is not really challenging, but it
is very pleasant and shady. There are some mild undulations
on this section.
Returning
to the road that you left, you come to the first real
challenge: a substantial hill with switch-backs. This
hill is not long, but it’s fairly steep. You
can push you bike up the hill if you wish. The reward
is a stunning downhill section with sweeping turns
that don’t require any braking. If you like
going fast, this will delight you.
You come to an intersection and get
on a fairly busy road for a short period. This is
a bit of up and down, but nothing too serious.
Turning off of this road, you will be
on rural country roads all the way into an alluring
little town named Kapong. There is
a clear creek running through this town. It almost
looks like a trout stream. There are some streamside
restaurants where you can take a break and have refreshments.
Shortly after Kapong, you will come
to a very appealing hot spring creek.
This clear little creek has a lot of small hot water
springs flowing into it. You can find a temperature
that is perfectly suited to you here.
Back
on the road, you will head towards Takua Pa.
There is a lot of road riding here. These roads are
mostly quiet. You cross a river a few times on bridges.
Eventually you will come to the home
stretch. This last section is on a dirt road. There
is a short section that is a bit sandy and may require
walking your bike. This follows a pleasant river.
The last bit of road takes you into
Baan Nam Kem. You will finish at
a memorial to people who lost their lives during the
2004 Tsunami. You are right on the ocean now, within
sight of an island and a tidal river mouth.
This is approximately a 120 kilometer
(75 miles) route. We have alternative starting points
which can make it slightly longer or slightly shorter.
Click here to see a map
of the cycling route.
Click here to see videos of
the route:
Baan Nam Kem to the Hot
Springs
Kok
Kloy section
