Bike tour in Phuket: 20 years of guided rides with Siam Bike Tours

If you are looking for a bike tour in Phuket, it helps to know who leads it. Siam Bike Tours has been riding Thailand since 2006, and its shop manager, Khun Tip, puts it at more than twenty years of guiding cyclists from around the world. This article follows her own account of how the company works, then adds the details of one ride in particular: the half-day Coast to Coast tour, which starts from the shop in Cherngtalay. Everything below comes from Tip’s draft, the company’s page on franco-media.com and its own website, siambiketours.com.

Tip describes the company’s approach in a few plain lines. Siam Bike Tours has “extensive local knowledge of Phuket and cycling routes throughout Thailand”, and the team chooses every route with safety, scenery and an enjoyable ride in mind, for cyclists of all levels. According to the company’s website, most of its routes run along quiet coastal roads.

The service goes beyond the route. Tip lists a private ride leader, a support vehicle, premium-quality rental bikes and accident insurance coverage among the things the team can arrange, and sums it up in one sentence: “we take care of every detail to provide a seamless experience from start to finish.” The guides speak English, German and Thai, and the website gives the company’s tour licence number as 31/00474.

The half-day Coast to Coast tour is a good example of what a bike tour in Phuket can look like. The group meets at the shop in Cherngtalay at 9:00 for a briefing and a bike fitting, then rides about 50 km on flat, easy rural roads from the Bangtao Beach area towards the east coast, past the Laguna golf course.

The scenery changes as the island narrows: rubber trees, oil palm plantations, pineapple fields and small villages. On the east side there is a view of Phang Nga Bay, a coffee break by the sea and a photo stop at Laem Sai Pier. The ride takes about three to three and a half hours and finishes at around 12:00 to 12:30.

Not every guest wants the same day. Tip says the team offers everything from long-distance, multi-day tours to scenic morning rides of 50 to 100 km for guests staying at luxury resorts, and that each ride is customised “to suit your schedule, fitness level, and cycling goals”.

The website and the franco-media page give two examples. The full-day Phuket to Phang Nga ride is a private tour for two to four guests, crossing the Sarasin Bridge, following Na Tai Beach and ending at Ton Phrai Waterfall in Khao Lumpi-Hat Thai Muang National Park, about 50 km in all. The Southern Thailand Cycling Tour starts on Phuket and goes through the Ao Nang and Krabi area, Koh Lanta and Khao Sok before returning via Khao Lak, and the website lists it as a 12-day tour. According to the website, any tour can also be ridden on a Giant e-bike (up to 32 km/h) or a NICH e-bike (up to 45 km/h).

• Bike: bring your own, or choose the Giant TCR Advanced 2 KOM carbon road bike package. Giant and NICH e-bikes are also available at the shop.
• Duration and distance: about three to three and a half hours and 50 km for the Coast to Coast tour.
• Level: flat, easy rural roads. Tip says the routes suit cyclists of all levels.
• Included: the franco-media page lists a helmet, a hydration bottle and travel insurance with the tours.
• What to bring: the page’s only instruction is to slip on your cycling shoes.
• Price: 1,900 THB with your own bike, 2,400 THB with the carbon bike package, according to the tour page.
• How to book: use the form on the tour page, write to [email protected] or call the shop on +66 (0)76 324 211. The shop is at 21/9 Lagoon Road, Cherngtalay, and opens Monday to Saturday, 09:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 19:00. Private and custom tours are available on request.

You will find the tours, rental bikes and contact details on the Siam Bike Tours profile page on franco-media.com, and the Phuket Coast to Coast tour page on siambiketours.com has the full ride description and the booking form. Tip’s own summary is short: “Let us take care of your next adventure on two wheels.” Siam Bike Tours is also on Facebook and Instagram under the same name.