Dreaming of a motorcycle trip to distant climes? This section will help you to plan your trip, whether it's to the next state, country or all the way around the world! Start here!
The Achievable Dream 5-part series - the definitive video guide for planning your motorcycle adventure. Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
You could just get on a plane with your credit card and passport and buy or rent everything you need when you get there. That includes the bike, riding gear, etc. etc.
Gear Up! is a 2-DVD set, 6 hours! Which bike is right for me? How do I prepare the bike? What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers! "will save you a fortune!"See the trailer here!
So you've done it - got inspired, planned your trip, packed your stuff and you're on the road! This section is about staying healthy, happy and secure on your motorcycle adventure. And crossing borders, war zones or oceans!
On the Road! is 5.5 hours of the tips and advice you need to cross borders, break down language barriers, overcome culture shock, ship the bike and deal with breakdowns and emergencies."Just makes me want to pack up and go!" See the trailer here!
Tire Changing!Grant demystifies the black art of Tire Changing and Repair to help you STAY on the road! "Very informative and practical." See the trailer here!
With an HU blog, you'll get a lot more readers than in some obscure corner of the web, it's all set to go, no setup required, and it's free! Start your Travel Story Blog right now!
800+ HU Communities in over 115 countries! People who want to meet travellers - yes that's YOU - and can provide local assistance, and may be your new best friends!
Make a DifferenceTips on fundraising or donating time and energy to a cause.
After the big trip - Was the trip the best - or worst - thing you ever did?
Resources and Links
Horizons Unlimited Presents!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
"It has me all fired up to go out on my own adventure!" See the trailer here!
Meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or across Asia! They will encourage you, share their experiences and advice on how to do it!
We're not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown a hobby into a full time job and a labour of love.
When you decide to become a Member, it helps directly support the site. You get additional privileges on the HUBB, access to the Members Private Store, and more. Of course, you get our sincere thanks, good karma and knowing you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. :-)
All contributions are gratefully appreciated and acknowledged.
T-shirts, Calendars, Stickers
T-shirts Cotton or synth sweat-wicking t-shirts with the cool Horizons Unlimited graphic on the front and a snappy slogan (changing every year) on the back.
Calendars Featuring the 13 winning photos from the Horizons Unlimited annual motorcycle travel photo contest!
World Map Sticker for PanniersShow your route on your panniers. Great conversation starter when you meet people on the road!
Travel BooksMotorcycle and travel books to inspire and inform you!
Videos - Watch and Learn!
Horizons Unlimited presents!
Achievable Dream The definitive guide to planning your motorcycle adventure! This insanely ambitious 2-year project has produced an informative and entertaining 5-part, 18 hour video series. "The ultimate round the world rider's how-to!" MCN UK.
"The series is 'free' because the tips and advice will save much more than you spend on buying the DVD's."
Advertisers- Horizons Unlimited is well-established as the first source of reliable, unbiased information on all aspects of adventure motorcycle travel.
We reach a dedicated, worldwide group of real travellers, and are the only website focusing exclusively on long distance motorcycle travellers.
If you sell motorcycles or motorcycle accessories, riding gear, camping equipment and clothing, transport motorcycles, organize motorcycle tours, or have motorcycles to rent, you should be advertising with us!
Ride TalesPost your ride reports for a weekend ride or around the world. Please make the first words of the title WHERE the ride is. Please do NOT just post a link to your site. For a link, see Get a Link.
Search Forums ONLY searches the HUBB, and not well. Use Site Search to search everywhere.
We did a whole loop around the circumference of the island. It's less than 60 kms around, but because we were puttering around on scooters and stopping to poke around all the sights it took us most of the afternoon. Despite the breeze, every once in a while, we would duck into an air-conditioned shopping mall to cool off from the searing sun overhead.
Most of the scenery here has a typical island feel to it - it reminds me a lot of Hawaii. And then the larger cities like Chaweng Beach are very developed, just like Waikiki Beach.
Mel checks her GPS on one of our stops
Neda offered me a chance to ride. Check out our geeky brain buckets!
Most of the scooter riders on the island are farangs (Actually it seems like most of the population here are farangs), and they all ride without helmets. We feel very geeky with our beanies on...
That evening at dinner, Anton announces, "I don't want to go back to work! We're just going to hang out with you guys a little bit more!"
555! That's awesome! Our travel bug is like an infectious disease and we've just contaminated two more people! But having seen the entire island of Koh Samui, where else can we go now?
We left Toronto on June 14th, 2012. We were on two motorcycles with no plan, no route - just the wide open road in front of us. We could never have guessed at all the places that we'd visit, the things we'd see and the people that we'd meet along the way. One thing for certain is that we never thought we'd be out here for this long. But we travel slowly and there is still a lot of world to see.
To everyone who's following our journey: thank you for all your emails and PMs, all of your comments and your encouragement. We love having you as our virtual passengers and sharing our experiences with you.
The ferry to Koh Phangun is filled with twenty-something farangs all looking like they are ramping up to go to a rave on the beach. Jacked-up dudes with tattoos and skinny girls with sun-bleached hair take up every available seat and the hot air inside is filled with the scent of sunscreen and sweat.
What the heck is going on?
And then we find out: there's going to be a full moon in a couple of days. We had no idea but now we are inadvertently on our way to the most famous Full Moon Party in Thailand. In fact, Full Moon Parties were invented on Koh Phangun, started by a bunch of tourists in 1985. Since then it's grown so large that tens of thousands of young partiers flock to the islands, dancing to electronic music all night, getting high on E and passing out on the beach.
Totally not our scene. I felt like the oldest person on the boat.
Neda catching some rays at the pool with a view
Even though we're staying at a small resort several orders of magnitude less nicer than the Renaissance in Koh Samui, it felt more homier sharing a bungalow with Mel and Anton and hanging out in the living room watching movies, yelling at the MotoGP race and planning out how we are going to fill our days.
Mel asked if we had watched "The Beach" which is set in Koh Phangun. I hadn't, so I put it down on my To-Watch list.
If we followed the Smaller-and-Smaller theme, we would be renting mopeds, but 125ccs is the lowest we're willing to go
Our resort is not near any of the towns so once again, we've rented scooters and we're going to explore the smaller island of Koh Phangun.
We're staying at the top of a hill and this is the view every time we leave it. Marvelous!
If I had eyes in the back of my head, this is what I'd see
Koh Phangun is a lot less developed than Koh Samui. There are fewer cities, the towns are smaller, less hotels, less bars and restaurants and less activities. About the only thing it's known for are the Full Moon parties every 29 days. But in between it's a sleepy island. We just happened to be here as the party is ramping up, so we see lots of farangs on scooters shuttling around the island.
If it wasn't for that, I think I'd prefer Koh Phangun over Koh Samui. A bit more slower paced and relaxed. Just like us...
Some stalls in one of the tiny towns on Koh Phangun
Our primary goal on Koh Phangun is to find the best beach on the island. And then lie on it and watch time pass. It's a rough life, but someone has to live it!
Taking a break from the hot sun before braving the beach
Trudging through the village to our destination. Hard work!
We hopped from beach to beach by scooter before we found one we liked. Some of them were too noisy - fishing boats and ferries pollute the air with noise and the waters with refuse, but we finally found one that we could spread out a blanket and then we set our timers so we knew when to turn over like turkeys basting in the oven. We're really enjoying ourselves in Koh Phangun!
Our neighbours for the next couple of hours
We alternate between baking on the sand and then cooling off in the refreshing waters
Junk boats originated from China but are found all over SE Asia. You can charter these traditional junk boats to take you all around the islands and the marine parks.
Speaking of which, there are a lot of Thai words that I recognize from Chinese. More than half of the numbers are derived from Cantonese. Anton also pointed out some words that he recognized from Tamil, so between the two of us, we really don't understand any Thai at all...
We've gone into a lot more stores with Anton and Mel, and we've picked up more slang. A popular phrase is "same same", when a Thai person is trying to tell you something is similar.
However, we've realized when a Thai salesperson tries to convince you that something is "same same", often it is not similar at all.
I'm going to try to sell this picture to some postcard companies in Hawaii, Jamaica and Fiji. Same same.
Havin' a swingin' ole time!
Koh Phangun is actually Thai for "Farangs on Scooters". They (we?) are everywhere!
Okay, so I downloaded that movie, "The Beach" and we all watched it.
Holy hell, that's not the kind of movie you want to see while you're actually on the islands. Like watching an airplane disaster movie as your in-flight entertainment!
Hanging out with fellow travelers, John and Jen from BC
John and I have been e-mailing through the blog for a while and it just so happened that we were all on the islands at the same time. So we met at the bar right beside our resort, where we grabbed a couple of drinks while watching the spectacular sunset. Not a bad way to spend the evening!
Everything is so chill
Billy Corgan spinning the beatz. Absolutely Smashing!
Just before the sun sets, everyone tries to capture the moment
Loving the stacked layers of colours when the sun starts to disappear
We really like hanging out with Anton and Mel. They've got a very chill and unhurried approach to traveling, which means they book lots of one-way tickets and have plenty of flexibility to stay, roam or go. This fits in so well with our style of travel. We literally do not know what we are going to do tomorrow and I think that that's awesome!!!
Fishing boats out in the Golden Hour
It's not all smiles and giggles here on the islands.
We've been wrapped up inside our riding suits while in Thailand for months now and this is our first time out in our bathing suits. Neda got a nasty sunburn *EVERYWHERE*! If you are not easily offended by a bit of skin, here's a small peek:
The Full Moon is coming and I'm reminded of the movie we just saw. Time to leave Koh Phangun...
Our vacation from our vacation from our vacation is nearly over. We're quickly unwinding our travels in reverse, catching taxis, ferries and planes back to where we originally came from.
First stop, the ferry docks at Koh Phangun
While we board the ferry, we watch fishermen haul their boats in and out of the water
After only two days in Koh Phangun, we are escaping this island right before the Full Moon parties kick off. Unsurprisingly, the ferry is almost empty. There are no twenty-somethings leaving Koh Phangun. Just a bunch of old people...
We are only spending the night in Koh Samui before we fly back to the mainland in the morning. We're staying in Chaweng Beach, which is the largest city on the island and only a couple of kms away from the airport.
Walking around the very western malls in Chaweng Beach looking for dinner
We don't really want to eat western food, so we head back outside
But there are many farangs who travel all the way to Thailand and are happy to pay western prices for a hamburger and fries.
Ah! This is more our speed
Waiting for our seafood dinner. Crab and noodles tonight. Again!
Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's thelist of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now, and add your information if we didn't find you.
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
helps answer the question - Why Go? Inspirational stories by veteran travellers Greg Frazier (5 times RTW), Peter and Kay Forwood (193 countries), Tiffany Coates (Mongolia Mayhem) and Rene Cormier (University of Gravel Roads).
Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers!
break down language barriers, overcome culture shock, ship the bike and deal with breakdowns and emergencies."Just makes me want to pack up and go!" See the trailer here!
Grant demystifies the black art of Tire Changing and Repair to help you STAY on the road! "Very informative and practical." See the trailer here!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
Cotton or synth sweat-wicking t-shirts with the cool Horizons Unlimited graphic on the front and a snappy slogan (changing every year) on the back.
Show your route on your panniers. Great conversation starter when you meet people on the road!
Motorcycle and travel books to inspire and inform you!
The definitive guide to planning your motorcycle adventure! This insanely ambitious 2-year project has produced an informative and entertaining 5-part, 18 hour video series. "The ultimate round the world rider's how-to!" MCN UK.
446Likes
Linear Mode
