If you want to really explore a location while on vacation, you usually have a few options. The first is to travel around on foot. This offers you a great way to explore the local vicinity at a pace that matches the environment you’re in. You will have the opportunity to see and interact with the locals and scenery far more than with any other option. But alas, you are severely limited to a specific radius.
The next option is to rent a bicycle. This is also an excellent opportunity to explore in a manner similar to walking, but to expand the area with which you can explore. If you are fit and healthy and willing to brave whatever weather might come your way, then it is possibly the best option open to those who don’t want to risk anything faster and heavier.
For those with families and a desire to travel a lot further, you can rent a car. These are brilliant for opening up the entire nation to you, but you will still be limited to the main roads and are slightly more cut off from the world around you. You will likely need to set aside a hefty budget to afford the daily rate, plus insurance, etc. The final option is possibly the most desirable, particularly if you already have some experience, and is, as you might have already clocked on, to rent a motorcycle.
Many travellers will eschew motorbike rental, but if you know how to handle a bike and understand the risks, you will open up entire swathes of country and adventure that other forms of travel are simply unable to provide. While this post is primarily aimed at convincing you why choosing a bike over a car is desirable, it will also offer some general reasons as to why it’s not hyperbole to say that a motorbike is most suited to bringing you to some of the most remote locations on earth to experience places that very few travelers would ever be able to get to.
Renting A Bike Is Often Far Simpler Than Renting A Car
It’s easy to believe that renting either of these options carries a similar tax in terms of complications when booking. Obviously, the process will vary from place to place, with certain countries making it more or less difficult based on their laws, but the fact is that renting almost always involves less procedure and stress. Even if the first few steps are similar, renting a car will invariably involve more steps and caution than it does with a bike, purely because they are larger objects and cost more (and usually more to repair also). Looking at one platform, https://riderly.com/, you can see that it generally involves searching for bikes in the country you’re planning to visit, creating an account, and picking up your bike from the designated location, and away you go. In comparison to renting a car, you typically need to visit the rental shop with plenty of time so that you can go through the convoluted process of understanding their terms and conditions, checking the car yourself for pre-existing damage (so that you won’t get charged for it when you bring it back), and placing down a hefty deposit to cover any issues that might arise throughout the rental period. Speaking of that latter point…
Renting A Bike Is Often A Lot Cheaper Than Renting A Car
Renting a motorcycle will always be more affordable than renting a car by virtue of them costing a lot less to buy, maintain, and ultimately repair if anything does go wrong. This lower upfront cost means that you will have more money left in your pocket to actually experience your trip without worrying about whether you have spent your entire holiday budget on the week-long car rental. This point will vary depending on the model of bike you choose and where you’re renting from, with higher capacity bikes in more expensive regions costing more and smaller options, like scooters, costing less. However, the same will be true with rental cars, albeit in a far more pronounced manner.
They Allow You To Travel To Some Of The Most Remote Locations On Earth
We certainly aren’t here to bash the idea of a rental car, and when you compare it with walking or taking public transportation, a car does indeed open up a whole lot more options. But if you compare the number of locations you can visit with a motorbike, there is simply no competition. Whether you want to explore old CIA airbases used in America’s secret war in Laos, or bound through the Amazon jungle to find some ancient Native ruins with nothing more than a tent and a spare pair of undies, a motorbike offers you far more chances to go places that you would otherwise be unable to visit any other way. Of course, one might argue that walking provides the most significant opportunity to see such areas, which is true to a degree. However, unless you plan on setting aside weeks, if not months or years, for your trip, then a motorcycle is really your only viable option. As long as you choose an appropriate bike for whatever trip your itinerary demands and you inform people of your plan, then it’s not hyperbole to state that a bike will take you almost anywhere on planet earth (as long as you have the skill and avoid the drug labs and military oputposts that might land you in hot water!)
As Long As You Understand The Risks And Drive Carefully, They Can Be Just As Safe
The thing that usually stops most people from renting a motorcycle and opting instead to pay the inflated fees for a car is that they’re typically scared of being involved in an accident and injuring themselves. It would be remiss of us to say that renting a bike is safer than renting a car because this is untrue. However, as long as you’re aware of the risks, take some time to get used to road and driving conditions, and wear all appropriate safety gear, you should be perfectly fine. In some ways, a bike can actually be slightly safer than a car. Although we just said that this isn’t true, there are some specifics that make it safer to ride a bike. For instance, in less developed nations, the roads can often become quagmires where landslides and muddy roads abound. Riding a motorcycle makes it easier to navigate these areas and reach your destination before nightfall. If you were in a car, you may end up stranded, waiting for someone to help you out of the hole you’ve spun your wheels into, and it could mean you’re spending the night in the car on the side of a perilous road. OK, so this might be a bit of a stretch, but the point is that with a bit of understanding of what you’re about to embark on and some common road sense, you ought to be perfectly fine.
It Will Cost Less To Fill Up Throughout Your Travels
Unless you plan to travel to those nations frequently noted in the press for having the cheapest gasoline prices in the world, you will need to add a significant amount to your travel budget to cover filling up. Most countries aren’t as blessed with natural resources as others, and tend to have pretty steep gas prices. A motorbike will always be far more fuel efficient than a car, and as such, will cost you less overall throughout the trip. You will have to fill up more often due to the smaller gas tank, but the payoff will be a lot more cash in your pocket when you bring the bike back, thanks to the reduced need for fuel.
A Bike Allows You To Get Closer To Nature And Interact More Easily With Locals
For most folks, these kinds of vacations are more about the journey rather than the destination, but when you’re traveling in a car, you will have less time and opportunity to stop, get out, and interact with your surroundings. A bike is much easier to park and wander about in a small, remote village than a car is. Not to mention that you will often discover that the locals of remote villages are far more intrigued and therefore willing to interact with you than they would be with a car (particularly if you rent an off-road bike that they may have rarely seen).
It’s Way Cooler
If you want to reduce this entire post down to three words, you can do so by using: it’s way cooler! There’s just something about renting a bike to travel that feels more special and much cooler than renting a car could ever be. There are a few situations where a car might beat the bike in terms of coolness, such as renting a Mustang and heading down Route 66, but these are rare, and in most cases, you can usually find a model of bike that fits the bill. Whether that be a Honda CRF 250 to head into the deepest, darkest jungles, or a Harley-Davidson Road King for the aforementioned Route 66, you will always find the right bike for the job.
Renting a bike is a decision that tends to be slightly more challenging to make for the average person than renting a car, but if you know what you’re getting into, the payoff will be exceptional. You will have the chance to visit more remote locations, interact with the locals, and create unforgettable memories, all wrapped up in the fact that you will pay less for the privilege than you might with a car.
