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The Ultimate Vietnam Motorbike Route

What's In This Guide?

“this is one epic vietnam motorbike itinerary”.

Are you planning on motorbiking Vietnam? Will your trip be two weeks or two months? Can’t decide if you will go from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi? Perhaps you just want to explore the far north or south.

Fear not, whatever direction, and however long you plan to go for, this ultimate Vietnam motorbike route is for you.

I’ve made several motorbiking trips around Vietnam where I’ve visited large cities and small ethnic villages. Drank the strongest rice whiskey and the best mountain coffee. Slept in boutique resorts and in hammocks in the jungle. Now I’ve combined that information here.

Throughout this article, there are links to more detailed guides I have written on individual destinations. I highly suggest having a read of them too.

A quick note on Renting vs Buying a motorbike . If you’re riding Vietnam for less than 2 months, I suggest renting. It just works out more economical and hassle free.

I’ve partnered with trustworthy motorbike shops in Hanoi, Danang, and HCMC to get you direct access to affordable, reliable motorbikes with convenient one-way drop off options. Due to high rental demand, I suggest you reserve a motorbike at least 3 months before your trip .

Click here for an exclusive motorbike rental discount now!

Vietnam Motorbike Route Map

Stops from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi 

There is definitely no shortage of amazing scenery in this country. In this ultimate Vietnam motorbike route, you will get to ride along amazing beaches and scenic mountain passes, explore the world largest caves and get way more off the beaten track than you’d ever imagine.

This guide covers over 23 destinations (and growing). However, I have not included all the exact route numbers. For those, I highly recommend getting this detailed road map of Vietnam by National Geographic . You’ll thank me when you realize you need it.

Glad we got that out of the way… Ready? Let’s go!

1. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – 3 nights

Sit down, get a cold beer and a bowl of Pho soup. You’ve arrived in Vietnam with a huge (2300km+) journey ahead.

Now continue reading.

Ho Chi Minh City is the starting or ending point for most travelers in Vietnam. One way or another you’ll end up here. Why start in Ho Chi Minh City? It is the easiest place to buy a motorbike in Vietnam and get it fitted with a luggage rack for your long ride.

If you are arriving in Vietnam solo and want to find people to join you for the big ride ahead then be sure to stay a couple of nights at the main backpacker street Pham Ngu Lao (seriously awesome hotel deals for under 15 USD per night). You’ll know you’ve arrived at the right place when you see loads of small street stalls selling beer at 25c per can.

There is a great motorbike shop at the end of Pham Ngu Lao street. Though I don’t know the name of the road, just look for the big red neon bull sign. The shop is there on the corner.

2. Can Tho – 1 night

(Riding distance from HCMC – 180 km)

First stop, Can Tho. Instead of going north on this Vietnam motorbike itinerary, we make a small detour south.

Can Tho is a few hours ride south of Ho Chi Minh City. It is home to the iconic Can Tho Floating Market and the huge Mekong Delta. This is where the mighty Mekong River meets the sea, spanning an area of 39,000 square kilometers.

Riding south to Can Tho uses one of the busiest highways in Vietnam called the AH1. It can be a scary first ride in the country. Be sure to leave early in the morning as riding at night gets dangerous due to the number of trucks on the road.

3. Phu Quoc Island – 2 nights

(Riding distance from Can Tho – 260 km)

Next, we’re taking the motorbikes to an island. Phu Quoc Island to be specific.

Pho Quoc Island is located about 2hrs off the south-west coast of Vietnam. This island is a throwback to Vietnam’s earlier days. Dirt roads circle the island with undeveloped beaches dotting the coast. It also has one of the best beaches in Southeast Asia , a stunning stretch of white sand called Sao Beach,

Discover small fishing villages or do a scuba diving day trip. Add Phu Quoc Island to your Vietnam motorbike itinerary for a unique destination that many other travelers are sure to miss.

After Phu Quoc Island we head back to Ho Chi Minh City briefly before continuing north towards Hanoi.

4. Cat Thien National Park – 1 night

(Riding distance from HCMC – 160 km)

Cat Thein National Park is my preferred first stop north of Ho Chi Minh City. The alternative route is to head to Mui Ne, however, that road has lots of trucks.

On the way to Cat Thien National Park, you’ll ride back roads for hours through small villages. Once you reach the park entrance take the ferry across the river and spend a night out in the jungle. This is one of my favorite things about motorbiking Vietnam, staying in places you’d never otherwise consider.

Wake up in the morning to the sound of Gibbons calling, then spend your day searching for the last White Rhino, an enigma of sorts. Relax by the riverside and enjoy Vietnam’s slow life.

Cat Thien National Park is less known but an amazing destination compared to Mui Ne. Definitely add it to your Vietnam motorbike itinerary.

5. Dalat – 2 nights

(Riding distance from Cat Thien NP – 190 km)

The Cat Thien to Dalat motorbike route passes through the small villages then head up into the mountains. There are some steep winding sections and scenic lookouts along the way.

You might be familiar with Dalat from the coffee bean stores scattered throughout Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Dalat is located in Vietnam’s southern highlands.  It is home to many of Vietnam’s coffee fields and fruit plantations.

Dalat is popular with local Vietnamese tourists for its French-style Chateau buildings and the large scenic lake in the center of town. Enjoy the slow lifestyle, the cool mountain weather, and explore the town with this Dalat City Guide . It is a nice change from the hot and humid coastal cities.

6. Nha Trang – 2 nights

(Riding distance from Dalat – 140 km)

Nha Trang is one of Vietnam’s larger coastal cities, and a must stop destination if motorbiking Vietnam. The city was formerly a US Army Base during the Vietnam War. While many travelers visit the Vinapearl theme park, there are more authentic attractions such as the old war barracks and local art galleries.

Located 50km north of Nha Trang is the Ninh Hoa Salt Fields. This was featured as the cover for Lonely Planet’s 2012 Vietnam guide. To visit the Ninh Hoa salt fields you’ll have to be on your motorbike heading out of Nha Trang by 4am. Work here finishes shortly after the sun comes up. Arrive late and it’ll be a lifeless salt flat.

7. Buon Ma Thuot – 1 night

(Riding distance from Nha Trang – 190 km)

One of my least favorite things about motorbiking Vietnam is the trucks along the AH1 Highway.

To avoid the AH1 coastal highway, we head west to Buon Ma Thuot. It is a detour, but there are far less tucks and the roads are much more scenic. Buon Ma Thuot is a small town back in the highlands, similar to Dalat but less touristy. The area is famous for producing Buon Ma Thuot coffee which you will see stocked in coffee stores all over Hanoi.

I suggest visiting Buon Ma Thuot as a thoroughfare destination, saving your time for Kon Tum further north.

8. Pleiku – 1 night

(Riding distance from Buon Ma Thuot – 180 km)

We try to keep the daily riding distance between 150km and 200km in this Vietnam motorbike route. Pleiku fits this perfectly sitting 180km north of Buon Ma Thuot. Honestly, there isn’t a whole lot to do in Pleiku, it is a small town.

There are ethnic villages in the surrounding areas which you can visit, though it is suggested a permit is required. The Bien Ho Crater Lake is an old volcanic crater which has been flooded. You can stop by here, 8km north of Pleiku, for a scenic view as you continue on towards Hoi An .

9. Kon Tum – 2 nights

(Riding distance from Pleiku – 50 km)

Kon Tum is another coffee producing district located in the southern highlands. It’s actually one of the poorest regions in Vietnam and is home to many ethnic hill tribes in the surrounding areas.

Explore the area surrounding the city to discover the local village lifestyle. You will find the traditional tall houses which are the village community centers. Along the way, you’ll likely run into crows of kids walking to and from school. They are all too keen to have a chat with you in Vietnamese and are always up for a photo.

A visit to Kon Tum is an essential addition to your Vietnam motorbike itinerary. It will open your eyes to Vietnam’s true rural culture.

10. Hoi An – 3 nights

(Riding distance from Kon Tum – 280 km)

The ancient town of Hoi An is an idyllic spot in central Vietnam. Chinese style shophouses line the river banks while locals go around the small streets by bicycle. Head down to the Thu Bon River at night where you can get dinner and a beer on a junk boat. Did I mention it is also cheap?

Hoi An is also famously known for its clothing production. With plenty of tailors begging for your attention as you walk the streets you’re sure to get sucked in. Pick up a custom screen printed t-shirt here as a trip souvenir for as little as USD 5 per piece. I still have mine!

11. Hai Van Pass

The Hai Van Pass (which some call the Hoi An motorbike route) is the road which Top Gear did in their 2008 “Vietnam Special.” You seriously motorbike across Vietnam without doing this route.

The views from the Hai Van Pass are stunning , even more so when you ride at sunset as I did. This 21 km winding road only requires an hour or so to conquer. It will form part of your long day’s ride from Hoi An or Danang to Hue. Some people even ride it back and forth a few times in one day to make the most of it!

There are no overnight stops here unless your motorbike breaks down.

12. Hue – 3 nights

(Riding distance from Hoi An – 140 km)

Hue is one of the most cultural cities I’ve experienced while motorbiking Vietnam. It is a city which combines layers of history over many centuries.

Whether you want to visit the Imperial City from Vietnam’s Dynasty Era or see the destruction left behind of the Vietnam War there are plenty of things to do in Hue .

I suggest allowing three nights in Hue in your plans. Ditch the motorbike for a day and cycle or walk the sleepy streets. Another great way to get around is a boat cruise down the perfume river. Lots of people say you should skip Hue, but they’re wrong!

13. Dong Ha – 1 night

(Riding distance from Hue – 70km)

Dong Ha is a lesser-known city located north of Hue on Vietnam’s east coast. The most iconic attraction is the Vinh Moc Tunnels from the Vietnam War. The Vinh Moc Tunnels are similar to the Chu Chi Tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City, yet far more extensive and large enough to walk through.

Secretly you didn’t get this tip from The Lost Passport, but ignore the ‘no entry’ sings underground and you can find a secret exit to the beach.

14. Khe Sanh – 1 night

(Riding distance from Dong Ha – 60km)

Khe Sanh is was home to the bloodiest and longest battle of the Vietnam War. Over one thousand soldiers died fighting here.

These days this little mountain town is the gateway to the amazing Ho Chi Minh Trail West . The 300km winding mountain route makes its way up to the Phong Nha Khe Bang National Park. This single landed concrete road is one of the emptiest you’ll experience in this entire Vietnam motorbike itinerary.

Warning: Be careful wandering off the track up this way as there are plenty of unexploded land mines still lying about.

15. Phong Nha Khe Bang National Park – 3 nights

(Riding distance from Khe Sanh – 200km)

If you are a National Geographic fan then you are sure to know about this place. Phong Nha Khe Bang National Park is home to Hang Don Soon the world’s largest caves discovered only in 2013. This outranks the world’s second-largest, Paradise Cave, which is also in the same national park.

There are multiple options you can take to explore the caves depending on time and budget. You can explore the first 4 kilometers of Paradise cave for a few hours from USD 10, or take a four-day trekking and camping package to Hang Don Soon for over USD 3000. I

When you are done exploring caves, make sure you visit the  Phong Nha Farmstay and enjoy a cold beer on the rooftop for sunset. These are some of the best countryside views to enjoy in Vietnam.

16. Ninh Binh – 2 nights

(Riding distance from Phong Nha – 400km, overnight stop at Vinh)

Ninh Binh is commonly referred to as the inland Halong Bay. This name refers to the thousands of karst mountains and lakes scattered throughout the countryside. It is also equally as beautiful as Halong Bay and really a must-visit on this Vietnam motorbike route.

You can get really off the beaten track by exploring these small rice farming villages with your motorbike or by renting a bicycle at the town center. The villagers are extremely friendly. Expect to get stuck into a conversation in Vietnamese and be offered some homemade rice spirits!

Read More: 7 Awesome Things to do in Ninh Binh

17. Hanoi – 3 nights

(Riding distance from Ninh Binh – 100km)

Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam and the finishing point for many in their Vietnam motorbike itinerary.

Home to 7.5 million people, Hanoi still feels like a large village rather than an industrialized city. Expect to see women pedaling around the street selling fruit and plenty of coffee stores. The food in Hanoi is amazing, and there are a few cool bars to hang out around the old town too. Check out my Hanoi travel guide so you don’t miss out on what this city has to offer.

Although we have reached the main city in the north of Vietnam, this ultimate Vietnam motorbike itinerary does not end here. From Hanoi, you still have the option of traveling east to Halong Bay or north to the highlands on the China border.

18. Cat Ba Island – 3 nights

(Riding distance from Hanoi – 120km to Hai Phong)

Have you considered taking your motorbike into Halong Bay? Sounds crazy but it is possible. Cat Ba Island is technically located in Lan Ha Bay, slightly north of Halong Bay. Although less known it is arguably more amazing to visit.

Cat Ba is one of the largest islands in Lan Ha Bay and offers plenty of accommodation, secluded beaches, rock climbing, and day trips out on the water. You can get to Cat Ba Island with your motorbike by taking a ferry from Haiphong. The ferry goes fairly slow and the trip across takes a couple of hours.

19. Bac Kan – 1 night

(Riding distance from Hai Phong – 250km)

Bac Kan is a rural town in northern Vietnam and home to the picturesque Ba Bae Lake. This destination is located mid-way up from Hanoi to Cao Bang Province and is an ideal overnight stop.

There are a number of budget hotels and homestay accommodation options around the lake in a relaxing countryside setting .

20. Ban Gioc Waterfall – 1 night

(Riding distance from Bac Kan – 230km)

Located on the northern Vietnam-China border, the impressive Ban Gioc Waterfall is the largest waterfall in Vietnam. Although plastered all over the walls of travel agents in Hanoi, this waterfall is rarely visited by western tourists. You can take your motorbike right down near the water’s edge then explore the area for a while. Be sure to drop into the nearby Ngam Ngou Cave if you have time also.

21. Cao Bang – 1 night

Cao Bang is both the province and city in northeast Vietnam. The city of Cao Bang feels like an oversized village but not on the same scale as Hanoi. You can explore the riverside and stop by small cafes and the morning markets. You can quickly get a local feel of this authentic northern Vietnam town.

For a true countryside experience try staying at the Kieu Chinh family homestay .  This homestay is located about 50km outside of Cao Bang in the rural district of Quang Uyen. Full directions available in my article.

22. Bao Lac – 1 night

The small village of Bao Lac is located at the foothills of Vietnam’s northern mountain ranges. The tranquil town is home to a twice-monthly market in which hundreds of ethnic villagers descend from the mountains to sell their local produce. On these weekends the town is a lively place, but it can be difficult to time your trip accordingly.

Every other day of the month the town is rather quiet, but a peaceful rest stop before heading up the mountains. Check out some of the small restaurants along the river.

23. Dong Van – 1 night

Get ready for the most scenic part of this entire Vietnam motorbike route. The road from Bao Lac to Dong Van is one of the best motorbiking roads in the world. It is called the Ma Pi Leng Pass.

You will ride up the steep mountain pass to an altitude of over 2,000m. The air temperature drops to a cool 5 degrees C in the winter, so be prepared with a decent jacket.

As you ride along this route you will be completely awestruck with panoramic views that seem to go on and on. The views over the mountain range are incredible. In the distance, you will actually be looking at the mountains of southern China in Yunnan Province. Be sure to read my full guide to the Ma Pi Leng Pass for all the essential details.

This is a road that you will ride once and never forget. I wouldn’t be surprised if you end out riding it back and forth a few times!

24. Ha Giang – 1 night

Ha Giang is a medium-sized city at the western foothills of the mountain range. This city is a popular launching or rest point for adventure motorcycle riders heading up the mountains.

The altitude at Ha Giang is where the temperature starts to drop down to a cool 5 to 10 degrees in winter. Be sure to pack your jacket, scarf, and gloves if you plan to continue motorbiking up the mountains from here.

25. Sapa (Lao Cai) – 3 nights

The northern district of Sapa has been growing in popularity over the past few years. Sapa is famous for hill treks, and homestay accommodations. It is a great place to visit while motorbiking Vietnam’s northern end, however, I still think it the more touristy version of Ha Giang.

If you do visit Sapa I suggest staying at least two days. The first day you can go hiking through the terraced rice fields, the next day you can climb Mount Fansipan. Both great one day activities.

Can you do this with only 3 weeks in Vietnam?

You will not be able to complete this entire motorbike route with only 3 weeks in Vietnam. Vietnamese motorbikes are slow, the road condition is bad, and there are too many stops. Ultimately, you will be too rushed.

I suggest doing only part of this trip. Here are a few suggestions with only 3 weeks in Vietnam:

• Ride from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, although even this will be a quick ride
• Ride north from Hanoi to Ha Giang, Cao Bang, and Sapa
• Ride south of Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc, Can Tho and up the coast to Nha Trang

If you have less than 3 weeks in Vietnam, I’d also suggest hiring a motorbike. With a shorter trip, you will probably waste valuable time buying and selling a motorbike. Renting is just easier, and possibly cheaper.

How to Buy a Motorbike in Vietnam

Before even starting your adventure you will need to buy yourself a motorbike. Whether you purchase this in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, there are a few options for you.

Honda Win (Chinese rip off version) is the most common at just under USD 300. The Belarusian Mink is a unique, and fun, but totally unreliable two-stroke machine. The Honda Wave is an easy-to-ride semi-automatic motorbike perfect for beginner riders.

Learn the pros and cons of each, where to buy a motorbike, and what to look out for in this guide.

Let me show you how to travel Asia better, further, and easier than you can imagine. The highest waterfalls, remote islands, best street food, and plenty more! Josh Shephard

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Hanoi Easy Rider are the experts in Vietnam motorcycle, with a great selection of guided and self-guided trip options - and the good quality motorcycles.   At Hanoi Easy Rider Company we have handpicked our motorbike tour and designed trip itineraries to ensure that you have the ride of your life. Every aspect of the service we offer demonstrates our team’s commitment to making your tour the trip of a lifetime. You can be assured that your Viet Nam experience is in the hands of experts. Our range of guided and self-guided motorcycle tour itineraries are designed so you can enjoy your ride time, while having the freedom to see the sights, explore the lesser known routes and meet the locals. There are plenty of opportunities to learn about Viet Nam its landscape, culture, and people. At night, relax in the accommodations that we have carefully selected for their comfort and great service.​

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Jessica Abrego From: Hewlett, New York, USA Email: [email protected] I took a six-day with Thuy and her husband Long from October 19th to October 24th, 2012. I was having a rough time in Hanoi before I met them, but the minute I got on a bike I was much happier. One gets a better feel for the rhythm of the culture in the street than on the sidewalks. My tour headed north, to Ha Giang, Dong Van, Meo Vac, Cao Bang, and Bac Kan before returning to Hanoi. The first day was a bit rough adjusting to the bike (wear jeans!) but the scenery was stunning. Every day after that I enjoyed being on the road more and more, to the extent that I actually extended my trip an extra day because I didn’t want to rush. We had good weather most of the time, but one day it poured. Long went out and bought me a rain suit right away. Even in the rain, on treacherous mountain roads, I was never nervous about the bikes or Thuy’s driving. It was actually quite beautiful and strange to drive slowly through the opaque mist, like something out of a movie. Thuy and Long became my friends in no time at all. We had a wonderful time together: talking, joking, eating delicious food, sharing cigarettes. It was a lovely adventure: we shopped in little local markets, drank with Hmong villagers, bargained for a pig (that we slaughtered in Hanoi and ate at a big welcome home feast at their house), sang karaoke on stage at a Women’s Day event in Dong Van, played with charming little kids, saw an incredible diversity of ethnic groups in their villages, rode a boat and stayed in a homestay in Bac Kan… we even bought two little country puppies for Thuy and Long to keep as pets. (Imagine a pig and two puppies plus three people and five days worth of stuff on the backs of these bikes — what could be more Vietnamese?!) Seriously, I couldn’t have imagined how great my trip would be. I learned so much about Vietnamese culture and made great friends. I cannot recommend Hanoi Easyrider highly enough: great company, great people, and a wonderful experience all around.  

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• Introduction
• Day 1 Hanoi motorcycle tour to Mai Chau (Hoa Binh)
• Day 2 Mai Chau motorbike tour to Tan Ky (Nghe An)
• Day 3 Tan Ky motorbike tour to Phong Nha (Quang Binh)
• Day 4 Phong Nha motorbike tour to Khe Sanh in Quang Tri (Roughly 250 Km – 7 hours of riding)
• Day 5 Quang Tri Motorcycle Tours to DMZ & Vinh Moc Tunnels – Motorbike Tours to Hue (200 Km – 6 hours of riding)
• Day 6 Hue Motorcycle Tour to Hoi An
• Day 7 Hoi An city tour & My Son tour by motorbike
• Day 8 Hoi An Motorbike Tour to Quy Nhon
• Day 9 Quy Nhon Motorbike Tour to Nha Trang
• Day 10 Nha Trang Motorbike Tour for Sightseeing
• Day 11 Nha Trang Motorbike Tour to Mui Ne
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• WK Wallace · 20th April 2020 The tour and experience was excellent, a group of 4 on a dirt bike tour of Vietnam. This was our first time. and it couldnt have gone better. Mr Hoang Minh and our Guide Vinh our guide were both professional and catered for all our requirements. The... Show more Trip date: March 2017

• W WIllardsBurns · 25th March 2020 This is the most successful trip I have taken so far We cannot fault any services as hotels, local guides, bikes, and programs are perfect We will choose the company again for our next trip without hesitation Trip date: January 2020

• J JasonDickson · 5th March 2020 12 days Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh city Excellent experience for 12 of us exploring 2600km on motorbikes in Vietnam. Mountain roads, trails, water crossings, culture, villages and cities, this tour had some of everything. Cong and his crew were AWESOME!!... Show more Trip date: January 2020
• J JasonDickson · 5th March 2020 For those who want to explore the best highlights of Vietnam from Hanoi to Saigon, please take this tour along the coast and Ho Chi Minh trail. It's just incredible Trip date: January 2020

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• Monday 13 May, 2024 Friday 24 May, 2024 English Multiple Room Types €1,905 Confirm Dates
• Tuesday 14 May, 2024 Saturday 25 May, 2024 English Multiple Room Types €1,905 Confirm Dates
• Wednesday 15 May, 2024 Sunday 26 May, 2024 English Multiple Room Types €1,905 Confirm Dates

Frequently Asked Questions

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Good to Know

• Currency ₫ Dong Vietnam

As a traveller from USA, Canada you will need an adaptor for types C, E, F, G. As a traveller from England you will need an adaptor for types A, B, C, E, F. As a traveller from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa you will need an adaptor for types A, B, C, E, F, G.

• These are only indications, so please visit your doctor before you travel to be 100% sure.
• Typhoid - Recommended for Vietnam. Ideally 2 weeks before travel.
• Hepatitis A - Recommended for Vietnam. Ideally 2 weeks before travel.
• Cholera - Recommended for Vietnam. Ideally 2 weeks before travel.
• Tuberculosis - Recommended for Vietnam. Ideally 3 months before travel.
• Hepatitis B - Recommended for Vietnam. Ideally 2 months before travel.
• Rabies - Recommended for Vietnam. Ideally 1 month before travel.
• Yellow fever - Certificate of vaccination required if arriving from an area with a risk of yellow fever transmission for Vietnam. Ideally 10 days before travel.
• Japanese B encephalitis - Recommended for Vietnam. Ideally 1 month before travel.
• Unfortunately we cannot offer you a visa application service. Whether you need a visa or not depends on your nationality and where you wish to travel. Assuming your home country does not have a visa agreement with the country you're planning to visit, you will need to apply for a visa in advance of your scheduled departure.
• Here is an indication for which countries you might need a visa. Please contact the local embassy for help applying for visas to these places.
• For any tour departing before 22nd June 2024 a full payment is necessary. For tours departing after 22nd June 2024, a minimum payment of 20% is required to confirm your booking with DNQ Travel. The final payment will be automatically charged to your credit card on the designated due date. The final payment of the remaining balance is required at least 50 days prior to the departure date of your tour. TourRadar never charges you a booking fee and will charge you in the stated currency.
• Some departure dates and prices may vary and DNQ Travel will contact you with any discrepancies before your booking is confirmed.
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• Accessibility Some tours are not suitable for mobility-restricted traveller, however, some operators may be able to accommodate special requests. For any enquiries, you can contact our customer support team , who are ready and waiting to help you.
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Motorbike Tour Ho Chi Minh Trail At A Glance: Hanoi to HCMC 12D 11N

• Trip Type Ho Chi Minh Trail Tours , Mekong Delta By Motorcycle
• Activities Motorbike Ride
• Group Size No size limit
• Reviews 0 Reviews
• Trip Duration N/A

Book a tour: Motorbike Tour Ho Chi Minh Trail At A Glance: Hanoi to HCMC 12D 11N

• Under 20% Off-road
• From 50% Off-road
• Yes "150 USD/day"
• Trip Outline
• Trip Includes
• Trip Excludes

If you have a chance to visit Vietnam, don’t miss the opportunity to travel to the beautiful spots by motorbike. One of the most preferred tours for foreign visitors is the long trip from the capital to the Ho Chi Minh trail motorbike tour. Check our detailed itinerary if you are interested in a motorbike tour Ho Chi Minh trail from Hanoi to Saigon .

Suggested Plan for Motorbike Tour Ho Chi Minh Trail 

The first leg , day 1. hanoi to mai chau (200km).

• Have breakfast at 8.00 am, then take a bus to Vietnamontrails Garage
• Take the motorbike there and start the journey to Mai Chau valley
• Travel on different roads: smooth roads, rough roads, and village tracks 

• Enjoy spectacular screnery of limestone mountains and the charming beauty of the valley there.
• Have picnic lunch at break time

Day 2. Mai Chau to Tan Ky (300km)

• Ride through narrow paved roads of mountain villages, then uneven roads on the Ho Chi Minh trail.
• Discover the most famous historical place in Vietnam - the Ho Chi Minh trail
•  Stop at a local restaurant for lunch. 
• Arrive in Tan Ky town in the afternoon

Day 3. Tan Ky to Phong Nha (300km)

• Have breakfast, then continue to move from Tan Ky to Phong Nha  
• After a picnic lunch, go to the hotel
• Go sightseeing by boat and admire the impressive scenery of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park ( Son river with giant caves) 

Day 4. Phong Nha to Khe Sanh (250km)

• Explore the Old Military Dike - an old battlefield left over from the Vietnam War. 
• Widen your eyes with the beautiful natural landscape along winding, hilly road
• Go for lunch at a local restaurant. 

The Second Stage 

Day 5. khe sanh to hue (190km).

• Along the way from downhill to the coastal area, historical places left after Wartime, such as A Shau valley or the Da Krong Bridge.
• Ride through the paddy field and enjoy the fresh air and National road No.1 to reach Hue city 

Day 6 Hue to Hoi An (150km)

• Visit Hue Ancient Capital and join a boat cruise on the Huong River in the morning.
• In the afternoon, go along the National Highway 1, Hai Van Pass, to get to Hoi An
• Dinner is served by the hotel 
• Rest overnight in Hoi An at the booked hotel 

Day 7. Hoi An (Relaxing) 

Hoi An is one of the famous tourist attractions in Vietnam thanks to the unique blend of Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese influences in architecture and a variety of folk festivals, impressive culinary art, and traditions. 

Here are things you would love to do at Hoi An:

• Visit the Japanese bridge, Fujian Assembly Hall, Quan Cong temple, museum of trading ceramics, or silk village.
• Walk around the old town where buildings were designed with gorgeous architecture or visit lantern markets at night. 
• Try local food such as spring roll, pho noodles, Cao Lao, or banh xeo - a type of pancake.
• Buy sophisticated handmade souvenirs as gifts for your friends or family. 
• Immense in the festive atmosphere during the monthly held festival - Nights of Hoi An (on every 14th of the lunar month)

Day 8. Hoi An to Kon Tum (300km)

• Take a ride on the rough and narrow road to the Western mountainous area of Vietnam. 
• Have a chance to view Kon-Tum wooden church, ancient village, and other outstanding destinations
• Stay at the hotel after having the evening meal

The Final Part 

Day 9. kon tum to buon me thuot (250km).

• Head for the valley and highland - where you will wow at the beauty of nature
• Move on the dirt road and even road along the borderline between Vietnam and Cambodia.
• View some top attractions like Dray Nur waterfall, the world coffee museum, Hoa Nghiem temple .
• Grab lunch on the road
• Dinner served by the hotel - a place you put up

Day 10. Buon Me Thuot to Da lat (250km)

• Go further south to the highlands area, where you can find a beautiful waterfall, vast farming land, etc., 
• Travel on the dirt path and narrow paved road
• Access Da Lat city, which is well known for colorful flower gardens, lush forest, and hilltown 
• Dinner offered by the hotel where you rest overnight

Day 11. Dalat – Nam Cat Tien (250km)

• Leave for Nam Cat Tien; you will go downhill to visit the last Nature Reserve.
• Run motorbikes on a rough road 
• Have lunch at a local restaurant 
• Dinner is available at the hotel 

Day 12. Nam Cat Tien to Sai Gon (180km)

• Drive motorbike on the flat road then cross the river by ferry
• Finish the tour here and transfer by taxi or bus to the hotel 

Conclusion 

Ho Chi Minh Trail Motorbike Tour will suit those who love exploration and adventure. It is a great way to create pleasant memories or give you more energy and motivation after hard days at work. 

The article aims at providing readers with a well-planned motorbike tour Ho Chi Minh trail from Hanoi to Saigon . Hopefully, it will help you have the necessary information and prepare better for the motorbike tour.

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Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City

Most popular, Off-road Sections, Sightseeing

14 days/13 nights

Driver / Pillion, Jeep, Motorbike self-ride

Price: from 3,220 USD

14 days/13 nights –  Riding from the North to South of Vietnam is an experience of a lifetime. Embarking on a motorcycle trip in Vietnam will enrich your life ten fold.

Starting in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, heading South you will have access to the world famous Ho Chi Minh trail, pit stop in ethnic villages, coastal towns, relax on breathtaking beaches, experience local cuisines, mingle with locals, visit UNESCO sites such as Hoi An Ancient Town and Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, and of course, fall in-love with your motorcycle.

Pack your bag along with a sense of adventure, we’ve taken care of the rest.

We also offer Honda CRF250cc and Royal Enfield 400cc bikes for this tour (surcharge applies).

This tour can also run in reverse.

Check out some photos on facebook  here .

upcoming tour dates

Join one of our upcoming scheduled tours or depart any day with a minimum of 2 people.

• Ethnic Minority Villages
• Hai Van Pass
• Phong Nha National Park
• Phong Nha Cave Boat Trip
• My Son Visit (Optional)
• Dalat City Tour
• Local Cuisine
• Old-Growth Rainforest
• Mountain Waterfalls
• Ho Chi Minh Trail
• Hamburger Hill
• Khe Sanh Combat Base
• Khe Sanh Museum
• Crossing the 17th Parallel
• Historic Vinh Moc Tunnels
• Limestone Caves
• World Heritage Sites

Tour Includes

• Experienced English Speaking Guide
• Jeep and driver or Motorbike for self-riding (licence required) Personal, local licensed motorbike driver if you prefer to sit on the back of the bike
• 13 x Breakfast, 12 x Lunch, 11 x Dinner
• 13 Nights Accommodation
• Entry Fees and Ferry Crossings
• International Safety Standard Helmet
• Drinking Water and Soft Drinks on the Road
• Saddle Bags, Gloves & Rain Ponchos (if needed)
• If more than 6 riders there will also be a tour mechanic coming
• If more than 8 riders there will also be a 2nd guide and support van for luggage coming along
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off

Tour excludes

• Minibar Drinks
• Drinks (after travel time on the road / during dinner)
• Personal & Motorbike Insurance (for motorcycle accident)
• Personal Expenses/Tips
• Damages to Motorcycle, Jeep or Tour Equipment

Day 1: Hanoi to Mai Chau (140km)

After meeting your guide we head out of Hanoi to Hoa Binh for lunch. Our route then takes us across two mountain passes before descending to the alluring mountain valley settlement of Mai Chau, an area famous for its Thai Ethnic groups. Our hosts for the night are a local family who will provide us with beautiful accommodation in a traditional stilted house and a family dinner where you will be invited to enjoy a delicious spread of home cooked, regional specialities.

(Accommodation: Traditional Thai Stilt House) (Meals: Lunch, Dinner)

Day 2: Mai Chau to Vinh (300 km)

Following the winding banks of the beautiful Ma River, we head south to join the new Ho Chi Minh Highway, which lies *on top of the original Ho Chi Minh Trail. This newly carved route leads us due south through remote back country, not far from the Lao border. We stay overnight in the coastal city of Vinh, close to where Ho Chi Minh was born and an area of particular significance to the US during the war.

(Accommodation: Hotel ***) (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Day 3: Vinh to Phong Nha (280 km)

From Vinh, we take Highway One deep into rural Vietnam and onwards towards the Laos border. The drive takes in remote landscapes that steadily shift into views dominated by karst limestone rock formations. In the afternoon we arrive at the World Heritage listed National Park, Phong Nha and embark upon an amazing boat ride into Phong Nha cave, one of the largest caves in the world.

Day 4: Phong Nha to Khe Sanh (210 km)

Today we strike deep into the pristine jungles that encompass the World Heritage Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. A classic drive! Along the way, we pass a number of significant locations where the bulk of North Vietnam’s foot soldiers and trucks crossed into Laos during the war. In the afternoon, having passed over the mountainous border divide between the former north and south Vietnam, we arrive at Khe Sanh – The site of the former US Marine base and location of the famous siege that precluded the Tet Offensive in 1968.

(Accommodation: Hotel **) (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Day 5: Khe Sanh to Hue (160 km)

After a visit to the fascinating Khe Sanh museum, where wrecked Huey and Chinook helicopters testify to the ferocity of the siege here, we head towards the coast through the former DMZ to visit the Vinh Moc Tunnels. An underground tunnel network that was home to thousands of villagers during the course of the war. We then follow the beautiful coastal route south to the Imperial City of Hue, which lies along the banks of the Perfume River.

Hue’s deluge of sights and attractions are tightly packed into one small area – making it the perfect location to wind down the kilometers and relax. In the morning we take the bikes for a gentle spin, visiting the Citadel and the nearby Thien Mu Pagoda, leaving you the afternoon free to explore the rest of the city or to kick back by the pool.

(Accommodation: Hotel ***) (Meals: Breakfast)

Day 7: Hue to Hoi An (180 km)

Hoi An bound, we head east along a beautiful coastal route that passes through many colourful fishing villages beside a seemingly endless beach stretch. The salty air and coastal scenery are a dramatic contrast to the mountains from the previous days. We’ll stop often to dip our toes in the sea, chat with fishermen and to take photos. At the halfway point of our drive, we climb to Highway One’s highest point, the Hai Van Pass and take in the panoramic views of the coast. The road then winds down toward Hoi An, passing through Danang city, Marble Mountain and along the coastline.

Day 8: Hoi An

Today is a rest day, allowing you plenty of time to explore the secret alleys and ancient shop houses that make up the enchanting UNESCO Heritage site of Hoi An. Shopping aside this can take less than four hours, leaving you the option to take in some beach time at Hoi An’s An Bang beach, a 10-minute drive from the old town.

Day 9: Hoi An to Kontum (250 km)

Setting out from Hoi An early, we twist and turn our way back into the mountains, our destination – the mountain town of Kontum, a scenic area famous for its diversity, it’s the home of Vietnam’s catholic diocese and the ethnic minority groups: the Bahnar, Sedang and Jarai.

Day 10: Kontum to Qui Nhon (220 km)

Today’s drive is packed with incredible scenery and memorable surprises, as our mountainous route takes us through remote villages where foreign visitors are rare and enthusiastically welcomed. Expect stunning scenery and smiling faces all the way to our destination Quy Nhon, a coastal city famed for it’s Cham temples and architectural remains, and seafood!

Day 11: Quy Nhon to Nha Trang (140 km)

First thing today we will head to Ganh Da Dia to see Vietnam’s own ‘Giant’s Causeway’. They are unique and rare basalt formations similar to those found in Northern Ireland. The formation is rarely visited by tourists and will be a highlight of our ride down the Coast today. Tonight we will rest our heads in the beach city of Nha Trang.

Day 12: Nha Trang to Dalat (180 km)

Heading back into the mountains we follow the road commonly nicknamed ‘the road with 1000 bends’, to the old French hill station town of Dalat, a romantic honeymoon destination that bears the title of Vietnam’s own Paris (it even has it’s own mini Eiffel Tower). In the afternoon we do a city tour visiting famous sites like Bao Dinh palace, The Crazy House and Dalat’s steam train station.

Day 13: Dalat to Mui Ne (150 km)

We leave the quirkiness of Dalat behind and head for Mui Ne. Driving through Pine and sugar cane plantations we arrive in Mui Ne with plenty of time to relax and enjoy this picturesque resort town.

Day 14: Mui Ne to HCMC (150km)

Today is our final day on the bikes as we head to Ho Chi Minh City. Formerly known as Pearl of the Far East it’s now Vietnam’s economic hub and vibrant southern capital.

(Meals: Breakfast, Lunch)

Fill out the form below to enquire about availability for this tour.

No. of Participants *

EXTRA FEATURES

5,425,000 VND (230 USD) per day per person going by motorbike.

We offer pillion passenger discount, if you share one bike.

Jeep pricing on request.

Prices are based on a min of 6 people departing. Prices are based on twin share / double room accommodation. Single rooms available on request (additional charge). Private tours available on request at an additional 75 USD per day surcharge.

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The crew at Hoi An Motorbike Adventures are passionate about giving you the best service and experience. If you have any questions about our tours and services or if you would like us to send you some more information, please fill out the form below and we will reply to you as soon as possible. Please note that persons without a valid motorcycle license or under 18 years of age must ride as a pillion.

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Privacy Overview

Ho Chi Minh Trail – Cross County Motorcycle Tour from Hanoi to Saigon – 15 days

From: $2,535/person

For those who want the best travel experience in a country, joining a long road trip is a perfect choice.

As you may have noticed, the Ho Chi Minh trail will be the main road that we ride on. With this route, bikers will pass by the best sceneries, ride on both paved and unusual roads, learn a lot about Vietnam’s history, and, to some extent, understand more about the strong will of Vietnamese soldiers at the time. With this tour, we will cover more than 2,500 km in 15 days to a dozen provinces and cities of Vietnam.

Why is Ho Chi Minh Trail so famous? 

The legendary trail was the supply line to link the north with the south of Vietnam during wartime. It was constructed by hand under the fierce bombings and thus, was known as “the greatest engineering achievement of the 21st century.

This is also where local people and soldiers carried supplies and weapons by hand, bicycle, and truck for hundreds of kilometers for the army. It is truly a testimony to the Vietnamese soldiers’ ingenuity, grit, and commitment.

A new highway was built on most parts of the original trail. Some sections offer interesting off-road routes for adventurous bikers to test their riding skills. The route will take bikers past Vietnam’s top attractions like Mai Chau, Tan Ky, Phong Nha, Khe Sanh, Hue, Hoi An, Kon Tum, Nha Trang, and  Da Lat.

• Departure :  2021: Oct 1, 5, 8, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 29 | Nov 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30 | Dec 3, 7, 10 …
• Theme :  Nature/Soft Adventure, Traditional culture
•   Suitable :  Travel with friends, Active traveler, Solo traveler

• LUXURY PRICE
• STANDARD PRICE

BOOKING CONDITIONS

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

+ A 15-day tour of the Ho Chi Minh Trail is one of the most popular motorbike tours for any biker in the world due to its comprehensive nature.

+ only for 15 short days, but you have a relatively comprehensive view of the beautiful scenery, culture, cuisine, and people throughout Vietnam from north to south.

There is a new look on the country and people of Vietnam because the territory of Vietnam, as well as other Southeast Asian countries, has a variety of cultures of ethnic minorities. On each day of the motorcycle tour, we pass through many lands where many ethnic minorities reside. So in Vietnam, you have to learn more about 53 other ethnic groups besides Vietnamese.

+ from north to south, where we also encounter amazing natural scenery, from surprise to surprise.

In the north the majestic mountains and forests, the central caves, the immense primitive forests along the Vietnam-Laos border. South Central is the skillful combination of the best beaches in Vietnam and the Central Highlands with wild and mysterious beauty.

+ comprehensively about the war because the places we go on the trail left many traces of the world’s most fierce war in the 21st century.

It is the land of Vinh Moc, DMZ, Khe Sanh, A Luoi …

We gather in Hanoi’s center at around 9:00 am and then ride our motorcycles in the west direction to get to  Mai Chau , a mountainous area with a beautiful landscape and home to the Thai ethnic minority. We drive from Hanoi’s center to Highway 6, crossing by a sea of rice paddy fields and limestone karst on two sides of the tree-lined road.

After having lunch in Hoa Binh province, we cross Thung Khe, among the most scenic mountain passes in northern Vietnam, and then descend to Mai Chau, which is well set in an idyllic valley and surrounded by hills. After dinner at the homestay, we enjoy a folk music performance and are invited to dance and sing with local artists—overnight in the house-on-stilt homestay of the Thai people.

Distance: 170 km

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Homestay

After the first wonderful day, our motorcycle team drives around the tranquil rural villages and then follows the off-road route with poetic views that overlooks the Ma River. We then stop for lunch in Cam Thuy town. From this point on, our motorbike team can join the legendary Ho Chi Minh trail. We head to Tan Ky town, where we stay overnight. Tan Ky is a small town situated on a Ho Chi Minh trail section. Far away from the major cities, this is an ideal place for you to explore the local life of indigenous people here.

We wake up in the little town of Tan Ky, have breakfast, and then have a ride on the trail to Pho Chau and visit the Ho Chi Minh trail victory monument. Unlike the northern Vietnam motorbike tours, this route through the Ho Chi Minh trail will enable bikers to explore many historical relics. We then continue our ride to  Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park,  home to some of the most ancient karst mountains in Asia, which were formed 400 million years ago. This World Heritage Site is a heaven on earth for cave enthusiasts with hundreds of cave systems and spectacular underground rivers.

Other than the caves, which highlight a trip to this area, above-ground sightseeing destinations and activities like forest trekking, rural mountain biking, or war history places are also rewarding experiences. We stay overnight in Khe Sanh and prepare for the next day of the 15-day motorbike tour on the Ho Chi Minh trail.

From Phong Nha, the Ho Chi Minh Trail is divided into two branches, one on the east side and the other on the west side, meaning bikers can choose from two routes. With rich and diverse experience, BM Travel Co., Ltd recommends bikers choose the western branch of the Ho Chi Minh trail, which offers tourists a scenic view of majestic mountain ranges and primitive forests.

This route can also visit the former US marine base with tunnels, airbases, and some war museums. This is the best part of the Ho Chi Minh trail for tourists exploring historical sites. The route also crosses the Phong Nha National Park – Ke Bang. This route has very light traffic. During more than 200 km ride, you see very few vehicles. We have dinner and stay overnight in Khe Sanh.

On the 5th day, our motorcycle crew will ride from the west to the east along the 17th parallel, which was the boundary between the North and the South of Vietnam during wartime. We stop at some historical sites to learn more about the history and the fierce battles between Vietnam and America, such as Hien Luong Bridge, Vinh Moc tunnel.

Vinh Moc tunnel is one of the highlights of this area. Constructed in a strategic location in Quang Tri province, this tunnel complex functioned as a bomb shelter for the local people of Vinh Linh district, who offered great support for the army. Some parts of the tunnel are 30m deep. It was used from the mid-1960s till 1972 exactly as a house with rooms and facilities, around 60 families lived and 17 children were born here. Our motorbike team then continues our ride along highway No.1 from Quang Tri to Hue. We get to Hue at about 4:30 pm, have a quick nap in the hotel, and explore Hue at night.

The former imperial capital city of Hue has many things to do, see and eat, so make sure you wake up early to make the best of your time here. Coming to one of Vietnam’s most historical and poetic cities, you shouldn’t miss a trip to the royal tombs of ancient emperors, royal citadel, ornate temples and pagoda, iconic bridges, and pedestrian street, and make sure you treat yourself to good street food here. After sightseeing and enjoying the food culture here, we ride on the National Highway 1 from Hue to Hoi An.

Vietnam motorbike tour club team leads you through Hai Van pass (Cloudy pass), which offers the most stunning view on earth. From the pass with the smooth, curving road, we look over the breathtaking sea with blue water well-blended with the clear, bright, and blue sky. The view over the sea is one of its kind and looks like a surreal painting. The 30-minute ride takes us to the charming ancient town of Hoi An as the last luminous ray of sunlight dances on the Thu Bon river. This is one of the most famous attractions in central Vietnam and was an important trading harbor in the 16th and 17th centuries.

When it comes to ancient towns in Vietnam, no place can beat Hoi An. Once the old harbor town of Champa people, this beautiful little town was located at the estuary of Thu Bon and quite close to the sea. It was a busy harbor and trade hub of Vietnam and Southeast Asia during the 16th and 17th centuries. Many Chinese, Japanese, and Western people came to do business and settle down in Hoi An at the time.

The melting pot history of Hoi An is well reflected in its architecture – from shophouses and temples to French colonial buildings and Vietnamese tube houses or the symbolic Japanese bridge with its beautiful pagoda, which was built in the early 17th century by Japanese businesspeople. The pagoda is among the few structures of Japanese architecture in Vietnam’s history. With its rich values, Hoi An town was recognized as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999 and is well preserved. Nowadays, street food is also a big part of Hoi An, and your trip seems to be incomplete without trying some local dishes.

Besides Hoi An’s historical and cultural attractions, this town is also really well-known for its long and picturesque beaches. In the afternoon, we can ride a motorbike to the Cua Dai beach or rent a bike to cycle from Hoi An to the windy paddy fields in nearby rural villages. In the evening, you can enjoy some coffee near the bank of Thu Bon river, tune in to the traditional music performance and discover the magnificence of Hoi An by night with the beautiful and sparkling lanterns.

From Hoi An, our Vietnam motorbike team heads to Phuoc Son (also known as Kham Duc). We strike through the Lo Xo pass and ride through many tribe villages of the Ba Na ethnic minority, scattered sparsely throughout the hills and remote mountains. Our Vietnam motorbike crew continues to ride until we reach the area near the border with Laos PDR, then takes a turn to Kon Tum and spend the night here.

Today’s ride is one of the highlights of the Vietnam motorbike tour route as we head to the central highlands region. We pass by Pleiku city, cross the Ia Drang valley and then gear up to Buon Me Thuot, the city which used to be a severe battlefield in the American war. This city is well-known for its production of coffee in Vietnam. On tour today, we cross many vast coffee farms extending to the horizon. Here we can enjoy the cool and fresh atmosphere and feel the sunlight of this central highlands region while sipping on coffee.

From Buon Me Thuot, we ride through the easy and paved roads, head down to the coast, and follow highway 1 to the north of Nha Trang. You need to hold your breaths not to be shocked by what nature offers you: the magnificent cliffs gently tapped by ocean waves day and night, the long sandy beaches, and the coral reefs under the crystal clear water. You enjoy your evening by discovering this coastal city at night and trying some really good seafood.

Nha Trang offers many things to do, see and experience: beautiful beaches, pristine offshore islands, exciting diving sites, historical sites, and busy city life. You will have an incredible and soaring experience while taking a cable car ride over Hon Tre Island and the nature reserves of Hon Mun and Tam island to get a spectacular aerial view of the beach, islands, and wilderness.

Tourists should try other destinations, including Tri Nguyen Aquarium, Po Nagar Cham Tower, Chong Promontory, and the Institute of Oceanography. Scuba diving and cycling are also must-do activities here. Seafood in Nha Trang is also well-known for its freshness, abundance, and affordable price, so don’t forget to treat yourself to a nice seafood feast here.

From Nha Trang, we have a 170km ride to  Da Lat , a highlands city well-known for its climate, scenic landscape, coffee, red wine, and flowers. With the year-round cool climate and the sacred landscape, this was once a summer hideout for French officials during the colonial time and dubbed ‘Little Paris’, ‘the city of eternal spring’ or ‘the city of love’. This city will make visitors fall for it on their very first visit.

Located in the central highlands region of Vietnam, Da Lat has many to offer tourists: scenic pine forests, romantic misty landscape, various types of beautiful flowers, unique pink grass, tasty wine, and coffee as well ancient buildings and churches with French architecture. We will spend one full day exploring the endless charms of this city.

From Da Lat, we follow road No.20 to Cat Tien national park, some 150 km from Ho Chi Minh City. Visiting the park is one of the highlights of this trip, and we stop at a few spots to take beautiful pictures. This is truly a heaven for nature lovers and those who love outdoor activities. It would be hard to get bored in this national park with a diverse range of activities on offer for tourists. The best time to explore the park is from December to May. During this time, low rainfall and dry path make it easy and comfortable for us to explore the park’s wonder.

From Cat Tien national park, we ride a motorbike to Ho Chi Minh City, a fast-paced and dynamic city known as the economic hub of Vietnam. We head to the train station and park the motorbike here, ending our fantastic 15-day Hanoi to Saigon Motorbike Tour on Ho Chi Minh Trail. We hope that the two-week trip gives participants a better sense and knowledge of Vietnam and leaves them with the last memories of the places we have been to.

END OF TOUR

Vietnam motorbike tours prices for a guided Vietnam motorcycle tour

*Full package, no hidden cost surprises

• Well-experienced English Speaking Tour Guide (also good at Mechanical Skills – Photographer)
• Recent & Well-Maintained CRF 300L – Gasoline
• 25% Riding Time Offroad per day ( Enduro Routes upon your request )
• Good Accommodation: 4-star hotels – resort based on twin rooms and high standard homestay to know more about the cultures.
• All meals on tour: Enjoy local food in every region you visit.
• Water – Solf Drinks
• Boat trips on Lakes or Rivers – Ferry
• All entrance tickets/ Permits to remote areas
• International Airport Pickup – Drop Off
• 1 Night of Ethnic Entertainment at Homestay for a group from 2 riders
• Helmets – Gloves – Protection Guard for Elbows & Knees – Pants (If we have your size )
• Riding Shirt for souvenirs
• Hotel Before the Tour
• Overnight Train Ticket (soft bed) and bike shipping fee from Lao Cai – Sapa
• Personal insurance – Travel insurance (this is at your own risk)
• Motorbike insurance to Cover any damages to the motorcycle ( Click here to know more )
• Air ticket – Visa fee (approximately 25 USD/person, depending on nationality)
• Tip, personal expenses, and other expenses not described in the itinerary
• Alcoholic drinks
• Single Supplement for Single Occupancy
• The Hotel After riding
• 5 riders, The professional Mechanic comes for free
• 10 riders, a Pickup Truck is free for escorting ( Under 10 riders, it will be USD 150 / 1 day )
• A single stay will cost USD 40 / 1 night / 1 single room .
• The cameraman costs USD 200 / 1 day (Flycam – professional photos and clips)
• If tours do not depart/ end at the departure spot, the surcharge for bike shipping to/ back to the departure spot is USD 90 / 1 dirtbike – USD 200 / 1 above 500cc bike
• VAT Excluded from the price, VAT 10% will be added to the total price upon your REQUEST.

From 3 riders please contact us for the best price

• English Speaking Tour Guide (Good at mechanical skills – Photographer)
• Recent & Well-Maintained CRF 250L – Gasoline
• At least 25% riding offroad per day (Please let us know if you only like riding on-road)
• Good Accommodation: 3 hotels based on twin rooms or homestay.
• Helmets – Gloves – Protection Guard for Elbows & Knees – Pants (If we have your size)
• Tip, drinks, personal expenses, and other expenses not described in the itinerary
• The Hotel at night Before / After riding
• Pickup Truck for escorting cost USD 150 / 1 day
• A single stay will cost  USD 30 / 1 night / 1 single room .
• The cameraman costs  USD 200 / 1 day (Flycam – professional photos and clips)
• VAT Excluded from the price, VAT 10% will be added to the total price upon your REQUEST .

1. Deposits and Payment Policy

• We require a deposit of 30% of the total upon confirmation of booking tour. The remaining balance will be paid 45 days before departure. Your booking may be considered canceled if the full balance is not received by Vietnam Motorbike Tours Club by that time.
• You can choose the payment method by money transfer or credit card payment with all bank transfer charges/ fees to be paid by you.
• After receiving your payment, we will issue you the final confirmation of the detailed itinerary and services via e-mail.

2. Cancellation and Refunds

• Vietnam Motorbike Tours Club takes no responsibility for any flight delays or scheduled changes at any stage throughout the trip.
• We have the discretion to change the itinerary or delay the tour due to weather, local conditions, politics, or various other reasons with our notification in advance.
• During the tour, should you be found to break any of the rules without the prior exception from the tour leader, we have the discretion to cancel the tour with no refunds applied.
• During the tour, should your bike have minor technical problems, our guide/mechanic will attempt to fix it as quickly as possible. In the event that the bike can not be fixed within the day, we will endeavor to substitute a bike of a similar type to ensure your trip is not interrupted.
• Should you have to cancel the tour due to special reasons, you may transfer your booking to another person. However, you will be liable for your nominee paying their monies in full.

Read full information at Booking Terms and Conditions

Book a tour: Ho Chi Minh Trail – Cross County Motorcycle Tour from Hanoi to Saigon – 15 days

• Under 20% Off-road
• From 50% Off-road
• Yes "150 USD/day"
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Vietnam Motorbike Tours Club belong to BM Travel Adventure. We provide any motorbike tours, motorcycle tours in VietNam: Sapa, Ha Giang, Ho Chi Minh Trail and North Vietnam Loop all offer different motorbike riding experiences.

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Top 5 Best Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh Motorbike Routes In 2024

Crossing long roads, embracing the wind on the motorbike, admiring the diverse natural scenery and feeling the flavor of life in each region – that is a wonderful experience that the motorbike journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes brought. In this article, Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert will suggest to you the 5 most beautiful routes in 2024, helping you choose the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes that best suit you.

Overview of the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike route

The North Vietnam motorcycle tours from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes allow riders to experience the journey of exploring extremely interesting roads from North to South. Riders will admire extremely beautiful natural scenery. Besides, these routes will guide you to avoid congested traffic routes like QL1A in the most optimal way. In addition, the routes from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh that we suggest as part of the North Vietnam motorcycle tours will help you save travel time but still ensure you have the experience of discovering interesting places and areas along the journey. The routes introduced in this article will all have illustrations from the map, brief descriptions of the routes, and notes of notable information for backpackers. This is not just a normal route but a journey that helps you discover more about culture, history, and new places in Vietnam.

This is an extremely interesting journey

Importance of planning and preparation for the journey

The Hanoi motorcycle tours to Saigon Motorbike Routes are long, requiring many factors and favorable conditions. To ensure safety, comfort, and full enjoyment, careful planning and preparation are extremely important. Meticulous planning and thoughtful preparation before leaving will help you have a safe, comfortable, and memorable motorbike trip from Hanoi to Saigon. Here are the things you need to consider when planning and prepare for your Hanoi motorcycle tours to Ho Chi Minh best motorbike route:

Understand the distance and duration of the trip

When starting the journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes, understanding the distance and expected time is important to make a detailed and effective plan. This not only helps you estimate the time needed for each segment but also ensures that you have enough time to relax and enjoy new things along the way. Before starting, consider your average speed and determine the distance between stops. Calculate the estimated time for each part of the journey so you can plan a reasonable and flexible schedule according to actual road conditions. In addition, be sure to check traffic and road conditions before starting each day to avoid unwanted incidents. Careful preparation about distance and time will help you have an easy and comfortable journey.

Consideration of various routes and their highlights

Considering and choosing the right route is an extremely important part of your motorbike route from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh. Each route offers different experiences and scenery. You can choose a route along the sea, cross high mountains, explore cities, or follow historical trails. Carefully research each route, sightseeing destination, and unique landscape. Take a look at the map and mark special places so you can stop and explore on your journey. Besides, you can learn more about the specialty dishes of places along the way or cities that have festivals or local activities to participate in, helping to make your Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh Motorbike Routes more interesting and experienced!

Choose the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh best motorbike route which suitable for you

Factors to consider when choosing the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike tours

To choose a suitable Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes, you need to consider many external factors to ensure your journey is more perfect and complete. The first thing is about the beautiful natural scenes. If you choose to go from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh, you will definitely have to admire the beautiful views of nature during the trip. Each route will have different natural landscapes, which you can choose according to your preferences. Besides, at the stops, you will also have the opportunity to learn more about local history and culture. Next is the road condition; you should choose a route with difficulty suitable for your driving ability. Finally, about accommodation, find out about suitable homestays or places to stay on your journey.

Summary of the 5 most beautiful Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes that you must definitely try

After understanding the importance of preparation and factors to consider when choosing an itinerary, now is the time to explore 5 beautiful Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes, promising to bring unforgettable experiences. Unforgettable experience for riders who are passionate about exploring.

The Classic route between Saigon and Hanoi

• Total Distance : 2770 km
• Estimate Duration : 2 – 4 weeks
• Road Conditions : new & old highways, paved rural & coastal back-roads.
• Navigation : simple, some tricky bits
• Scenery : mountains, limestone, cities, coast, highlands, villages, cultural sites

The Classical Route is one of the most favorite Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes. This route offers the experience of exploring Vietnam’s diverse landscapes. This route starts from Hanoi by going along National Highway 1A, passes through the Northern, Central and Southern provinces, and ends in Saigon. On this route, you will have the opportunity to visit famous attractions such as Mui Ne, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hai Van Pass, Phong Nha Cave and Ninh Binh. You’ll also get to explore remote areas, such as the beaches around Quy Nhon, the coastal roads north of Hue and the Ho Chi Minh Trail west. The classic route is the perfect balance of must-see attractions and hidden gems. This is the ideal journey for those who love to explore and want to fully experience the beauty of Vietnam.

The Beaches Motorbike Route

• Total Distance : 2050 km
• Estimate Duration : 10 days – 3 weeks
• Road Conditions : paved rural back-roads, new coastal highways
• Navigation : some tricky bits on the central coast, fairly simple
• Scenery : farmland, beach towns, beaches, fishing villages, coast, cultural sites

If you are a beach lover, then the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes, specifically the Hanoi – Saigon coastal motorbike route, is the perfect choice for you. This road winds along Vietnam’s coastline, giving you the chance to admire pristine beaches, peaceful fishing villages, and vibrant coastal towns. From Hanoi, you will start your journey by traveling along National Highway 1A. However, you’ll soon leave Highway 1 and be on smaller coastal roads. These roads will take you to beautiful beaches like Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Phan Rang, Cam Ranh, and Quy Nhon. You will also have the opportunity to visit traditional coastal fishing villages, where you can learn about the lives of local fishermen. You can also visit vibrant coastal towns where you can enjoy local cuisine and immerse yourself in the vibrant pace of life.

Mountains and the Beaches Motorbike Route

• Estimate Duration : 15 days – 3 weeks 

The combination route is the most suitable choice for most people, giving you a balanced experience between romantic beaches and majestic mountains. This route starts by going along National Highway 1A until Vinh city, Nghe An. Here, you will turn onto Ho Chi Minh Road and cross the high mountains of the Truong Son range. After passing the Truong Son range, you will arrive at Pleiku city, Gia Lai. Here, you will turn onto Highway 19 and follow the coast. Along the way, you will admire beautiful beaches like Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, and Mui Ne.

Ho Chi Minh Trail: Ho Chi Minh Trail from Saigon to Hanoi

• Total Distance : 1880 km
• Estimate Duration : 10 days – 2 weeks
• Road Conditions : paved mountain roads, highways
• Navigation : simple and straightforward for the majority of the route
• Scenery : mountains, limestone, minority villages, agricultural plateaus, war vestiges

The Ho Chi Minh Trail Tour is a historical route connecting North and South Vietnam during the resistance war against America. Today, the Ho Chi Minh Road, part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail Tour, has been completely paved, becoming an attractive motorbike route with majestic natural landscapes and heroic historical relics. From Hanoi, you will start your journey by traveling along National Highway 1A.

However, you will soon turn onto the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes at Xuan Mai town, Hanoi. The Ho Chi Minh Trail will take you across the high mountains of the Truong Son range. On the way, you will admire the majestic natural landscapes of Vietnam. You will see vast plateaus, virgin forests, roaring rivers, and majestic waterfalls. You will also have the opportunity to visit heroic historical relics of the anti-American resistance period. You will see famous landmarks such as Khe Sanh, Dien Bien Phu, and Quang Tri.

The Big One: the scenic route between Saigon and Hanoi

• Total Distance : 4180 km
• Estimate Duration : 3 weeks – 6 weeks
• Road Conditions : new coast & mountain roads, paved back-roads, highways
• Navigation : requires regular map checks & occasionally asking locals
• Scenery : limestone, mountains, coast, rivers, cities, cultural sites

If you have plenty of time and want to explore all that Vietnam has to offer, then the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes, specifically the Hanoi – Saigon – Big Road motorbike tour, is the perfect choice for you. This road winds through the country, giving you the opportunity to admire diverse and beautiful landscapes. From Hanoi, you will start your journey by traveling along National Highway 1A.

However, you will soon leave Highway 1 and travel on different roads. These roads will take you to beautiful beaches such as Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Phan Rang, Cam Ranh, and Quy Nhon. You will also have the opportunity to wind through remote valleys in the Central Highlands, through limestone mountains on the Western Ho Chi Minh Trail, and follow shimmering rivers from source to estuary.

Along the way, you will have the opportunity to visit major towns and tourist hotspots such as Nha Trang, Da Lat, Hoi An, Phong Nha Cave and Ninh Binh. You will also have the opportunity to explore less frequented areas, such as remote villages in the Central Highlands or ethnic minority villages in the North. The Great Road is a wonderful journey to discover the beauty and diversity of Vietnam. This is an opportunity for you to relax, enjoy nature and experience the life of local people.

The above article has provided complete information about Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh motorbike routes as well as reminded you of things to keep in mind along the way. If you have any questions or need further information about the Vietnam Motorbike Route Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh, please contact Vietnam Motorbike Tours immediately for immediate support!

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A Vietnam Motorbike Trip Guide – Ho Chi Minh To Hanoi

Riding a motorbike in Vietnam is by far the best way to explore and see what the country has to offer. It is complete freedom and can be done inexpensively with a bit of preparation beforehand. In this guide, we will cover all the things you need to consider for your Vietnam motorbike trip, as well as mistakes we made through lack of planning.

The chances are if you’ve found this post then you have seen Top Gear’s famous Vietnam special somewhere down the line. The popular TV trio have inspired travellers and motorbike enthusiasts to replicate this journey ever since, including us. So if you haven’t seen it already then we recommend watching it!

We decided to start our motorbike trip in the south of Vietnam as we were travelling from Cambodia. We hopped on a coach from Phnom Penh and made our way to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), with minimal biking experience and no prior plans in place.

This trip can also be done the other way round, taking your motorbike from the other end of Vietnam – starting in Hanoi and ending in Ho Chi Minh City.

Is it better to buy or rent a motorbike for your trip to Vietnam?

When you get to HCMC or Hanoi you have one of two options, buying or renting. There is no right or wrong way to do this. There are pros and cons to each one, so, it all depends on the type of experience you are looking for.

Buying a motorbike in either Hanoi or HCMC is relatively cheap and easy. There are always backpackers who have just completed the route trying to make a quick sale before their visa runs out and they have to exit the country. You could end up buying the bike for cheap and selling it to another backpacker at the end of your journey, getting most of your money back. If you’re lucky you might even make a small profit. Bear in mind, you could be waiting days maybe even a week for a buyer to come along, this is not ideal if you are short on time.

Alternatively, there are also plenty of bike shops dotted around the city selling second-hand bikes. However, make sure you check the shop’s reputation online before you make a purchase there. Some shops even offer a buy-back option once you have reached your destination city. While this guarantees a quick sale you will be selling it for a fraction of what you have paid for it.

No matter who or where you buy the bike from, it always helps if you have some sort of prior motorbiking background. If you know what to look out for then it drastically reduces your chances of having issues on the road. If you have your heart set on buying, you can always hire a local mechanic to check the bike beforehand.

How does renting work then? It’s actually very simple. The rental companies usually have offices in multiple locations in the country. Allowing you to return the bike wherever you have arranged to finish your trip.

This makes renting the easier option of the two and comes with lots of benefits you don’t get when you buy. If you rent from a reputable company then at least you know what you are getting as well. The downside is you are paying out a large sum of money without the chance of regaining it. Rental companies also require a large cash deposit for this type of journey, on top of the rental balance. This is enough to put a lot of people off.

The positive thing about renting is that if something goes wrong with the bike the rental company should cover it. Providing the issue isn’t caused by something you have done of course. Rental companies also offer a 24-hour emergency service to aid you if you do breakdown.

To enable you to pack lighter for your trip companies  will ship your bags for an additional fee to any of their offices in the country. Ready to collect when you return the bike.

Choosing the right motorbike for your trip across Vietnam

As we previously mentioned, between us we had little to no experience riding a motorbike. I had only ridden an automatic scooter a handful of times in Thailand, around some of the smaller islands and Sarah had never ridden one at all. Our lack of experience played a big part in our next decision, do we get one or two bikes?

Seeing the traffic in HCMC, it was obvious this wasn’t the place for Sarah to get on a bike for the first time. So, we opted for one bike, the Honda Blade and was very happy with this decision.

Whatever bike you choose you’ll need to decide on whether it is a manual, semi-automatic or automatic transmission. A manual motorbike is the best option for this trip to tackle any of the mountainous roads Vietnam throws at you. However, if you haven’t learnt how to drive a manual bike before maybe Vietnam isn’t the place to learn. If this is the case then a semi-automatic or automatic will be fine.

For the engine size, you really don’t really need anything above 125cc. Our little Honda Blade only had a 110cc engine but it was more than adequate to tackle any of the terrains we covered. Whether it was bumpy dirt tracks or the steepest inclines, she pulled through every time. We really overloaded this thing too. We squeezed both myself and Sarah on the bike as well as a large bag and two smaller rucksacks.

When is the best time for planning your motorbike trip in Vietnam?

When it comes to Vietnamese weather there is no right or wrong time to take on this trip. Due to the long and narrow shape of Vietnam, the country can be split into three different regions which all experience very different weather conditions. These regions are the north, the south and central Vietnam.

The northern region has definitive summer and winter seasons. The coldest months are January, February and March and the summer months are May to October. The north experiences the most rainfall during the summer with July, August and September being the wettest.

Temperatures remain relatively consistent throughout the year but can be split into dry and rainy seasons. The dry season begins in November and last until mid-May. While the rainy season begins in May and lasts until the beginning of November. The wettest months are typically from June through to August.

Lastly, the central region of Vietnam is similar to the south, in Hoi An, Hue and Denang temperatures are high all year round. The dry season begins in January and lasts all the way up the late August / early September. The remaining months of the year September to December are the wettest. In the more inland, mountainous cities like Dalat temperatures have much cooler climates and the weather is far less predictable.

We went in February, during this time there was very little rainfall and temperatures were moderate in most places.

Do I need a license?

The Vietnamese law clearly states that anyone riding a motorbike with an engine larger than 50cc requires a Vietnamese license or an International Driving Permit (IDP). Just take into consideration that you will need a 1968 IDP to legally drive in Vietnam, a 1949 IDP will not be valid.

Even though this is the law in Vietnam, police rarely enforce it, at least in 99% of the country. Except for a small coastal town called Mũi Né, the police are less forgiving in this area of Vietnam, and we recommend against taking your motorbike here on your trip.

Countless locals and travellers from all over the planets are riding around without a license on a daily basis. Local police know that most people don’t have a license but, they will look the other way if you aren’t doing anything wrong. However, some police officers see this as an opportunity to make a quick buck. They pull over foreigners knowing that they can not provide a license, accepting a bribe to forget it had happened. Although the police did not trouble us during our time in Vietnam, this is a common scam here so just be aware.

So to confirm, for your trip, it is  not  necessary to have motorbike license to hire or ride a bike in Vietnam. We got along just fine without having any run-ins with the law. It can, however, have implications with your insurance company should you find yourself involved in an accident, while riding the bike.

When it comes to insurance you are going to want to make sure you have adequate cover before you leave your home country. Some insurance companies do not cover any two-wheeled travel, at all. While, other insurance companies do, providing you have a valid license from your home country and you are riding within the law of the country you are visiting.

We travelled to Vietnam without holding a license to ride a motorbike in our home country neither did we apply for an IDP. So although we had a policy that would allow us to ride a motorbike in other countries, we were not covered the entire time we were riding our bike.

Driving in Vietnam is dangerous and the country has very poor road traffic statistics, especially when it comes to motorbikes. We were lucky after having multiple close calls during our trip. When we return to Vietnam to travel around the northern region we will have the relevant licenses to ensure our policy covers us.

How long does a motorbike trip across Vietnam take?

You can do this route in 2 weeks if you really want, but there wouldn’t be much time to take in what the country has to offer. Which is a lot, by the way!

We did it in just over three weeks, which to be honest, still didn’t feel long enough. Although it was enough to see the main places we had planned to see, we would have liked the option to stay in certain places a little longer.

The route from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi

We have mapped out the routes we recommend taking, it has a little bit over everything from coastal drives to winding mountain trails and everything in between. Each route is broken down into the main journeys, as we made our way from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi.

At the begin of each route, we have included the distance in kilometres and the time it took us to travel. The travel time is based on how long it took us on that day to get from point A to point B. The time fluctuates based on stops and the types of roads we were on etc. and is rounded to the nearest 15 minutes.

Google / Offline Maps Advice

Google maps will always make the journey time seem a lot quicker than it actually is. We found that you need to at least multiple the journey by 1.5x if not double to get a more realistic journey time.

When selecting a route, make sure that you set the ‘route options’ to ‘avoid highways’. It is illegal to ride on any highway beginning with ‘CT’ and marked in orange.

There is no need to set the route to ‘avoid tolls’ as bikes are allowed to pass through for free.

Make sure the route is downloaded for offline use before you leave your accommodation.

Ho Chi Minh City – Cat Tien National Park

Distance: 155km – Duration 4hr 45m

After organising the bike rental with Tigit Motorbikes our first port to call was Cat Tien. Still feeling a little slightly uncomfortable with the gear system on the bike, we decided to leave the city at the crack of dawn the following day. This way there would be less to think about on the roads.

The drive to Cat Tien isn’t great. It takes a couple of hours just to get out of HCMC. There isn’t much to look at after that either.

Cat Tien’s national park has a whole host of things to do and is well worth spending a full day here if you have the time. Unfortunately, we didn’t because of getting back on the road the very next morning.

Cat Tien National Park – Dalat

Distance: 222km – Duration 8hr 30m

Now for your first scenic drive via the DT725. Some travellers will tell you that this is their favourite route of the trip but neither me or Sarah shared this opinion. Although it wasn’t our favourite, it was still beautiful and it was refreshing to be out of the chaotic streets of Ho Chi Minh City.

There was more to take photos of on this route so the journey time almost doubled the Google maps time. We almost ran out of fuel too, we had no signal on our phones to search for the next petrol station either. With the needle on the fuel gauge resting on empty, we had no choice but to turn back and try to find some in a small village we passed through earlier on.

Dalat is a cool, mountain city with plenty to do. This is the first time we really felt the cold in Vietnam.

Dalat – Nha Trang

Distance: 139km – Duration 5hr 45m

From the Dalat mountains to Nha Trang via the QL27C is a truly stunning drive. We started this drive in the early hours of the morning. Spending the first hour and a half driving in and out of the thick fog, our hands were freezing cold and wet. The mountain roads eventually lead us high enough that we pierced through the fog into the sunlight. This is when the route began to live up to its reputation.

Winding roads that hug the side of the mountains, with a view to making your jaw drop round every bend. This is why we decided to travel to Vietnam on a bike.

Nha Trang is a coastal city so a large portion of the route is downhill. The city itself is very popular with Russian tourists and has become a bit of a party destination over the years.

About an hour into our journey the sun started coming up on this freezing cold foggy morning – Dalat to Nha Tran

Nha Trang – Pleiku

Distance: 295km – Duration: 10hr 45m

We made the decision to make up as much ground as we could in the next two days to get to Hoi An. Choosing the inland route firstly going along the QL26 eventually making our way onto the AH17.

We aren’t going to sugar coat it, this is a tedious drive. There isn’t much to see along this route apart from small villages and farmland. You’ll enconter some pretty treacherous roads along the way aswell.

There are some positives though; you are experiencing the real Vietnam this way and we didn’t spot one local for the entire duration.

Pleiku – Hoi An

Distance: 330km – Duration : 10hr 00m

We woke up fearing that we were going to have a repeat of the previous days drive. Nonetheless, we jumped on our bike first thing in the morning and set off to make another large dent in our Vietnam motorbike trip.

To our surprise, the drive was a massive improvement to the day before. The scenery improved tenfold and the road conditions were much more forgiving this time around. Although, about halfway into the journey the state of the road did deteriorate for about 50km.

We managed to cover 625km within 36 hours but strongly recommend against doing this. If we had more time to play with we would have broken the route up in three, as below.

• Nha Trang to Buon Ma Thuo t – approx. 185km
• Buon Ma Thuot to Kon Tom – approx. 225km
• Kon Tom to Hoi An – approx. 283km

Hoi An – Da Nang

Distance: 27km – Duration : 0hr 50m

If you do decide to follow the route we took then you’ll be pleased to know that Da Nang is only a short drive up the coast from Hoi An. Although there isn’t much to see after the distance travelled in the previous days, you’ll most likely just want to get there.

This city is a favourite for travellers and locals alike and is home the iconic golden bridge you have almost definitely seen on Instagram. Another famous bridge in Da Nang is Dragon Bridge. Every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm, the bridge is closed off to traffic for its unprecedented fire show, where the dragon literally breaths fire. Personally, we wouldn’t arrange our trip around this but if you’re there on a weekend then it is certainly worth a visit.

Da Nang – Hue (via the Hai Van Pass)

Distance: 126km – Duration : 5hr 00m

A route that perfectly combines the mountains and the Vietnamese coastline. Despite the fact that this wasn’t our favourite route, the famous Hai Van Pass is an absolute must if you are visiting Hue from Da Nang. It’s also a far safer alternative to travelling the whole way on the QL1A.

Hue is another coastal city with plenty to do. The main reason for our visit was to explore the abandoned water-park . There is enough in the area to keep you busy for two to three days but we only stayed for the one night.

The famous Hải Vân Pass – made famous by Top Gear: Vietnam Special

Hue – Khe Sanh

Distance: 177km – Duration : 6hr 15m

On your journey from Hue to Khe Sanh, you will get your first taste of the Ho Chi Minh Road. What was once the main route connecting the north to the south now lays almost deserted after the construction of the more direct Highway 1 (QL1A).

The Ho Chi Minh Road is a stunning, windy and mountainous route. The route runs parallel to the Cambodia and Laos borders and some travellers visit Vietnam just to experience it.

The combination of minimal traffic and outstanding scenery made this one of our favourite drives.

Petrol stations don’t come along very often on this route so make sure you keep topping up when you get the chance.

Khe Sanh – Phong Nha

Distance: 232km – Duration : 8hr 30m

This is arguably the most scenic drive in all of Vietnam and was our personal favourite. Continuing your drive on the Ho Chi Minh Road high up into the mountains. Again, there was almost no other traffic on the road and certainly no tourists, only passing around 5 cars the whole way.

The roads, for the most part, are in good condition. There are even fewer petrol stations along this route, only counting two for the whole journey, we have marked these on the map. The frustrating thing is they aren’t too far away from one another.

We arrived at the first petrol station to find out they had run out of fuel leaving us no choice but to buy some from a roadside shop next door. By the time we had got to the next fuel station we still had a reasonable amount of fuel in the tank so we drove straight past it assuming there would be one further on. The lack of internet along this route prevented us from searching for another one google maps.

When you approach Phong Nha National Park the roads become dramatically steeper and the increase in fuel consumption becomes apparent. With the fuel gauge nearly on empty, not a building in sight and a long way to go, we were positive that we would be getting off to push very soon. We must have covered about 15km with the fuel gauge below empty before we finally came across a cafe that sold us 1.5L of petrol at an inflated price. At least, it got us out of trouble for the time being.

If you decide to go along this route, we recommend buying a large water bottle and filling it with fuel for back up, in case you find yourself in the same situation as us.

Phong Nha is home to Son Doong, the largest cave in the world and also Paradise Cave, the largest dry cave in Asia. These are just two of the five hundred plus cave networks embedded into the Phong Nha mountains. Some people come to Vietnam specifically to visit the national park here. A stay of at least 3 nights should be enough to briefly explore the area.

Phong Nha – Vinh

Distance: 211km – Duration : 6hr 45m

The next place we really wanted to visit was Ninh Binh but we felt it was too far to tackle the journey in one go. We decided to use the city of Vinh as our midway point. Arriving late afternoon and leaving very early the next morning.

The scenery driving out of Phong Nha National Park is beautiful, as you would expect. However, once the soaring peaks from the national park rapidly vanish, the landscape becomes flat with little to look at making the remainder of the drive dreary and tiring.

Vinh – Ninh Binh

Distance: 278km – Duration : 8hr 45m

The second leg of our drive to Ninh Binh was the worst we encountered on our Vietnam motorbike trip. As we had driven on Highway 1 briefly a handful of times already, we were in two minds on which route to take. The quick but supposedly dangerous highway 1 or the much longer route diverting off of the main highway, onto the quieter roads.

When we had been on highway 1 nothing bad enough had happened to convince us that we should avoid this road altogether, so we decided to try it. But, only an hour of driving on Highway 1 we had a close call with a coach. With another close call involving a different coach following shortly after. This was confirmation that taking the longer, alternate route was the better option.

This is the route we took. However, we don’t have any recommendations for this route, not using Highway 1 will at least double the journey time. When we weren’t on the highway, we found ourselves on some questionable backroads.

Our time off the highway was short-lived after google maps took us there against our will. Only to be met by another two close calls, this time involving lorries. It really felt like everything wanted to kill us that day.

Ninh Binh – Cat Ba Island

Distance: 191km – Duration : 6hr 30m

Most people go straight to Hanoi from Ninh Binh and then get a bus to Ha Long, often missing out Cat Ba Island from their trip. Cat Ba is the largest island in Ha Long Bay, and after hearing such good things about it we decided to make our way there instead.

To get to Cat Ba from Ninh Binh you will need to make your way to Bến phà Gót port. From here you will board a short 20-30 minute ferry. When you reach Cat Ba you will need to ride another 50 minutes to reach the main town.

We recommend filling your tank up before you get to Bến phà Gót port as the drive on the other side has lots of steep inclines and there are no fuelling stations until you reach the main town.

The ferry cost us 114,000 VND for myself, Sarah and the bike and the drive from the port to the main town is a scenic coastal drive.

Cat Ba Island – Ha Long

Distance: 33km – Duration : 2hr 20m

Travelling from Cat Ba to Ha Long is the most cost-effective way to see the iconic Ha Long Bay. From Cat Ba island you’ll need to catch another ferry that takes you to Bến phà Tuần Châu port. It’s on this ferry ride you’ll be able to really appreciate the staggering beauty of Ha Long Bay.

The ferry tickets cost 80,000 VND per passenger and 100,000 VND for one bike and one passenger. Making it considerably less than a luxury Ha Long Bay cruise. Although if budget permits, then a luxury cruise could be the best way to spend some of your remaining days in Vietnam.

Ha Long – Hanoi

Distance: 163km – Duration : 5hr 45m

This is the last leg of the journey. Which, I’m afraid to say, is another highway orientated route, that gets progressively more congested as you approach the capital.

The driving experience in Hanoi is similar to Ho Chi Minh City. A plethora of bike and cars coming from all angles, testing your concentration at all times.

By the time you reach Hanoi you are more than likely going to be feeling fairly drained from all the highway driving so, it is important to stay focused and take a break if you feel like you need to.

Budget and expenses

Your initial thoughts about a Vietnam motorbike trip is that it’s going to be expensive. But the reality is it’s not. Not even in the slightest. Vietnam is one of the cheapest places in the world.

Breakdown of our expenses

Below is a breakdown split into categories of all the expenses we incurred on our motorbike trip through Vietnam. In this section, we have included the costs in VND, USD and GBP. Vietnamese Dong (VND) is the most used currency in Vietnam but some transactions were made in USD. The costs in bold alongside the heading is what we paid and the currency the transaction was made in. The two prices below are converted to the other two currencies based on the average exchange rate (February 2020) during our time in Vietnam.

The bike and rental expense – 324.72 USD

• VND – 7,045,900
• GBP – 253.30

To rent our Honda Blade for 23 days was 250.00 USD. This was the cheapest option and we understand that it is the same price if you want to rent for a full month. We also decided to pay for the optional damage waiver for 30.00 USD. One of our large backpacks was sent to Hanoi, this cost us 15.00 USD. Lastly, we bought a phone mount that clamps on to the mirror of the bike for 20.00 USD. Tigit includes helmets in the rental price or the option to buy from their store. A transaction fee of 9.24 USD was incurred for paying on card.

Accommodation expenses – 6,022,600 VND

• USD – 257.81
• GBP – 201.11

We stayed in some nice hotels and some, not so nice. We tried to save money where we could on accommodation but you’ll be surprised what you can get for your money in Vietnam. Some places were too tempting not to spend the little bit extra.

Food and drink – 9,389,835 VND

• USD – 401.98
• GBP – 313.57

You can stretch your budget even further if you can stick to eating Vietnamese foods. Since we had already been eating Asian food for the previous 5 weeks in Thailand and Cambodia, there were days we just fancied a western meal instead. This does bump the price up significantly though. The total cost for food was 7,139,635 VND

We didn’t drink any alcohol until our last night mainly opting for water and the occasional soft drink. Alcohol is cheap in Vietnam but you’ll quickly realise it eating away at your budget if you buy it frequently. The total cost for drinks was 2,250,200 VND.

Bike maintenance, repairs and fuel – 1,245,000 VND

• USD – 53.30
• GBP – 41.58

Tigit’s instructions were for every 1,000km covered the bike required a routine oil change at any Honda Head garage in the country. If you did not do this and something went wrong with the bike, they would not cover the cost. The total for two oil changes was 165,000 VND.

Repairing a bike in Vietnam is cheap. Remarkably the bike didn’t break down once. Not even a flat tyre so we did not incur any repair costs. Winning!

To cover the 3,000+ km we drove the total cost for fuel was only 1,080,000 VND. Fuel is very cheap, with the average price being between 19,000 – 20,000 VND / litre.

E-Visas – 54.00 USD

• VND – 1,171,700
• GBP – 42.12

The above prices are for two British Citizens – 25.00 USD each for the e-visa and a 2.00 USD processing fee per person. This may change based on your nationality.

Sarah and I applied for our e-visa through the official Vietnamese Gov website while we were in Cambodia. The website states that processing the e-visa takes three working days. However, this is not always the case, going by our experience and many other peoples that we read about online. Ours actually took 4 working days to be accepted but other people were reporting waiting times of 7 working days. This is something you need to consider if you are coming from another country like us.

Entrance fees & trips – 2,880,000 VND

• USD – 123.28
• GBP – 96.18

Because a lot of the time we were rushing we could only visit a limited amount of places. This cost would have been slightly higher had we spent more time in the places we enjoyed the most.

Over half of this total comes from our visit to Sun World, spending 1,500,000 VND on two tickets to enter the park. The other attractions were relatively cheap in comparison.

Sundry expenses – 2,884,204.50 VND

• USD – 123.46
• GBP – 96.32

Transportation costs – 1,238,000 VND – Transportation includes taxies using the grab app or boat taxis. Taxies were only ever used in HCMC and Hanoi when we did not have the bike.

Bribing a local – 650,000 VND – We read about an epic hike online that you can only access through an elderly woman’s house. The view from the summit overlooks Ha Long Bay and was worth every penny, no matter how sketchy the hike was. This is the best viewpoint we came across on the whole trip.

Mobile coverage – 432,000 VND – As soon as we jumped off the bus from Cambodia we got a sim card straight away. The mobile carrier we went with was Vietnamobile. Costing 216,000 VND per sim, for a 30-day unlimited data plan.

If you travel the routes we went on you will have very little service most of the time anyway.

Card transaction & ATM fees – 313,904.50 VND – When we could we would pay by card, but not many places would accept card payments and some of those who did often included a card transaction fee on top of the final bill.

ATMs fees vary from bank to bank, but nearly all ATMs have them. The smallest ATM fee was 30,000 VND and the largest was 55,000 VND. We did come across an HSBC ATM that did not charge us a fee at all but this was at the expense of a lower exchange rate.

Laundry costs – 315,000 VND – In Vietnam laundry is usually charged per kilo. This price was for 11.5kg of washing averaging 27,391.30 VND/kg.

Toiletries – 229,300 VND – We had to top up some toiletries and also buy hand sanitiser as Coronavirus was all over the media at this point in time.

Overall expenses

Now for the part you are probably more interested in. The total cost all in all for the trip. Over the whole duration of our Vietnam motorbike trip, we only spent the below amount.

• VND – 30,659,239.50
• USD – 1,311.58
• GBP – 1,023.12

This is the total cost for two people and making this half the price. Not bad for just over three weeks on the road with a few extra nights without the bike either end in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Excluded expenses

While the overall expense sounds like an unbelievably good price, which it still is. It’s worth noting that there are a couple of costs that we decided to leave out.

People come from all different corners of the world to visit Vietnam, so the cost to get here varies depending on when and where you are visiting from.

We set out to travel for a year so we purchased a twelve-month policy. The chances are you won’t need a twelve-month policy so the price of insurance will vary greatly. If you are looking for travel insurance we found World Nomads travel insurance a great company to go with and you can get a quote below.

What to pack on your Vietnam motorbike trip

What you can pack heavily depends on how many people you plan to have on your bike at one time. There is a weight restriction on the luggage rack. Since it was me and Sarah sharing one bike, compromises were made when deciding what we need to take. Whether you bring these items with you or buy them when you get to Vietnam is up to you.

Essential items

• Waterproof clothing – this is perhaps the most important item to take to Vietnam for a motorbike trip. The North and the South of Vietnam have very different climates. While the weather could be warm and dry down the Southern region the weather in the North can be cold and wet. You will almost certainly come across a downpour at one point in your journey. So it’s best to be prepared when it does. Getting soaking wet will make your drive tedious and miserable. Ponchos can be bought on the roadside for less than $1 but these are poor quality and rip very easily.
• A power bank – you will most likely be using your phone to help you navigate to each destination. We didn’t even consider packing a power bank until our phones died mid-route at the beginning of our trip. Some of the drives can take around 8-10 hours. In bright daylight, the brightness needs to be on near maximum to see the route on the map. As you can imagine even the best smartphones on the market today will struggle to stay powered for that long.
• Waterproof bags or bag covers – it’s not just yourself you need to keep dry. After enduring a drive in the worst of the Vietnamese elements the last thing you want is to arrive at your hotel with the contents inside your bag soaking wet. Nothing fresh to change into after a lengthy drive can really dampen moral.
• A decent helmet – in Vietnam you will see 90% of the locals wearing baseball cap inspired helmets. These offer little to no protection if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident. Giving it the name, ‘the eggshell helmet’. Decent helmets can be bought for as little as 250,000 VND at the local Big C supermarket or market stalls around the city. Some rental companies include a good protective helmet in the price.
• A phone holder – unless you are absolutely sure you know what bike you are going to buy/rent then maybe wait until you get to Vietnam to buy this. The two options we came across was one that clamps to the bars or mirror of the bike or a waterproof bag that straps onto the motorbike. We decided to go for the ‘clamp-on’ as both our phones are IP67 water and dust resistant.

Recommended items

• Something to take pictures with – whether it is a camera or just your smartphone. The scenery in Vietnam is second to none. There is a photo opportunity around every corner, take as many photos you can.
• Motorbike goggles or at least sunglasses – this is subject to how good your helmet is . Countless times on this trip trucks and buses will overtake you kicking up large clouds of dust. I spent most of my time on the highways peering through squinted eyelids just to keep as much dust as I could going in my eyes. Even though my helmet had a visor on it this didn’t stop the dust from finding its way underneath and straight into my eyes.
• Riding gloves – you just don’t know how cold it gets up in the mountains in Vietnam until you’re there. This is another item I wish I bought. On multiple occasions, driving through thick fog in the early hours of the morning left hands my cold to the bone. During the midsts of the Vietnam heat, my hands got sunburnt leaving behind some questionable tan lines.
• Download an offline map app – Vietnam is still a developing country and there are a lot of areas on this route that lack connectivity. Google maps can sometimes play up and if it loses your route you’ll need to find your own way. While this isn’t a tangible item you can’t pack it’s definitely worth a mention.

What was in our bags?

All the items of clothing we took with us

In Sarah’s bag

• Sweatshirt x1
• T-shirts x2
• Vest top x1
• Raincoat x1
• Swimsuit x1
• Underwear x5
• Socks (pairs) x5

In Jack’s bag

• Trousers x2
• Jogging bottoms x1
• Swim shorts x1

What’s in our camera bag?

• Sony A7 III Camera Body
• Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III RXD Lens for Sony E-mount
• Sony 16-35mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T FE ZA OSS Lens
• Sony FE 85mm F1.8 Lens
• Manfrotto Carbon Fibre Travel Tripod
• Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS Lens
• DJI Mavic Air Fly More Combo (Onyx Black)
• Go Pro Hero 5 – Black
• MacBook Pro 13″ – Space Grey
• MacBook 12″ – Rose Gold

We also packed a toiletry bag between us containing all the usual suspects. Most of the hotels/hostels (but not all) we stayed at had complimentary toiletries anyway. Sarah saw this as an opportunity to save some money, taking whatever she could get her hands on.

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Home » Vietnam Motorbike Tours » STORMING SAIGON MOTORBIKE TOUR TO HANOI VIA VIETNAM COASTLINE AND HO CHI MINH TRAIL

STORMING SAIGON MOTORBIKE TOUR TO HANOI VIA VIETNAM COASTLINE AND HO CHI MINH TRAIL

Destinations: Saigon - Bao Loc - Dalat - Nha Trang - Quy Nhon - Hoi An - Hue - Khe Sanh - Phong Nha - Tan Ky - Cuc Phuong - Mai Chau - Hanoi

Price: Contact Duration: 14 Days

Highlights:

This 14 day Saigon motorbike tour to Hanoi via the coastal towns and several sectionts of Ho Chi Minh Trail on the way is the ideal way to learn about Vietnam landscapes and glorious history. You’ll have a lots special chances to stop by beautiful places such as the coffee plantation in Central Highlands, white-sandy beaches in Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Hoi An and historical relics in Hue & hidden charms of Hanoi… Additionally, good local foods with friendly people at different provinces & cities are umissable.

Day 1 : Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Bao Loc (Lam Dong)( 180 Km) (-/L/D)

Arrive in Bao Loc. Overnight in Bao Loc.

Day 2 : Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Bao Loc motorcycle ride to Dalat city (Lam Dong) ( 140 km – 4,5 hours ride) (B/L/D)

Day 3 : Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Da Lat Motorbike Tour to Nha Trang ~ 210 km (B/L/D)

Today we enjoy a ride through the charming pine hill to the summer residence of Vietnam’s last Emperor Bao Dai. He was forced to abdicate in 1945, shortly after the end of the World War II. This mansion displays a lovely collection of Vietnam treasures. We follow it with a trip to the sacred Lam Ty Ni Pagoda and the Hang Nga Guesthouse. This construction is well known as the Crazy House because of its bizarre architecture.

The lively central market and the old rail station are also visited before we travel by roads passing through the undulating terrains to the picturesque coastal town of Nha Trang. En route we make stopover at the scenic Ngoan Muc Pass and the Po Klong Jarai Cham Towers. These amazing structures represent an interesting culture and a colorful history of the Cham people in central coast areas. O/N in Nha Trang.

Day 4: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Nha Trang Motorbike Tour for sightseeings (B/L/-)

Breakfast at the hotel. Take the morning boat trip to visit the Tri Nguyen Aquarium and the off-shore islands around Nha Trang, including Mun Mot island. Enjoy swimming and beach activities. Lunch at Tam island with fresh seafood. Afternoon visit the Po Nagar Cham Tower, it is dedicated to Yan Po Nagar, the goddess of the country.

Then continue to visit Chong Promontory – looks like the work of a giant, who carelessly put several massive rocks together. On one side of the rock, facing the sea, there is a deep handprint with the five fingers close together. And finally, discover Oceanographic Institute – established on 14 September 1922, is the National Oceanographic Institution, responsible for research and investigation in the ocean. O/N at hotel in Nha Trang.

Summary: Distance:  100 km (2 hours of riding) Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Activities: Sightseeing, boat trip to see islands & beach relaxation

DAY 5: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Nha Trang Motorbike Tour to Quy Nhon (B/L/-)

Depart a morning drive of 250 km across picturesque coastal plains to Quy Nhon – a small secluded beach city developing. Lunch stop on the way. Upon arrival, a new destination for relaxation where romantic seaside resorts with impeccable service can be found. Check in seaside hotel.  Rest of the day at leisure.

Summary: Distance:  260 km (7 hours of riding) Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Activities: Sightseeing & beach relaxation Accommodation: hotel

DAY 6: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Quy Nhon Motorbike Tour to Hoi An (B/L/-)

Depart at 8:00 a.m from your hotel at Quy Nhon to Hoi An. Overland to Hoi An with sightseeing enroute, visit Garden of Statues to memorize the Geniuses  in medical field. Continue driving through the peaceful countryside, rice fields, salt fields at Sa Huynh and beautiful hills and along beautiful coast to Quy Nhon city.

Summary: Distance:  230 km (6 hours of riding) Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Activities: Sightseeing, boat trip to see islands & beach relaxation Accommodation: hotel

DAY 7: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Hoi An Sightseeing Tour on Motorbikes (B/-/-)

After having breakfast at hotel, you’ll guided to visit highlights in Hoi An There are plenty to see in this tranquil and delightful town, some of which are the famous Japanese Covered Bridges, the Pottery Museum, the 200 years old Tamky House, the Chua Ong Pagoda and the vibrant market. We include these sites in an enchanting walking tour past many low tiled houses scattered along the small streets and assembly halls which reflect the town’s multi-cultural past.

Afternoon: you’ll guided to ride to the countryside of the town to visit peaceful villages, lagoons, beaches…

Summary: Distance:  100 km (2 hours of riding) Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Activities: Sightseeing & beach relaxation Accommodation: hotel Meals:   Breakfast

DAY 8: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Hoi An Motorbike Tour to Hue via Da Nang (B/L/D)

In this morning, we will keep on riding along the coastal line via Da Nang then Hai Van Pass, where we could look down from the top to view the splendid beauties of Lang Co beach and ocean then time to refresh yourself by a cup of coffee before heading straight to Hue.

Upon arrival in Hue, you will have to time to ride around this ancient citadel to explore some highlights with Imperial Citadel and Royal Tombs or boat trip on Perfume Pagoda. Time to check in at hotels

Summary Distance:  180 km Accommodation: Hotel in Hue Meals:   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 9: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Hue Motorbike Tour to DMZ & Khe Sanh (B/L/D)

Departing from Hue we ride along highway 1 to Quang Tri town, visiting Long Hung Church and Quang Tri Old Citadel which was a battlefield in 1972 between North and South Vietnam for 81 days and nights. Then, we will ride along the coast from Cua Viet Beach to Cua Tung Beach a long stretch of beautiful and peaceful coastline. Next we visit the Vinh Moc tunnels and explore the Demilitarized Zone, stopping for lunch at the Doc Mieu Firebase.

In the afternoon we will have short stop at Truong Son cemetary to pay respects to the soldiers who fought and died on the trail during the American War. Continuing west on highway 9, we will climb into the Truong Son foothills, pass the Rock Pile and stop at some villages and beautiful natural springs and waterfalls near the highway. Approx 5pm we arrive in Khe Sanh which was established as a forward base by General Westmoreland near Laos to secure highway 9. Check in to hotel, free time at night.

Summary Distance:  200 km Accommodation: Hotel in Khe Sanh Meals:   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 10: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Khe Sanh Motorbike Tour to Phong Nha Cave (B/L/D)

After breakfast visit the Khe Sanh combat base, then we ride the west Ho Chi Minh trail, today you have the chance to see the real trail with its mind-blowing, spectacular scenery – lots of jungle, mountains, waterfalls and villages of the Paco and Van Kieu Minorities.

We will ride through the Sa Mu pass, se pang heng river, Lang Ho village, U bo pass, areas made famous in the American war. Tonight we stay in Son Trach village near the entrance to the Phong Na-Ke Bang National Park

Summary Distance:  150 km Accommodation: Hotel in Phong Nha Meals:   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 11: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline:  Phong Nha Motorbike Tour to Tan Ky (Nghe An) (B/L/D)

Today we travel through beautiful countryside on the journey from Phong Nha to Tan Ky. Passing Tea plantations, rice fields, ethnic minority villages, mountains, valleys and streams before arriving in Tan Ky late afternoon.

Summary Distance:  260 km Accommodation: Hotel in Tan Ky – Nghe An Meals:   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 12: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Tan Ky Motorbike Tour to Cuc Phuong National Park (B/L/D)

Established in 1962, Cuc Phuong is the oldest national park in Vietnam. Cuc Phuong boasts engaging cultural and wildlife heritage and enchanting scenery. Magnificent limestone mountains rise up majestically from the green rice-terraces and traditional stilt houses of the Muong hill-tribe. Covered in a dense forest they form a habitat for some of Asia’s rarest species. It is no wonder that researchers, naturalists, enthusiasts and conservationists alike are drawn to this corner of the world.

Summary Distance:  190 km Accommodation: Hotel in Guesthouse in Cuc Phuong Meals:   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 13: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Cuc Phuong Motorbike Tour to Mai Chau valley (B/L/D)

Our destination today is Mai Chau, a chain of villages surrounded by a lush green valley with stilt houses bordering both sides of the roads. Many minorities, including the White Thai ethnic group, live in Mai Chau. Tonight we stay in a traditional Thai stilt house in one of the villages and you have the option of attending a Thai folk show.

Summary Distance:  140 km Accommodation: Home-stay in village of Mai Chau Meals:   Breakfast, Lunch, DinnerDAY 14: Saigon Motorbike Tour to Hanoi on Ho Chi Minh trail & Coastline: Mai Chau Motorbike Tour to Hanoi (B/L/-)

In this morning, after having breakfast at the local family, we’ll ride back to Hanoi. Along the road, we’ll stop by to take photos of mountains, valleys and rice paddies. At around 16:00, we’ll get to Hanoi. 

Summary Distance:  150 km Accommodation: No included Meals:   Breakfast, Lunch

Booking Form:

Faqs about vietnam motorbike tours.

What's the best time of year to visit Vietnam?

The best time to visit Vietnam is spring (February to April) and autumn (August to October). The temperatures are more moderate and rainfall is lighter. In spring, March and April have the lowest rainfall across all destinations and temperatures are pleasant, though still cool in the far north.

Can Australian license drive in Vietnam ?

You must have a valid Vietnamese driver’s license to drive in Vietnam . including for motorcycle 50cc or more . International Driver’s Permits issued in Australia are not recognized in Vietnam.

Is a UK driving Licence valid in Vietnam?

Long term UK residents of Vietnam can qualify for a Vietnamese driving licence when they are in possession of a diplomatic ID, temporary residence card or residence card validity for 3 months or more and also a valid UK driving licence or UK issued International Driver's Permit

Can Canadians drive in Vietnam ?

It is strongly recommended that Canadians consider carefully whether they should drive motor vehicles or motorcycles in Vietnam as unfamiliarity with local driving conditions may result in serious injury, or a heavy compensation payment(s) or imprisonment as a result of any accident

Is it safe to ride a motorcycle in Vietnam ?

it’s always dangerous if you ignore our advices but quite safe if you respect to our local rules. Actually there simply are no rules. Stick to the basics… ride on the right side of the road, keep your eyes on the road and be alert. People often say “when you’re in ROME, just do like Romans do”. Riding a motorbike in Vietnam is different from driving in Europe or North America, so even if you stick to the rules, 99% chance the locals next to you won't. So be alert and stay safe! Wear a helmet. ... Honk at least 1000 times a minute, you cannot go riding around Vietnam without honking

How do I get a Vietnamese motorbike license?

You can just obtain our Vietnamese driving license once you’re long-term officials working & living in Vietnam under the business visa within 6 months or more. But if you are just regular travelers having short-term tourist visa, this seems to be impossible.

How can I ride motorbikes legally in Vietnam?

You must be holding our appropriate Vietnamese driving licenses or International Driver’s Licenses

Can I ride motorcycle with car License?

it’s totally unacceptable but you must have appropriate driving licenses under our Vietnamese traffic laws.

How long does it take to ride a motorbike across Vietnam?

Minimum you take at least 12 days to ride from North to South or vice versa along the coast & on Ho Chi Minh trail.

How much does it cost to rent a bike in Vietnam ?

We’re not used to renting out bikes only but organizing private guided tours, however, in some typical circumstances, we can rent out manual dirt bikes at the cost of US$ 18/bike/day, US$ 28/bike/day and US$ 50/bike/day for the bikes of 125cc, 150cc & 250cc respectively.

Can I rent a motorbike in Vietnam ?

Of course, you can do this but must show up your appropriate legal documents (Vietnamese driving licenses or IDP, validated Visa in Vietnam & copy of your passport).

Can foreigners buy & ride motorbikes in Vietnam?

Yes, you can totally buy & possess a motorbike legally as many other Vietnamese people as long as you act in the laws correctly. Foreigners living in Vietnam can have their national driving license translated to Vietnamese and will be granted a Vietnamese license without passing any exam. ... The cost to obtain the A1 license should not be more than USD 50 with an agent. In case you want to ride a “real” bike, a genuine A2 is required..

Related Tours

Venturing Saigon Motorcycle Tour to Central Highlands and HOI AN Via Ho Chi Minh Trails and Coastline

Stunning Saigon to Danang Motorbike Tour via Central Highlands

7-Day Adventure Vietnam Motorbike Tour from Da Nang to Saigon

12-Day Legendary Saigon to Hanoi Motorbike Tour via Ho Chi Minh Trails and DMZ

Intrepid Vietnam Motorbike Tour on Ho Chi Minh Trail from North to South

Speechless Hanoi Motorcycle Tour to Saigon – 12 Days

• Northern Motorbike Tours
• North-East Motorbike Tours
• North-West Motorbike Tours
• Central Motorbike Tours
• Southern Motorbike Tours
• Motorbike Tours on Ho Chi Minh Trail
• Ha Giang Motorbike Tours
• Sapa Motorbike Tours
• Hanoi Daily Motorbike Tours

• Top 10 Vietnam Motorbike Tours
• North Loop Motorbike Tours
• Northeast Vietnam Motorbike Tours
• Northwest Vietnam Motorbike Tours
• Top Ho Chi Minh Trail Tours
• Laos Motorcycle Tours
• Top Hanoi Motorbike Tours
• Destionations

Ho Chi Minh Trail Motorcycle Tour from Hanoi to Saigon - 21 days

The unforgettable and wonderful experiences with the Ho Chi Minh Trail Motorcycle Tour from Hanoi to Saigon - 21 days. The detail information will be in the article below.

Guided Tour Days / Nights

Ho Chi Minh Trail Motorcycle Tour from Hanoi to Saigon - 21 days is a breathtaking experience for tourists that enjoy exploring because of the long time, many challenges along the way and many exciting locations.

21 days of Vietnam Motorcycle Tours will be your chance to enjoy landscapes of 14 famous locations of Vietnam. You can explore life under the sea, conquer the high mountains and drop by the local villages, enjoy specialties and know the customs of each place. 

Tour Details

Day 1+2: hanoi - short motorbike ride to mai chau valley.

The first day is the opportunity for both tour participants to meet each other and join a warm welcome dinner hosted by Vietnam Motorbike Tour crew. After that, our tour guide will give you a short brief about Ho Chi Minh Trail Motorcycle Tours in 21 days to make sure our journey is safe, meaningful and memorable.

You will have motorcycle tours around Hanoi on the second day. Hanoi is the capital which has a thousand year of culture, so history, culture and street food are the three things you can not miss when exploring Hanoi.

Day 3: Mai Chau Motorbike Tours - The real paradise of Hoa Binh Province

Mai Chau is a valley located in the west of Hoa Binh province and there are many ethnic minorities, mainly Thai people in there. Mai Chau valley has a simple and pure beauty like a sweet girl who has a mysterious charm that is not found everywhere.

Distance from Hanoi to Mai Chau is 180 km. You will have three meals: breakfast in Hanoi, lunch on the way, and dinner in a homestay. When staying at the homestay, you will be offered only basic facilities and will have the chance to experience the local lifestyle.

Day 4: Vinh motorbike tours - The hero red city 

After about 268 km from Mai Chau, tourists will come to Vinh city in the afternoon. You will have three meals and stay at a hotel. Walking on the beach, visiting busy fishing markets and exploring the historical sites are some of our recommendations. While you are in Vinh city, you should try local food, for example eel porridge or eel noodle soup. We recommend that beaches, historical sites and fishing markets are three worth exploring in this historical city.

Day 5: Huong Khe Motorbike Tours - The fire pan of Ha Tinh Province

On the fifth day, the tourists will visit some nearby beaches in Vinh such as Cua Lo, Cua Hoi, and Cua Hien. And then driving for about 15 km to reach Sen village, the hometown of President Ho Chi Minh. After that you will continue the Vietnam Motorcycle Adventure Tours with 160km to go to Huong Khe - the hottest place of Ha Tinh Province. You will go there at about 5 p.m and have dinner at a local eatery and spend the night at a small hotel here.

Day 6: Phong Nha Motorbike Tours - The first wonder of the cave

In the morning, after having breakfast,  driving about 210km, tourists will drive about 210km to reach Phong Nha. 

Phong Nha Ke Bang is one of the most beautiful caves in the world and is recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage. Otherwise, forest trekking, rural mountain biking or war history places are also a wonderful experience when coming to Phong Nha Ke Bang.

After having a quick visit to the Phong Nha area, you will head to the coastal town of Dong Hoi and spend the night here.

Day 7: Dong Hoi Motorbike Tours - The rose city of Quang Binh Province

Landscape of Dong Hoi is always filled with colorful roses,once upon a time the French called Dong Hoi with the name Petit Paris (miniature Paris).

The well-known destinations here are Tam Toa Church and Nhat Le Beach, Cua Tung Beach… 

We finish one-third of the Ho Chi Minh Trail Motorcycle Tour from Hanoi to Saigon - 21 days in the late afternoon, having dinner and staying overnight in a local homestay.

Day 8+9: Khe Sanh, A Luoi Motorbike Tours - The historical sites of Quang Tri Province

Khe Sanh and A Luoi are both heavily bombed parts of Vietnam during wartime and will be full of historical sites and a favorite for history tourists.

After visiting some famous historical destinations at Quang Tri, tourists have two choices:  Rest at a hotel in the late afternoon or drive straight from Quang Tri to Hue to save time. 

Day 10+11: Hoi An Motorcycle Tours -  The ancient city of Viet Nam

The distance from A Luoi to Hoi An is 240km. Hoi An is likened to a living museum of architecture and urban lifestyle, a special example of a traditional port town in East Asia that has been preserved intactly and thoughtfully until now. 

Tourists can explore historical sites, pagodas, temples when coming to Hoi An. Besides, your trip seems to be incomplete without trying some local street foods. 

Day 12: My Son, Kham Duc Motorcycle Tours - The ancient Champa civilization

With 200 km of Vietnam Dirtbike Tours , we spend the morning discovering My Son sanctuary then head back to Thu Bon river, have lunch in Dong Phu. From here you can drive on some single tracks in rubber forest or strike through some rural villages. And then, you head to Kham Duc (also known as Phuoc Son town) and spend the night here.

Day 13: Kon Tum Motorbike Tours - The paradise of highlands

A special and interesting point in Kon Tum is the wooden church,  which is nestled in the midst of the evergreen forest. If tourists come in the blooming season, we will catch the sight of colorful flowers en route to the church. On this day, you spend the night in a local homestay located in a rustic village of the Ede ethnic group.

Day 14: Buon Me Thuot Motorbike Tours - The coffee metropolis of Vietnam

In the early morning, tourists will travel about 240km to discover the coffee metropolis of Vietnam. Buon Me Thuot is a well-known coffee area in Vietnam. You will have the opportunity to cross many vast coffee farms which extend well to the horizon. Enjoying the cool and fresh atmosphere, feeling the sunlight of the central highlands region will be a remarkable memory.

[Day 15] Lak Lake motorbike tours - The beautiful lake of highlands

Lak lake belongs to Dak Lak province,this is the second largest freshwater lake in Vietnam. Most of the M'Nong people live around the lake and still retain many unique traditional cultural values. 

Day 16: Da Lat Motorcycle Ride - The romantic city 

After resting at homestay, tourists wake up early to continue Vietnam Motorcycle Tours to Da Lat at noon. 

Da Lat, located in the central highlands region of Vietnam, has a plethora of nice things to offer: scenic pine forests, romantic misty landscape, various types of beautiful flowers, unique pink grass, tasty wine, and coffee, and an ancient church.

Day 17+18: Mui Ne Beach Motorcycle Ride - The beautiful coastal city

From Da Lat, we travel about 156 km to Mui Ne, Phan Thiet City. Mui Ne is a tourist destination located in the city of Phan Thiet - the south of Vietnam. Dubbed the "land of islands and hills", Mui Ne has many places of entertainment and rich experiences for visitors to choose from. 

For those who love climbing and camping activities: Hon Rom - a small mountain is still wild.  

For those who love exploring history and culture: Duc Thanh School, established in 1907.

Other: Tien stream, Ba island, Ke Ga lighthouse, Ta Cu mountain, Co Thach rock beach,...

Day 19+20+21: Motorbike Tour To Saigon From Mui Ne Beach

In the last route of Vietnam motorbike adventure, tourists will: 

Driving about 219 km from Mui Ne to Saigon

Visiting Cu Chi tunnels:  With over 120 km of underground tunnels, you will have a look at the underground life of Vietnamese soldiers in wartime.

Exploring Ho Chi Minh City: Ben Thanh Market, Notre-Dame Cathedral, center post office, reunification palace, opera house, war remnants museum, pedestrian Nguyen Hue street. 

 On the 21st day, you will have a short food tour, enjoying and having incredible food experiences in Ho Chi Minh city before leaving Vietnam.

Hope you will have a great experience and a really valuable time when you join the Ho Chi Minh Trail Motorcycle Tour from Hanoi to Saigon - 21 days. To know more information about this tour, please contact us at the website: VietnamMotorbikeTour.Com .

Check out what riders have said about Vietnam Motorbike Tour on Tripadvisor !

Northeast Vietnam motorbike tour - 0 days. Join us for an adventure of a life time.

Total Distance About 4200km

Make a booking

All prices are per person all inclusive, twin share and are in US Dollars$ A deposit of $5972.00 per person is required to secure your booking, final payment in full must be made in Hanoi office before tour departure.

For large groups over 6 riders please inquire about discounts

What's included

Not included

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Adventure Motorbikes in Vietnam

Scooters to big bikes, we have something for everyone. Tigit has over 400 motorbikes on the road at any given time. Mass motorbikes of the models that we believe are the best in the country for the job of traveling Vietnam. Tigit has a wide network of contacts for helping travelers in distress, there is nothing we haven’t dealt with when it comes to driving this spectacular country.

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Return the motorbike to a Tigit office and be on your way within five minutes. Easy and quick with the hope of no drama

Vietnam Motorbike Tours

Tigit works with the best freelance guides that we can find. Each guide we work with specializes in a specific niche. From the Enduro tour guide, to the big bike tour guide to the culture tour guide. We have a recommendation for all driving styles. We protect our guides and their routes from the mass market, ensuring everything in these tours stays truly unique and bespoke.

Motorbikes Accessories

The Chrunix accessory store is located in every Tigit office. Full of motorbike gear from the cheap right up to the expensive. Offroad gear, adventure gear, road gear. Armour, Helmets, Panniers and everything that comes in the middle. Chrunix has free delivery, one month warranty, and connects to the Tigit point system. Spend money on rentals, and get discounts on gear.

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Tigit Offices

Ho Chi Minh Office

B2-00.01 Sarimi, 72 Nguyen Co Thach, An Loi Dong Ward, District 2, Vietnam, 7000

Ho Chi Minh is our main and largest location. Across the Tigit locations, Ho Chi Minh has the most consistent with a quality service and our head mechanic. If you have a chance to choose you landing city, go with Ho Chi Minh. More details

Dalat Office

8 Đường Nguyên Tử Lực, Phường 8, Thành phố Đà Lạt, Lâm Đồng 670000, Vietnam

Dalat is a wonderful mountain city that has some amazing driving. Especially when it comes to offroad riding. Tigit has a quick service to transport motorbikes between Dalat and Ho Chi Minh, meaning most of our Saigon inventory can be accessed from Dalat. To see more information on our Dalat motorbike rental location .

Danang Office

113 Lê Văn Duyệt, Nại Hiên Đông, Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng 777777, Vietnam

Tigit Danang office is small, but around 20 minutes down the road is the Tigit mechanic shop and country wide storage unit. Located just 10 minutes from Danang Airport and very close to the beach / hotel area of Danang. Tigit is the only rental company in Danang / Hoi An area that specializes in long distance travel across Vietnam. There are plenty of short distance rental companies who are unable to muster up the quality to go big distances. More details

Cu Chanh 1, Thuy Bang commune, Huong Thuy town, Thừa Thiên Huế 49610, Vietnam

Tigit connecting with Nano Eco Lodge in Hue to provide Hai Van Pass rentals and more! More details

Hanoi Office

10 alley 603 Lạc Long Quân street, Xuân La ward, Tây Hồ district, Hanoi, 100000

Start in Tigit Hanoi to kick the journey off with amazing Northern beauty, or by heading South straight onto the Ho Chi Minh road. The only hurdle that faces you and Vietnam’s beauty is navigating out of one of the busiest cities in the world. More details

Ha Giang, Vietnam

Explore the stunning landscapes of Ha Giang on a motorbike rented from Tigit Motorbikes. Although we don’t have an office in Ha Giang, renting a motorbike for your adventure is still easy and convenient!

To rent a motorbike in Ha Giang through Tigit, simply visit our Hanoi office to complete the necessary paperwork. Our staff will guide you through the process and explain how to pick up your motorbike at the Ha Giang bus station. The process is straightforward and hassle-free. More details

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Vietnam Coracle

Saigon to Hanoi by Motorbike: 5 Suggested Routes

Last updated  March 2017 |  Words and photos by  Vietnam Coracle

This post was last updated 7 years ago. Please check the comments section for possible updates, or read more on my Updates & Accuracy page .

INTRODUCTION | ROUTES & MAPS | RELATED POSTS

Riding from Saigon to Hanoi by motorbike is probably the most popular road trip in Vietnam, and it’s unquestionably one of the best ways to experience the country. For years, travellers simply took the most obvious route: Highway 1. Today, however, thanks to ambitious road building programs, there are far more scenic, pleasant and less trodden ways to ride between the country’s two main cities. Having ridden south to north on numerous occasions (the first time, predictably, on Highway 1), I’ve put together the following 5 suggested motorbike routes from Saigon to Hanoi, so that travellers who are planning this road trip have more of an idea of the kind of options available to them.

New roads have opened up exciting & scenic routes for riding between Saigon & Hanoi

[ Back Top ]

SAIGON TO HANOI: 5    SUGGESTED ROUTES

ABOUT THESE ROUTES:

The main objective of these routes is to get from Saigon to Hanoi on good roads, passing good scenery, and avoiding traffic-clogged arteries, such as Highway 1, as much as possible. New roads are constantly being constructed, thus improving journey time and opening access to more parts of the country. The suggested routes below are based on my own experience of riding south to north. I’ve designed each route to suit the needs of different travellers; based on scenery and/or time frame. For each of the 5 routes I have: given it a name, written a short description and bullet points of essential information, illustrated it with an image, and plotted it on a map. The route maps include markers containing links to any Vietnam Coracle guides that are relevant to the route, where you’ll find more detailed information about that particular section of the road trip. For other useful resources that will help you plan your Saigon to Hanoi road trip, such as expenses and weather, see Related Posts .

THE ROUTES:

Click  a route from the list below to view the map and read the details:

• 1.   THE CLASSIC :   2,770km: ( 2-4 weeks )
• 2.   THE BEACH BUM :   2,050km: ( 10 days-3 weeks )
• 3.   UNCLE HO’S ROAD :   1,880km: ( 10 days-2 weeks )
• 4.   THE BIG ONE :   4,180km: ( 3-6 weeks )
• 5.   THE EASY RIDER :   2,230km: ( 2-4 weeks )

1. THE CLASSIC:

• Total Distance:  2,770km
• Average Duration:  2-4 weeks
• Road Conditions:  paved rural & coastal back-roads, new & old highways
• Navigation:  mostly simple, some tricky bits in central areas
• Scenery:  coast, highlands, mountains, limestone, cities, villages, cultural sites

IMAGE: The Classic route between Saigon and Hanoi

DESCRIPTION:  Weaving a course between coast and highlands, The Classic route is equal parts beach and mountain. Quiet, stunning coastal roads in the south and central provinces yield to a mighty landscape of limestone karsts on the Ho Chi Minh Road in the north-central region. Popular towns and sights, such as Mui Ne, Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, the Hai Van Pass, Phong Nha Caves and Ninh Binh are all covered; but so too are off the beaten path areas, such as the beaches around Quy Nhon, the coastal back-roads north of Hue, and the Western Ho Chi Minh Road. It’s the perfect balance of must-see sights and hidden gems. Zoom in on the map below and click the map symbols for links to my guides to specific locations. Enjoy the ride!

ROUTE MAP:  red pins mark major towns, all other markers are links to my guides to specific areas.

• [View this map in a separate window HERE ]

[ Back to Routes ]

2. THE BEACH BUM:

• Total Distance:  2,050km
• Average Duration:  10 days-3 weeks
• Road Conditions:  new coastal highways, paved rural back-roads
• Navigation:  fairly simple, some tricky bits on the central coast
• Scenery:  coast, beaches, fishing villages, farmland, beach towns, cultural sites

IMAGE:  The Beach Bum route between Saigon and Hanoi

DESCRIPTION:  Echoing Vietnam’s curving coastline for nearly 1,300km, this is the route to choose if you enjoy sand between your toes, playing in the surf, and the sound of the sea at night. Avoiding Highway 1 for most of its course, The Beach Bum route uses jaw-dropping new coast roads and rarely-ridden coastal back-roads to take you to countless deserted beaches, sleepy fishing villages and hedonistic beach towns. Calling in at established beaches, such as Mui Ne and Nha Trang, this route also covers up-and-coming coastal regions, such as Phan Rang, Cam Ranh and Quy Nhon, where the sand and sea are almost completely undisturbed. When the beaches lose their gloss in the north-central provinces, this route takes to the hills along the Ho Chi Minh Road, for a good dose of limestone magic, including the caves at Phong Nha. Zoom in on the map below and click the symbols for links to my guides to specific beaches and coast roads. Enjoy the ride! 

ROUTE MAP: red pins mark major towns, all other markers are links to my guides to specific areas.

3. UNCLE HO’S ROAD:

• Total Distance:  1,880km
• Average Duration:  10 days-2 weeks
• Road Conditions: highways & paved mountain roads
• Navigation:  simple & straightforward for the majority of the route
• Scenery: agricultural plateaus, mountains, limestone, minority villages, war vestiges

IMAGE:  Uncle Ho’s Road: the Ho Chi Minh Road from Saigon to Hanoi

DESCRIPTION:  Surely one of the most evocative road names in the world, The Ho Chi Minh Road is now a fully paved passage from the south of Vietnam to the north. Uncle Ho’s Road might be the shortest route in this list, but it’s also the most mountainous; following the Truong Son Range, which forms the jagged, high-peaked spine of Vietnam. From vast agricultural plateaus, where tea and timber grow in equal number, to the ragged edge of the frontier lands along the border with Laos; from teetering passes above roaring rivers on the western branch-road, to the limestone wonderland at its northern ‘neck’: you’ll bear witness to some of the most dramatic scenery Vietnam has to offer. Sparsely populated for much of the route, some thriving cities (such as Buon Ma Thuot) and charming towns (such as Kon Tum) offer human interaction, as do the multitude of ethnic minority hamlets lining the way. Geological wonders abound, punctuated by war vestiges with hauntingly familiar names, like Khe Sanh. Enjoy the ride!    

4. THE BIG ONE:

• Total Distance:  4,180km
• Average Duration:  3-6 weeks
• Road Conditions:  highways, new coast & mountain roads, paved back-roads
• Navigation:  requires regular map checks & occasionally asking locals
• Scenery:  coast, rivers, limestone, mountains, minority villages, cities, cultural sites 

IMAGE:  The Big One: the scenic route between Saigon and Hanoi

DESCRIPTION:  If time is no object, and you want to see everything there is to see between Saigon and Hanoi, both on and off the beaten path, The Big One has it covered. This meandering route zigzags up the country on mountain passes, coastal back-roads, the Ho Chi Minh Road, and new national highways, to create a road trip of epic proportions. Taking in all the best beaches in southern and central Vietnam, twisting through remote valleys in the Central Highlands, corkscrewing through limestone forests on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, and following shimmering rivers from source to mouth; this is the definitive south to north route. Major towns and tourist hotspots, such as Nha Trang, Dalat, Hoi An, Phong Nha Caves and Ninh Binh, are woven into this itinerary to balance all the off-the-grid exploration. Don’t forget to zoom in on the map below and click the symbols for links to my guides to specific regions and sights. Enjoy the ride!

5. THE EASY RIDER:

• Total Distance:  2,230km
• Road Conditions:  good highways, some back-roads
• Navigation:  easy to follow, a couple of tricky bits on the central coast
• Scenery:  mountains, farmland, coast, cities, fishing villages, cultural sites

IMAGE:  The Easy Rider route between Saigon and Hanoi

DESCRIPTION:  Specifically designed for travellers who want a less complicated (but no less scenic) passage from south to north, The Easy Rider route sticks to good-quality roads on a relatively direct route from Saigon to Hanoi which is easily navigated. Switching from coast to highlands on several occasions, this route threads an arcing path through some of Vietnam’s most attractive eye candy: Dip your toes in the southern waters of Mui Ne, Nha Trang and Quy Nhon; escape to the cooler climes of mountain towns such as Dalat and Kon Tum; enjoy the cultural delights of Hoi An and Hue, connected by the Hai Van Pass; and gaze in awe at the limestone dreamscape of the Phong Nha Cave system and along the Ho Chi Minh Road. This is a good, time-saving alternative to The Classic route. Make sure you zoom in on the map below and click the symbols for links to my guides to specific sites along the way. Enjoy the ride!

RELATED POSTS:

        •   Expenses for a Road Trip :

        •   23 Differences from South to North Vietnam :

        •   Weather in Vietnam :

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My GIVI Bike Box

This is the story of my GIVI bike box, bearer of my baggage on all my road trips. Convenient, secure, durable and stylish, my bike box has allowed me the freedom to go anywhere and see everything, which is what motorbiking is all about….

Questions, updates and trip reports are all welcome. However, please keep comments polite and on-topic. See commenting etiquette for details.

Hi tom, love these routes! My partner and I Are going to drive south to north in june, we are going to go moutaineous dalat, to bun ma thoat and stay mountaineous until around hoi an move out coastal. I was wondering do you have any advice on driving to khe san to phong nha caves, we can see online its a 10 hour drive with no fuel stops and I am wondering if you made this journey? As i plan on driving a semi automatic which does not have the biggest fuel tank. Thanks so much any advice is really appreciated! we live in ho chi minh 🙂

For the Western Ho Chi Minh Road (that’s the section between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha), please see the following posts and also read the recent comments on them: Ho Chi Minh Road: Section 5 | The Hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road | Ho Chi Minh West is Best route .

My two friends and I love the idea of doing a road trip from south to north but we are 19 and have only had a some experience of riding bikes from our trip so far. We are planning to get some lessons on how to ride mopeds properly and especially how to deal with traffic once we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. Do you think this is enough for us to do this journey or is it realistically just asking for trouble?

As long as you are very careful and ride sensibly then you should be able to do it safely. However, if you don’t feel comfortable, you can always choose to do a shorter route instead.

I was wondering if anyone has followed the coastal road recently. There is currently a lot of construction going on for the highway connection between Hanoi and Saigon and i was wondering if it impacts the travel a lot. I’m especially worried on the section between Tuy Hoa and Nha Trang where the QL1 coincides with the new highway so there’s no alternative. Is it still and will it remain accessible for motorbikes/bicycles?

Kind regards

Yes, it’s fine. I was just riding there recently. They are constructing a separate expressway (CT) parallel to the original QL1, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Hi Tom, thanks for the great info. Is it possible to ride south to north on a 50cc bike? To eliminate any issues with police and insurance? I’ve heard of some who’ve done it, and others who say it’s not possible. If possible, which route would you suggest?

You could do it, yes. But the bike would need to be in good condition and it would take you longer because you’d be riding slower. If you decide to do, it’s probably best to stay away from very mountainous roads where the bike might struggle with steep ascents, so perhaps the Beach Bum route would be best. Another option would be for you to ride an electric bike instead.

I will be traveling to Vietnam this Sunday. I will rent a bike in Ho Chi Minh City on the 21st of February and return it in Hanoi on the 20th of March.

I am a expierenced Motorbike traveler only on european roads so far, therefore I would like to know your approx. how long will it take on the roads in Vietnam for about 100km pure riding?

Because I am calculating if I will do your Classic Route or the big one and in the End thought about adding Ha Giang loop.

Also are your cards downloadable as a route for nav system?

Thanks ahead!

Best Regards, Manuel

Distance and time depends entirely on the road conditions, terrain, weather and motorbike model. As a very general guide: 100km will take 90-140 minutes. For most people, riding between 250-350km a day in Vietnam is a full day on the road.

For downloading maps to navigation systems, you can search online for how to download a google map to a navigation system.

Which one of the routes have the fewest check/border points? Basically less likely to get stopped by the police

Thanks so much for this website

No one knows if/where police check points might be, so I can’t answer that question.

Try Uncle Ho’s Road – it is the most direct and easiest to follow and the scenery in the central section is fantastic.

Thanks so much Any book suggestions to read while in Vietnam 🤣

Hi William,

Yes, sure: take a look a my Vietnam Reading List .

My friend and i have 24 days in Vietnam.

We want to do the classic but before that, since we arrive in Hanoi we want to do the ha gian loop before going into the classic.

Is it doable or it’s gonna feel way to rushed?

It depends really on how much you want to ride each day and how long you want to stop off at places along the Classic route.

Personally, I think Ha Giang is best left for another trip. However, it is a wonderful region to ride. Or perhaps you could do Ha Giang and then just limit yourselves to only half of the Classic route.

Hello My partner and I are planning to riding the coast from the north to the south of vietnam. We are a bit worried about police checks though. Have you had any experience with the police checking your license? Is it common on the route?

Many thanks Leah

In general, police checks for foreign riders happen mostly in touristy areas – such as Mui Ne and Ha Giang – or border regions. But they can potentially happen anywhere. If you’re stopped, be patient, polite, smile and try your best to resolve the situation.

Obviously, the best way to avoid these situations is the ride legally, if possible, and not to ride recklessly.

The vast majority of foreign riders do not have major problems, but yes it is a possibility.

Thanks Tom! Thats very helpful and good to know.

What route would you suggest for a first time traveller to Vietnam? I’ll be in the country the beginning of January and I have 4 weeks to travel in either direction. The route with the least amount of traffic would be ideal, but not necessary.

Thank you, Damian

Try the Classic or Uncle Ho’s Road. With 4 weeks you’ll have plenty of time, so you can take it slow and modify the route if/when you like.

Bear in mind that the weather north of Danang at that time of year can be surprisingly cold and quite bleak.

Thanks for the info Tom.

Are there benefits to going in a particular direction, or is it just preference?

No, you can ride any of these routes in either direction, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that might influence your decision on that is weather: see my Weather Guide .

Thanks for all the info Tom. Much appreciated!

I am leaving from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang via motorbike tomorrow. I would love to use your specific route but I am struggling to get it into google maps. I tried using KML but google maps just resorts to the fastest route when I click go. Do you have any tips, tricks, or applications that would help me stick to the route as best as possible?

Try the following steps:

1. Install the MAPS.ME application on your mobile device from the app store 2. Download the country map for Vietnam 3. Get the KMZ file for the Vietnam Coracle map you want to take with you offline. 4. Open the KMZ file on your mobile device 5. Locate the KMZ file on your mobile device using the “Files” app and open it. If your device asks you to select which app to open the file with, select MAPS.ME. The map should now appear in the “Favorites” tab in the MAPS.ME app

How would one go about getting the kmz file for the map? For instance I want to import the easy rider map into my maps.me, but can’t figure out how to download the info from Google maps

You can open the Easy Rider map in a new window then click on the three vertical dots in the top left of the map next to the map title, then select ‘Download KML/KMZ’ from the dropdown menu.

21F travelling from HCMC to Hanoi. I have a month, I want to do it slow.

1. Can I rent a geared motorbike and drop it off at Hanoi? What would that budget to?

2. How do you figure out stay and Wi-Fi on the road? Which route is most friendly for slowmading?

3. Currently more inclined towards Uncle Hos road, but I’m open to other suggestions.

4. Need to stop in Da Nang. Does the road pass through there?

Thanks. This website is amazing.

For motorbike rental please see this page .

For Wifi, you should get a Vietnamese SIM card when you arrive here and get data on the phone.

For places to stay on the road, all towns has mini-hotels.

Going slow on the Ho Chi Minh Road is fine.

The Ho Chi Minh Road does not pass through Danang, but you can easily detour down to Danang from the Ho Chi Minh Road.

You might fine my Resources archive helpful.

Hi Tom, We are planning (3-4 riders) to do Hanoi to HCMC IN 9-10 DAYS. I lived in Hanoi for 2 years 2004-2006 and I had a private motorbike and i did many tours including a trip from Hanoi to Sapa so i do know what is riding in Vietnam but this was long time ago and this one seems to be a bit longer trip and my partners have mediocre riding experience and i doubt if 9-10 days is enough time cuz we dont want to make it all day riding and we want also having free time every day after riding… I will appriciate your recomandation especially to our time limit. tnx Eitan

Yes, you definitely need more time if you want to ride from Hanoi to Saigon on any of the routes on this page. Either double your time to at least 15-20 days or just do half of the trip, for example Hanoi to Danang.

All the routes on this page have the total amount of kilometres. To give you some idea of how long it might take if you have fairly inexperienced riders and don’t want to ride all day, 150-200km per day will take about 4-7 hours of riding depending on how often you stop and how fast or slow you are riding.

You can also look at my replies to other comments below to similar questions about time and distance.

I was wondering of I can get some recommendations from you on how and where to rent a bike, some safety tips if I’m a woman doing this route by myself and how to make this as smooth as possible. Plz let me know if you do these types of consultations 😊 Thank u so much 🙏🏻

Hi Moshtaha,

For bike rental please see this page .

For safety as a solo female traveller, Vietnam is still a very safe and hospitable country in which to travel. Many women travel solo is Vietnam and have a positive experience.

For other details about travelling in Vietnam, you can browse the content on my website, such as the Resources section.

Hello, i am travelling with a friend through Vietnam using your website, the beach bum route with two scooters. However we’re a bit afraid of the time it’s gonna take, as our scooters are not as fast as motorbikes. How many kilometers per day do you reckon we should do for the total trip to take approximately 3 weeks ? Thank you very much for your help,

It’s a fairly simple calculation to get the average daily distance you’d need to ride in order to complete the Beach Bum route in 3 weeks. Just divide the total distance of the Beach Bum route (approximately 2,050km) by the amount of days (3 weeks = 21 days). So 2,050km ÷ 21 days = 97.6. So essentially that’s 100km per day on average if you want to ride the Beach Bum route in 3 weeks.

I hope this helps,

I’m a 26 year old solo traveller that wants to do Hanoi to Saigon in about two weeks from now. Im having some difficulties with loading your roads into my google maps. Would you recommend manually adding all the stops to my own google maps? If so, do you have a list for all of the stops for the easy rider trip. I greatly appreciate the content youve put out about Vietnam! So im not doing HCMC to Hanoi, But Hanoi to HCMC. Hope to hear from you soon!

It doesn’t matter if you’re using these routes to go HCMC-Hanoi or Hanoi-HCMC – they work the same in either direction.

You should be able to export the maps I provide by opening them on your device and choosing the option to ‘Download KML’, and then opening that file in the Google Maps app.

Please note that you can click the markers on my maps to open a description which sometimes includes a direct link to my other guides for more detailed information about that part of the route.

My maps don’t include stops – you can choose to stop wherever you like on the route. For more information, you can take a lot at my Resources category and browse my Motorbike Guides homepage .

Hello Tom…great reading your info and is helping me with my planning of our trip from HCMS to Hanoi this March/April..We are 2 60yr old guys doing a bucket list trip on motorbikes. Renting 2 xr150s …I have 2 questions. I am hoping to do the trip within 2 weeks…likely a mix of beach route and uncle Ho..do you think we will have any issues in this timeframe.. Second what is the best method for guidance. Google maps on our phones? Seems like getting out of the main cities will be a challenge? Thanks again for taking the time to help out all us travellers.

Google Maps on your phone is fine for guidance, but don’t put all your faith into Google – it’s not perfect, yet!

Yes, getting in/out of Saigon and Hanoi is by far the worst bit of traffic and riding on a Vietnam road trip. I’ve written a little about that on this page .

As for time-frame, 2 weeks is the minimum for a Saigon-Hanoi road trip. So be prepared to be riding every day, probably averaging around 200km each day if you want to combine the mountains and the coast. This doesn’t sound like much, but in Vietnam riding is often much slower than you expect.

Hi. Thanks for takling the time to make these routes! I’m planning on riding hcmc to Hanoi in early april with a friend. He can’t be more than Two weeks though. Do you think that’s enough time to ride comfortably? What do you think is a feasable daily ride? And what Are people doing for fuel? Carrying extra? The gas tank on a win seems to be tiny!?

I’ve included the total distances on all of the routes on this page and a very general suggestion of how long each route might take.

In general 2 weeks is the minimum amount of time for any of these routes. A good way to work out distances and time is to divide the total distance of your route by the number of days you have: for example, the Classic route is 2,770km; if you have 2 weeks, then divide 2,770 by 14 = 198. That means you’ll need to average 198km each day to complete the Classic route in 14 days.

Average daily distance and time really depends entirely on you. As a rough guide, a long day of riding in Vietnam is 200-300km, which takes around 5-8 hours depending on the roads and terrain etc. A short day is 70-150km, which just takes 2-4 hours.

There are gas stations at regular intervals pretty much all over Vietnam. Just don’t let your tank get too close to empty before stopping to fill up. Gas tanks vary considerably from bike to bike: but most average bikes in Vietnam will go between 100-300km on one full tank.

The only road you need to consider bringing extra gas is the Western Ho Chi Minh Road between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha . There are now at least two gas stations on that stretch, at Long Son, which is roughly half way. However, they are not always open so you can’t really rely on it. As long as you fill up at Khe Sanh you should only need to bring one 1.5ltr bottle of gas with you – you can fill up an empty bottle at the gas stations in Khe Sanh.

Me and a friend are thinking of riding the classic route in February, I was just wondering in terms of accommodation are there enough places along the way that we could just turn up and stay or would you recommend pre-booking accommodation?

In general, yes, there are enough places to stay in almost any city, town or village on this route. And, unless you are travelling during a public holiday or in a touristy destination with a specific hotel in mind, you shouldn’t really need to book in advance.

However, there is one exception: the Western Ho Chi Minh Road between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha only has a couple of places to stay: both are in Long Son village. You can read more about that on this page (check the comments too).

While on the road in relatively rural areas, you will likely be staying in nhà nghỉ (local guest houses) – read more about that here . In general, you might find more information in my Resources Archive .

Awesome! Thanks so much for the info!

Hey Tom, I will be in Vietnam in March for around 15 days. I want to drive to Da Nang. Would you recommend the route from Hanoi or from Ho-Chi-Minh? Witch one is more beautiful? Thanks a lot. Greetings Sven

It depends on what kind of scenery you’re looking for, and on weather conditions . In general, March is a good time of year to ride from Ho Chi Minh to Da Nang; but March should also be OK riding from Hanoi to Da Nang, although there’s more chance of some cold or cloudy conditions at that time of year.

If you like coastal scenery, there’s no question that Ho Chi Minh to Da Nang is the better route – take a look at my Coast Road route, which includes the three best coastal rides in Vietnam: Sand Dune Highway , Dragons’ Graveyard and Nui Chua , as well as Phu Yen and Quy Nhon .

If you prefer mountain scenery, then both routes have good options: from Hanoi to Da Nang take the Ho Chi Minh Road all the way to Thanh My, which includes the Western Ho Chi Minh Road between Phong Nha and Khe Sanh, one of the best roads in Vietnam. However, from Ho Chi Minh to Da Nang you could take the Truong Son Dong Road all the way to Thanh My, or even use it to zig-zag between the coast roads and the mountains.

Hey, thanks for the routes and info! We have 28 days in Vietnam in January, will that be enough time to do the classic route comfortably?

Yes, it should be. For example, the Classic route is about 2,770km – spread that over, let’s say 25 days, and your average daily distance would only need to be around 100km.

Of course, it doesn’t work out entirely like that as you’ll presumably stop in some places more than one day, but that gives you an idea to work on.

Thank-you for all the information. I unfortunately already booked my flights and am landing in Hanoi first planning to head South. Can I just reverse these guidelines ? Anything extra to be aware of ? I will be commencing first week of January. Thank-you kindly.

Yes, all these routes can be followed north to south – there’s no difference in terms of route based on direction on travel.

In January, bear in mind that the weather can sometimes be surprisingly cold and grey in the northern half of Vietnam. (You can read more in my Weather Guide .)

Something else to consider is that the Tet Lunar New Year holiday will start around 20 January – this is a busy time for domestic travel, and after Lunar New Year’s day, many businesses close and many hotels are fully booked.

Great blog! We’re doing HCMC to Hanoi in January for 3 weeks. We are all experienced bikers and full license holders. Do you think the ‘Big One’ will be comfortably doable for us in that time? 3-6 weeks is quite a contrast.

It is doable, but you would be spending most of everyday on the road. For example, the total distance of the Big One is around 4,180km. Divide that by 21 (three weeks) are you’re looking at an average of about 200km per day. That doesn’t sound much, but in Vietnam, especially in the mountains, you will rarely average more than 50kmph. You also need some ‘padding’ time for unexpected delays, such as bad weather, bad road conditions, break downs etc.

Also, bear in mind that the last week of January will be the Lunar New Year holiday – which is the busiest time of year for domestic travel, and some businesses close for the duration.

The bottom line is, try to be as flexible as possible. Also take into consideration that the weather north of Danang at that time of year can be surprisingly cold.

I had ridden motorcycle in VN with a buddy a few years ago. I will be in VN in February 2023 to ride from HCMC to the North using the HCM Road then continue to the Ha Giang Loop before going to Hanoi. Are 28 days enough? This time I am riding solo. Is it “safe,” i.e., if I have an accident or flat tire on HCM Road is there enough traffic for someone to come on the scene in 1-2 hours? I remember reading your HCM Road trip about 6 years ago. How’s the gas station and lodging situation today? Thank you for your service.

There’s still not much traffic on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, but if you have a problem whoever passes by will stop to help you. Accommodation and gas stations on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road are a bit better now. There’s a gas station and a couple of hotels at Long Son, which is about halfway between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha. Check the comments at the bottom of my Ho Chi Minh Road Guide and Western HCM Hotel for any updates from other readers.

28 days is probably OK. You need at least 1 week for Hanoi-Ha Giang Loop-Hanoi, so that leaves you with about 3 weeks to ride from Saigon to Hanoi.

Thank you so much for your prompt response. Given your feedback, I’ll start in Danang instead of HCMC just in case of unexpected delays. I am choosing Da Nang because I can rent from Tigit there and drop off the bike in Hanoi: Da Nang – HCM Road (and west of Hanoi going to Ha Giang) – Hanoi. Thanks again for all that you do.

I am currently in Saigon and I plan to follow along your beach bum route. Just curious, is there a way to download the map then use it as a GPS? So my gps follows your set route? I’m not sure if this is impossible or if I’m just that technologically challenged. Thank you!!!

Hi Abigail,

Yes, that’s a good question. You should be able to export my maps to KML and open them in the Google Maps app with GPS. However, the process is different depending on your device. I suggest you google something like ‘how to export a google map with KML on (device name)’.

Hello, thinking of riding motorcycle from Hi Chi Minch to Hanoi. Do you recommend any renting places? I need a bike that’s capable for two people plus luggage. Is it possible to rent a bike in Ho Chi Minh and finish in Hanoi or does bike have to be returned to Ho Chi Minh by me?

I mention some reputable motorbike rental companies on this page .

Yes, you can rent in Ho Chi Minh City and return the bike in Hanoi.

Returning to Nam after a couple of years and finally able to do the trip from HCM to Hanoi. Do you have any idea where I could find a riding buddy to do the trip with?!

Thanks Ellie

Glad to hear you are planning on riding south to north. You could try posting on the Vietnam Back Roads Facebook group to find a riding companion. If not, you will find that you make riding friends while on the road.

I hope you are well! I really like your blog post!

Can you recommend a route and likely duration from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh by motorcycle?

Er, yes – take a look at the five suggested routes of this page! 🙂

Thanks for your blog! i have 21 days 30-OCT- 21 NOV from ho chi minh to hanoi..its my second visit to vietnam..so i have visited some places.. im thinking about classic route..but i dont know how to organize Stops…

last time in vietnam i visited HCM , Da nang, hue, hoi an and hanoi&north… im thinking classic route making stops in another places i dont know… do you have any recommendation..

thaks for all

If you are planning to follow the Classic Route, and considering the places you’ve already visited, the stops you might consider are: Vung Tau, Lagi, Phan Thiet/Mui Ne, Dalat, Quy Nhon (and all the beaches south and north of there), Kon Tum and Phong Nha.

I’ve written about some of those places: Vung Tau , Dalat Routes , Dalat Cafes , Quy Nhon , Phong Nha .

That should be plenty of opportunities for stops.

Note that in the last 6 months or so, there have been reports that the middle section of road QL24 between Quang Ngai and Kon Tum is under construction. Although there’s a chance it could be finished by the time you visit.

hi again.. im considering change original route.. from Kon Tum to Hoi an is worth Trip…??? nice roads views?

or maybe better directly from Quy Nhon to Quang Ngai. ??

wich route do you recommend?

For scenery, Kon Tum to Hoi An is better than Quy Nhon to Quang Ngain.

Hello Tom! I used one of your South to North bike routes a few years ago and absolutely loved it! I am returning to drive North to South this August over 1 month again with my boyfriend who has not done it before. Will I still be able to use your route from North to South okay? We plan to not spend too long in the North as I know the weather is not great that time of year.

Thanks again for this amazing resource!

Yes, you can still follow any of the routes on this site from north to south – it makes no difference really.

In terms of weather, conditions are pretty similar across the nation at that time of year: hot, humid, and monsoon storms. Take a look at my Weather Guide for more about that.

Hey Tom! This site is a godsend. I’ve been reading your motorbike guides religiously for my upcoming North-South trip. As someone that rides back home, I really appreciate the details you’ve put into each route. I’ll be sure to support your site.

I do got a question or two about the ride from Hoi An to Nha Trang. I’m not particularly interested in any of the towns or cities in between the two cities. For that reason, I’m looking for the most scenic route. I’m considering following the Truong Son Dong Road after having read that article. I read about the impassable part of the road in the comment section, so I would only connect onto the road after Son Tay.

Do you think this is a better alternative to the classic route? I suspect the only reason it hasn’t been incorporated yet is due to its remoteness and relative unpredictability (with possible constructions and all).

If I were to follow the Truong Son Dong Road after leaving Hoi An, do you have any recommendations for getting onto the road? Is it worth skipping the Ho Chi Minh Road between Hoi An and Kon Tum? Cause I’m considering following the coast until the Quang Nam/Quang Ngai border before heading inland.

Thanks a lot!

Sorry for my slow reply.

Yes, the route you suggest works well: you can follow the coast road south of Hoi An (perhaps going via the small island on Tam Hai ) as far as Quang Ngai, then turn inland due west on road QL24B up to Son Tay where you can connect with the Truong Son Dong Road heading due south.

Another alternative is the go inland due west from Hoi An on road QL14B or QL14E until you hit the Ho Chi Minh Road (QL14) at either Thanh My or Kham Duc, then join that due south as far as Kon Tum where you can turn due east onto road QL24 as far as the Xa Hieu crossroads where you can then join the Truong Son Dong Road heading due south.

Either option is good.

So it looks like I’m finally going to get to do an end-to-end itinerary, having originally planned to do one back in 2020 only for lockdowns to put paid to that. Planning to do pretty much as I had done before, although accommodation is proving a bit more problematic on the Ninh Binh-Phong Nha section where I want to follow the Ho Chi Minh Road – original plan was to stop in Tan Ky and Pho Chau but struggling to find places to stay in either of those…

There are places to stay in the towns along the way on the Ho Chi Minh Road between Ninh Binh and Phong Nha – you just can’t book/find most of them online. Most of them will be local guesthouses/mini-hotels which are called nhà nghỉ in Vietnamese – read more about that on this page .

Also, I have written a complete guide to the Ho Chi Minh Road, including that section, on this page , although it hasn’t been updated for a while now.

I’ll give an update for the QL48C – QL7A loop west of the Ho Chi Minh Road which is shortly mentioned in “The Big One” West of Quy Hop QL48C is all the way up to the small settlement of Xieng Lip in good condition. Wide, empty and in good condition. Don’t miss the beautiful sight of 6 wooden/bamboo watermills standing in line just next of the bridge at the H4-61 roadmarker. From Xieng Lip to Ban Ve the road suddenly becomes much smaller and road conditions degrade. In fact, at Xieng Lip the best road goes south on what looks like a small road on Google Maps but actually it is an much better road serving as a shortcut to QL7A. After 18 km at the bridge over Ca River the main road goes left for another 9 km along the borders of an artificial lake (only visible on Maps if you zoom in) but just before the bridge, a smaller and more scenic road goes right (as shown on Maps). At QL7A right direction Laos or left direction Con Cuong for Pu Mat National Park. Pu Mat is well worth exploring for a full day. There’s a beautiful, paved, road all the way up in the mountains to the incredible 150 metre high Khe Kem waterfall. Sun could be shining in the valley and rain at the top. In Pu Mat you can make a beautiful 40 km loop through gorgeous valleys surrounded by karst mountains, along orchards and teagardens. At the most southern end of the loop near Mon Son there’s a boatlanding for rivertrips. But beware: you entered the border area with Laos (there’s a sign next to the road). Not all officials like foreigners going around without a guide and I was told to immediately go back same way I came. Several hotels and guesthouses in Con Cuong including new Muong Thanh hotel. Room with great views over the river and mountains for 680.000 VND. Inside the park homestays in the small village of Yen Khe. So, if time permits, it’s a beautiful loop with mostly good roads, great scenery, karst mountains, valleys, waterfalls and very kind people. Best regards, Bob

Thank you for sharing this information. It’s really great to hear that QL48C is now in good condition; and that’s a great tip about the short cut back to QL7A.

I’ve enjoyed Khe Kem Waterfall and the roads surrounding it for many years – it’s a wonderful little corner of Vietnam that generally gets overlooked by travellers.

Thanks again, and I’m looking forward to getting back to this area and riding around.

Hi. So glad to have find your blog and thank you for the great information. Just like to ask, how much can the GIVI box carry in real use? because the spec of most of the box is only 4-5kg, I can’t imagine that is practical.

Yes, that’s what I thought when I first bought a GIVI box. But you can buy a reinforced frame for the box – this means you can load your GIVI box much heavier. I’ve used it for over 10 years for road trips, camping trips etc and it’s never let me down, never broken the frame.

Awsome website, thanks so much for putting all this together! My brother and I are heading to Vietnam next weekend. I was planning to ride Saigon to Hanoi but my brother only got 2 weeks off work so might be a little ambitious given our 12 days or so. Was wondering if you had a suggestion for best route to take with that amount of time, considering average weather for late January? Also seeing as we may have to end the ride south of Hanoi, any suggestions on places to stop where it would be a short connection to Hanoi via plane/train/bus?

The best weather at that time of year is in the south. Most places south of Danang should get at least some good weather, but the best weather is best south of Nha Trang. Most places north of Danang at that time of year can get surprisingly cold and grey at times. But of course you can’t guarantee anything when it comes to weather.

12 days isn’t really enough time to ride south to north. With your time frame I suggest taking a look at the Classic and Easy Rider routes. And to get a ‘head start’ you could consider getting the rental company to ship you bike somewhere, such as Phan Thiet or Nha Trang.

As for where to end, I’d suggest finishing in Phong Nha, from where you can send you bikes on the train to Hanoi.

Remember also, that the Lunar New Year holiday is the last week of January – this is one of the worst times to travel because popular destinations get extremely busy with domestic tourists.

Thank you so much for your detailed posts about the various trip options and necessities. My partner and I are leaving from Hanoi this coming Sunday, and we have referred to your insight numerous times during our planning (attempts). We will be traveling for roughly 16-18 days (hopefully) from Hanoi to Saigon. I’m not sure if this has been addressed elsewhere, but I wanted to ask: do you suggest a stop between Ninh Binh and Phong Nha? If so, where? We are working out our projected stops still, and I am concerned the distance between those two places is too much for a single day on the motorbike.

Please let me know your thoughts if you have a chance. Nevertheless, thank you again for your information on your site!

All the best, Chelsea

Hi Chelsea,

There are a few potential stops on the Ho Chi Minh Road between Ninh Binh and Phong Nha. Take a look at sections 6, 7, 8 of this guide for details. Tan Ky and Pho Chau are the most common places to break the journey.

marvellous blog! I ahve devoured most of it already.

I m planning with my father(64yo but fit) from the 25th December to do the Huncle Ho road in 10 to 12 days. is it worth the landscapes this time of the year? is it a too big detour to go to the Golden Bridge from this track? last question its “easier” Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh or Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi on this time of the year?

big thanks on advance!

Your itinerary is fine, but you will be riding every day if you only have 10 days.

The weather at that time of year can get worse the further north you go. So which way you ride it depends on whether you want the good weather at the beginning or end of your trip.

I don’t think it’s worth the detour to see the bridge – it’s just an Instagram photo stop.

The best landscapes on Uncle Ho’s Road are between Kon Tum all the way to 100km north of Phong Nha – this is some of the best scenery and riding anywhere in Vietnam. However, because it’s the mountains, there’s always the chance of bad weather.

For much more detail about this route, see my Ho Chi Minh Road Guide .

Thank you so much for all of your info. I am planning my route using “the big one” heading south from Hanoi in a week. Had a few follow-ups after digging through your various guides:

1. I didn’t find any linked guides (south of Golden Loop but North of the beaches) that addressed the stretch between Non Tum and Quy Nhon. Per Google, this is +300 KM, which is two days of comfortable riding for me. Can you recommend a town and place to stay in between, and maybe some additional info on this stretch? Please point me to a guide if I have missed it. 2. Same for #1 but from ~Tuy How -> Buon Ma Thuot -> Dalat -> Nha Trang. Although, each of these segments feels reasonable to do in one day (by distance at least), I couldn’t find any linked guides. 3. How would you adapt the Big One route at all for this time of year? Particularly concerned with the weather in Phu Yen and Quy Nhon per your mention of monsoons, etc. but the beaches look amazing and I wouldn’t want to miss.

Thank you in advance!

You could take a look at my guide to the Road East of the Long Mountains to connect some of those places.

As for places to stop, you’re never too far away from a nhà nghỉ (local guest house) – see this page for details.

If there aren’t linked guides on the map then I either haven’t written a guide to that particular area, or if I have it’ll be marked on my Vietnam Coracle Map .

Regards weather conditions, at that time of year it is quite likely that conditions between Hanoi and Danang (particularly between Vinh and Hue) could be grey and wet. South of Danang should be OK, but it can also be wet around Nha Trang and Quy Nhon at that time of year.

thank you for the reply! one follow-up: is it possible to use your custom routes as step-by-step directions/navigation in google maps or other apps? I’ve searched around online a bit and cant figured it out. In other words, how do you recommend we use your routes day-to-day, while riding?

All the best, Matt

You can’t get google directions on my maps. Most people would simply open my routes maps on their phone and follow it. You can, for example, export my maps then open them in maps.me app. To do this: open one of my maps, export the map to KML, then upload that file to maps.em, then you should be able to follow my route on your phone in real time. Sometimes the process is different for different devices and browsers, so if it doesn’t work try googling something like ‘how to export a google map to KML using (device name) and (browser name).

Some very insightful information provided so thank you for that. I am planning on travelling one of the routes during January – February. How is the weather likely to be during these times in South and North Vietnam

At that time of year the weather in most places south of Danang should be OK, but in many areas north of Danang it can be quite bleak and surprisingly cold. For more about weather in Vietnam take a look at this page . And some more about the Southern Dry Season on this page .

Hey Tom, Great Routes! We are planning to travel from Saigon to Da Nang in December. We have 10 days time but are unsure about the weather conditions. Do you think weather will be good in December to make this trip by motorbike?

Greetings from Singapore

10 days is OK to ride between Saigon and Danang.

In December the weather should be OK between Saigon and Nha Trang, but it might start to get worse (more rain) as you move north from Nha Trang up to Danang.

The week before you go try looking at the satellite weather map rain for rain & thunder on Windy.com – it’s quite accurate.

Thanks so much, not sure how to pick between some of those routes!

If you were to pick any time of year to go, when would you choose? I’m flexible to go anytime but not sure what months would be most suitable.

Cheers, Steph

In general, the best times of year to ride the length of the country are: April-May and September-October. This is when the weather conditions are pretty similar throughout the country.

Vietnam has a very complex and difficult to predict climate. You’ll find some more information about weather in Vietnam and when to go where on this page .

First off, great info man. This is extremely helpful for people who have never done anything this epic, like myself.

Now, to my question;

I am looking to ride through Vietnam starting from Hanoi down to Saigon in mid November for about 10-14 days. My friend and I want to definitely ride through the country but also we would like to spend a day or two in the places we actually liked. At this time of the year, what route would you suggest for seeing beaches and country (weather permitting) and would we need possibly include trains w/ bikes in our itinerary?

Again, the info is a lifesaver brotha and would like to pick your brain a bit more before my trip.

Cheers from Seattle, Devante

Hi Devante,

Because the weather at that time of year can be quite bad between Hanoi and Hue, I would suggest starting your trip from either Dong Hoi (near Phong Nha) or Hue or Danang – you can arrange to have you rental bikes sent there. From there, you can take any of the first three routes on this page above – they’re all suitable for good scenery and towns – although obviously the Beach Bum has more beaches and beach towns, whereas Uncle Ho’s Road has more mountains and highland towns.

Thanks for all this info. I’ll be heading to Vietnam in late Sept and spending a little longer than two weeks doing your Easy Rider route. Any tips on what to pack other than clothing/rain gear/the usual personal items? Specifically, I’m seeing the packs on the back of most motorbikes and wondering if that’s something I should arrive with or something I should buy once I’m in Vietnam. Is a backpacking pack the most convenient to travel with?

Not much in particular. Good sunglasses for using on the bike. Clothes for getting dirty during the day on the bike and a change of clean clothes for the evening.

Yes, most people strap backpacks on the back of their bikes, but some people also do that with cases, too. Another option is to rent a bike with GIVI boxes, which are secure, waterproof and very convenient – some of the rental companies offer bike with these boxes.

I am motorbiking down from Hanoi to Saigon in either late September or start of October. From what I understand, this is a good time of year to visit the North, and by the end of the trip (late October/early November) it should be a good time to visit the South. However, the central part is in the height of its rainy season. I want to make the most of the weather so am thinking of visiting Ha Giang before starting and also visiting Pu Luong.

What places are best to visit/avoid at this time of year? Do you think it will make much of a difference starting from the 20th of September or the 1st of October?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am a huge fan of this blog, it’s incredibly detailed and helpful. Thank you for the effort you have put in to it.

Hi Michael,

Yes, that’s generally right about the weather. And, yes, I would definitely start earlier rather than later. This is partly because of the weather, but also partly because of the harvest colours: by October the rice might be harvested already, which means you will miss the incredible colours of the rice terraces.

Yes, starting with Ha Giang, then on to Pu Luong is a good idea. Unfortunately, it is quite likely that many areas south of Pu Luong all the way down to Danang could be quite grey, rainy and miserable at that time of year.

In the south, check out the coastal regions of Quy Nhon and Phu Yen , and the coastal road between Nha Trang and Phan Thiet (perhaps stop by Cam Lap ). Or head inland on the Truong Son Dong Road , and the Back-Ways to Dalat .

Thanks so much for the advice.

If I were to skip Ha Giang, and head to Pu Luong around the 21st of September, would that mean it would be a bit more sun/less grey and rainy between Pu Luong and Danang?

Yes, probably, but there’s no guarantee, of course. Sometimes typhoons come in from the east – keep an eye on the weather forecast using Windy.com

Thank you for all these precious info, your blog is great! I am planning to do the Easy Rider from Hanoi to HCMC from 3rd August. I have my flight back on 19th August but I would like to do 1-2 days in Mekong area before leaving, do you think I’ll have enough time? Thanks for your help,

Well, if you think about it terms of average daily distance that might help: the total distance of the Easy Rider is 2,230km, divided by 14 days is around 160km each day. This is very doable. As a general guide, your average speed (not including stops) will be roughly 40-50km per hour.

Depending on what your plans are for the Mekong Delta, I would suggest spending those extra two days on the Easy Rider route instead. This is because the best parts of the Mekong are much deeper in the region than any 1-2 days tour can access.

I was thinking of doing uncle ho’s road from HCMC to Hanoi, I’ll be in the area for the next 1.5 months, the thing is I’m a rather beginner biker, I wanted to ask for your suggestion about this route considering weather and road quality.

Thanks a lot,

The road quality is mostly good on that route. For a beginner, the most difficult parts will be getting in/off of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi – this can be very busy, chaotic and polluted. You need to take it very carefully and expect it to be quite a grim ride for the first hour or two. After that, conditions and traffic are much better.

Thanks for your quick response! Do you happen to have any ideas on where to stay between all the major cities?

There are recommendations of places to stay in my guides to particular parts of the routes – click the motorbike icons or other icons on the maps and then click the links in the dialogue box to go to the guide. You can also check out my Accommodation Guides , and Local Guest Houses guide.

I am visiting Vietnam from mid June to the end of July, I wish to do uncle ho’s road from Saigon to hanoi, but I am a rather beginner biker, also I was wondering about the weather during this time and I ask for any suggestions you might have.

Weather at that time of year will be quite similar all over the country: hot and humid in the mornings, clouding over towards the afternoons, and some heavy tropical downpours. Therefore, you should plan to do most of your riding in the first part of the day, so that you can avoid the rains.

For much more details of the entire Uncle Ho’s Road route, see this guide .

my friend and me want to make a 2.5 week long motorbiketour through Vietnam during July and August. As these months are in the middle of the rain season we are struggeling in doing this. In some blogs they highly recommend not to go during this time. Did you experienced a motorcycletour through Vietnam in this time? Is there a special “rain season tour” you would recommend? We were even thinking about travelling to an other country in Asia to make a motorcycle tour but the rain season might be in whole Asia, isn’t it?

It would really help us to get information out of first hand.

It should be fine to ride during those months – the weather at that time of year is pretty similar all across the country: dry, bright, sunny and very hot in the mornings, then getting more humid and cloudy in the afternoons followed by heavy tropical showers. Just try to do most of your riding in the first part of the day.

Do you think the Easy Rider is possible within this time frame and weather situation or is it better to take the beach boom?

Yes, they are both possible at that time of year.

Hi Tom, I’m right in the middle of my “The Big One” road trip. I’m currently in the central provinces of Vietnam and heading south. Today I had to ride for an hour through the pouring rain and it wasn’t an experience I want to repeat every day. I checked the forecast and it says thunderstorms every single day for the central provinces. Is this just a reality I have to face? Are there certain times of day to avoid the rain, like riding in the mornings only? I have unlimited time and tend to travel very slowly. I thought I’d stick around for another month or two, but if its constant bad weather maybe I’ll shorten the rest of my trip. I’ve already done the rest of the country extensively and had little to no rain the entire time so I’m a bit unprepared for this, I thought the rainy season didn’t start for another month in the central and south regions. Any help you can give me on how to avoid rain going forward would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry to hear that. It’s strange, because I’m riding central Vietnam right now too, but I’ve had good weather.

It’s quite normal to have an hour of heavy rain at this time of year, wherever you are in the country. In general, the rains comes in the afternoon, so you could ride earlier in the day to avoid it.

But it depends where you are, really. If you want the least rain and you’re heading south, I’d suggest sticking to the coast, and in particular picking up and following the coastal back-roads in this route – it should be lovely at this time of year.

I love your site and have wanted to do this trip since I found it last December. I have a few questions that I hope You can answer. First, Due to Time constraints I will only have time to go from Ho Chi Minh to Da Nang. Is this Something I could do in 10 days or should I plan at least two weeks? Second, Going in late July, early August, would the weather be better to start in Hanoi and go down to Da Nang instead of going from Saigon to Da Nang? Again, Thank you

The weather will be pretty similar across the nation at that time of year – hot, humid, sunny in the mornings, getting cloudier in the afternoons with heavy tropical showers – so there’s no real reason to choose one route over the other.

Yes, 10 days is enough time to ride Saigon to Danang, but if you can get two weeks instead, definitely do that – the more time you have, the better your road trip will be.

Thanks for all these routes! I’m looking into them as we’re travelling by bicycle in Vietnam now 🙂

Your routes all seem to head a similar route from Dong Hoi onwards, going more inland rather than sticking to the coast. Any particular reason for that? Is the coastal stretch between Dong Hoi and Hanoi too busy?

Thanks! Cheers, Nicolas

Hi Nicolas,

Yes, that’s exactly it: north of Dong Hoi the coastal roads get much busier and the scenery is nowhere near as good as going inland.

Thanks so much for how hard you work on this website- it is invaluable. Visiting Vietnam has always been a dream of mine and your guide has convinced me to do it by bike and to extend my visa. My girlfriend and I now have about 6 weeks to do the Big One from Hanoi, picking up our bike on Tuesday.

We’ve just done sapa, so were planning on heading south. Given the traffic (and your comments that the area surrounding Hanoi isn’t great) what is the best way out of Hanoi? If there is a particularly nice place north of the city we would happily go there first. Is there a convenient way to get our bike out of the city on a bus/train that might be best? Otherwise we’ve heard Ninh Binh is nice.

If it’s okay with you, I will probably ask you some more questions once we’ve got on the road! It is really kind that you give everyone a detailed reply.

Cheers again, Cameron.

Hi Cameron,

For leaving Hanoi I would go west on the Thang Long Highway – you can follow the route laid out in this guide .

Pu Luong Nature Reserve (also covered in this guide ) is a better place to stop than Ninh Binh, in my opinion. Ninh Binh is quite nice but touristy; Pu Luong is gorgeous and not touristy, and there are beautiful homestays .

To reduce the amount of traffic you will face leaving Hanoi, try to leave about 11.30am – this should give you two hours of lighter traffic (because of the lunch hour) to get out of the city. Alternatively, leave very early in the morning (4.30am) or late a night (after 7pm).

Thanks so much for that. We headed to Pu Luong national park and it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. The QL15 south from there is completely spectacular too, what a road.

We are currently in Tan Ky for the night. We will probably head to the waterfalls southwest of here that are on The Big One route. I know Phong Na is the next major stop. It is just over 300 km from there to Phong Na, which is a big driving day. Is there anywhere on the way you think is particularly worth stopping for and staying a night? Or do you think the riding is good enough that doing it all in one day is sensible?

Thanks again for the brilliant guide, Cameron.

Yes, you could do those 300km in a day – it’s pretty good riding. But for places to stop and stay along the way take a look at sections 7, 6 & 5 of my Ho Chi Minh Road guide here .

Been having an amazing time on the route so far. Especially Western HCM road. We are in Hoi An and looking to leave in the next couple of days. The Big One route takes us inland and then back out to Quy Nhon for the coastal riding. What’s the main reason for going inland from Hoi An? Is that section down towards Kon Tum, and is Kon Tum itself, particularly special? Or do you think it might be worth taking the highway straight down to save some time? Also, of all the beaches and stops from Quy Nhon down to Ninh Van, are any absolutely must-see and are any maybe worth missing? Sorry for all of the questions!

Cheers, Cameron.

You don’t have to go back inland: you can follow the Coast Road route south from Hoi An all the way down. As long as you stick to the roads in this guide it’s a really fun coastal route – there’s loads of good scenery and quiet, good roads. Just read the few paragraphs and map in that link at you’ll see what I mean.

There are lots of highlights on that coastal route, but the ones that stand out are: Vung Ro Bay to Dai Lanh Beach via the Ca Pass , the Nui Chua Coast Road , and the Dragon’s Graveyard . And Cam Lap is a wonderful place to stay.

We are coming to the end of our trip which is sad but it has been incredible. We left Phan Thiet at 6am and hope to get to Ben Tre this afternoon. Do you know if it’s possible to put our bike on the ferry from Vung Tao to Co Gong? It would cut out a lot of driving. If not, I guess we have to drive almost all the way up to Saigon. We want to spend a couple of days in the Mekong Delta. Can you recommend any must-see places or rides that we should do? We probably have 3 days maximum.

Thanks again for all your help!

I’m pretty sure you can’t do that. But there’s a bike ferry from Vung Tau to Can Gio that leaves in the morning. (The ferries to Saigon and to My Tho and Ben Tre don’t take bikes either).

It’s not a pleasant ride to get to Saigon and then out the other side to Ben Tre (go on QL50 via Go Cong – it’s much nicer).

You might even consider leaving your bikes in Vung Tau and taking the ferry direct to My Tho/Ben Tre – it’s a Greenlines fast boat: you can Google it. Then you can pick your bikes up again on the way back and ride into Saigon.

Otherwise, you’ll just have to grind it out for a day (but then you’ve got to ride back into Saigon from the Delta too).

With just a couple of days in the Delta you can’t really get into the good parts, so just take all the little back-roads around Ben Tre – they’re great for exploring.

Thanks so much for the tips! I just finished the Classic Route and had a phenomenal ride. Made my way down to Con Dao for a few final days of relaxation before the trip is through.

Thanks again!

Thank you. Great to hear you enjoyed the Classic route and managed to make time for beaching too 🙂

Hi your blog is great. I come to Hcmc on Saturday my plan was to drive the clasic route to Hanoi, but now I doubt if I should drive your route back ways to Dalat. Tigit rental also recommend driving dis route instead of Mui ne? I’m not so much into touristy places. Those I want to avoid. I want to spend a maximum of 16 days for a trip to Hanoi and then I have 10 days back to North Vietnam. What would be your recommendations?

Well both Mui Ne and Dalat are tourist areas. But the ride to Dalat and Mui Ne is very different. Both are decent rides, but if you go to Mui Ne you’ll be mostly along the coast (see this guide ), and if you ride the Dalat Back Roads you’ll be mostly inland in the mountains. However, because of your limited time (16 days is not long to ride from Saigon to Hanoi) I would suggest riding to Mui Ne because you can do that in one day, whereas the Dalat Back-Roads are longer – still possible in one day, but more time on the road. Or just go on the Saigon-Mui Ne train with your bike.

From Mui Ne remember to avoid the police by following the red line in this guide .

Hello, Really nice work you have made with this guide, it is really great information about everything you could possiblt think of. Im going to Saigon late September this year for one month and want to rent a bike and go up to Hanoi. Which route would you recommend me to take? The Beach Bum or The Classic? I want to see as much as possible but also be able to spend a few days here and there to rest and explore the stops. Thanks in advance.

With one month you can choose either of those routes. September should be a good month to ride them, too.

Personally, I would probably choose the Beach Bum at that time of year, because if the weather’s good the coastal scenery is great in September, and then you get some mountain scenery after Phong Nha.

However, you could turn inland from Hue (on QL49 to A Luoi) and meet the Ho Chi Minh Road heading to Khe Sanh and then to Phong Nha, which is the Western Ho Chi Minh Road – one of the most scenic mountain routes in the country. See sections 4-5 of this guide .

Thanks for youre answer.

Seems like renting a bike from a good company is the deal i will go for.

Is it easy to navigate the routes? Im planning to use google maps and some kind of papermap aswell. I guess a decent raincoat and rainprotection for the bags is good to have with you.

Guess i will try The Beach Bum and go for Ho Cho Minh road from Hue to Phong Nha and then up the coast again. I can only find a road named Ho Chi Minh Trail on google?

Yes, a rain coat is a good idea and big plastic bags for your luggage – but some of the rental companies will provide waterproofs for you and luggage carriers, too.

For more about which maps to use and how to use them see this guide . You can’t just rely on one map (whether online or printed) – instead you should cross-reference between my maps, google maps, and paper maps.

Hi again Tom,

Planning for full here, i think i will stick with The Beach Bum and do a little Ho Chi Minh Trail from Hue. I have a question, what do you think if going further up to Ninh Binh and from there to Cat Ba Island and back to Hanoi. Is this still possible in one month or?

Thanks in advance

Yes, you can do that, but it gets quite industrial after Ninh Binh because that’s the Red River Delta which is one of the most densely populated regions of the country. It’s not a particularly pleasant ride, but perhaps you can utilize some back roads to make it more interesting.

Maybe i probably should skip that part then. Would really like to squeeze in an island along the way. Is there any islands along the coast you could pop out to with the motorbike on a ferry?

Well, you’ll have a lot of coastal scenery anyway 🙂 But there are islets here and there off the coast along the Beach Bum route. For example, take a look at the Phu Yen & Quy Nhon area in this guide .

Hi Tom Amazing site & excited to say we are about to start Hanoi to HCMC! Thank you for the tip on Style bikes, they’ve been ace to us. We are planning to start with Hanoi to Haiphong. I’ve done my best to scroll through the comments but can’t see owt on this route? It looks like it is possible to avoid the highways by going north out of Hanoi. Any tips? Chúc Mùng Nām Mói 🙂

There are a number of routes, but in general it’s quite a bleak road to travel – mostly industrial suburbs and highways You can take the direct routes – QL5B or AH13 – they’re probably the quickest, but not nice. Otherwise, you can weave through on back-roads. But personally I think it’s best just to get it done.

Also, bear in mind that if you’re riding today, there’s likely to be increased traffic because of the Tet holidays – probably less trucks, but many more ‘leisure’ vehicles. Be careful. And the same goes for popular tourist sites, such as Halong Bay – they will probably be packed for the next week.

These articles are so helpful! I was wondering if you could help me out, I’m trying to work out a route from Dalat to Qui Nhon but going through the mountains and avoiding Nha Trang. Could you suggest a route and do you think it is possible to do it with just one night break or it would need 2? Thanks!!

You can take this route . You could do it in two long days, on 3 manageable days.

Awesome article and amazing information, thank you so much. My wife and I are thinking about doing a motor bike trip sometime this year. She’s not 100% comfortable on a bike and we just got back from Bali where we travelled for 2 weeks on a motor bike. We both rode on the same bike, but only day trips. We would store our luggage at our hotel/stay and venture out during the day so we didn’t have much to carry.

Would you suggest a possibility for a couple to travel on one bike and packing light? Or would you highly suggest two separate bikes for more packing room. Also, one bike would increase our weight and the amount of work our bike has to do. Do you think this is a reasonable way to travel? Thank you!

If you’re planning on leaving your luggage at your accommodation and then making days trips on your bike, then there’s no reason to rent two bikes instead of one.

Some of the places you might consider basing yourself in and then making road trips out for the day include, Phong Nha, Hoi An, Dalat, Mui Ne/Phan Thiet.

If you were going to travel two on one bike with a light packing load that would also be fine as long as your bike is in good condition and has adequate power. Also note that some of the recommended motorbike rental companies on this page offer various luggage carriers. However, over long distances in one day it would be a little more tiring for the driver with the extra weight.

What an amzing job you did! Finding your site makes investigating how to make the trip very interesting and easy.

We are near Ben Tre staying in an amazing hotel Mango Home Riverside (worth a visit). After trying out Honda CBF out from HCMC to the delta we dicided to drive up to Dan Nang starting on the 22nd of Jan. There is a coastal route and a rural one. We would like to take the most scenic route possible in 2 weeks. We will stay at your suggested Juliets Villa Resort & Ana Andara which look amazing! For for the rest everything is open. We do not want to drive more than 4 hours a day with some 3 spare days to stay somewhere. You have seen it all. Which route can you recommend:

– from Ben tre to Juliets Villa Resort – from Dalat to Da Nang – should we go more up the the Van Hai Pass and go back? – any more amazing hotels along the way?

I will book trough your links :-).

Thank you so much in advance!

Kind regards, Yael

I’m glad you like Mango Home – it’s a great place.

There are lots of potential routes to choose from.

If you only want to ride about 4 hours a day, from Ben Tre to Dalat go can follow this route: Ben Tre to Saigon – take QL50 all the way, it’s much better than the more direct route on Highway 1, even though the last 20km is still horrible. Then from Saigon to Juliet’s Villa and Dalat, follow my Dalat Back Roads routes.

From Dalat to Danang, you can either choose to stay in the mountains and take QL27 to Lake Lak and Buon Ma Thuon then follow the Ho Chi Minh Road (section 2 to 3) or the Road East of the Long Mountains or you can take QL27C from Dalat down to Nha Trang and then follow my Coast Road route to Hoi An.

For places to stay, LAK Tented Camp is great if you’re staying in the mountains, about 4 hours from Dalat. On the coast, there are lots of places – you can see the places I’ve reviewed and where they are by looking at my Vietnam Coracle Map .

Great thank you so much!!

Thanks or the wonderful set of info. My only question is this: with 13 days on the road which rout is best?

Thanks so much, Liam

With 13 days you should really consider shortening any of these routes: either by starting somewhere else or finishing somewhere else.

For example, if you rent your bike from any of the recommended companies on this page , they can arrange pick up and drop off in places other than Saigon and Hanoi. So, for example, if you were travelling south to north, you could pick your bike up in Phan Thiet or Nha Trang and drop it off in Dong Hoi or Vinh. This way you would have more time to ride, and less distance to cover. (You would, of course, need to pay extra for this service).

But if you must ride the entire length in 13 days it makes sense to take the shortest route, which is Uncle Ho’s Road.

Great info and really helpful articles! We are looking at taking 3 months to travel from Saigon up to Hanoi in July, August and September.

Do you suggest just taking longer to do your suggested routes or try to cover more ground? We want to see the main cities but also see a lot of the off the beaten path stuff.

Thanks Kendall

Hi Kendall,

With 3 months you should also be able to cover some areas in the north, northwest, or northeast highlands above Hanoi. You can browse my guides to that region by looking at my Vietnam Coracle Map .

Hi Tom, all these routes look very good. From some friends I have heard that the routes along the coast are very heavily used by big trucks. Is this correct? If so, how is the traffic along the easy rider? I was also wondering how accomodation is on that route. Would you recommend booking hostels and such up front? Me and my girlfriend are starting the trip on the 25th of february.

Thanks a bunch!

All my routes try to start off busy main roads as much as possible, but sometimes you simply can’t avoid them, especially when entering and exiting large cities. But the coastal route stays off the main artery of Highway QL1 for the vast majority of the way. There’s a common misconception that the coastal route sticks to the highway: this isn’t true. Please take a look as this guide for details.

In general accommodation is available everywhere in Vietnam, even in remote areas you can usually find at least one nhà nghỉ (local guest house) – read more about that here . As for booking in advance, this is only really necessary if you are staying in a popular destination, particularly on weekends or public holidays, or if you want to stay in a specific resort/hotel.

One area where there really is only one hotel for 250km is the Western Ho Chi Minh Road – read more about that here .

Also, take note of weather conditions – February/March can still be quite wet and cold anywhere north of Danang.

Thanks for the tips! That’s good to hear. Yeah we heard about the Hanoi traffic we are planning to get a scooter cab to guide us out of the city!

One more question I had, would you recommend boking our bikes beforehand? Or will there be plenty choice at the time of arrival?

Definitely try to book your bikes before, especially if you want to get them from one of these reputable rental companies .

Alrighty! I am currently in contact with patrick from Dragon Bikes.

Thanks for your help and the great blog posts so far dude, keep it up!

Hello! Thanks a lot for the routes! We are planning to do the Beach Bum and were wondering is it easy to find accomodation along the way or should we plan in advance where we are going to stay?

Yes, there’s plenty of accommodation on that route, especially in the towns and beach communities. But even in more off the beaten path areas there’s almost always local guest houses called nhà nghỉ in Vietnamese – read more about that here .

What are the best landscapes to see between the beach boom road and the uncle ho’s road? And about the historical sites? And which one is the less touristic?

Do you mean which route is the most scenic: the Beach Bum or Uncle Ho’s Road?

If so, it depends what kind of scenery you prefer: if you like coastal scenery, then the Beach Bum is best; if you like mountain scenery, then Uncle Ho’s Road is best.

Uncle Ho’s Road has less tourist hotspots than the Beach Bum.

For historical sits, if depends what kind of sites you’re looking for: there are more war-related sites on Uncle Ho’s Road, but there are more pagodas, temples, and shrines on the Beach Bum.

I’m planning on going to Ha Noi in either January or February to do ‘The Big One’ to Saigon – Is this a good time of year (Jan/Feb) to be doing it?

Hi Nathaniel,

It’s not a particularly good time of year, because the weather conditions, especially in Central Vietnam are usually quite bleak at that time of year. It can also be surprisingly cold anywhere from Hue northwards. But in the south, especially anywhere south of Nha Trang, Jan/Feb is the best time of year for dry, warm, sunny, bright days. So if you can, it’s advisable to start in the south and end in the north at that time of year, because that way there’s more chance the weather will be getting better by the time you get further north.

But despite the weather conditions, lots of riders choose to do road trips during Jan/Feb and love it.

For more about weather see this guide .

Thanks Tom.

So if you were going to recommend the best time of year to do South to North (or North to South) when would you recommend I do it?

What time of year would make sense to start to get the “best” weather all the way through?

Thanks, Nathaniel

The best times of year to ride the length of the country are April-May and September-October. For more about weather in Vietnam and when to go where, take a look at this guide .

Hello, thank you for your help, According to you what is the best loop if we have 15 days? And what is the best loop for people who are looking for adventure?

Well, the routes on this page aren’t loops, but with 15 days (which isn’t a particularly long time for a south-north road trip), you should stick to the shorter routes, such as Uncle Ho’s Road, the Beach Bum, or Easy Rider.

However, the route that will take you most off the beaten path is the Big One, but to ride this route you need a lot more time.

Brilliant stuff mate, appreciate the information & feedback.

Planning an April trip to Vietnam & Thailand – will have ~10 days in Vietnam. I’ve been reading about these motorbike trips and it looks fantastic, but do you think it’s worth trying to do with only 10 days? We’ll be starting in Hanoi and moving south. Another option I’ve been contemplating is bus-ing or train-ing with the bikes to Hue or Hoi An and then just doing the leg from there to Ho Chi Mihn City. The only other thing to consider is that we’re trying to see Ha Long bay at the top of the trip as well.

Thanks for you time in advance – all the best!

No, that’s not really enough time to ride north to south. You can ‘do’ Halong Bay as a day or day/night trip from Hanoi on a tour – there’s no point riding there.

Then you could pick your bikes up in Hue or Danang (just fly there – the budget airlines are cheap) and start your road trip from there all the way down to Saigon – following one or mixing several of the routes on this page. All the good, reliable, reputable rental companies have offices in either Hue or Danang, and also in Saigon, so you can rent the bikes in one city and drop them back in the other. For my recommendations of rental companies read this .

Thanks for the idea/feedback. Love that.

We were hoping to ride Hai Van Pass (do you agree that’s a must do?) so will probably go with Hue. Do you not think it’s worth buying a motorbike in Hue as opposed to renting? We do have a couple days planned in Ho Chi Mihn at the end.

It’s really not worth buying a motorbike for short term rides in Vietnam anymore. I discuss the pros and cons here .

Yes, the Hai Van Pass is good, but compared to other great roads in Vietnam, it’s not a must. I’ve written a guide to the Hai Van Pass here , and a list of 25 of the Greatest Riding Roads in Vietnam here .

Hi Tom. My boyfriend and I will travel to Vietnam in January, where we will buy a motorbike to ride from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi in a spand of 3-5 week. We are seeking the most pleasant route where there wont be to much traffic and in generel easy to drive. Therefor we would like to ask you, which one you would prefer. As we can see on your site, it seems like the “Easy Rider” is the best pick. Is that the best pick?

Best regards The Danes

In general, all my routes try to avoid busy main roads as much as possible, but sometimes there is no other choice but to ride on a highway. Also, road conditions can be unpredictable in Vietnam: a road that’s in good condition one year, might be in bad condition the next. Just bear this in mind as you make your preparations. But, yes, you’re right: the most suitable route for you is probably the Easy Rider. However, Uncle Ho’s Road is also fairly easy to follow.

First of all, thanks for making it easier for the rest of us to make some sense of what to expect doing a trip like this.

Me and my girlfriend is currently in (November 6th) HCMC and contemplating if we should make south/north or north/south. We have absolutely no time pressure and can therefore easily take a train/bus to Hanoi and go from there. We are gonna take our time doing the big one(no less than 6 weeks) and would like you opinion on how weather conditions in that time frame and what would be best.

Thanks for your help.

Hi Joachim,

On balance, I would probably start in the north at this time of year and head south. But you should expect some pretty bleak weather in the central regions, particularly around Phong Nha and Hue, and maybe even as far south as Nha Trang. But there’s no way of avoiding this during Nov/Dec. Whereas, this is the beginning of the dry season in the south, so you’ll hopefully be saving the sunniest, driest section until last.

None of this is for certain though – the last 2 years weather patterns in Vietnam have become increasing unpredictable.

Really great to see all these routes, thanks for being so helpful! I will travel through Vietnam on my bicycle and I wonder which one you think is best for cycling? My main concern is the roads not being too busy. Would be great if you didn’t mind sharing some thoughts on this 🙂

It’s difficult to say, but probably a combination of the Classic, Beach Bum, and Uncle Ho’s Road. For example, Uncle Ho’s Road is very light traffic between Kon Tum (central) and Pho Chau (north). But that route is also the most mountainous, so it will be very challenging on a bicycle. On the other hand, the Beach Bum is probably the flattest route.

Although all my routes try to stay off busy main roads as much as possible, some sections – especially in and out of large cities – it’s unavoidable.

That was helpful, I think we will mainly follow the classic route perhaps with a few detours. We’ve also been looking at your camping the south coast route and I wanted to let you know that we went to Sonmy camping ground and it was all closed down so you might want to take that one off. Longson Muine on the other hand is lovely and we’re so glad for your map otherwise we wouldn’t have found it. We also met another cycling pair who are using your maps. You really have done a great job of your website, so useful!

Thank you for the update about Sonny – I went passed a few months ago and it was closed then too. I thought I had already written a note about it in the camping guide, but I guess not.

I hope you enjoy the Classic route. There’s been a lot of rain north of Nha Trang, especially around central regions. I just got back from Danang and Hue and I didn’t see the sun once 🙁

Awesome post! Appreciate the incredible amount of details you included.

Can you tell me why the HCM to Hanoi (South to North) route direction is more popular than travelling from Hanoi to HCM? What is the reason for this?

Thank you! Liam

There isn’t really a good reason for that – sometimes it depends on weather and time of year, but any of these routes can be ridden in either direction – it makes no difference.

I’m having trouble figuring out where I can stay overnight on the leg of the HCM Trail (Classic Route) Between Ninh Binh and Phong Nha. What/where do you recommend for accommodation?

Cheers Colin

Take a look at sections 6,7,8 of my guide to the Ho Chi Minh Road here . There are suggestions of places to stay on the Ho Chi Minh Road between Hanoi and Phong Nha which you can use.

Hey Tom! Your website is my main source of inspiration for my trip to Vietnam next week. I am planning on doing the classic route but from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh. One of the reasons I am doing it by motorbike is to have the possibility to meet locals and have a few breakdowns hehe :). Do you think the classical is suitable to get off the main roads and meet locals?

Yes, you should still have lots of opportunities to meet local people (and have break downs) on the Classic route 🙂

Thanks Tom!

Hi Tom, Wow thank you for all this information. I’ve been researching a cross-country Vietnam route for a while now and stumbled upon your site. It is by far the most comprehensive I’ve found on the internet.

I’ve decided on following your “Classic” Saigon to Hanoi route in January, but I will be doing it on a bicycle. So my question is, for a fairly experienced bike tourist, would it be safe/advisable/legal to follow this route on a bicycle? Also, I prefer to wild camp unless I’m within big cities, is it going to be difficult for me to do that along this route?

Yes, it’s fine to follow the Classic route by bicycle – it’s legal and the route tries to stay off busy main roads as much as possible, although sometimes there’s no avoiding it. There are some very steep climbs, but if you’re an experience cyclist, I’m sure that won’t be a problem.

One things you might consider, is to take one of my Back Roads to Dalat instead of the route to Dalat that’s included in the Classic route. Also, another option for part of the ride is the Road East of the Long Mountains , instead of the Ho Chi Minh Road or the coastal route for the south-central section.

Wild camping is fine when the opportunity presents itself, but it depends entirely on where you are. For example, wild camping on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road is easy because it’s very rural and there’s nobody about. But in more populated areas it can be difficult to find an appropriate place to camp. See my Camping Archive for some more details. And when you can’t camp, you can almost always find a nhà nghỉ (local guest house).

Great this is good to hear! I’ll check out the Dalat and Long Mountain alternates as well. Another thing about wild camping, is it safe? Are there certain provinces you wouldn’t recommend camping?

It’s safe if you use your common sense and camp sensibly. Try not to be visible from the road and don’t draw attention to yourself. If someone does see, obviously it will arouse curiosity or in some cases suspicion. In these situations, try to ask permission to camp there the night. In rural Vietnam, people are still extremely friendly and hospitable to foreign travellers. In some provinces there is still a risk of UXO – so don’t go blazing an untrodden path through the jungle and digging any holes in the ground. You just need to use your common sense, really, and you should be fine.

Good to hear. Generally i’ve experienced that people are kind and I don’t expect anything different from the Vietnamese. Though I can’t say UXO is something I’ve ever encountered before, so it’s certainly a concern for me.

Thanks again for all your help and keep up the great work!

we´ll go to vietnam in the end of november for 28days. do you think its to less time for “The Classical”-Road + “The High Roads” ?

best wishes and thanks for this awesome blog! Timo

+ we want to make a relative slow trip…stoping here and there, maybe staying some more days here and there… i´m afraid that we´re planing to much for too short time.

I think 28 days is a nice amount of time to ride the Classic route and take your time by stopping wherever you like for a day or two. But if you try to add the High Roads routes too then it might not be enough time. This is because the High Roads route is much more mountainous and the road conditions much more unpredictable and therefore the riding is slower.

I would recommend riding the Classic route, taking your time and staying where you want, and then just see if you have enough time for the High Roads at the end. If not, it’s still a great ride on the Classic route.

Thank you for this wonderful resource! I was wondering if there was a blend of the Beach Bum Route and the Uncle Ho Road that could be done in roughly 14 days? I am planning to do this in early October if that helps.

Yes, you can do that. There are lots of east-west route linking the Beach Bum with Uncle Ho’s Road. For example, you could take QL19 from Quy Nhon on the coast up to Pleiku on the Ho Chi Minh Road.

Bear in mind that 14 days is not very long to complete a Saigon to Hanoi road trip, so you might be better off following a shorter route, such as the Easy Rider or just Uncle Ho’s Road. Also, October tends to be quite wet and miserable in the central regions, like Danang, Hue, Phong Nha.

Amazing resource, thank you.

I am interested in the easy rider or classic and will go ASAP. I am comfortable on a motorbike and have done the loops in central Laos but unsure of the mountainous roads in the rain now around Da Lat. I would like to go there with a stop in Cat Tien, or La Gi if I start on the coast which seems a bit further to get to Da Lat, but not sure if the road to and out of Da Lat to Nha Trang is recommended this time of year? I can skip Mui Ne as I’ve been there and want to avoid cops so if it seems safer this time of year solo, I can stick to the coast and do the back road you mention. Any thoughts on this? Thank you!

Both routes you mention should be OK at this time of year, because most of them are in good condition so they shouldn’t be too badly affected by the heavy rains. If you go to Cat Tien on any of the routes that should be fine, or road QL55 from Lagi to Bao Loc and then up to Dalat should be fine too.

I hope you have a good ride,

Just reading through your blog its been amazingly helpful as many people have already stated! We are 2 28 yr old males with a decent amount of riding experience we have planned a route and amazingly its very close to the beach bum route you have provided above traveling from Hanoi to ho chi minh along the coast line we have 10 nights 11 days to complete this trip do you think this is enough time?

Who would you recommend sorting a bike from in hanoi?

Also do you recommend any places along this route as a must do?

For recommendations of which companies to rent a bike from check out the first section of this guide .

Be careful that your route is the same/similar as the Beach Bum route, because when you zoom into my map you’ll see that very little of it is on Highway QL1A: most of the route is on quieter, more scenic back-roads. For some more information about the southern half of the Beach Bum route see this guide .

As for places to stop, see and stay along the way, click the map markers on the Beach Bum route map and the Coast Road route map and then follow the links to my guides to those specific places.

Thank you so much for sharing! I really appreciate the thoughtfulness that you put into your article.

I do have one question: I want to visit Ha Long Bay, and was thinking of taking a detour on the Classic Route and go from Hanoi –> Ha Long Bay –> Ninh Binh. Alternatively, I would take a bus to Ha Long Bay and back, and start on the regular Classic Route. What do you think? Thanks!

Hi Jessica,

I would take the bus there and back instead – riding a motorbike between Hanoi and Halong Bay is not a very fun trip. So just do Halong Bay separately and then start your road trip after that.

Hey! I was recommended your site after posting on Reddit about motorbiking in Vietnam. My husband and I are going next year. He’s going to be there for about 20-22 days and I’ll be there for at least a couple of weeks longer. The initial plan was to do the motorbiking after he left but as I’ve been looking at it more and more, there’s so much that we want to do and see in both the south and north that will require traveling quite a bit anyway… So, I’m wondering, in your opinion, is Saigon to Hanoi possible within 22 days with several stops in between for things like Ha Long Bay, a night or two in Saigon, and maybe a couple of nights on one of the Islands? Along with obvious stops in between to enjoy the scenery and do some other random shit? Which route would you recommend?

Either way, when he leaves, I plan on motorbiking around northern Vietnam and your site has been a huge help with putting that portion of the trip together.

Thanks, Rachel.

Yes, 22 days is just about enough time to ride Saigon to Hanoi. It’s probably best to follow the Classic route with your time frame. And it’s best to do Halong Bay as a day/night trip from Hanoi, rather than riding there.

You can make a rough estimate of time etc by working out the average distance per day based on the total distance of the Classic route. For example, the Classic route is 2,770km, so that’s an average of 130km a day over 3 weeks, which is a nice pace to keep up. But of course if you stay anywhere for more than one night you will need to make up the distance the next day. In general, on the roads in Vietnam your average speed will be only around 40km an hour, not including any stops.

You think the Classic would be easier to do in that time frame than, say, the easy rider? I figured that 40kmph would be about the average travel speed from reading some of the stuff here and watching some videos, so that would mean that we’d have to ride for about 3.25 hours a day on average, which is perfectly fine, I’m just worried that we *may* end up cutting it close if we end up making extra stops or shit happens, you know? 22 days is the absolute max that he could be there and since there are a few things more touristy things that we want to do, such as Ha Long Bay, and we are both inexperienced when it comes to traveling internationally and motorbiking… I just want to make sure that we get to see as much as we can and still have time to relax a bit and not have to worry about time too much.

Yes, the Classic or the Easy Rider should be OK.

But, with your time-frame and little experience, perhaps it’s best to send (or pick up) your bikes somewhere along the route – that way you won’t have to cover so much distance. Also it depends what time of year you are travelling?

Yes, it’s probably 4 hours RIDING time, but that doesn’t include stops for anything – food, photos, gas etc.

We’re going April/May. We might be changing our plans slightly and I might be arriving first. The plan would be for me to fly into Hanoi, get a bike, and make my way to Laos. From what I’ve been reading, motorbiking in Laos is easier than in Vietnam, so it would give me a chance to get used to riding on less difficult roads and, of course, the opportunity to see Laos as well. I would come back to Vietnam near Saigon to meet the husband when he flies in and we would continue from there.

That way at least one of us has some experience before doing a long road trip in Vietnam and I could better asses whether we should do as you suggested or if I think that we could manage the entire trip in that time frame. I don’t know how much experience that you have with Laos but if so, do you think that this might be a good idea? I wasn’t planning on Laos initially because of time but the more that we’ve talked about it, the more comfortable he’s getting with the idea of me staying for a longer period of time (I might end up being in the area for more like 3 months or more without him).

I apologize for so many questions! This is our first big trip and we’re really, really excited and I want to get it right, you know?

April/May is a good time of year from a north-south/south-north trip.

The roads in Laos are much quieter than Vietnam, but the network of paved roads is nothing like as extensive as Vietnam and crossing borders with your bike can sometimes be a hassle.

If you’re worried about getting used to riding in Vietnam, I would strongly suggest not starting your road trip from Hanoi or Saigon, where the traffic is chaotic and exiting the city is usually an awful ride. Instead either send your bike to a smaller city and start there, or simply rent your bike from somewhere like Danang in the first place.

I’ve written more about sending your bike on the train and recommendations of renting/buying bikes in my Resources Archive .

Just to echo everyone in the comments your blog is excellent and I’m nearly using this solely to plan my trip in Vietnam!

I’ve booked my flights to Saigon and I arrive in the city late hours on the 27th of October and leaving from Hanoi on the 2nd of December giving me plenty of time to get all the way up. I’ve decided to rent a bike from one of the companies that you recommend so I’ll give you a little mention.

I’m really torn between taking “The Big One” or the “The Classic”. I plan to be on the road for about 4 weeks of my visit as I’m meeting a friend up in Hanoi at the end, I’ve gave a few days to see the sights in Saigon as well. The Classic gives me what I think is a comfortable 98KM a day to ride. Is this what you class as comfortable? The Big One however is 150KM a day which I think is do-able but I’ll be aching! Since I’ll probably visit Vietnam probably just the once, do you think it’s best to go with the shorter route and enjoy a more relaxing journey or push myself to see everything possible?

What will the weather be like as I make my way up at that time? I’ve seen there can be a little bit of rain (hopefully) in the centre, warm/hot in the south and a lot cooler in the north.

One of my worries is the Police. I won’t be licensed so if I got stopped is it a worrying experience? Do you know what they expect as a bribe? I’m okay with confrontation but I’d like to be prepared for it. I’ll be a solo rider till I meet up with people making the same sort of journey.

Yes, 100km a day is a very nice, comfortable, leisurely pace. You don’t have to stick only to one of the routes: for example, you can mix and match the Classic with the Big One – there are crossover points so it wouldn’t be difficult to do that, and with 4 weeks on the road you’ll have enough time to chop and change a bit.

Weather-wise, it’s not the best time to ride south to north. The south will be at the end of its rainy season, but the central provinces will probably be pretty wet during November. Hanoi might even be getting fairly cool by the time you get there. Expect some rainy days everywhere north of Nha Trang.

A standard fine for the police is roughly 200,000vnd (about $10). If you get stopped, turn off your engine, hold your keys, smile, take it easy, and eventually take the cash out of your pocket (make sure there’s only about 200,000vnd in there in the first place). Then they should take that and let you go. Be careful of Mui Ne – read the first few paragraphs of this guide and take the alternative route (in red) to avoid the police.

Is there a safe / direct / easy way to ride from HCMC to Ban Loc? It looks like most of it is on QL20 which looks like a major road.

Do you mean Bao Loc? If so, then you can follow any of the three routes in the map in this guide as far as Bao Loc. They try to stay off busy main roads as much as possible.

Oops. I definitely meant to Bao Loc. We’ve decided to drive from HCMC to Bao Loc and then Da Lat and get to the coast from Da Lat to Nha Trang (Skipping the coast from HCMC – Nha Trang)

Is HCMC to Bao Loc drivable in a day?

Yes, you can ride from HCMC to Bao Loc in one day.

Hi Tom, Is it possible to save the maps you’ve provided in goggles my maps app. Are you able to share the map with me so I can save it in google my maps app so I can activate directions right away.

Thanks let me know 🙂

Sorry I forgot to add Im hoping to be sent number 3. Uncle Ho’s road. Thank you.

P.s sorry im posting my question as a reply but I cant find the post comment option on my phone.

Hi Mohamad,

To get any of my Google Maps on your phone follow these steps: Open the map you want; click the three vertical dots (usually next to the map title in the top left corner); click ‘Export to KML’. Then upload that KML file to your Maps.me app. You should then be able to follow the route map on your phone with your GPS location always showing. However, directions are not enabled, but this shouldn’t be necessary.

Hi Tom! this is great site! i living in vietnam but im not vietnamese. i married with vietnamese women. now i living in Danang city but i want to go Saigon by my car. actually yesterday i drived from danang to Quang ngay but i back to danang again because i thought it too stress to drive to saigon by car. so i give up but today i found your site and im thinking try to go saigon again. would you give me some tip which route is less traffic and also can some nice scenic place? thanks you Tom!

Hi Jeon Su Man,

Take a look at the map in my Coast Road guide – this route stays off busy highways as much as possible along the coast all the way to Saigon. But sometimes you do have to go on Highway 1 for an hour or so.

Just wondering if you have individual guides for each of the 5 routes? I’ve used your guides for Northern Vietnam which were awesome!

If you click on any of the little motorbike symbols on each on the 5 maps they contain links which take you straight to the guide for that particular section on the route. Do you see what I mean?

Let me know if this works for you,

Thanks Tom for the quick reply, I see what you mean. These guides are awesome!

Thanks, Curtis. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Quick question, did you experience any issues with cops in Mui Ne? I was told by travelers and saw some sites online mentioning that cops there will stop tourists and ask to see a Vietnamese license. They do this to all tourists since they know they can get a bribe. I was thinking of biking from sailing to mui ne but I really don’t want to go through this. Let me know if you suggest I go to Mui Ne.

I address this issue is the first few paragraphs of this guide , including a back route marked in red to avoid the police.

This website is absolute incredible, I will arrive in Saigon early March and will be looking at doing “the big one” route you have here. My only worry is that I am travelling with my girlfriend and hoping to travel on just one bike, do you think that is doable bare in mind we will have 2 large backpacks (approx 15kg each) plus my camera bag full of equipment at 10kg?

Yes, it’s possible but you will need to rent a large bike with a luggage rack and/or bike boxes – most rental companies offer this. Alternatively, you and your girlfriend can put your stuff into one backpack and send the other one up to the rental company’s office in Hanoi and pick it up there when you finish your trip and return your bike to the shop. Again, most of the rental companies offer the buy-back guarantee these days so this should be an option. Try contacting the rental services I recommend in the right sidebar and bottom of all my pages: Flamingo, Tigit, Rent a Bike, Dragon Bikes. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

Tom firstly congratulations on a great site. Its left me in no doubt that Im making the trip but just got to decide which route to take. I am planning an overland trip this summer from the UK to Saigon which will now culminate in one of your suggested routes but North to South. We will probably reach Vietnam (Hanoi) late July and have about 16-18 days to make the trip. Weather at that time of year in mind, which route would you suggest we take. Many thanks in advance. Daz

At that time of year, most of Vietnam experiences similar weather conditions: hot and humid with daily tropical showers.

With 16-18 days it’s probably best to take the Classic or the Easy Rider. These routes will give you a bit of mountains and coast.

OK Tom thats great. Next question. The motorbike shops that have the banners on this site. Do they have branches in Hanoi as that is where we plan to start and if they come recommended by you thats good for me. Daz

Yes, most of the motorbike rental places recommended on this site have offices in Hanoi. Flamingo Travel, Rent a Bike Vietnam, and Tigit Motorbikes all have offices in Hanoi.

Tom We’ve decided to give the Classic a go but not before having a week in the North West first. This will leave us a 2 week window to ride Classic as w’eve managed to get 23 days now. Where would you recommend we visit on route as must not miss places. Any suggestions of places to eat and lay our heads would be great. We are 2 guys in our 50s like a beer at the end of the day etc. Many thanks Daz

Two weeks is OK, but bear in mind that the Classic route is 2,770km so you will need to average around 200km each day.

For more detailed information about places to see, stay and eat along the route, click on the yellow motorbike markers or the beach markers on the Classic route map, then click the links in the markers which take you to my guides to those specific areas, which include accommodation information etc.

Thanks for putting all of this together. I’m planning on biking Vietnam in mid-March and have a few questions. Is it worth it to use Tigit? Are there any issues with trying to find a full face helmet/do you recommend it? What riding gear is suggested? Can you do your routes in reverse? If I have 5 (maybe 6) days to go from Hanoi to Saigon, which route is the best and how many hours can I expect to be biking each day? How much should I expect to spent to spend throughout the trip? I haven’t had a chance to look through the rest of your website yet but wanted to get these questions down while I was thinking about them.

Yes, Tigit are good, and so are Flamingo Travel, Dragon Bikes, and Rent a Bike Vietnam. Check them out: they are all good, reliable rental services. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

You can buy full face helmets in Vietnam easily. They are safer but also heavier and hotter in the humid tropical weather, but then they are good to keep you warm in the cooler mountain weather.

In mid March it might still be quite cold in places north of Hue, so maybe take a jacket, jeans and waterproofs. But in the south it is hot and humid so if you wear too much gear you will be uncomfortably hot.

Yes, you can ride any of my routes in reverse.

6 days is not enough time to ride between Hanoi and Saigon on any of these routes, unless you want to spend all day everyday on the bike. For example, the shortest route is Uncle Ho’s road (1,880km). That means you’d have to cover an average of 300km a day – this is doable but you can expect to spend about 7 hours riding each day: 10 hours on the road including stops for gas, food, drink, sightseeing. Bear in mind that it gets dark at around 6pm.

I have written an guide to Expenses here , but budget a few dollars more because prices have risen in the last year.

Really interesting read, I have 20 days in Vietnam – do you think this be ample time to ride the “Easy Rider” and buy/sell a bike/explore cities at both ends? Comfortable with long rides but not looking to spend the whole trip glued to the seat!

Thanks, Tom

Yes, 20 days is enough time. If you average roughly 150km each day (very doable and a nice leisurely pace) then you’ll have plenty of time to cover the distance.

Regards buying and selling your bike, I’d recommend nipping that in the bud by rent/buying from one of the reliable services that offer buy-back guaranteed at the end of your trip. Check out Rent a Bike Vietnam, Tigit Motorbikes, Dragon Bikes and Flamingo Travel for example.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, appreciated.

To echo the common sentiment here, finding your blog was an absolute godsend! I’m blown away by the breadth of information and your super efficient presentation. I only wish I knew how to deconstruct it to make the most out of my limited trip this March — hopefully, you’ll be able to lend me some wisdom:

I intend to start in Hoi An in the afternoon on March 6, ideally arriving in Hanoi on March 9 (however late in the evening doesn’t matter). I tried to break apart The Classic route, plugging the latter half into googlemaps, but over just 3 1/2 days, it seems ambitious at the least.

I’m 30-years-old and have a ton of experience with motorcycles (mostly supersports) – long days wouldn’t bother me. I’m also more concerned with the riding than the sightseeing on this particular trip, given the limited time, but would of course love to get as much bang for my buck as possible.

Any advice you could lend would be wildly appreciated! And thanks again for this amazing resource!

If you’re an experienced rider you can complete the route between Hoi An and Hanoi over 3.5 days fairly comfortably. But it is a long ride, so try to start early in the mornings (remember it gets dark between 5.30-6pm here in Vietnam) and expect to spend most of the time in the saddle.

From Hoi An you’ll want to decide between taking the Hai Van Pass (along the coast) to Hue or heading straight up to the Ho Chi Minh Road at Thanh My (via road QL14B) – both routes are scenic. Regardless, after that you should plan to stay on the Ho Chi Minh Road all the way to Hanoi. It’s very scenic and great riding for most of the way. Follow my Ho Chi Minh Road guide (sections 4-8) and you shouldn’t have too many problems getting to Hanoi in time.

Your site is extremely helpful, planned most of my trip based on your routes & tips! I’m going to HCMC in 5 days, have 20 days to get to Hanoi. I plan to stick to Ho Chi Minh Road mostly, though there’s not too much scenery in the beginning as I see it.

I consider going HCMC – Lagi – PhanThiet – Dalat – BuonMaThuot, then follow your route. Any pitfalls on the way? I’m also a bit worried about the traffic on HCM road the week before Lunar New Year (9-16 Feb), should I prepare for the worst or chill?

Thanks for your time!

The traffic should be OK on the HCM Road before February 16th – probably more buses taking people back to their hometown for New Year – but after the 16th there will be lots of tourist traffic. However, most places should be OK, but popular areas, such as Phong Nha can get extremely busy. There’s a lot of drunk driving at that time of year, so be careful.

From HCMC to Phan Thiet you can follow the Ocean Road . From Dalat to Buon Ma Thuot you’ll need to take road QL27, because although most maps show a route leading north of Dalat on road DT722 (I call it the Pine Tree Road ), in reality this ends in a dirt track after around 40km.

From Buon Ma Thuot you can follow my Ho Chi Minh Road Guide all the way to Hanoi (sections 2-8)

I am glued to the screen instead of sleeping reading through your posts and all the invaluable comments and context you provide. I am now 100 % convinced I want to do the Vietnam trip AND on a bike! Thank you so much for this awesome site and turning a vague idea into the first stage of a legit plan! Also, I think you are so kind in answering all those comments! I hope you don’t mind me asking a few super specific questions, feeling encouraged by this 🙂

I am planning to travel to Vietnam end of February for 3-3,5 weeks. Now I am torn between starting the classic route in HCMC to have some beaches first after a long cold German winter and end up in Hanoi, but I also feel REALLY drawn to the Northern Region too. And I feel like I would like to spend more than 1 night in one special place in each region to include some hiking/sightseeing/swimming and relaxing from riding, reading and eating. I was wondering what you would recommend:

1. Which part of the classic route could be skipped/shortcut if I would like to integrate a 3-4 day tour to the North East and still be done after 21 days? 2. Is the weather warm enough in the North East by the second week of March to enjoy sun and being outside? 3. Aren’t there beaches further up north so I could skip parts of the South? 4. If I would like to ride 2 weeks of that trip, but spend 1 week relaxing and walking in cities and nature (especially the north) – would there be a good combination of one part of your tours and a north tour? I am happy to either take the bike on one of the local express trains you mentioned so I have it with me and shortcut; extending riding time for 1-2 days so I can save some riding time the others; picking up the bike further up north and missing some coast (but maybe not the nicest part) – any suggestions? 5. As I am travelling by myself, do you know whether its likely I can find a riding buddy on my way and do you have a good tip where to stop in the beginning of the trip to meet other people on the road?

I will definately check out the links to hotels you provide and am happy to book through them where possible.

Thanks a bunch and greets from Hamburg,

I think it’s a good idea to start in the south, because the weather is better in the south at that time of year: then by the time you get to places north of Danang there’s a chance that the weather might have improved. It might not be warm enough in the Northeast by then to enjoy the sun, but you never know.

The best beaches are in the south, especially at that time of year, because the further north you go the more likely it is that the weather will deteriorate.

If you really want to have time for the Northeast at the end of the trip, you could start the Classic route in Nha Trang – you can arrange to pick your bike up from there through the rental companies. Then you can ride north along the coast and then inland for nature and mountains. There is a lot of hiking etc around Phong Nha, too.

However, personally I would leave the northeast open as an option if you have the time, because there’s plenty to keep you busy on the Classic route already, and getting to the Northeast takes time, and the road conditions can be unpredictable. I would come back to Vietnam another time to ride the ‘real’ north 🙂

You will definitely meet other riders and travel buddies when you are on the road 🙂

Thanks a lot for your reply! Nha Trang pick up sounds like a good plan, also to avoid the highway. I will definately check out Phong Nha – and yes, maybe you are right not to want to squeeze too much out of one trip. I just love the mountains…

Have a great week!

What a great informative blog you have, I have a question or two if you don’t mind answering them.

I have 18 days in Vietnam with my friend (not as long as I hoped as he has to go back to work) but I’m sure we will be back in the future. The classic route appeals to me the most which towns do you recommend to stay at along the way and much time do you think we should spend in each place to complete 15 days of riding. I should also add that we would be starting off in HCMC making our way to Hanoi.

Another thing thats on my mind is when we do activities, how would we keep our bags safe which would have our passports, cameras etc. However with the safety of the bike I’m not too worried about it as we would be chaining it up together and locking them.

Regards, Torin.

The red pins on the Classic route map on this page mark some of the more interesting places to overnight on that route.

Regarding how long to stay in each place, bear in mind that the total distance of the Classic route is 2,770km, and if you only have 15 days to complete it then you will need to average almost 200km per day. So if you stop anywhere on route for more than one night you will have to make that up with one or two long riding days. Therefore, I suggest you either choose to ride every day, only staying one night in places along the route, or if you want to stay longer in places, perhaps consider only riding half the route and then putting your bike on the train for the second half.

When you stop by the side of the road for a swim or something, don’t leave you most valuable possessions on your bike – passport, money etc. Take them with you in a day pack, and it’s best not to leave your bike out of sight when you stop, unless there’s a proper parking lot, which there often is.

First off, thank you so much for all of your effort in creating this amazing website. This is exactly what I was looking for to feel prepared enough to do such a journey. Here are some questions I have for you (my apologies if they are repeats from earlier comments, I read through mostly off of them)

My boyfriend and I are planning to be in Vietnam near the end of May- mid June. We’re hoping to spend 3-4 weeks there. I’ve read your section on the weather in the different regions and I know we are going at a tricky time regarding the south. We definitely would like to see the whole of the country and it seems best that we start in Saigon and work our way up north where it will be spring– is that true?. The biggest dilemma we’re facing is deciding wether to motorbike our way from city-to-city all the way up or if we should rent motorbikes from hostels we stay at in the major cities/town and do local rides or some of the other loops you have posted. I know this question is more of a preference question but I’d love to hear your thoughts, as I’m sure there are pro’s and con’s to both. The major point’s we’ve been considering are:

-Time- the ability to spend more time in cities vs being on the road. We’ll be in Vietnam for a relatively long period of time, so if we did the Easy Rider we’d probably have more than enough time to spend a couple days in the major cities. I saw it’s about 150km/day for two weeks. I also saw that you can send your motorbike on the train. We were thinking if we needed to do that (due to time) we’d probably ride from HCM up to Hue (to cover the hai van pass) then either return the bikes in Hue to the renters (is that possible?) or send them up to Hanoi via train. If there is any part of the route to miss, which part would you recommend skipping? I also was wondering if we’d be getting a lot of rain in the south and it might be risky to be riding there.

-Cost. We haven’t quite figured this one out but I imagine renting bikes one-way for a long period of time would probably even out to renting motorbikes daily at hostels and the cost of train rides from city to city. Is this true?

– Safety/ Headaches of getting lost. I’ve motorbiked through parts of China and Thailand, but almost always had a local with me when we went on the more rural roads. I worry about break downs and getting lost. I’ve read there are a lot of places for bike repairs almost everywhere you go… are there some routes that are much easier to navigate or with more help than others? As I mentioned, we were thinking Easy Rider, but we’re also considering the Classic.

I know it’s not the ideal time to be traveling in Vietnam weather-wise, but are there many tourists traveling at this time? I’m wondering if I’d need to book hostels in advance or if we can play it by ear as we go.

Again, I know many of my questions are more subjective but I’d love to hear your experienced perspective.

May-June is quite a good time to travel the whole country – the weather should be pretty similar and pretty good across the nation: hot, humid and sunny with tropical downpours. So I don’t think it matters that much which way around you do your trip.

Riding the whole way you will get a real sense of Vietnam and how the country, people, food, and culture changes from region to region. And there’s also a sense of achievement when riding the length of the country. However, if you don’t feel like spending so much time on the road then it’s certainly possible to take public transportation between the major cities and then rent bikes to do shorter loops.

Yes, 150km a day is a good and very doable average and would allow you time to spend a couple of nights here and there in certain places along the route. Yes, you can rent the bike from Saigon and return it to Hue or Danang or Hanoi or some other places along the route – check with the rental companies: try contacting Dragon Bikes, Flamingo Travel, Tigit, Rent a Bike – they are all good, efficient services. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

If you send your bike on the train, remember that it usually takes between 2-5 days to arrive at its destination.

It would probably work out a little cheaper if you rented a bike for the duration of your stay rather than at each stop along the way.

There are repairs shops everywhere, even in remote areas you’re never that far away from a place (sửa xe means motorbike repair in Vietnamese).

Navigation for the Easy Rider and Classic isn’t too difficult. You should buy a local sim card when you get to Vietnam so that you will have Google Maps etc all the time and your current gps location. Sadly, Google Maps offline doesn’t really work in Vietnam, so if you want to follow the route maps from my website you’ll need to export my maps from Google and then upload them to Maps.me (click the three vertical dots next to the map title at the top left corner of any of my Google route maps, then click the option ‘Export to KML’, then upload that file to Maps.me). If you do this you should be able to follow my route maps offline and with your current gps location on the map.

You should be OK booking hotels as you go, unless you arrive in a popular tourist destination on a weekend or public holiday.

Tom, your website is AMAZING. Pure value, such high quality content here. Thank you so much!

I’m traveling to Saigon in February and want to take the Easy Rider trail to Hanoi! So excited for this trip. I was told that Dragon Bikes was a great place to rent bikes from in Saigon. Any tips or other vital information you could send my way would be appreciated.

Thanks again for your awesome work here!

Thanks. I’m glad you like my site.

Yes, Dragon Bikes are a good, efficient and reliable place to rent from – there are links to Dragon Bikes in the right sidebar and bottom of all my pages. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

In February, two things to remember are that the weather can be surprisingly cold and grey anywhere north of Danang, but not all the time, of course. And Tet Lunar New Year holiday (which is the middle of Feb in 2018, I think) can get extremely busy with domestic tourists.

I hope this helps can you started planning your road trip,

Thank you so much for the reply Tom.

I wonder, is it safe to leave my bike unaccompanied for stretches of time, such as when exploring waterfalls, going to bed, or going for swims and walks? Or should the bike be locked to something secure so no one can throw it into the back of a truck or something like that?

I also saw that you sometimes had written directions for your routes. Are there written directions for the entire Easy Rider Route? And for a beginner like me what do you think the best way to follow the route is and not get lost, would it be using my phone and screen shots of the google maps map, or following written directions?

Thank you once again! I’ve shared your website with my friends. It’s officially the most informative and artistic/well written travel website I’ve ever come across!

In most places where you stop there will be some kind of bike parking lot where you get a ticket for your bike (don’t lose the ticket) and someone will watch over it. But in cases where you stop by the side of the road for a swim or walk you can lock the front wheel of your bike (usually by turning the key all the way to the left in the ignition), or you can buy some kind of lock to take with you. But you shouldn’t really leave it out of your sight for too long.

There are detailed guides to certain sections of the Easy Rider route (click the motorbike symbols on the route map and then click the links within the map marker to go directly to those guides), but not a detailed guide to the entire route. You can follow the Easy Rider route by, as you say, taking screenshots and checking it against your GSP while on the road, or by exporting the route map from Google Maps to Maps.me (open the Easy Rider map, click the three vertical dots next to the map title in the top left corner, click the option ‘Export to KML’, then upload that file to Maps.me). You can also read more about maps etc in this article .

Tom, thank you once again! Such a great help my friend.

Thanks for this amazing Blog it’s really boost me in my planning, yo’re doing such a superb job. I just shared it in a Maltese travel page 😉

I am planning to backpacking Vietnam from 8th February to 20th March so it counts like 40 days. So as this is my first time as a solo traveler and in Vietnam, I have some questions to sort of.

1) Do you think I have time enough to make THE BEACH BUM & UNCLE HO’S ROAD as a round trip in 40 days plus staying few days in some of interested places? Or shall I make THE BIG ONE instead? I wish to cover as much as I can of the Country and I’am a good rider on motorbike so that is not an issue.

2) Do you recommend to start my journey from HCMC to HANOI and back of vice versa? This is regarding the weather issue also the Tet period.

3) It is possible to make some nights over in a tent or better if I sleep in a hostel for my safety matters?

4)Which are the best shops to by a good tested motorbike ready for a journey with less problems as possible ? And to be more easy for me to sell it back again without any problems please.

Sorry if I did any double questions.

Thanks again for your professional job. Mauro

Yes, I think that 40 days is enough time to do both: either the Beach Bum one way and Uncle Ho’s Road the other, or the Big One. With 40 days you have enough time to be flexible so you don’t need to worry about it too much. Remember you can also put your bike on the train .

At that time of year, I recommend starting in HCMC first, because the weather can still be quite cold anywhere north of Hue during February, so the later you get to the north the more likely it is that the weather will be better.

Yes, you can camp along the way, but it’s probably not worth bringing all your camping gear with you if you’re only going to use it a few times. Instead, you can camp at some of the designated campgrounds that I mention in my guides where you can rent a tent, like the Ocean Road for example.

For motorbike rental take a look at the recommended companies listed in the right sidebar and bottom of this page (and all pages of my website). They are all good, reliable, efficient services which guarantee buy-back at the end of your trip. Try contacting Flamingo Travel, Dragon Bikes, Tigit, and Rent a Bike Vietnam. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

Thanks for your immediately reply, it’s very helpful for me and others who had similar issues.

So now I know that I’m flexible enough regarding time. I will do the Beach Bum one way and Uncle Ho’s Road the other and I will start my journey from HCMC. But I have other question if you don’t mind.

Which the best way I should start from? Beach Bum or Uncle Ho’s Road?

Thanks again Tom.

Well, it depends which you prefer first: beach or mountains 🙂

I’d probably start with the beach.

Amazing website, really helpful.

Just wondering if you could offer some advice. We are going starting in Han oi, going to Hay Long Bay and then making our way down to Saigon, we want to see amazing views, the best cities and beach too, which route would you recommend for this, we are coming on 2nd january for 24 days but want to stop over at a few places for a couple of nights too.

Thank you in advance. 🙂

Sorry and Mountains*****

If you want to see beaches and mountains with around 3 weeks on the road then you should consider the Classic, Beach Bum and Easy Rider routes. You can combing and mix them up if you want. And remember that at that time of year the weather is best south of Nha Trang. Anywhere north of Hue can be quite cold and bleak in January. So that’s something to bear in mind if you’re looking for warm weather and beaches.

Hi Tom! Just wanted to say this site has been amazing in my planning and appreciate all the work and effort you’ve put into it.

I’ve read that the ride from Nha Trang to Qui Nhom has some very beautiful spots, but also know that it routes through Hwy 1 at some parts. I’ve been told to avoid Hwy 1 so was curious how safe/unsafe that route would be. Any input would be super helpful.

Assuming I will be taking the coast up to Qui Nhom and then heading West, would you suggest going to Pleiku before Kon Tum? Or would it be alright to skip Pleiku.

I’m bringing my own motorcycle gear over along with my helmet that has a tinted visor. Would there be any reasons why a tinted visor wouldn’t be a good idea?

I appreciate any help! Thanks!

The coastal route between Nha Trang and Quy Nhon doesn’t go on Highway 1 all the way, as long as you follow the coastal route in the map from my Beach Bum route . From Dai Lanh you turn off Highway 1 all the way through Tuy Hoa to near Chi Thanh where you rejoin Highway 1 but it’s a particularly scenic section of Highway 1. Zoom in on the map to make sure you get the right roads.

Skipping Pleiku is fine. And a tinted visa is fine too, as long as it doesn’t get scratched easily.

I will drive from HCMC to Hanoi. I have 4 weeks for this. I’ll begin on 12 December. I can pitch a tent. Never drove a scooter! Want to see most interesting free places in Vietnam like caves, waterfalls, charming small cities. I heard Scenic route is very nice. What route can you suggest? Second question. How can I transfer your exact route so it could navigate me in google maps on my smartphone? Can’t sort this out :/

You’re doing absolutely awesome work, pity a lot of people don’t know your site! Best regards

All of the 5 routes on this page have caves, waterfalls, small towns etc. It just depends on your time-frame and if you want to be by the beach on in the mountains more. Perhaps you can combine the Beach Bum with some of the off-the-beaten-track sections of the Big One.

To get the routes onto your phone you need to export the maps to KML and then onto maps.me. You can do this by opening the tab in the top left corner of any of my Google Maps (where the three vertical dots are), then selecting Export to KML, then uploading that file to maps.me. That way you can follow your current gps position on any of the routes.

Actually, I’m not intersted in beaches. Is Scenic route is easy enough for somebody with no experience riding scooter or should I pick one of your “5 suggester routes”?

Thanks that helped. 😀 Daniel

If you prefer mountains and you’re a first time rider I think Uncle Ho’s Road would be the best route. Also, I’ve written a full guide to the entire route here . Or you could try the Easy Rider which is specifically designed to be easily navigable.

The Scenic Route is good too, but there are some slightly more ‘difficult’ roads on it.

Hi Tom, thanks for all these writeups, really incredible collection of guides. I’m contemplating getting a bike to ride through the country, potentially on the beach bum itinerary you listed, and have some questions:

* All your itineraries are south-north, is there any specific reason other than you’re maybe based in the south?

* I would be nervous about theft, how do you go about choosing where to park and what not to avoid this? Do you run a chain lock through the front tire or something like that?

* is 18 days enough time to enjoy the beach bum tour without being constantly on the move? I’d like to at least take a break for a few days in Hoi An

* seems your links to bike shops are all rental options, maybe I’m paranoid but I get nervous about my deposit and whether I’ll get dinged for little stupid things at the end of the trip, vs. just buying a bike. In Thailand everywhere is notorious for trying to wring money out of tourists for “damage” that often was there to begin with

* any equipment you’d recommend bringing along for a relative beginning like gloves? I saw some other blogs saying bring a helmet but that seems a bit ridiculous, I’m travelling as light as possible with a 30L bag

That’s all I got for now, thanks for your time!

Yes, you can ride any of the routes from north to south or vice-versa. Time of year is a consideration when choosing which way to do it – take a look at my Weather Guide for more details.

Most places – hotels, restaurants, beaches etc – have their own little parking lot. You usually receive a ticket for your bike and a security person will take care of it. But when stopping by the side of the road in remote areas you could lock the wheel if you feel nervous about leaving it unattended. In general it’s fine, but obviously don’t leave your bike out of sight for an extended period of time if there’s no one around to look after it.

The total distance of the Beach Bum is 2,050km. So 18 days is fine – you’d only need to average around 100km per day. But of course if you stop in Hoi An for a few days that will significantly change your necessary daily average. You’d need to ride at least 2 days over 200km in order to stay static in Hoi An for a few days and still complete the Beach Bum in 18 days.

The links to my recommended motorbike rental companies are all very efficient, professionally-run and highly rated. You don’t need to worry about being scammed in any way. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me. And, in the unlikely event that you do have a bad experience renting from them, please let me know.

You don’t need to bring a helmet – they’re available here, and rental bikes often give you a choice of helmets too. Gloves are only necessary if you are riding in the highlands during the winter months.

this is great thanks Tom! Please ignore my other comment that is still waiting on moderation

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but on your Google maps for each route, is there a way to measure distances between points of interest (travel times and distances) to get a rough idea of where we will be along the route for each day? And what would you say would be the average time riding each day on the “Classic Route” around 3-4 hrs?

Thanks for all your help, this website has already helped me immensely preparing for my trip.

Cheers, Alex.

I don’t think you’d be able to get Google to tell you distances and times unless you redraw the route on another Google Map.

Riding time depends a quite a few different factors. But as a general rule, on good roads your average speed will be about 40-50km an hour, but that doesn’t include stops for photos, gas etc. So at a leisurely pace you can reckon on around 100km every 3 hours. 150km a day is a very nice, easy, doable daily average, but it’s also possible to do a lot more if you start at a decent time in the morning.

Hello, Which month do you recommend to ride from Hanoi to Saigon? I have two options: 4th of December and 1st of february. December would be better for me, but if difference of joy is big I can ride in february. Best Regards.

Well, both of those options the weather will be best in the south: once you get north of Danang you may find it gets colder and grayer, because the north gets a real winter. If you ride during February, you will probably overlap with the Tet Lunar New Year celebrations – this is very interesting but it’s not great for travel, because many businesses close and most of the nation goes on holiday so places become busy.

So perhaps December would be your best option.

Came across your site tonight and I’ve spent longer than I’d care to admit scrolling through some of the trips you’ve done – there’s some great stuff here.

I’m planning on doing a trip in early December from Da Nang to Ha Noi. On the section of your ‘Classic’ route where it goes inland from Hue and up the Ho Chi Minh Road are there plenty of nha nghi/hotels? That’s the route I’d like to take but I just wanted to check that there are places to stay as it’s quite a long way from there to the red dot at Phong Nha.

Also, how long would you recommend budgeting for Da Nang – Ha Noi.?

Thanks for your help and keep up the excellent work, David

Yes, there are places to stay – hotels and nha nghi – along the Ho Chi Minh Road. For much more detail take a lot at sections 4-8 of my Ho Chi Minh Road guide , which includes places to stay and stop along the way. The one section where there aren’t regular guest houses is the Western Ho Chi Minh Road between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha, but there is now a convenient small hotel right in the middle of that section in Long Son .

You could spend anything between 5-10 days between Danang and Hanoi, depending on how much riding you want to day each day and how much you want to stop along the way.

Hi! This is a great guide – thank you so much!

Quick question: For a new / inexperienced rider, which is the easiest / least tricky route that you would recommend? I’m planning to do this with a couple of friends, but I personally don’t ride and am planning to learn as much / as well as I can for a few days in Ho Chi Minh before heading out.

If you have any tips / tricks / contacts in Ho Chi Minh who might be able to give me a riding lesson or two, that would also be much appreciated!

Cheers, and thanks for contributing to the travel world! crunch

Uncle Ho’s Road is probably the easiest to navigate and is relatively low of traffic-clogged roads, plus it’s the shortest in terms of distance. Another option is to take the Easy Rider.

Some of the recommended motorbike rental companies (see the right sidebar and bottom of this page) may be able to help you practice before you leave. Try contacting them. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

Thanks for the suggestions! I did get in touch with the motorcycle companies and one of them offered to teach me (and waive the lesson fee if I rented from them) so that’s definitely helpful. Thanks so much!

Hi Tom Great info and good work your doing , lived here for 6 yrs now but am going to ride down to Kien Giang from Danang with my dog would you sugest the HCM raod the best and quickest option also was thinking it willl take me 3 1/2 days riding to sgn , i know the riding conditions of Vn just wondering best option to go concidering i have my dog and really dont want to run the gauntlet of Highway 1 with the crazy buses trucks etc etc ,

cheers and hope to hear from you Hoping to set of in 2 or 3 days from now Lockie

Yes, the Ho Chi Minh Road is probably the easiest and (for the most part) quiet and direct route, but you still have to deal with horrible dust and trucks for the last hour or so getting into Saigon.

From Saigon to Kien Giang you could follow one of my Mekong Routes – much better than the main highways, but again you still have to battle the traffic getting out of Saigon.

First up, mad props for putting together probably the most detailed riding guide going around the interwebs at the moment. This thing has helped me in so many ways already. You sir, are a legend!

Me and some mates are looking at doing the “Classic” route for the 15-16 days we have in Viet, as it looks the most enjoyable. I’ve read through some of the other comments here in terms of timeframes and realise we may need to cover a few extra km’s to do it in this timeframe. So my question is if we are to do this route, is there a certain section we could skip/ride through or an earlier finishing point that might save us a bit of time? Anything you think we won’t be missing if we skip, really. We are riding Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh so were looking at the maps and thinking say, if we finished up at Nha Trang would we be missing anything from there, the rest of the way to H.C.M ??

Thanks heaps for your help! Jay.

Yes, I think that either finishing in Nha Trang or starting in Dong Hoi (for Phong Nha) would work. It also depends on the time of year you’re planning to ride the route, because of weather. For example, the north gets a real winter from around late November to February, while the south has good weather at that time of year. (See this Weather Guide for more info).

With either of those ‘short cuts’ you should have enough time to ride the route, but you’d still need to cover quite a lot of kms over several days in order to finish on time.

Epic! Thanks for your help mate!

Thank you so much for the detailed routes! It helps soooo much. I’m hoping to do the big one and heading to Ninh Binh tomorrow but want to additionally include some of the many national parks along the way. For example, the ride from Ninh Bing to Dong Hoi or Hue is quite long. And I notice Pu Mat takes up quite a lot of space west of Vinh. Do you have any experience/info about this area? (other than the Kem Waterfall) Is driving that far west worth it?Everything I look up doesn’t really offer a lot of info. I also have camping stuff with me and would love to utilize it as I haven’t much in my trip yet. Is Bu Gia Map worth the ride out of the way? Have you been?

I can easily incorporate Bach Ma and Chu Yang into my trip but would love any extra info if you yourself have been there! Thank you for this resource and for all your help!!!!!

It depends how much time you have and what the weather is like. The area around Kem Waterfall is very scenic and largely off the beaten path so if you have time I would recommend going there and exploring the wider area too, like Pu Mat National Park, for example. There’s not that much tourist development or infrastructure there yet, but ‘wild camping’ is great there, providing you do it sensibly, of course. Perhaps read some of the tips for ‘wild camping’ in Vietnam in this guide first.

There are many national parks in Vietnam, but personally I don’t think it’s worth putting aside the time for Bu Gia Map and Chu Yang – you will be riding through so many beautiful areas (especially on the Ho Chi Minh Road) that you will see and be in plenty of excellent natural landscapes without detours to specific national parks. However, I would recommend checking out Back Ma if you have the time.

Thank you so much! I am utilizing all of your maps so much.

Hey Tom this was an awesome article along with your webpage. I had a few questions. I’m hoping to have 18 days. I want to start from Hanoi and go to HCMC. I would love to follow the classic route. Do you think this gives me ample time?

I would love to explore cities along the way and don’t want to be overly rushed. Should I potential try to shorten the classic to make it more feasible with the time I have?

Also if I decide to go with the classic, what is a reasonable mile/km goal to set for a day?

I really want to see the cities you have label along the way and not just pass through them.

Thank you Jake.

18 days is enough time to ride the Classic route, but how much time you’ll have to explore the cities along the way depends on your riding experience and stamina. For example, if you rode every day over the 18 days, you’d need to average around 150km per day. This is very doable and not particularly tiring or long in the saddle, but it’s still around 4 hours of (fairly leisurely) riding each day. Add to that a couple of days in a couple of cities and you’d need to cover around 200km per day in order to fit it all into 18 days. So from this you can start to get an idea of how your time might work out.

If you’d prefer to cut out some bits of the route in order to spend more time exploring the cities along the way, you could consider starting in Hue (most motorbike rental companies can arrange this) and ending in Phan Thiet, where you can put your bike on the train to Saigon (more details about that here ).

Hi Tom, thanks for the awesome guide! Sounds very promising. Thanks Jake for the questions you asked, we were wondering the same thing. Right now we are in Hanoi and getting prepared for our tour. But i have another one: Tom, I was wondering if you have those routes as gps-files aswell, since your premade routes can not be navigated offline in google maps.

Thanks, Andi

Yes, Google offline doesn’t work for my maps in Vietnam, but you can export my maps (export to KML option in the dialogue box at top right of my Google maps) to maps.me and follow them like that. I’m aware that this is an issue and am trying to create an app to address this, but that will take some time. For more about maps.me and other maps see this Map Guide .

Awesome. Thanks Tom. I think I’ll do the entire classic route because it is too hard to resist. Once again thank you so much.

I currently live in Shanghai China, and i’m planning to take the motorbike drive in late January. However, I am planning to go from Hanoi down to Saigon. I saw your routes, and thought that I could just follow it backwards down to Saigon. I want to take a trip to Ha Long Bay first for a few days before going to Hanoi, and I was wondering if you have any sources about finding a motorbike in the Hanoi area.

Hi De-Sean,

Yes, sure. There are lots of reliable motorbike rental companies in Hanoi. Take a look at the trusted rental companies recommended in the right sidebar and bottom of this page (and on every page of my website). Contact any of them and they can give you a quote. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

My wife and I are heading to Vietnam at the end of October 17. I ahve been trolling the internet looking for best routes and stumbled upon yours. WOW, I am impressed. The routes you have proposed ahve taken alot of the guess work out of for me and I truly approeciate that. As motorcyles are not actually that great for locking your things in, what is it like when you see a spot that looks good for a bit of look. Is it advisable to carry all your gear with you or are there locals for a few dong will look after your gear? I am not looking forward to carrying my wifes back pack 🙁 Thanks again for a great web site.

Cheers, Marden

Personally, I leave the bulk of my luggage strapped on the bike (it’s just clothes etc so nothing valuable) and I take my smaller day pack with me which has all my valuables in it. This works fine for me, but obviously you should try not to leave your motorbike and belongings unseen for too long. Most of the time you can keep it within sight anyway: for example, if you want to stop by a river for a swim, just leave the bike by the roadside so you can keep an eye on it while you’re in the river.

I got so excited about your website that I want to motorbike, but I don’t have any motorbiking experience. Cycling I do everyday, scooters I have done, but not this. That having said…

I have about 14 days to travel between Saigon and Hanoi or the other way around (whatever you recommend). I like the beach bum route, because it seems easier and safer for a first timer, but Uncle’s Ho’s Road seems amazing as well (again, whatever you recommend). So, where should I start (Hanoi or Saigoin), which route is easier, what parts by motorbike and where/when to send my motorbike on the train?

I will be arriving next week!

Many, many thanks,

I think, at this time of year, you should consider starting in Hanoi and finishing in Saigon. The weather should be pretty good at this time of year, but you may get quite a bit of rain in the central provinces.

If you’ve ridden a scooter before you should be OK riding in Vietnam, with the possible exception of the big cities, where the traffic is dense and chaotic – obviously you’ll need to take it slowly when you first start out in Hanoi, but once you’re a couple hours out of the city it’s much quieter.

14 days is fine but it’s not that long, so you’ll probably be riding every day. Uncle Ho’s Road is the shortest and most direct of these 5 routes and it’s easy to navigate so that’s a pretty good option. Or, if you want to mix some beach time in there, consider the Easy Rider or Beach Bum.

For bike rental and information check out the trusted companies listed in the right sidebar and bottom of all my pages. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

I hope this helps get you started,

Thank you so much for the quick response. If I need to skip one part and send the motorbike by train. Which part would you recommend?

Well, that would depend on which route you choose. If you decide to do one of the coastal routes, it’s quite easy to put your bike on the train from Phan Thiet (Mui Ne) to Saigon. Or for any of the routes you could start in Dong Hoi and ride up to meet the Ho Chi Minh Road at Phong Nha and start the route from there. Some of the bike rental companies should be able to arrange for you to pick up the bike in, for example, Dong Hoi if you contact them in advance. Another option is to start you trip in Danang, Hoi An or Hue, because all the rental companies have shops there.

If you do plan to put your bike on the train for a section of the route remember that your bike doesn’t travel on the same train as you do and usually takes at least two days to arrive at its destination (with the exception of Phan Thiet to Saigon) – see this guide for more details.

Thank you so much for publishing these helpful guides. Nice to see someone with in-depth knowledge sharing it through such detailed articles.

I have a few questions:

(1) If I plan to do the classic route at the beginning of February, does it much matter if I start in HCMC or Hanoi? I plan to complete the route in about 15-16 days so not sure if it matters, but my preference is for starting in Hanoi (but modified as noted below due to time constraints).

(2) Am I missing much by taking a train/plane to Dong Hoi then traveling via motorbike to Phong Nha and starting the classic route there? I understand you mentioned that the northern parts of the route are the most spectacular, so just want to make sure I’m not missing anything unique by starting out there.

(3) My girlfriend and I have never driven motorbikes so we plan to hire a tour guide + one other driver to drive us (each of us driving pilon behind a driver). Do you think this is smart or do you think we can learn quickly on the road going slowly? The tour guide is pretty pricey compared to doing it ourselves, but we’re not sure it’s safe to start our motorbiking experience on the roads of Vietnam.

(4) When doing the classic route, is it ok to skip the one leg between A Luoi and Thanh My on the Golden Loop or should we take that leg and then backtrack? I noticed all other parts of the Golden Loop are covered by the classic route which is why I ask.

(5) Of all the routes you mentioned, do you think the classic route is the best for first time visitors to Vietnam?

(6) Are the red markers indicating the spots where one should rest for at least a night?

Thanks again.

Yes, it’s fine to go from Hanoi to Saigon, and starting in Dong Hoi is also fine.

The driving depends on you really – whichever you feel safest and more confident doing. Because you’ll be starting the route in Dong Hoi you won’t be confronted with big city traffic immediately and this is a very good thing. Starting in Dong Hoi means a fairly gentle introduction to riding in Vietnam’s towns and then straight into the mountains on quieter roads. But Vietnam’s roads are dangerous and obviously you must be extremely careful. But the feeling of independence and freedom when self-riding these loops is unbeatable.

Yes, you could skip A Luoi to Thanh My so you don’t have to backtrack, or you could skip the Hai Van Pass instead: it depends if you’d rather ride a mountains pass (A Luoi to Thanh My) or a coastal pass (the Hai Van Pass).

Yes, the Classic is good for first time visitors, or you could also choose the Easy Rider. You have enough time with 15-16 days but not loads of time, so you will probably be riding almost every day.

The red pins mark major towns or places of interest and are also possible overnight stops.

Thank you Tom! That was a very helpful reply.

Hi there Tom,

Awesome write up. I’m just reading through your blog and reminiscing about my time in Vietnam. Not sure if it is just me, but on Chrome, the maps appear to be out of order. Also, the Easy Rider map doesn’t show up at all on the page. Perhaps you want to check this out, to see if theres a glitch. Thanks so much for your awesome write up ands guides… If there is any way that I can join you and help run the site/ learn from you, please, please let me know. I want to be involved in anyways possible. Eager to share my online/media talents, writing skills, and passion for Vietnamese culture and travel/ living… thanks, Tom

Thanks for your kind words. And thanks for letting me know about the glitches – I will check them out. I get help for a couple of people on the tech side of things, but I do lack knowledge when it comes to that, so I reply on readers to write in with updates or letting me know if they’re having problems with the site in any way.

Thanks again,

Hi Tom, Are there any routes you might be able to recommend that also include Cambodia and Laos? I arrive in HCMC in 3 weeks and plan to spend up to 2 months potentially riding around Indochina. I’m wondering if perhaps an initial side venture across to Cambodia and back to begin might be worthwhile, then your ‘Classic’ route, perhaps finishing with some northern Vietnam and Laos add-on…. any thoughts or suggestions here would be greatly appreciated. Love your site and helpfulness mate. Ben

I don’t know Cambodia or Laos that well. Other riders speak very highly of Laos as a motorbike destination – check out Laos GPS for some more information.

As far as I know, providing you have the papers for the motorbike, crossing those borders should be OK.

You can try searching the Vietnam Back Roads Facebook group for more Laos-Cambodia border related advice too.

Tom, first of all, great guide! You’ve created a wealth of information here that has become a key resource as I plan my upcoming Vietnam motorcycle tour. Thank you. Do you have a guide on your preferred safety gear for the climate (helmet, boots, gloves), rain gear recommendations, and other essentials you like to have in your kit for long rides? It would be great to hear what your experience has taught.

Yes, it’s a good idea, and it’s something I’ve been meaning to write up for a while, but unfortunately I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I’ve written about climate and weather here , so you can use that to get an idea of the kind of clothes you’ll need to pack according to different regions and different times of year.

Regards riding gear, many ‘serious’ riders from abroad come to Vietnam with all the ‘serious’ gear but end up shedding it all once they get here, because conditions are usually (but certainly not always) so hot and humid. A good helmet and sunglasses are important. Everything else is kind of personal – in hot, lowland areas I ride in flip-flops, shorts, and sleeveless T-shirt, but that’s not for everyone, of course, and I don’t ride particularly fast or on a high-powered bike. Depending on the time of year, the highlands can get surprisingly cold, making it essential to have at least some cold weather gear.

Other bits and pieces of this kind of information can be found in my Resources Archive .

Hi there, im currently in the north after following many of your routes and guideds and clocking up nearly 2000km we are on our way back to hanoi to head on a southern route, after seeing many mountains we are going to hit the beach bum route. I am just wondering if you can recommend any towns to stay to break the hanoi – phung na, hoi an – quy nhon sections up. Liam

Good to hear that you’ve been enjoying your road trip so far.

Between Hanoi and Phong Nha they are several places to break the journey. Take a look at my Ho Chi Minh Road Guide from section 6 to 8 (although, obviously, you will be riding it in reverse).

Between Hoi An and Quy Nhon you could ride it in one day if you start in the morning, or break the journey at Sa Huynh or Tham Quan.

First of all thanks for all the work you put in and all the detailed information you share! I’m currently riding your classic tour and love it so far!!

I’m currently in quy nhon and am going to make my way up to hoi an via kon tum but one question, do you have any advixe how to find suitable hotels/hostels/other places to stay the night on your route away from the big cities (red marks)? I have no idea how to do it and the ride from quy nhon to kon tum is a bit to long for my taste to do on one day

Good to hear you’re enjoying the route so far.

Away from the bigger towns you can look out for signs saying ‘nhà nghỉ’ which means ‘local guest house’ in Vietnamese. Once you start looking, you’ll see them very regularly. I’ve written an article all about nhà nghỉ here .

Thanks for the detailed routes! I was thinking of doing the big one in Jan/Feb of 2018 but from Hanoi to Saigon. Whats with the huge time differences? Would 3 weeks be riding everyday compared to 6 weeks with days off at certain points?

Cheers, Fraser

Yes, that’s right. And it also depends on your riding experience and endurance for sitting in the saddle for hours each day. 3 weeks is a pretty short amount of time to ride The Big One and you’d be on the move almost every day, but 6 weeks would give you enough time to stop for a day or two every now and then.

Im flying to Saigon september 14 and was planning on doing the classic route, im flying back home october 8 from Hanoi, so I hope it will be enough time 🙂

I was wondering what places along the way you would recommend to stay more than a day, maybe even 2-3 days? since most of the stops will just be over the night before keep on the ride.

I was also wondering what places that I just cant miss to visit along the way up to hanoi?

Tnx really mutch for this amazing guide, love your site!

Keep up the good work, and sorry for my bad english 😉

Greetings from Sweden

Hi Christofer,

Three weeks should be enough to complete the Classic route. You’d only need to average less than 150km per day, so that is very doable. But, of course, every time you stop somewhere for a day and night then you will have to make up the distance the next day.

There are lots of great places to stop along this route. It depends if you prefer established traveller destinations or less visited areas. Places like Mui Ne, Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue and Ninh Binh are very popular with all types of travellers – they are interesting, beautiful places with lots of accommodation, things to see, and opportunities to meet other travellers. However, if you prefer less visited places, consider taking your time along the coast north of Nha Trang up to Quy Nhon – these coast roads are very scenic and there are lots of good beaches – click the links inside the map pins on the Classic route map above for more details. After that, the Western Ho Chi Minh Road from Khe Sanh to Phong Nha is stunning so take your time on that too.

What do you think of my itinerary? Saigon 3 nights, phan thiet 2 nights, Dalat 1 night, Nha thrang 2 nights, qui nhon 1 night, kon tum 1 night, hoi an 2 nights, hue 2 nights, khe sanh 1 night, long son 1 night, pong nha 1 night, pho chau 1 night, vinh tien 1 night, nihn binh 1 night, hanoi 3 nights. Maybe cut down one night in saigon and make it 4 in hanoi and then split it up to be able to go to ha long bay? Any recommendations on good places to stay the night on theese places? 🙂

Yes, that itinerary seems fine to me. Personally, I would spend two nights in Quy Nhon and Phong Nha because they are great places and a bit less touristy than, for example, Nha Trang and Hoi An.

For recommendations about places to stay in most of those places on the Ho Chi Minh Road section of your route, check out the relevant sections of my Ho Chi Minh Road Guide .

Okey tnx for the advice, then i might switch those then, so I stay 1 night in nha trang and hoi an, and two nights in quy nhon and phong nha instead! Yes okey im gonna read it!^^

Tnx for all help!

One more question for you Tom, How and where do i park my motorbike during day and especially the night? Do you have a guide for parking in Vietnam? 🙂

Tnx so mutch for all help!

At night, your hotel will take care of it. During the day if you stop at a cafe or a public beach there will be guards to look after it – they give you a ticket. Parking lot in Vietnamese is ‘giữ xe’. But when you stop at a random location, such as an empty beach, there will be no one there to guard your bike – make sure you don’t let it out of your sight.

I’m loving these scenic routes. Great post. My friend and I are arriving in Hanoi or Ho Chi Min this weekend. My question is which route do you recommend taking in terms of north to south (Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh) or south to north (Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi)? What are the positives and negatives of each of these 2 directions? We are looking to get the Honda XR 150 from Tigit or Fung.

Thank-you! David

You can ride any of these routes in either direction. Things to bear in mind when choosing whether to ride south-north or north-south are weather, time of year, and your preference of mountains or beach. At this time of year, the weather is pretty similar all over Vietnam – sunny, hot, humid, tropical downpours – so that’s not going to be an issue for you. As a very general rule: the northern half is all about the mountains; the southern half is all about the beaches. So if you have a preference between those, that should be able to inform your decision: for example, do you want beaches at the beginning or end of your ride.

Hi Tom, I am really enjoying reading gthrouhallthe parts of your extensive website. At the moment I am in Quang Ngai teaching. I finish here early August and plan to take part of your big One route on. I have a Honda SuperCub 50cc. Your advise: will it be enough to take me around most places in Vietnam? What parts do I need to be wary of? I would like to go as far as Ha Giang……

Thank you for your help.

Technically, a Honda Cub in good condition could do the route, but it would be a massive strain on the bike and it would be very slow and noisy going up the steep hills, not to mention a little uncomfortable. So, if possible, I would try to arrange a different bike for the trip: any ‘normal’ bike is OK – Honda Wave etc.

Hi Tom, thank you so much for this amazing guide! Me and my girlfriend are planning a motorbike trip from Hanoi to Saigon, and i was wondering if you know a good place where to buy a motorbike and what i should check before to buy, as well as what kind of documents i need. Cheers!!

Hi Giorgio,

For buying bikes I recommend using the trusted and reputable companies listed on my website, rather than just buying a bike from someone online. For example, you can buy your motorbike from Rent a Bike Vietnam, Tigit Motorbikes, or Style Motorbikes in Hanoi and then return it to them in Saigon and they will guarantee buying it back. There are links to all three of those companies in the right sidebar and bottom of all my posts and pages. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

Hello, At first I would like to thank you for your blog and the work you put on. I plans to arrive in Vietnam at the beginning of January for 25 days (where I have an evening out on the 25th of the afternoon in Saigon) I plan to travel from Hanoi to Saigon with a classic route supplemented with halong bay (possibly shortened) and additionally when I get to Saigon on a trip to Phu Quac island (If I stay at least 5 days to fly (I assume 7 days)) How do you think this is real assumption? Is it better to drive to Saigon and then sell motorbikes and take public transportation to the island? I think I’ll be driving every day what do You think about it?

Yes, if you want to ride the Classic route and visit Halong Bay and go to Phu Quoc in 25 days then you will most probably be riding every day. I recommend flying between Saigon and Phu Quoc to save time – there are lots of flights every day and prices are quite low because of competition – try Vietjet and Jetstar.

For Halong Bay it might be better just to do a day/night tour from Hanoi instead, then start your motorbike trip after that from Hanoi.

I also recommend getting your motorbike from one of the reputable rental companies in Hanoi: Rent a Bike Vietnam, Tigit Motorbikes, and Style Motorbikes. If you do this you can give the bike back to them when you get to Saigon – it’s very convenient. There are links to all three rental companies in the right sidebar and bottom of all my pages.

Thanks for the reply. This is a preliminary plan, I do not know if on the way will not be less in which I want to be longer. The idea of ​​Phu Quoc is an alternative if I arrived in Saigon 6-7 days before leaving for Vietnam. Then I would take a two day break for a full relaxation by drinking coconut water and mentioning a trip to Vietnam.

In the first option I wanted to buy honde Win very much but after reading reviews many people advise and recommend to rent honda Detech 120 cc for about $ 200 per month (I was recommended to Style Motorbikes) . Like you write in Hanoi and give Ho Chi Min. I also wonder about the option of renting a second motor in Ho Chi Min and returning to the island. But it’s just such a supplement, as I will be 2-3 days free is the only way to see the delta of mekong.

I am an active traveler, do not like long breaks. In addition, I take a tent to sleep sleepers if I had a night on the road. I wonder about the daily budget of about $ 20-25, for fuel, food, accommodation and possible repairs. Do you think it will be enough?

After that your blog is such a mine of knowledge that probably somewhere on my questions is hidden answer

Yes, that sounds like a good plan.

For an idea of how much you might spend per day on your road trip take a look at my Expenses Guide .

I hope you have a great trip.

Hey Tom, Thank you so much for this. This is really useful I am completely following your maps for the journey I am going to start in a couple of days. 😀 However, I needed your opinions on one thing. What places/cities/routes would you recommend during about 500km journey between Dong Hoi and Hanoi for taking rest for a night or to break down the journey into a couple of shorter ones? Looking forward to hearing from you. VV

There are a few convenient places to break the journey between Dong Hoi and Hanoi. First of all, make sure you take the inland Ho Chi Minh Road and not the coastal Highway QL1A. On the Ho Chi Minh Road between Phong Nha and Hanoi there are many places to stay for a night and break the journey – take a look at sections 6, 7, and 8 of this guide for all the information you need.

Awesome blog Tom. This has been super helpful and really ignited my passion for the trip.

I’ll only have about 13-14 days and am thinking of doing the Beach Bum route. Any suggestions on where I should focus my time and good places to stop for overnight?

Many thanks! Cale

The most impressive stretch of coast on the Beach Bum route is between Saigon-Phan Thiet-Phan Rang-Cam Ranh-Nha Trang-Quy Nhon. These are all connected by fabulous ocean roads passing great beaches. Click on the relevant map markers on my Beach Bum route map and then click the links to my details guides to those sections of the route.

Thanks for your quick reply Tom!

If I were trying to do the Beach Bum route in 2 weeks, how far would be realistic and best to travel each day? Do you have any suggestions on what towns I should stop in for overnight, or any that I should stay in for a day or two?

Many thanks!

How far you travel each day depends on your motorbiking experience and how much you want/need to stop or rest along the way. In general, the roads are all pretty good on the Beach Bum route so you should easily cover 100-150km per day with lots of time to stop and swim and sight-see etc. Any distance between 200-350km is quite a long (and tiring) distance to cover in a day.

For interesting destinations to stop along the way take a look at the links to my detailed guides to the sections of road that I mentioned in my previous comment – there’s lots of information in those guides about all the ocean road between Saigon and Nha Trang in particular.

Wow, now that I click on the details, I see how awesome your site really is!

My travel plans have changes a little and now I only have 8 days in Vietnam. I am thinking I will ride either from Hanoi –> Da Nang or HCM –> Da Nang and am deciding between the two. I am wondering which of these two options you would suggest for someone visiting Vietnam for the first time? I am leaning towards Hanoi –> Da Nang because the Limestone Loop looks spectacular.

It depends what time of year you are planning to travel and if you prefer mountains or beaches: If you are travelling between October and February you may find that the route from Hanoi to Danang is subject to bad weather, but Danang to Saigon the weather should be better; and if you prefer mountains then Hanoi to Danang is better, but if you prefer beaches then Danang to Saigon is better.

Great articles all very helpful

Can anyone advise if it’s realistic to come into vietnam from cambodia via the crossing Hoa lu and then travel up to the crossing into Laos via dak rang on what looks like the main road the 14.

we get a 15 day visa and wanted to do this journey at the end of this month.

Will this be feasible in the time given and interesting along the way? Also current weather and road conditions?

Two people on a Honda win (previously travelled vietnams coastline by bus for a month)

Any help appreciated thanks Charlotte

Hi Charlotte,

As far as I know the Hoa Lu border is open, but I don’t recognize the name of the other one you mention. I’m not sure how easy or not it will be to take your bikes across the borders, but the route you’ll take once in Vietnam will be QL14 and QL15 which is the Ho Chi Minh Road – it’s in good condition and scenic. 15 days is plenty of time.

Weather should be OK, but you will get some rain too.

For more information about border crossings try searching the Vietnam Back Roads Facebook book page.

First of all, what a wonderful blog! It helped me a lot with the planning of the trip 🙂 I will go to Vietnam in late September, early October. I’ll fly to Hanoi, and from there i will go to Saigon (The Big Route with probably some detours) I was wondering if i should go to Sa Pa (north of Hanoi). It is a detour of 300km, but i don’t know if it’s the correct time to go to the north in october.

Hi Quinten,

Yes, September and October is a good time to be in the north in general, so depending on how much time you have in Vietnam, I would recommend taking a trip up north – perhaps following one or more of my Northern Routes .

Remember that you can put your motorbikes on the train from/to Hanoi and Lao Cai (Sapa) – that way you won’t have to ride all the way there and back again. If you plan to ride in the northeast, be aware that some of the roads, particularly along the Chinese border near Ban Gioc Waterfall, are often in bad condition.

Thanks for the great article!

Im going to be landing in Saigon in July and plan on traveling up to Hanoi within about 2.5-3 weeks. A few questions:

1) I’ve never really driven a motorbike before (I’ve driven a moped if that helps) but Im a pretty fast learner. Im going to be going with my girlfriend as well, and plan on sticking her on the bike with me. What would you say on a scale from 1-10 is the level of danger in this situation? And is there any route safer than the others?

2) If we only have about 17-21 days, would that mean only staying in one place per day, and having to ride everyday? Or would we be able to stick around in a certain place for a few days.

3) Lastly, if we plan on doing lets say half the trip by bike, and the other half by quicker means of transport, would any of the following be feasible (in your opinion): to start driving from Saigon up until about Hoi An and sell my bike there, taking train/bus etc from Saigon to Hoi An and buy a motorbike in Hoi An and bike all the way up to Hanoi and sell in Hanoi, or neither?

Thank you very much in advance!

Hi Emanuel,

Most ‘motorbikes’ here are more like scooters – either automatic or semi-automatics – so you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting used to that. The problem will probably be dealing with the traffic and lack of ‘riding discipline’ in the big cities – if you’re not used to Vietnamese traffic this may come as a shock. However, once you are out of the city there’s very little traffic indeed. Also, all my routes try to stay off busy main roads as much as possible, but of course they can’t always be avoided. I can’t give you a danger level on a scale of 1-10, but ride carefully and sensibly and you should be absolutely fine.

3 weeks is a pretty good amount of time to have. Whether you have time to spend more than one day in some places will depend of how much riding you want to do each day: some people prefer to ride long distances (200-300km upwards) and then stay a couple nights somewhere, but other people prefer riding shorter distances (100-150km) each day and just staying one night in most places. Average riding speeds in Vietnam (depending on the roads, of course) are about 40-60km per hour. With 3 weeks it’s probably best to ride each day for a few days and then stop for two days in one place, then repeat this pattern for each of your 3 weeks.

Yes, you can do either of those options. However, instead of buying a random bike, it’s much easier, more reliable, and pretty much the same price to buy/rent a bike from one of the reputable rental companies. The following companies are all excellent and offer pick up and drop off in Saigon, Danang (Hoi An), and Hanoi: Tigit Motorbikes, Rent a Bike Vietnam, and Style Motorbikes – there are links to all three of them in the right sidebar and bottom of all my pages. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

Hey Tom, wow, this comment section is exploding! 🙂 More greetings from “Life’s a Beach” just south of Quy Nhon – what a gem! Took the wooden bridge mentioned in another comment to get back on 1A and then 1D after a visit of Ghen Da Dia – 2000 D for bicycles, great option to avoid some kms – and also fun: ) Thinking about cutting inland from here before getting back on the coast for Hoi An like you suggest in most route options. I just wondered: Can you tell me for what reason you go north for quite a bit after Quy Nhon and then west instead of taking the seemingly more straightforward connection, QL19 from here to Pleiku? Just the nicer road? Or anything on the coast to check out that I’m missing? I’m on the bicycle, so especially with all those climbs, looking to avoid all unnecessary detours 🙂 Thanks for taking the time! Rike

Good to hear you’re enjoying Life’s a Beach’.

The reason I go north from Quy Nhon is that it’s a good, long stretch of coastal back roads leading all the way from Quy Nhon to Tam Quan. Unfortunately, after that you have to join Highway 1 for a bit until turning off due west for Ba To and continuing up to Kon Tum (which is also a very scenic road).

But sure you could just take QL19 up to Pleiku instead. Either way you’re going to be doing quite a lot of climbing! 🙂

Another route you might be interested in joining in this area is the Road East of the Long Mountains – fantastic scenery, very light traffic, and good road conditions.

Thanks heaps, Tom! I’ll let you know which one I chose – if I don’t turn away crying … 🙂

One last question for you on this stretch, if you don’t mind, Tom: Just wondering why you chose to go east to Hoi An after Thanh My – to enjoy the HCMH as long as possible? Would the Champa temples further south be worth passing by though? Your jungle temple pic looks tempting, too!

I made it up to Ko Tum, the 19 was in a rather poor conditions with massive potholes in some stretches, absolutely stellar in others. Lots of truck traffic all the way. I turned of after

reaching DT 670 which was, while more scenic, not a lot if fun to ride: 50kms of even more potholes. But interesting to See how the population and architecture change along the way!

Thanks for the road updates. Yes, that’s the problem with taking the highways – the trucks.

Yes, I stay on the HCM Road as far as Thanh My to make the most of that scenic section of road. Although both west-east roads (QL14E & 14B) connecting the HCM Road with the coast near Hoi An are good.

The Cham temples at My Son are good, but they are incredibly popular so it can get really crowded there sometimes.

Enjoy the ride,

Awesome post! Question for you. My friend and I will have ~3-4 weeks in Vietnam in mid-July/early-August and I was wondering whether motorbiking from HCMC to Hanoi would still be doable/safe/fun during the rainy season? Would you recommend the Classic route? Thanks for all the great info!

Yes, the Classic route in July-August is absolutely fine – weather conditions are pretty similar throughout the country at that time of year: hot and humid with tropical downpours. So, apart from occasional heavy rain, you shouldn’t have any problems riding then.

I notice none of the maps contain Sapa. Is it not worth it after seeing everything before?

These maps don’t contain Sapa because these routes focus only on Saigon to Hanoi – not the northern mountains, which are beyond Hanoi.

But for more of my routes which do contain Sapa, take a look at the Sapa-Sin Ho Loop , and the Borders & Back-Roads Loop . You might also be interested in my other Northern Routes .

Hey Tom, I’m at “Life’s a Beach” now as I head North, I’m one of the many many people here who are getting great value out of your route guides, can’t thank you enough!

It seems you haven’t published a more detailed guide on the area between the Hon Gom Sandbar and around Hoi An, so I thought I’d share my thoughts.

https://goo.gl/maps/t4CLaEHzKu32 is a little wooden bridge that I saw off to the side following your route, and crossed just for fun. They charged me a 3,000 Dong toll (each way…) and there was a sign suggesting 1,000 might have been more appropriate. I can’t vouch for the quality of the roads to get there from your route (and cutting out the QL1A bridge), but this was a treat and well worth checking out to consider putting your suggested route over it next time you’re in the area.

Thanks. It’s great to hear you’re enjoying your road trip.

Thanks for the tip. Yes, you’re right, I haven’t written a detailed guide to that coastal area, although I’ve been planning to for a while now. I wasn’t allowed to cross that bridge last time I was there, so it’s great to hear that it’s possible now. I’ll definitely check it out next time I’m there.

Hi guys, how can I use the map? I want to use it in my phone like navigation, but I could not find any option how to do that. When I try to make it on my own, it always find me other route.

Thanks Petr

You can try exporting the map to maps.me or openstreetmap – that might work.

I am working on an app to make this easier but it will be a long time before it’s finished.

I hope it works out for you,

You are best, thanks.

Do you have any recommendations on a route between Hanoi and Cat Ba Island, via Hai Phong. I’ve seen multiple people advising against it online.

Google seems to recommend either QL5B which looks like a brand new major expressway that would probably have lots of truck traffic or AH14, which I imagine would have less traffic due to QL5B.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks, Dustin from Canada

Yes, that’s the problem with riding from Hanoi to Hai Phong – it’s an industrial belt so unless you take a really circuitous route it’s not going to be a beautiful ride. As far as I know bikes can’t take the new expressway on QL5B, because it’s vehicles only. AH14 is the old main artery between the two cities but, now that the new expressway has taken some of the load off it, this is probably a better option.

Follow up question, will the ferrys from Ben Binh in Hai Phong to the south of Cat Ba Island take motorbikes, or is the best option Dinh Vu to Cat Hai Island, then the second ferry the rest of the way to the Northwest of Cat Ba Island?

There’s now a road bridge between Hai Phong and Cat Hai Island. I don’t have up to date information about putting bikes on the boats because I haven’t done it for a long time. But there used to be two types of boats: fast passenger boats, and slower car ferries.

First of all, as I told you via messenger your blog is an absolute legend. I am glad I found it myself before I realised you’re recommended in LP guide too, congrats! We’re cruising through Vietnam using your tips n tricks and we’re planning our route everyday using your maps (mix of classic and beach bum). We do not take a lot of organised trips and people we meet usually speak little or no English so I have several questions to ask and maybe we get answer here from you or one of readers. So… 1. What on earth are all these huge huge nets on stilts on rivers? 2. What’s up with all these abandoned/empty hotels by the sea some 7km south of Vinh Moc tunnels? There’s like 2 completely abandoned resorts and 5 maybe 6 still operation but empty hotels here. Looks a bit post-apocalyptic. 3. Follow up question. Roadside hotels/motels that cost 200-250k with breakfast and are almost empty – how do they survive? 4. Who is eating frogs/crocs/snakes/lizards? Is it just prank food for tourists commonly found in big asian cities? Beijing and Bangkok are full of crickets/scorpions/bugs and other theoretically edible stuff. Or is it for locals too? Because we never come across any place serving let’s say snake or lizard unless it’s an eatery designed for tourists. We’ve not found dog meat yet but I guess we’re not north enough yet (Phong Nha tonight). 5. Is there a reason why left lane is slower than middle or second from left? Slow trucks almost always take left lane and buses and other trucks must take over from the right.

I think that’s it for now haha.

Thanks again and good luck on your future travels!

Peace, Cezar

The huge nets are for fishing – as far as I understand the nets are submerged during high tide and then, when the tide goes back out, the fish get caught in the net – it’s low maintenance fishing 🙂

Loads of big projects, like resorts, get started but never finish because the money runs out or they hit some official or bureaucratic problem which leads to the ‘hotel shells’ that you’re seeing.

Most of the hotels outside of major tourist areas are empty during the week, but they make all their money on the weekends and public holidays from domestic tourism, which is huge at the moment.

Frogs, snakes, and dog etc are all widely and regularly eaten by many Vietnamese. Dog is becoming an ever more complicated issue in Vietnam, but there are dog meat restaurants all over the country, especially the north. The words in Vietnamese are thịt chó or cầy tơ. Cat is common too in the north. It’s not a tourist thing.

I think trucks are officially supposed to take the middle lane, but they only do so if they know that a particular stretch of road is watched by police. However, the discipline of truck drivers has improved over the last couple of years.

I hope this answers some of your questions 🙂

Thank you very much for your reply! This does answer my questions, cheers! I’m still wondering about these nets, sometimes they are a good few meters above water level – tides wouldn’t be so high would they? I still need to take a pic of one of these bad boys and post link here so we’re sure we talk about same thing;)

Why is dog eating an issue? Is it not quite legal, or frowned upon or?

Cheers from here https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Toan+Thu+Hotel/@19.3229696,105.4329475,18z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x3e0f109fdfcf8d90!8m2!3d19.3230049!4d105.4329402 We’ve found this motel today and it’s best $11 ever spent. You could add this to your maps – make sure you check it out on your next trip. Best value for money in Vietnam so far. Good local BBQ eateries nearby, ATM across the street, bike repair shop, beer shop all in one place. Secure indoor parking, great rooms and fab staff. Now I sound like I work for them haha. It just feels so good to get a 250k hotel that looks better than some +500k we experienced – especially after 4h ride in rain.

The hotel sounds good. I’ll check it out.

The issue with dog started with Western visitors to Vietnam disliking the practice of eating it, and now many of Vietnam’s urban youth take the same attitude towards it. But it’s totally legal still.

Maybe the nets can also be manually lowered into the water.

Enjoy the rest of your ride,

Just wanted to start off by saying this site is amazing and appreciate all the work and effort you’ve put in. We’ll be going back to Nam next week and this will be the first time outside of the south. We are planning to do a slightly modified (adding Da Lat) Beach Bum route from the north to south and wonder if I was being overly ambitious about our schedule/timing. Currently we land 03/02 (from the states) and need to be in Saigon by 03/18. To save some time we figured we’d take the night train from Hanoi to Dong Hoi since it seems like the longest stretch (503km) without anything significant in between (planning on going to Phong Nha Caves from Dong Hoi). Just a few questions if you don’t mind

Are we going to miss anything worthwhile by taking the train instead of riding to Dong Hoi? What about Sapa and Ha Long Bay? From reading around March wasn’t the best month to go experience these spots in addition to the 2-3 needed for each Is 16 days a stretch to make it down to Saigon? We are currently estimating 40km/hr average? Besides the major cities is there anything else we should check out? Currently planned: Hanoi Dong Hoi Hue Hoi An Quy Nhon Nha Trang Da Lat Mui Ne Saigon Anything we should just skip in general? Added Quy Nhon there since Hoi An to Nha Trang was going to be another 500km ride.

Any advice, recommendations, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for all your time and keep up the great work!

-Best Regards, C

I think it’s a good idea, given your time frame, to take the train from Hanoi to Dong Hoi, and also to skip Sapa and Halong Bay, which, although still very scenic, are far too busy these days.

After that, your itinerary looks fine to me: 16 days in enough time to do it in, considering you have travelling and riding experience in Vietnam already, and your estimate of 40km per hour is also spot on. It’s also a good idea to stop in Quy Nhon because that’s a great place.

You might consider going from Phong Nha to Hue via the Western Ho Chi Minh Road (Phong Nha to Khe Sanh to A Luoi and down to Hue on Road QL49) instead of along the coast, because this is one of the best rides in Vietnam. You’d need to allow 2 days to ride Phong Nha to Hue via this route.

Hi Tom, I am currently cycling around Vietnam and have been for the last six months. I’ve done the Delta and followed your route for camping the Ocean road and also the HCM route from Pleiku to Danang. Your info has been most helpful and I thank you. Today I shall cycle into Hanoi and I am thinking about exploring the mountains to the NE and NW of Hanoi again using your routes as a guide. How doable do you think it is on bicycle? How do the climbs compare with Hai Van Pass and the two passes from Qui Nhon to Pleiku, plus the climb from Mai Chau to Hoa Binh ? Cheers for any useful info you can give me. Adam

Riding the northern routes by bicycle would be very challenging but also very rewarding. Some of the passes are very steep and long – comparable or more so than the other passes you mentioned in the south.

But the scenery is superb so, if you have time and are willing to put the effort in, then I’d definitely recommend you try it out.

Cool, my biggest worry is not so much the climb but as the availability of food and lodging, as a climb can nearly always be walked and bicycles were originally called push bikes. I have camping gear but would rather only use as an emergency. Thanks for your reply, Cheers Adam

Hi tom, love the work keep it up brother! I’ve travelled vietnam before and done biking in parts as well but never the whole thing. i plan on doing so this summer and i was just wondering what the policing is like? what are my chances of getting caught illegally and can you just bribe the police? and lastly would you recommend starting from south to north or north to south or is it the same experience? looking forward to heading back from you, Peace.

Which way you do it depends on the time of year, because of the different weather conditions in the north and south of the country. However, if you’re travelling during the summer, the weather is pretty good and pretty similar nationwide: hot, sunny, and humid, with tropical storms. Another factor that might help you make your decision is that, in general, the north is more about the mountains and the south is more about the beaches.

The legal side of things is a famously grey area. The bottom line, for now at least, is that the vast majority of foreigners riding bikes in Vietnam do not have a local license. Police do sometimes stop foreigners, but usually you will just have to pay a standard ‘fine’ of around $10. You could also ask the rental company or shop where you get your motorbike if they have any more advice about this.

Does Vietnam accept International Driving Permits now? or is it just easier to pay the “fine” and go about your way?

There was talk about that, but ultimately I don’t think anyone (including the traffic police) really know what the situation is. So the ‘fine’ is still the easiest way. Remember to be particularly careful around Mui Ne – take the alternative route to avoid the police – more here .

Yeah I doubt anyone in Vietnam police force was informed of the update, but AAA has them listed as a valid country now

http://www.ny.aaa.com/~/media/NEW/PDFs/Travel/IDPApplication.ashx

I think it’s more for travel insurance purposes than actual law enforce encounters.

With that said, you wouldn’t be familiar with any travel insurance coverages that would cover licensed motorcycling? I know worldnomads do but after reading 10+ pages of negative reviews on their claim process I am very hesitant to throw money their way

Yes, insurance is an issue – it’ll be difficult to find anyone that’ll insure you without a license, although I think you can get cover up to 125cc bike if you shop around and pay a premium for it. But I don’t know a specific company though.

Thank you so much for the fantastic guides!!! I’ve settled on the Classic route and am in Da Lat right now, but have a few clarifying questions: When do you think is the best time to check out the three beaches between Nha Trang and Quy Nhon? Can they be done while driving to Quy Nhon? The route to Hue to Phong Nha looks really long, and the route from Phong Nha to Ninh Binh looks near impossible to complete in one day– how long do you think these drives would take? Is it necessary to find a place to sleep between Phong Nha and Ninh Binh? Thank you again– I’m really excited being able to do this fantastic route you’ve shared here!

Yes, the beaches between Nha Trang and Quy Nhon are all possible to visit while riding to Quy Nhon. Note that the red markers on the map do not necessarily represent each day on the road: they simply mark major settlements or places of interest along the way. The other map markers – like the beaches, for example – contain links to my guides to that specific place or region.

Therefore the route from Hue to Phong Nha is not intended to be completed in one day: you could stay a night in A Luoi or Khe Sanh along the way, for example. Likewise, from Phong Nha to Ninh Binh isn’t intended for one day: you could spend at least one night along the way. For more details about the ride and places to stay along the way on the Ho Chi Minh Road, take a look at sections 4 to 8 of this guide .

THANK YOU so much for this detailed maps and information!! I can’t decide which route to take, the first one or the last one.

We are landing in 26th of January in Saigon. We booked a hotel in there, also in DaLat (28th). Planning driving from Saigon to DaLat to all the beach road. We only booked a hostel in Phong Nha (6th of February) because we want to do the cave treks, and then booked a hotel in Hanoi (11th). We have a flight from Hanoi in the 15th of February.

Which route will be the best? You think we will be able to do it withing 20 days overall?

If you only have 20 days I would recommend doing the Classic route because the Big One is too long to comfortably ride in that amount of time. 20 days should be just about right for the Classic.

I hope you enjoy it,

Love reading your website! My husband and I are planning a trip to Vietnam (south to north) in February. He wants to rent a motorcycle from Hoi An to Hue for part of our trip, what would be the best company to rent from? Motorvina has good reviews online, thoughts?? He’s an expirenced rider here in the US. Also can you take a look at our itinerary and let us know what you think of it, if it’s too much or tiring to do in little time…

Saigon 2/10-2/12 Flight to DaNang take taxi to Hoi An 2/12-2/14 Motorbike to Hue 2/14-2/16 Flight Hanoi 2/16 Overnight train to Sapa 2/17-2/20 Overnight train Hanoi 2/21 Bus to Halong Bay/Cat Ba Island 2/21-2/24 Bus to Hanoi 2/24 then take flight back to Saigon 2/24-2/26

Thank you so much for your time!

Hi Kristina,

Yes, it’s quite a busy schedule, but it’s doable if you book all your accommodation and transport in advance – then you won’t need to waste time sorting it out and worrying about it while you’re there.

I’ve never used Motorvina so I can’t vouch for them, but I have had very good experiences using either Rent a Bike Vietnam or Tigit Motorbikes. They both have offices in Danang and can arrange pick up/drop off in Hoi An/Hue. There are links to both companies in the right sidebar and bottom of all my pages. You can mention Vietnam Coracle if you like, they know me.

If one plans to navigate using Googlemaps, GPS on a phone. How good is reception generally to rely on this?

In general, it’s pretty good, especially in coastal areas. In some mountainous areas you may not get reception and the Western Ho Chi Minh Road is very isolated at times. But on the whole using Google Maps is fine. It’s a good idea to take a decent map as well, though. Try the Travel Map of Vietnam, it’s good and updated every year.

It’s awesome that you give us all this information. I have already read a bunch of your articles to make some decisions. But i still have some doubts. I’m going with 4 girlfriends (we are portuguese) to Vietnam from February 25 to March 11. We arrive at Hanoi and we have to departure from Ho Chi Minh. We are planning the trip and we are thinking about: stay 2 days in Hanoi, go to Sapa (a friend told me about the night train), then Halong Bay (i know its not the perfect weather in the North but we have to go to Halong BaY!!) – maybe a tour of 2 days and one night; then go down to Hoi An (everybody talks very good about Hoi An); then we were thinking about the Pongour Waterfalls, then Con Dao for 2 or 3 days by plane probably from Ho Chi Minh or some city around (i read your article about Con Dao and Pho Quoc and i think Con Dao is more our thing because of the WOW factor!), and then end at Ho Chi Minh, spend there 2 days and come back. What do you think? Is it surrealistic for a 2 weeks trip? Is that somewhere awesome that is missing? I’m sure there are a lot, but one or two that you think is mandatory maybe! We are not going by motorbike, just bus, train or plane. Motorbike in Con Dao and maybe if we stop on our way down in Ninh Binh (i heard its very beautiful ride in this area). What do you think?

I’m sorry for the big testimony!

Thank you so much, Ana

Yes, that’s a good itinerary. But it’s a bit busy. You should cut out Pongour Waterfall to save you some time. Also, if you want to stick rigidly to your plan, try to book your transport before you get to Vietnam, because that will save you time and effort once you are here.

Con Dao in March should be OK for weather. Remember that it’s a very quiet place. If you want beach bars etc then you will prefer Phu Quoc. But both are nice in their own way.

Hi Tom, I can’t really tell how much i have got from your website in only few days.. that’s amazing.

Wish you can help me on this: I’m trying to put Google Maps to navigate me while driving on the different routes that you created so it will tell me directions so I wont miss any turns on the way…

I’m not sure how you can do that. I think it’s probably easier to keep a copy of the map open on your phone and check it against your Google Maps GPS position every now and then.

Ehhh that smeshes me a bit down -.- Its not possible to ride on the maps? For sure checking with google GPS is fine but is there no option to display the route and your ATM position?

Will do the big one including the Delta and SAPA from the first of March to end of Mai! 😀

Yes, that aspect of Google Maps is not available in Vietnam right now, so there’s nothing I can do about that. I am working on a Vietnam Coracle map app that would address this, but it is a long way off. So, for now, you can try to export my Google Maps to maps.me and then you should be able to follow them with gps.

That sounds good cause i used maps.me during my hole tripping. I will give the export-import thingy a try, fingers crossed this works out 🙂

The dot.KMZ download and import worked. I think its worth to mention the Google/GPS/Maps.me stuff in an short article. It helps a lot if you know the shit ^^

Is it possible to meet this incredible blogger and motorcycler somewhere in Vietnam? 😀

Greetz from Japan, acutally Im German but who cares 😛 Martin

Thanks. Yes, I agree, but that is what my app is going to focus on.

I’m always travelling around Vietnam, so maybe our paths will cross when you’re over here 🙂

Great website! Loads of useful info on here. My girlfriend and I land in Saigon on 1st December and plan to ‘loosely’ follow your classic route so cheers! Keep up the great work Sir. 🙂

Thanks! I hope you enjoy your road trip 🙂

Thanks for making your maps exportable – I like to have the terrain base map, plus add any other bits I fancy. I’ve now got some of your maps ready to go for tomorrows trip, though I can’t help getting the feeling that I’m funimentally cheating doing this. The experience comes from getting lost and figuring out how to get by anyway.

Are you based in Vietnam?

Don’t worry, you’ll still get lost sometimes! 🙂 Nothing ever goes 100% according to plan on Vietnam road trips, but as you rightly say, that is all part of the fun.

Yes, I live in Vietnam. There’s a bit more about me on my About Page .

Great site! Could you point out the point on the Ho Chi Minh Highway with out a filling stationwould be cool to know as I’m doing it in a few weeks? Once again Great work!

The part of the Ho Chi Minh Road with no gas stations is the Western Ho Chi Minh Road between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha – go to the relevant section (Section 5) on my complete guide to the Ho Chi Minh Road here . Also, check out this article too.

Hello, I have 3 weeks to go from Saigon to Hanoi on motorbike. I would like to do the classic route, but not sure how much time to spend in each place (mui ne, nah trang, hoi an, caves….) or how long it takes to drive from place to place. I was wondering if there is a sample itinerary for the classic route? Thank you.

It’s very difficult to estimate time between each place because it depends so much on the individual.

In general, 3 weeks is a good amount of time to ride the Classic route. You can roughly estimate driving time based on an average speed of 40-50km per hour. Then divide that by the total distance, which is 2,770km for the Classic route.

In general, a long day of riding is 200km or more. A good (not too tiring) average daily distance is 100-150km. But of course it depends on how comfortable you are riding a motorbike and other things like weather.

For a route as long as this, it’s more about the journey that the destinations at the end of each day. However, good places to spend a couple of nights and break the driving along the way are, Dalat, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Hoi An, Hue and Phong Nha. It’s best to take it as it comes and see what you feel like once you get to these places. Unless you are travelling during a national holiday, there is no need to reserve accommodation in advance.

For more detailed information about certain places and parts of the Classic route, click on the links within the map pins, which will take you to my specific guides to that area.

Hi Tom! First, thank you so much for your very useful info and definitely you have an awesome website. I am planning to visit Vietnam and explore it by bike. I never experience riding a motorcycle but I think that’s not a problem for I can make myself prepare prior to that. My concern are; I just noticed you used a Yamaha Nouvo Automatic (correct me if I’m wrong) for the whole course of your travel -how did it go? Is it reliable compare to a semi or manual? How many times did you stop for a day to fill the small tank? Are there a lot of gas station and bike repair shop in case it need so along the road? That’s all for now… Hope to hear from you soon and good luck to your next venture. Take care!

Hi Jurally,

Yes, that’s right, I use my Yamaha Nouvo for all my road trips in Vietnam. It’s been very reliable for me. The tank is 4 litres and lasts for 120-150km depending on the condition of your bike and the roads you’re riding. Semi-automatics, like the Honda Wave, will do more mileage. There are gas stations almost everywhere in Vietnam, and if there’s not then they’ll be people by the roadside selling gas in bottles. The only section of road where you might not find gas is the Western Ho Chi Minh Road from Khe Sanh to Phong Nha, but they are currently building a gas station there now.

There are motorbike mechanics by the road throughout Vietnam. The word is sửa xe. They can fix most problems on common motorbikes like the Nouvo or Wave.

For a good comparison of available bikes in Vietnam, take a look at Tigit Motorbikes – there’s a link to their website in the right sidebar of this page or above this comment section.

This is incredible. Thank you so much for helping all of us out.

My wife and I are doing the trip in February. We bought motorcycles a few months ago so we can learn to ride in Canada and not try to learn in the hectic Vietnamese traffic. We are looking to have a full 3 weeks in Vietnam and are thinking of doing the Classic Route. I’ve heard some people take their bikes on a train in the North towards Hanoi to save a few days. Do you have any experience with that? We were hoping to do a quick tour of Sapa, but are stretched for time so any time we could save would be great, but we also don’t want to miss the “must-see” areas on the route.

Yes, you can put you bike on the train anywhere on the main line between Saigon and Hanoi. However, in most cases your bike will travel on a different train to you, and it will not arrive at your destination until 1-3 after you do. This is because freight space is busy and limited on the north-south services. The company that deals with transporting your bike is called Door to Door. They have an office in every main station on the line and a very clear list of prices between all the stations. They are usually very efficient and will be able to tell you when your bike will arrive at its destination. Just don’t lose the receipt they give you!

Also, there are several local express train between certain points on the line, such as Saigon to Phan Thiet , and you can simply ride your bikes onto these trains. In addition to this, the Hanoi to Lao Cai (Sapa) trains also allow you to take your bike with you on the same train.

A great little motorbike route around Sapa is the Sin-Ho Loop .

You are awesome! Thanks!

First off, your site is amazing man – so many great tips and detailed info. So helpful, thank you!

I’m currently planning a trip from Saigon to Hanoi, but unfortunately haven’t got much time, with only two weeks to squeeze it in. I’m torn between the Classic and Easier rider route and need some advice – which do you think is best in this time frame? Am I missing out too much by going for the easier-rider (Goden loop, coastal road north of Quy Nhon, Western Ho Chi Minh Road, Ninh Binh) or would it be a stretch to fit in? I don’t mind putting in in the extra km’s if need be.

Cheers, Dan

With only 2 weeks you will be riding a lot of the time regardless of which route you choose to take. You can cut corners here are there: for example, you can always just take Highway 1 north from Quy Nhon to Hoi An. However, if there is one section I would most advise you not to cut it would be the Western Ho Chi Minh Road: it’s an extraordinary bit of road and there’s nothing else quite like it on any of the routes.

I hope this helps you plan your route,

Firstly, thank you for all the useful information on your website. It has really aided me and my gf in the planning of our bike trip of Vietnam. We are aiming to go from Hanoi to HCMC but we need some advice in which route to take. I wanted to visit the north before heading south and we were torn between doing the NW ( Sapa – Sin ho – Son La – Moc Chau – Mai Chau) or whether we should head to the NE (Sapa – Ha Giang – Cao Bang – Ban Gioc waterfalls – Ba Be lake) before travelling down towards Ninh Binh. Which would you recommend? And what are the main differences between the NE and NW of Vietnam?

Well, the northwest and the northeast are both spectacular regions. The northwest is the roof of Indochina – the scale of the mountains and the landscape is larger than anywhere else in Vietnam. It’s a big, long loop but the roads are mostly in good condition as they are mostly highways (with the exception of the Sin Ho road, parts of which are still undergoing maintenance). The northeast is not as high as the northwest but it is prettier and more exotic – it’s characterized by limestone mountains and river valleys. The roads are smaller on this route but most of them are in decent condition.

I wouldn’t want to have to choose between them 🙂 But, I would say the northwest is slightly easier because of the roads, so if time is an issue choose this. The northeast can be slightly more unpredictable because it is more off the beaten, so it really just depends what you’re looking for.

Thanks for the advice. As we are planning on going during rainy season I think perhaps you’re right NW maybe the easier option. Though time isn’t really an issue so I may still give Ha Giang a little look before going to Sapa and then head towards Sin Ho after. But if we were to take the NE route how would we get from Lang Son down to Ha Long bay? Are there any places you can recommend stopping en route? We were thinking maybe taking the highway 4B towards Cam Pha. Cheers!

Yes, that’s right, you can take Highway 4B down to the coast from Lang Son – it’s a good ride. Apparently there are some good little roads running along the Chinese border in that area, but I have not had a chance to ride them myself yet.

As for stopping on route, you might want to check out Van Don Island – the big one just east of Cam Pha – there’s some great scenery and accommodation around the main town of Cai Rong here.

Hi Tom. I travelled with some friends through Vietnam in May. Thank you very much for the guide, its helped as a lot. It’s an amazing journey that I recommend everybody to do it. In addition to this I would like to recommend Cat ba, and if you are going to sapa to take the AH14. The roads are quite well. If you take the loop between Hue and Phong nna, be aware of taking fuel in some bottles just in case. You never know

Great post, i will recommend this place

Hi Charlie,

Thanks. Good to hear you enjoyed your road trip through Vietnam.

Yes, I also like Cat Ba, and AH14 to Sapa is good, especially now that the new expressway (for cars only) has taken most of the heavy traffic off AH14.

The stretch which it is necessary to take gas with you is between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha which I mention in Section 5 of my Ho Chi Minh Guide here .

Hi, thanks for you routes. Me and my girlfriend are currently doing the classic one.

Great. I hope you enjoy it!

Hope all is well. I have already started my journey from Hanoi to Saigon and at the moment I am in Hue. After driving a lot, I do plan to stay here for a few days to rest up. It’s actually big country and you can do a lot of driving here!…haha.

I wanted to say thank you because your website has been very invaluable to me. I have been wanting to come to Vietnam since I was a kid and your information has helped make it an even better experience then I had originally conceived of.

I am following ‘The Big One’ since I have an adequate amount of time in Vietnam. I have gone off your trail at times since I am a interested in the history of the Vietnam War and I wanted to visit some of the old sights of the conflict. Otherwise, I am on the trail and the sights have been amazing throughout the north of Vietnam. It really is an absolutely beautiful country and the Ho Chi Minh Road is one that must be taken. Those mountains and views…wow.

Now I will be continue ‘The Big One’ into the South and I can’t wait for what lies ahead. If your route south is as pleasant as the route that I followed north, then I’m sure it won’t disappoint…haha.

Take care Tom and thanks again for the sight. There is so much great information that I’ve even shared it with other fellow motorbike travelers who didn’t know about it. Take care!

Thanks! It’s great to hear that you’re enjoying your epic ride through Vietnam and that my site has helped you along your way.

I hope you’ll find the south as good as the north. Personally, I like the south just as much as the north, but it is very different – you’ll be in coastal regions more often, although the mountains as still good too 🙂

Enjoy the rest of The Big One!

I reversed the Classic Route in Google Maps. It took 30 mins or so to realign the route so I thought I’d share the link to save people some time. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fvo_A0zBXqsUvZdB2U9yWjyRl2U&usp=sharing

Thanks for sharing that.

Hi Tom! How can i explore this in maps.me?

To export a map: open the Google Map you want to export, click the three vertical dots next to the title of the map in the main dialogue box in the top left corner of the map, scroll down and click ‘Export to KML’ and follow the directions from there.

First of all, awesome website. Especially this page is helping me A LOT for planning my bikeride. I’m doing the Classic, although from Hoi An to Hue I’m taking the high pass 🙂

My only concern is HCMC – Da Lat. Is this doable in 1 day? Or is it possible to take my bike with me on a train? I assume it’s hard to buy a good bike in Da Lat.

Also, the timing is still very hard to plan. Is January a good month or would July or even October better?

January is excellent in the south and Central Highlands, however it will get significantly colder and greyer the further north you go. October is a better time because conditions will be similar across the country: warm, sunny, but still some tropical downpours, and also, if you’re unlucky, it’s typhoon season in central and northern regions. I’ve written in detail about weather here .

HCMC to Dalat is not doable in one day if you take the route I suggest in The Classic. You can put your bike on the train from Saigon to Phan Thiet (Mui Ne) – more information about that here . Or, if you really want to get to Dalat in one day, you could take Highway QL20 instead, which is the most direct route, but it’s not very nice.

You can probably buy a decent bike in Dalat, but it won’t be as easy as in Saigon. You could also buy your bike from Tigit Motorbikes (see the link in the sidebar and above the comments on this page) in Saigon and have them send it to Phan Thiet by train. There’s more information about buying/renting motorbikes in this guide .

I think I take the early morning train to Mui Ne with my Saigon bike. So I can check out the dunes and then move on to Da Lat. Think I have my route complete now… January 2017 it is!

Thanks for the great tips! Is there a way I can donate you a cup of coffee for all the time you put into this? 😉

I mean October 2016 of course 😉

Great. I’m sure you’ll have an amazing trip.

If you want to ‘donate’ to Vietnam Coracle there is a way: if you ever use Agoda to book any hotels (in Vietnam or anywhere in the world) just start your search from the search box in the right-sidebar of any of my pages: if you end up making a booking then I receive a small percentage 🙂

Hi Tom. I used your web site for information and routes for a 3 week trip around south Vietnam. The information from your site used was never ending. It made what could have been very difficult trip a great trip. I will be back again next year for 4 weeks and looking at your north to south routes. Great keep it coming. kev.

Great to hear that, thanks!

4 weeks is a perfect amount of time to have for a south to north road trip, so I’m sure you’ll have a blast again. I’ll do my best to keep posting stuff you like 🙂

Hello, Me and my boyfriend are looking to do the ‘easy rider’ route in a few weeks. However, I am struggling to find towns which we could use as a stop off point between Hanoi and the Cuc Phuong National Park. Do you have any suggestions of where to stay? The same with the route from cuc phuong national park and phong nha. As they’re such large distances between each I was hoping to get your opinion on where you stayed/where is accessible. Thanks so much! For newbies like us, your route has pretty much planned our whole trip for us 🙂

From Hanoi to Cuc Phuong you should be able to comfortably ride that in one day.

From Cuc Phuong to Phong Nha is a long way, but it is relatively easy riding. There are guesthouses ( nhà nghỉ ) dotted along the highway at fairly regular intervals. Cam Thuy has some, Pho Chau too, and also Huong Khe (which, incidentally is where I am right now!).

The reason I’m in Huong Khe is because I’m updating and extending my Ho Chi Minh Road guide so that it will include the entire route from Saigon to Hanoi. This means they’ll be more information about places to stay etc on the journey from Hanoi to Phong Nha, so stay tuned for that – it should be published within a few days. If you want to get an email notification when it’s published you can subscribe to my posts here if you like.

Thank you! This helps a lot with my planning. Are there many guest houses in Cuc Phuong that aren’t too far off the route? I will definitely will keep an eye out for that. Thanks again.

It depends if you’re going to go right into the park or not: the Ho Chi Minh Road goes through the park but the park entrance is round the other side. There’s a good homestay that’s in Cuc Phuong National Park but also on the Ho Chi Minh Road called Quang Duc Homestay – that’s assuming it’s still there: I’ll know in the next couple of days when I ride through there – again, that’ll be in the new Ho Chi Minh Road guide 🙂

Me and a friend are heading off to Thailand on the 2nd May, then going through Cambodia and Vietnam, and then finally onto Indonesia. We have 30 day visas for Vietnam, however we have still set aside around 3 weeks in Vietnam. Overall, which of these routes did you find the most enjoyable, and which would you most recommend for an inexperienced rider? We’ve heard some bad stories regarding Highway 1, so ideally we would like to avoid this as much as possible.

Looking forward to hearing from you, Tom

All of these routes are equally enjoyable and all stay off Highway 1 as much as possible.

With 3 weeks you are best sticking to The Classic and/or the Easy Rider. This is because they are both doable in your time-frame, pass through both mountains and coast, and require fairly simple navigation. However, if you really want to stay away from any traffic at all then consider taking Uncle Ho’s Road – the initial hour out of Saigon is quite busy but after that it is relatively quiet all the way to Hanoi (I am currently updating and expanding this guide to the Ho Chi Minh Road – it will be finished in about a week).

just wanted to say “Huge Thank You” for all your previous posts (as this one combines many of them into single one).

We spent 2 months on Vietnamese roads, starting in North West – Dien Bien Phu and ending on Ha Tien border crossing with Cambodia.

Your website was our guide and without it we would never discover many beautiful spots and amazing roads connecting them into unforgettable journey !

Riding in Cambodia is little bit different, less tarmac & more dirt, less traffic, little bit more corrupted cops 😉

Few little tips from us – Check Quan Lan island – accessible from Van Don ( Cai Rong ), next time you pass around Cana, take snorkel gear with you and just few kms south of the town ( opposite the eateries on main road ) jump to the water, coral wonderland will swallow you 🙂

Keep posting !

Thanks! Great to hear you enjoyed you road trip in Vietnam and that my guides helped you along the way.

Cambodia sounds a bit different but still lots of fun I imagine.

Thanks for the tips – I’ll have a look for that coral near Ca Na! And I went to Quan Lan years ago but have been meaning to go back there for a long time – I hope I’ll make that trip soon.

Enjoy the rest of your adventures.

Hello! Just wondering how you get to Quan Lan Island?

I haven’t been to Quan Lan for a long time, but you used to be able to get boats from Cai Rong port on Van Don Island.

1. You mention Saigon to Hanoi quite a few times, are there any particular benefit of doing this direction rather than north to south?

2. I was looking at your “Saigon to Hanoi – The Scenic Route”, it seems to be quite close to both #1 and #5. Are either of these adapted from the Scenic Route? Which would you recommend for first time long distance riders?

3. The image for Uncle Ho’s Road looks really nice. Do you know if that particular road is in either route #1, #5 or the “scenic route”?

Thanks a lot for this article, it’s really useful for our planning.

No, there’s no reason you should start in the south and go north – either direction is good. However, because most travellers do go from south to north it is easier to buy bikes in Saigon and easier to sell bikes in Hanoi. But really it depends on what you want first: beaches or mountains – because most of the coastal scenery is in the south and centre, and most of the best mountainous scenery is in the centre and north.

Yes, the Scenic Route is quite similar but not the same as either #1 or #5 when you study them more closely. #1 and #5 go from coast to mountains on two or three separate occasions; the Scenic Route only does it once. #1 and #5 go through Dalat, the Scenic Route does not. There are other differences, particularly the coastal roads. The bottom line is that you’re better using the map on this page because they are the most recent and they cover everything the Scenic Route does anyway.

The image for Uncle Ho’s Road is from the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, which is included in #1.

I think South to North is better also in terms of landscapes – South is really nice, but the more to the North you get, the better and more dramatic it becomes. I think it’s better to keep the best for the end of your trip 😉

Also people in the South are bit easier to “manage” and bit friendlier, so you’ll get time to get used to things.

Thanks for your opinion. Yes, you’re right about the scenery getting more dramatic as you ride further north. But it’s also great when riding north to south: coming down off the high (often cool and misty) mountains to the brilliant sunshine and open spaces of the coastal back-roads in the south. I love the journey is both directions! 🙂

Ok, I need to take back those words about people in the North being less friendly. It’s a common opinion and having freshly arrived in the north when writing those words I was bit influenced by it, but after having spent some longer time here I don’t think there’s really big difference. Most people are very friendly and nice, few (mainly in touristic areas) may try to scam you (or at least overcharge).

But the landscapes… those are just wow here 😉

Yes, I agree. Although, unfortunately, there’s no doubt that overcharging is more common in the north than the south 🙁

Great Post!

I have around 3 weeks to spend in Vietnam. I am not a huge fan of beaches but like good landscapes, food and parties. Which route would you personally recommend among the five? Also, is it possible in Vietnam to get a bike from Hanoi and leave it at Ho Chi Minh City?

Hello Unnamed Traveller!

There’s plenty of great landscapes in the mountains, but the parties are mostly by the coast (with the exception of Phong Nha, where a healthy influx of backpackers leads to many a social evening).

I would suggest you ride either the Classic route or the Easy Rider route. These give you lots of mountain scenery but also drop down to the coast in places like Mui Ne, Nha Trang and Hoi An/Hue where you’ll find the parties.

For motorbike rental in Hanoi check out Rent a Bike Vietnam (there’s a link above this comment section to their website) or Flamingo Travel – both should be able to arrange picking up your bike in Ho Chi Minh City.

Such a great post Tom, I have so many memories of Vietnam and this brought them all back. Would love to follow some of these in the future! I did a 3 week ride south through the Mekong + Cambodia in 2008 and it’s one of my favorite trips ever 🙂

Thanks, Dan.

Yes, you must come back and try some of these routes! The more time you have to do it in the better. I hope you get the chance return soon.

Excellent info as ever Tom. I’m in Cambodia at the moment and heading to HCMC in two days to start a ride up to Hanoi. I’ve been inspirered by your site and this new info is very welcomed and perfectly timed! Thanks, Tom

Thanks, Tom.

Great to hear that you’ll be here soon to start this road trip. I hope this article has given you more ideas to play with. Do let me know of any updates on road conditions etc when you’re on the road – that kind of ‘real time’ feedback really helps to keeps my guides as current as possible.

Thanks and enjoy the ride!

Love the article – i’ve been saying for years now I will do this. Just told my wife I am going to do it …. she didn’t actually say no!! I have a few tips for tourists to VN on my blog too at http://saigonbuddytours.com/blog/ cheers Andy

Thanks, Andy.

I hope you and your wife get a chance to make this road trip at some point – it’s well worth it! 🙂

This is superb Tom, I think maybe we could make this a feature on our facebook page Vietnam Backpacker Sales or even on my travel agency website http://www.travelagenthanoi.com for all the backpackers travelling by bike. We see a LOT of people buying and selling bikes on our site, so this would be very very helpful to them.

Contact me to discuss in more detail.

Regards Simon

Thanks, Simon.

Yes, I hope this article will be particularly useful to readers and travellers.

I don’t mind you using it as long as you use the direct link to my site and make it clear who the content is by, i.e. Vietnam Coracle. I’m sure you’ll understand that I get a lot of other sites copying and translating my guides word for word without any links back to my site or even a mention of where the content originally came from.

Feel free to email me with any ideas: [email protected]

Ive posted your link to this great post in my Vietnam Backpacker Sales where backpackers can buy and sell their bikes and also on Vietnam Backpacker Tips, where sharing information about their trips through Vietnam is the main focus.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/vietnambackpackersales & https://www.facebook.com/groups/vietnambackpackertips

Many thanks Tom

Thanks, I appreciate you sharing my post. I hope it is useful to other travellers and expats.

Awesome post mate, really love the information and detail you go into to provide to everyone very beneficial.

Do you ever venture / cross boarders into Laos or Cambodia on your bike?

Thanks Brent!

I’ve been to Laos and Cambodia but not on a bike from Vietnam – riding around this country keeps me busy enough 🙂

Have you ridden cross borders on your bike?

A Journey from Hanoi to Danang on the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Exploring vietnam’s history and natural beauty: a journey from hanoi to danang on the ho chi minh trail.

Embark on a captivating expedition from Hanoi to Danang, tracing Vietnam’s storied past and breathtaking landscapes along the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail . Join us on an unforgettable adventure, delving into poignant war sites, navigating through Phong Nha National Park’s enchanting karsts and caves, and discovering the historical significance of Khe Sanh and Hue. With our experienced guides from We Ride Vietnam, including the knowledgeable tour leader Hai, conquer the challenging Hai Van Pass while immersing yourself in the cultural tapestry of Vietnam. This journey promises an immersive blend of history, natural wonders, and exhilarating motorcycle exploration.

Day 1: Hanoi – Embarking on the Ho Chi Minh Trail Adventure As the morning sun bathed the vibrant streets of Hanoi, my partner and I, equipped with a sense of excitement and our Honda CRF 5250 motorbike, prepared for a unique expedition. We were about to embark on a thrilling journey with We Ride Vietnam, guided by the seasoned tour leader, Hai, ready to explore the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Leaving the bustling capital behind, our adventure began with a roar of the engine as we navigated through Hanoi’s streets, eager to delve into the heart of Vietnam’s history and natural wonders.

Day 2: War Sites and Historical Narratives Our first stop along the trail led us to significant war sites, stirring emotions as we absorbed the poignant narratives of Vietnam’s past. The remnants of the conflict stood as a testament to the nation’s resilience. The stories shared by Hai added depth to our understanding of the region’s history.

Day 3: Phong Nha National Park – Nature’s Magnificence Entering the breathtaking Phong Nha National Park, we were captivated by its awe-inspiring limestone karsts and mystical caves. The serene beauty of the park contrasted the intense history we had encountered earlier, offering a serene pause amidst nature’s marvels.

Day 4: Khe Sanh and its Historical Significance At Khe Sanh, we stepped back in time, standing at the site of one of the Vietnam War’s most pivotal battles. The relics and memorials evoked a profound sense of respect for those who had sacrificed so much, honoring their memory in the peaceful present.

Day 5: Immersing in Hue’s Cultural Tapestry Hue welcomed us with its rich cultural heritage. Exploring the imperial city’s ancient citadel and indulging in traditional cuisine, we were enchanted by the vibrant traditions that have endured through the centuries.

Day 6: Conquering the Hai Van Pass The challenge and thrill peaked as we conquered the renowned Hai Van Pass. Riding atop our trusty Honda CRF 5250, the scenic vistas unfolded before us, revealing the mesmerizing blend of mountains and sea, a breathtaking reward for our adventurous spirits.

Day 7: Danang – Journey’s End Arriving in Danang, we concluded our remarkable expedition along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Reflecting on our journey, we realized how each stop, each twist of the trail, had woven together a tapestry of Vietnam’s history, nature, and resilience.

In the company of We Ride Vietnam and the knowledgeable guidance of Hai, our adventure had transcended mere travel, offering us an intimate connection with Vietnam’s past and present.

Reflecting on our travels, from Hanoi to Danang down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, I realized how our experiences at war sites, Phong Nha National Park, Khe Sanh, Hue, and conquering the Hai Van Pass formed the essence of our unforgettable journey. Riding with We Ride Vietnam and Hai not only allowed us to explore Vietnam’s diverse landscapes but also deepened our appreciation for its history and cultural heritage.

Discovering the lesser-known facets of Vietnam through this unique motorbike tour was an experience that will forever linger in our hearts, an adventure that seamlessly blended history, nature, and the thrill of the open road.

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