17 Days – 16 Nights Vietnam Motorcycle Tour
17 Days – 16 Nights Vietnam Motorcycle Tour: is the great mixture of on and off-road ride that covering almost the beautiful landscapes in North Vietnam with Ba Be National Park, Ban Gioc waterfalls, Dong Van – Ha Giang Rock plateau, Sapa… and the most interesting parts of the Ho Chi Minh trail with DMZ. The northern Vietnam part offers more off-road ride and culture discovery and the southern part on the Ho Chi Minh trail is easier ride offering more historical sites to learn more about the Vietnam history and the Vietnam war.
The Highlights:
Table of Contents
Start from: Hanoi.
End at: Hoi An.
Tour Level: Adventure and Moderate.
Group size: Private tour only.
Tour Customizing: Enable.
Trip Valid: All year.
Duration: 17 days 16 nights .
Distance: 2300km.
Level: Intermediate – Expert.
Trip Code: ENE08-03.
Style: Experienced riders.
Riding in Detail:
Day 1: Hanoi – Ba Be National Park: 240km, Homestay.
Pick up from your hotel at 8 AM. Transfer to the starting point and start the ride at around 9:00 am. We try the best to avoid busy city road in the morning until Cho Chu town( in Thai Nguyen province) where we have luch. After lunch, we surely have enjoyable motorcycle ride to Ba Be because the roads have less traffic and offer a lot of green and peacful view of nature/mountains. At about 4 PM. We arrive Pac Ngoi – a beautiful village of Tay people which located peacefully at Ba Be lake’s side. Diner and stay with the Tay’s family.
Day 2: Ba Be National Park – Boating – Cao Bang: 150km, Hotel Stay.
The sound from the Ba Be National Park or from the dogs, pigs and chickens in the villages may wake you up earlier than normal but that’s the chance to feel the morning fresh air and experience the new day in remote area of Vietnam.
After breakfast with the Tay family, we take a short walk to the Babe lake pier to start the 2 hour boat cruise around the largest natural lake in Vietnam – Ba Be lake.
After another lunch in Pac Ngoi village, we will have easy motorcycle tour to Cao Bang. The ride is about 150 Km from the village and it is almost on the smooth road up and up to Cao Bang where we stay the second night. Overnight in Cao Bang.
Day 3: Cao Bang – Ban Gioc Waterfall – Quang Yen: 150km, Homestay.
This is another highlight of this Northern part, after saying goodbye to the host the experienced guide of Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert will take on the scenic back – roads leading to the Chinese border, the ride is almost on-road offering amazing view of mountains and rice fields between villages of the ethnic people. We’ll be at the Chinese border where we can see the biggest and most beautiful waterfall in Vietnam – Ban Gioc at the noon time. Stop riding for lunch and then spend the relaxing time to take pictures or swim at the waterfall. After the great time with the waterfall, we’ll be back to the beautiful roads and enjoy again the motorbike ride to little peaceful town of Quang Uyen. We’ll arrive at the family of the Tay people nearby the town at 5:00 PM, getting off the bikes then enjoy the relaxing time with the family.
Day 4: Quang Yen – Meo Vac: 200km. Hotel Stay.
It’s another big day ride but not so hard. The ride is mostly on paved roads with easy off-road. Offering some interesting visits to villages of the Tay, Dzao and H’Mong people…
End the day at the hotel in Meo Vac at around 5:00 pm. Overnight in Meo Vac.
Day 5: Meo Vac – Ha Giang: 180km. Hotel Stay.
Today’s ride promises to be the highlight of this motorcycle trip inVietnam as we will visit one of the most remote land in Vietnam where we can see many ethnic groups with their unique cultures and imposing mountains such as : Pi Leng Pass – one of the 4 longest and most beautiful passes in North Vietnam, the Rock Plateau, the Vuong palace in Dong Van, The “Heaven Gate” in Quan Ba. This is for sure the best motorbike ride in Vietnam with many interesting and amazing things in every meter of the road. Arrive Ha Giang in the late afternoon. Overnight in Ha Giang.
Day 6: Ha Giang – Thac Ba Lake: 170m. Homestay.
Leaving Ha Giang city at around 8:30 am, we’ll shortly take the small roads to have easy and slow ride through villages…Lunch in little town of Luc Yen. After that we will ride along the side of the largest man-made lake in Vietnam – Thac Ba lake, we’ll stop the ride at the quiet village nearby the lake then spend one and a half hour to scruise around this beautiful lake. Stay at a house on stilts with the Dzao people.
Day 7: Thac Ba lake – Sapa: 220km. Hotel Stay.
After breakfast with the family, we will great motorbike ride along the Thac Ba lake, this ride promises to be one of the best motorcycle tours in North Vietnam, it offers a great view of mountain, green lake and rice fields. After lunch in Pho Rang town, we continue the motorbike tour to Sapa, we will have a stop to visit the border to China, just to have a look at China from Vietnam. The last 40 km of motorbike ride to Sapa must be a highlight of the Vietnam motorbike tour today because we will hit the road up and up to the level of 1600 meters above the sea where the Sapa town located. This gives us plenty of chances to take amazing pictures of terrace rice fields and colorful hill tribes. We will be in Sapa at about 5:00 pm.
Day 8: Sapa Stay.
There are few options for the relaxed day in Sapa. We can have short walk around the town or take a cable car up to higheast peak of Vietnam – Fanxipan or have another easy and short ride along the beautiful Muong Hoa valley to see some other villages of the H’Mong, Zay or Tay people. Stay in Holel in Sapa.
Day 9: Sapa – Than Uyen. 110km. Hotel Stay.
After leaving Sapa, we will have a great motorbike ride down to Than Uyen town. The motorbike ride to Than Uyen from Sapa is another highlight of this Vietnam Motorbike Tour because we will cross the O Qui Ho pass – one of the longest and most beautiful passes in
Northern Vietnam. After the mountain pass, we will motorbike on smooth sealed road through green tea fields, and some off-road then arrive at Than Uyen town at 4:00 pm.
Day 10: Than Uyen – Mu Cang Chai – Phu Uyen: 220km. Hotel Stay.
Start the ride at 8:30 am. Today we will have another great motorbike ride in north Vietnam, it is almost on mountain road with amazing view of terrace fields and cross a lot of rustic villages of hill tribes. This is a typical motorcycle tour Northern Vietnam, we are just winding with the mountain back-roads and stop every half an hour to take pictures or chat with colorful local people. We will be in Phu Yen at 5 pm.
Day 11: Phu Uyen – Mai Chau: 170m. Homestay.
This is a short motorbike tour North Vietnam but it promises to be one of the best parts of the trip. After getting out of the town, we’ll have beautiful motorbike ride along the Da river lake, this ride remind you of the motorcycle tour on coastal roads. The route is almost empty in the middle of mountain and the river lake. After the motorcycle ride along the river, we will motorbike up and up to Moc Chau plateau where is famous for green tea and cool temperature. After lunch, we’ll make a turn to a small mountain pass to ride down to Mai Chau valley. We will end the great Northern Vietnam motorbike tour in Mai Chau at 4:30 pm then we can spend the rest time of the day to have a short walk around the peaceful village of the Thai people.
Day 12: Mai Chau – Tan Ky: 260km. Hotel Stay.
From today we will start to ride all the way down to central Vietnam on the Ho Chi Minh trail. After breakfast and saying good bye to the host, we will have very interesting Mai Chau motorbike tour through rustic villages of the Thai people and green rice fields. When we get out of the valley, we will keep riding on a small, spectacular and paved trail along the Ma river until Cam Thuy town where we stop for lunch. After lunch, just enjoy a relaxing motorcycle tour Ho Chi Minh trail to Tan Ky. We arrive Tan Ky town at about 5:00 pm.
Tan Ky is known as the starting point of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the war. At that time, all the troops with foods and staffs gather in Tan Ky and start to matching to the south of Vietnam on the trail to join the war in DMZ. Tan ky now is a little town located by the sides of the Ho Chi Minh trail, it’s peaceful town surrounded mountains.
Day 12: Tan Ky – Phong Nha 290km. Hotel Stay.
We continue the Vietnam Motorbike tour on Ho Chi Minh trail to Phong Nha and Ke Bang National Park. The ride offers some stops to see the green tea farm, villages of hill tribes…Especially, the Ho Chi Minh trail motorbike ride in the afternoon offers amazing view of mountain, it reminds you again of lime stone mountains in Halong bay. The karst formation of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park has evolved since the Paleozoic (some 400 million years ago) and so is the oldest major karst area in Asia. Subject to massive tectonic changes, the park’s karst landscape is extremely complex with many geographic features of considerable significance. We will arrive Phong Nha at around 4:30 pm, and if time and weather permit, we can have a short boat trip along the green river to go through some famous caves.
Day 13: Phong Nha – Khe Sanh. 220km. Hotel Stay.
Unlike many other Vietnam motorcycle tour organizers, Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert will take you to Khe Sanh on the western Ho Chi Minh trail. The western trail is known as the hidden trail that the Us Army did never know to bomb, the trail runs through the National park of Phong Nha – Ke Bang, in more than 200 km, you will just see few other motorbikes but a lot of beautiful and beautiful mountain view. The ride on this trail could be one the best motorcycle tours Vietnam; Especially, after getting out of the Phong Nha National park, we will get chance to visit the former US Merine Base with tunnels, Air base and a interesting museum of Khe Sanh. We will finish the great western Ho Chi Minh trail motorbike tour at about 5:00 pm.
Day 14: Khe Sanh – DMZ – Hue: 180km. Hotel Stay.
This is another busy day with visits to famous attraction in DZM learn more about the Vietnam war…, we will leave the Ho Chi Minh trail to ride on another historical road No 9 to the east and get closer to the coast of Vietnam. It is short ride but we should pay a lot of visits to some interesting historical sites such as: Hien Luong bridge – known as the symbol of border between the north and the south of Vietnam, museum of the 17th parallel and the famous Vinh Moc tunnel. After lunch nearby the tunnels, we will have short motorcycle tour to Hue. Arrive beautiful city of Hue at around 5:00 pm.
Day 16: Hue Relax. Hotel Stay.
After breakfast in Hotel, we will have enjoyable time to discover the charm of Hue city. Base on your mood, we can take a motorcycle tour around Hue to see some tombs of the kings along the Huong river or have an easy bus tour around the city. We will be back to city to have lunch at one of the famous food streets in Hue. In the afternoon, take your free time to relax at the beach or have more walk around Hue or do some shopping. Diner is on your own, just fell free to enjoy your favorite food in Hue.