Day 1: Hanoi to Ba Be Lake (240 kilometers / 149 miles)
This great motorcycle tour to the north of Vietnam starts at around 08:00. You will try the best to avoid busy city roads in the morning until Cho Chu Town (in Thai Nguyen Province) where you will have lunch.
After lunch, you surely have enjoyable motorcycle ride to Ba Be because the roads have less traffic and give you a lot of grand mountain view. At about 16:00, you will arrive at Pac Ngoi, a beautiful village of Tay people which located peacefully at Ba Be lake’s side. Dinner and stay with the Tay’s family.
Ba Be Lake (Vietnamese: Hồ Ba Bể, Ba means “Three”, Bể is from the Tay language word pé, meaning “lake”) is the largest natural lake in Vietnam. It is located in Nam Mẫu commune, Bắc Kạn District, Bắc Kạn Province in the northeastern region of the country. Having been formed approximately 200 million years ago, the lake is surrounded by limestone cliffs, which in turn are covered by primary forests.
The lake comprises three zones named Pé Lầm, Pé Lù, and Pé Lèng. Three rivers, named Năng, Tả Han, and Nam Cường, are the main inflows of the lake. The Năng River enters the lake through a large waterfall called Đầu Đẳng. In the lake, there are also three islands, named Án Mã, Khẩu Cúm, and Po Gia Mải (literally “Widow’s Island”). Ba Bể Lake is a featured geographical science and is a biodiversity reservoir. It is a part of the Ba Be National Park. It is a home to a range of animals and plants.
Day 2: Ba Be Lake to Meo Vac (190 kilometers / 118 miles)
Saying good bye to the family, you’ll ride the motorbike on the back-roads through some rustic villages and the jungle. Then, you will ride the motorbike across some streams. This promises to be a great day for off-road Vietnam motorbike touring.
You will stop in Bao Lac town for lunch and then continue the beautiful motorcycle tour Northern Vietnam to Meo Vac by taking a scenic route climbs over many Passes where you can enjoy beautiful mountain ranges and the Nho Que river. Arrive at Meo Vac by 17:00. Dinner will be in town. Stay at the hotel.
Meo Vac Town is located in the heart of the Dong Van Rock Plateau, which was recognized as part of the Global Geo-Park Network in 2009. The Dong Van old quarter is home to age, old, and unique architecture near Ha Giang Province’s border with China. Therefore, the motorbike tour to Ha Giang, Dong Van is always the best choice of the motorcyclists.
Day 3: Meo Vac to Ha Giang (180 kilometers / 112 miles)
Today’s ride promises to be the highlight of this motorcycle trip in north Vietnam as you will visit one of the most remote land in Vietnam where you 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, and 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 at Ha Giang in the late afternoon. Dinner and stay will be with the other Tay’s family or stay in the hotel in Ha Giang city.
Day 4: Ha Giang to Sapa (220 kilometers / 137 miles)
Today you will head straight towards the northwestern mountain where the main Fanxipan Mountain range dominates the road until Sapa. The road is very smooth with a good view of green mountain and rice fields between lovely villages of the hill tribes.
After a short break in Lao Cai to see the Chinese border, you will have a very beautiful motorbike ride up to Sapa. This motorbike ride is up and up till 1.600 meters above sea level. It offers a great view of the mountain with terrace fields and it must be one of the best motorbike rides in North Vietnam. Arrive in Sapa at around 17:00. Stay overnight at a hotel in Sapa.
Day 5: Sapa to Than Uyen (110 kilometers / 68 miles)
You are free to explore Sapa until 13:30. Check out the hotel and continue the route to Than Uyen. You will make a splendid climb up from Sapa to the top of the highest road pass in Vietnam (Tram Ton Pass), crossing into Lai Chau Province at over 2000 meters above sea level.
This is a short motorbike ride but it could be the most enjoyable motorbike tour from Sapa. The ride offers you an amazing view of the Hoang Lien mountain ranges for miles and miles. You will arrive in Than Uyen by 17:00. Dinner and overnight will be in the hotel.
Day 6: Than Uyen to Mu Cang Chai and Phu Yen (220 kilometers / 137 miles)
You will keep riding up and down into a forested and high mountain region populated by H’mong peoples. You will hike up a very high mountain pass before descending into a mountainous tea-growing region soon after you follow along the valley floor covered in a sea of rice surrounded by Hmong and Thai’s villages all the way to Phu Yen, especially after lunch in Mu Cang Chai, a famous land for terrace fields. So, the ride through Mu Cang Chai is another highlight of this motorcycle tours in North Vietnam. Arrive in Phu Yen town at 17:00. Overnight will be at the hotel.
Day 7: Phu Yen to Mai Chau Valley (150 kilometers / 93 miles)
It is a short motorbike tour to Mai Chau valley, but it’s also an enjoyable motorbike ride. It offers some different views from the days before with different hill tribes. Right after Phu Yen town, you will have a great ride along the Da River Lake on the winding road between the river lake and mountains. It is likely a motorcycle tour on the coastline in the central Vietnam.
After crossing the Da River by a ferry, you will ride your motorcycle up and up to Moc Chau plateau where you will stop for lunch. Then after lunch, you’ll make a turn to the quiet mountain road named Hua Tat. It’s built by the French during the war time and nowadays. It is like a forgotten place, so the short ride to Mai Chau is also the best part of the northern Vietnam motorbike tour. Arrive in Mai Chau at 16:00. Stay in Pom-coong village of the Thai people (home stay).
Day 8: Mai Chau to Hanoi (150 kilometers / 93 miles)
Getting up late, feel the peaceful life of the local by walking around the valley and then start the motorbike ride back to Hanoi at around 10:00. After 2 beautiful mountain passes, Thung Khe and Doc Cun, you will have lunch and then join the high way back to Hanoi. You will be back to the hotel before rush hours in order to end the 8-day motorbike tour in North Vietnam safely.
Within 8 days, this northern Vietnam off-road motorbike tour from Hanoi offers you a full chance to taste Ha Giang, Ba Be National Park, Ba Be Lake, Mai Chau valley, and Sapa. They are the most attractive destinations in the north of Vietnam. You will have a great album of stunning landscape of mountainous region and colorful hill tribes after 8 days riding the motorbike in northern Vietnam. This is one of the most favorite in Indochina Motorbike Tours Vietnam tours collection.
Intermediate
- Can ride for 3-4 hours
- Average riding experience
- Little assistance required
- Comfortable with extreme curves and leans
- Average experience with unsurfaced roads
- Steep ascents and descents
Advanced
- Can ride for 5-6 hours
- Extensive riding experience
- Assistance on demand (if required)
- Experienced with riding a variety of motorcycles
- Comfortable with any terrain and weather conditions