Day 1: Hanoi to Mai Chau, 160 kilometers / 100 miles
Start your motorbike tour by leaving Hanoi on dike roads to avoid the heavy traffic around 09:00. You'll ride your motorcycles west to Mai Chau, an area of beautiful landscape and home to the Thai ethnic minority. You will motorcycle on Highway 6 passing extensive farming lands comprising a sea of paddy fields split by tree-lined roads punctuated by limestone karst scenery.
After a light lunch in Hoa Binh Province, you'll cross Thung Khe, one of the most beautiful mountain passes in North Vietnam then descent to the mountain valley settlement of Mai Chau. After dinner, you'll join a performance, where you can dance and share a range of special liquors (rice wine) with the locals. Your overnight will be in a house-on-stilts of the Thai people.
- Meals: Lunch, Dinner
- Accommodation: Home-stay in village
Day 2: Mai Chau to Phu Yen, 140 kilometers / 87 miles
In the morning, you'll take a short walk around the village to discover local life. Life in the countryside starts early so by sunrise there is a wealth of activity. The Thai women are masterful weavers who ensure that there is plenty of traditional-style clothing to buy in the village center. You will see women weaving on looms under or inside their houses in the village. You can buy some handmade traditional-style clothing, knife, or crossbow.
After breakfast in the homestay, you'll say goodbye to villagers and leave Mai Chau at around 10:00. You'll ride from Mai Chau to the direction of Moc Chau, where you'll have lunch. This highland town produces some of Vietnam's best tea and is a good place to stock up. The surrounding area is also home to several ethnic minorities, including Green Hmong, Dzao, Thai, and Muong.
Moc Chau boasts a pioneering dairy industry that started in the late 1970s with Australian (and, later, the UN) assistance. The dairy provides Hanoi with delectable luxuries such as fresh milk, sweetened condensed milk, and little tooth-rotting bars called “Banh sua”. After lunch, you'll turn to the less traveled Road 43 leading to the Da River, crossing the reservoir of Da river at Van Yen ferry, then ride on a beautiful winding secondary road until Phu Yen where you'll stay in a basic guesthouse.
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Accommodation: Guest-house
Day 3: Phu Yen to Hanoi, 160 kilometers / 100 miles
Today, you'll get an easy way back from Phu Yen to Hanoi on the emptiest road, passing many rice and green tea fields in the countryside until you reach Son Tay. You'll head back to Hanoi on dike roads to avoid the heavy traffic and breaking out of the delta plains along the Red River. You'll finish your tour around 15:00.
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Skill level(s) required for the tour: Beginner, intermediate, advanced
Beginner
- can ride for 2-3 hours
- minimal riding experiencer
- assistance required
- comfortable with curves and leans
- basic experience with unsurfaced roads
- short distance ascents and descents
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