11 Day Vietnam Guided Motorcycle Tour From Hanoi to Hoi An via Sapa, Mai Chau, and DMZ

Vietnam Motorcycle Tour

This 11-day motorbike ride on Ho Chi Minh trail from Hanoi via Northern Vietnam to Hoi An (Central Vietnam) is a favorite because this motorcycle tour covers North Vietnam including Sapa where you can see a different Vietnam with amazing scenery and colorful culture of ethnic people and also take you on the best part of the Ho Chi Minh trail which offers a most beautiful view of the mountain. You will see historic sites in the war and World Heritage Sites such as Phong Nha Grottoes, and Hue Imperial Citadel. Passing Hai Van Pass is one of your life experiences for sure.

Key information

Terrain: mix of asphalt and off-road
Bike: rental bike (Yamaha, Suzuki, or Honda models)
Mileage: 2100 kilometers / 1305 miles
Daily rides: 110 - 280 kilometers / 68 - 174 miles
Riding gear: included: helmet
Meals: 8 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 9 dinners

Highlights

Starts in Hanoi, ends in Hoi An
Ride the winding mountain back-roads
Enjoy a great view of the mountain, green lake, and rice fields
Cross one of the longest and most beautiful passes in Northern Vietnam
Visit former US Merine Base in Khe Sanh and Vinh Moc tunnel
Motorcycle rental with English-speaking guide
10 nights accommodation

Skill level

Intermediate
Advanced

10 days with instruction

Accommodation

Vietnam Motorbiketour endeavors to select a combination of good quality hotels that reflect the character of the local area as well as being as centrally located as possible, all the while striving to keep the cost affordable. Your trip will stay in a range of hotels / guesthouses with standardized quality.

Please be aware that some hotel rooms, especially those in major urban centers or older cities, may be smaller than what you are used to in other parts of the world. Standards and ratings may also be different from your home country.

Rooms are en-suite and either twin- or triple-share, depending on what you have booked. If you are a solo traveler, you will always be sharing a room with someone of the same sex otherwise you can pay a supplement to possess a single room.

If you are traveling as a couple and would prefer to have a double bed, please officially request a double room with Vietnam Motorbiketour. Vietnam Motorbiketour never presumes that two people traveling together are a couple, even if you share the same surname, unless informed otherwise.

Program

Day 1: Hanoi - Thac Ba Lake (180 kilometers / 112 miles)

You will be met and picked up to leave the hotel and ride to Thac Ba Lake with safety and fun by riding a motorbike on a route that offers 80% of back-roads and off-road. You will arrive at Thac Ba lake around 4:00 p.m. then you can spend an hour to have an enjoyable boat tour around Thac Ba Lake.

You will stay overnight on a stilt-house of the Dzao people, the hosts are very welcome, friendly, they’re also very good cooks and masters of rice wine. Today's meal plan includes lunch and dinner.

Day 2: Thac Ba - Sapa (210 kilometers / 130 miles)

After breakfast with the local family, you will enjoy a great motorbike ride along the Thac Ba Lake. This ride promises to be one of the best motorcycle tours in North Vietnam as it offers a great view of the mountain, green lake, and rice fields.

After lunch in Pho Rang town, you continue the motorbike tour to Sapa. You will have a stop to visit the border to China, just to have a look at China from Vietnam.

The last 40 kilometers of motorbike ride to Sapa must be a highlight of the Vietnam motorbike tour today because you will hit the road up and up to the level of 1600 meters above the sea where the Sapa town is located.

This gives you plenty of chances to take amazing pictures of terraced rice fields and colorful hill tribes. You will be in Sapa at about 5:00 p.m. Today's meals include breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 3: Sapa - Than Uyen (110 kilometers / 68 miles)

After breakfast in the hotel, you will have short motorcycle tour around Sapa to visit some rustic villages of the local ethnic people to learn more about Vietnamese culture and also enjoy great scenery of the beautiful Muong Hoa valley. You’ll get back to Sapa town for lunch before having another beautiful motorbike ride down to Than Uyen town.

The motorbike ride to Than Uyen from Sapa is another highlight of this Vietnam Motorbike Tour because you will cross the O Qui Ho pass – one of the longest and most beautiful passes in Northern Vietnam. After the mountain pass, you will motorbike on the smooth sealed road through green tea fields, then arrive at Than Uyen town at 5:00 p.m. Today's meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 4: Than Uyen - Phu Yen (220 kilometers / 137 miles)

Start the ride at 8:30 a.m. Today you will have one of the best motorbike rides in North Vietnam, it is almost on a mountain road with an amazing view of terrace fields and you will cross a lot of rustic villages of hill tribes. This is a typical motorcycle tour in Northern Vietnam. You are just winding with the mountain back-roads and stop every half an hour to take pictures or chat with colorful local people. You will be in Phu Yen at 5 p.m. Today, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included.

Day 5: Phu Yen - Mai Chau (150 kilometers / 93 miles)

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, you’ll have a beautiful motorbike ride along the Da river lake.

This ride reminds you of the motorcycle tour on coastal roads. The route is almost empty in the middle of the mountain and the river lake. After the motorcycle ride along the river, you will motorbike up and up to Moc Chau plateau which is famous for green tea and cool temperature.

After lunch, you’ll make a turn to a small mountain pass to ride down to Mai Chau valley. You will end the great Northern Vietnam motorbike tour in Mai Chau at 4:30 p.m. then you can spend the rest of the time to have a short walk around the peaceful village of the Thai people. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included.

Day 6: Mai Chau - Tan Ky (270 kilometers / 168 miles)

From today, you will start to ride all the way down to central Vietnam on the Ho Chi Minh trail. After breakfast and saying goodbye to the host, you will have very interesting Mai Chau motorbike tour through rustic villages of the Thai people and green rice fields.

When you get out of the valley, you will keep riding on a small, spectacular and paved trail along the Ma River until Cam Thuy town where you stop for lunch. After lunch, just enjoy a relaxing motorcycle tour Ho Chi Minh trail to Tan Ky. You arrive in Tan Ky town at about 5:00 p.m.

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.

Today, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included.

Day 7: Tan Ky - Phong Nha (280 kilometers / 174 miles)

You 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 and villages of hill tribes. Especially, the Ho Chi Minh trail motorbike ride in the afternoon offers an amazing view of the mountain. It reminds you again of limestone 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.

You will arrive in Phong Nha at around 4:30 p.m., and if time and weather permit, you can have a short boat trip along the green river to go through some famous caves. Today's meal plan consists of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 8: Phong Nha - Khe Sanh (220 kilometers / 137 miles)

Unlike many other Vietnam motorcycle tour organizers, Vietnam Motorbiketour 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 kilometers, 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, you will get chance to visit the former US Merine Base with tunnels, air base, and an interesting museum of Khe Sanh. You will finish the great western Ho Chi Minh trail motorbike tour at about 5 p.m. Today, the meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 9: Khe Sanh - Vinh Moc - Hue (180 kilometers / 112 miles)

This is another busy day of war stories and visits to famous attractions. You 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 Vietnam motorbike tour but you 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 near the tunnels, you will have a short motorcycle tour to Hue. Arrive in the beautiful city of Hue at around 5 p.m.

Vinh Moc is a tunnel complex in Quang Tri, Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, it was strategically located on the border of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The tunnels were built to shelter people from the intense bombing of Son Trung and Son Ha communes in Vinh Linh county of Quang Tri Province in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. The American forces believed the villagers of Vinh Moc were supplying food and armaments to the North Vietnamese garrison on the island of Con Co which was, in turn, hindering the American bombers on their way to bomb Hanoi.

The idea was to force the villagers of Vinh Moc to leave the area but as is typical in Vietnam there was nowhere else to go. The villagers initially dug the tunnels to move their village 10 meters underground, but the American forces designed bombs that burrowed down 10 meters.

Eventually, against these odds, the villagers moved the village to a depth of 30 meters. It was constructed in several stages beginning in 1966 and used until early 1972.

The complex grew to include wells, kitchens, rooms for each family and spaces for healthcare. Around 60 families lived in the tunnels; as many as 17 children were born inside the tunnels.

Today's meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 10: Tour around Hue

After breakfast in the hotel, you will have an enjoyable time to discover the charm of Hue city. Base on your mood, you 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.

You will be back to the 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. The dinner is on your own, just feel free to enjoy your favorite food in Hue.

Hue is one of three capital cities of Vietnam during a thousand years of history, but unlike the others, Hue remains a lot of originally historical vestiges as in this ancient capital city.

Hue is also an important center of Buddhism. In Hue and its surrounding still exist tens of pagodas constructed more 300 years ago, and a hundred of temples and pagodas built in the early century. They take an important role in making Hue more attractive.

Day 11: Hue - Hoi An (170 kilometers / 106 miles)

The last day is completely different from the days before. Right after getting out of Hue city, you will have great motorbike ride along the coast through some fishing villages and colorful fields of tombs. The view is quite different from the view of the mountain along the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Especially the motorbike ride crossing the Hai Van pass must be one of the best motorcycle tours on coastline Vietnam. You will be in Da Nang city at around 2 p.m. You can have the option to stay in the coastal city of Da Nang or keep riding around 30 kilometers more to Hoi An ancient town before ending up in Hoi An. End of tour.

Skill level(s) required for this tour: intermediate and advanced

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

Motorcycles available for this tour

Each rider will ride semi-automatic motorbikes Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki 110cc or Honda Future X/Neo 125cc or Fully automatic motorbikes Nouvo/Airblade 125cc or manual motorbike Honda 125cc. Other motorbike options are available with extra cost:

Surcharge for riding a manual motorbike Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki 150cc will be 20 USD per day per person
Surcharge for riding a manual motorbike Honda 250cc will be 30 USD per day per person

Food

Meals, as stated in the itinerary, are included in the price. Breakfasts are usually included every day in the hotel (except on the first morning). They are usually "continental breakfasts," which are typical in most countries.

A typical breakfast may consist of cereals with milk or yogurt, bread, croissants, cold meats, cheese, and a range of spreads, with fruit juice, tea, or coffee to drink. It is rare to get a hot breakfast in Asia, though on some occasions there may be some hot food available as well.

Included evening meals are in local restaurants or accommodation places, and are either two or three courses. In most cases, table water is provided with the meals, and if you wish to purchase additional drinks you can do so at your own expense.

If you have any dietary requirements, Vietnam Motorbiketour will make every effort to cater to your specific needs as long as you advise them when you book or make a note by email before you set out.

Please be aware that although Vietnam Motorbiketour will do everything in their power to arrange it, they cannot guarantee that every restaurant they use will be able to cater to all dietary needs, particularly in Asia. They also cannot cater to tastes or dislikes, as most of the included evening meals feature a set menu.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Regular (typically includes meat and fish)

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

Check availability and plan your dream trip!

The organizer has discretion over price and availability for each inquiry.

First name

Please provide your first name

Last name

Please provide your last name

Please provide a valid email address.

Phone (optional)

Arrival date

Change date

No dates yet

Select arrival date

Your message for Vietnam Motorbike Tour (optional)

Message can't be empty when no date is selected

I would like to receive the Tripaneer email newsletter, including special Holidays offers and giveaways.

Best Price Guaranteed

Fast Response

Explore

Hello there.
Glad to have you!