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Overview
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Choosing a professionally guided tour allows you to make the most out of your adventure.
You’ll take roads and visit areas well off the beaten track that only someone with a lot of riding experience in the country could know about.
And, you get to focus entirely on your adventure, since everything from your meals, accommodation and motorcycle to things like route planning and motorcycle maintenance is taken care of.
The bulk of our tours start in Hanoi because the best riding in the country is easily accessible from here. However, we have offices in Hanoi, Danang and HCMC so we are able to start and end tours from any of these three locations.
Yes, this is what we do. We can assist with reservations in any hotel in Hanoi and also provide a FREE airport pick-up that will take you to your hotel of choice. Good hotels can be had for 30-40usd per night and they will also store any excess gear you may have until you return from tour. You can choose from staying in the heart of the city’s old quarter or closer to West Lake and our office.
Up in the North, it is hard to say as each of the four seasons has distinct advantages and drawbacks. The Summer is usually around April to October and ranges from warm and wet to boiling hot with the occasional torrential downpour. This also leads to the risk of flooding and landslides. The Autumn, October to December will generally be dry and cool with the potential for cold fronts to descend creating cloudy drizzly days. Winter, January / February, will be relatively cold (10C) and colder at altitude (Ha Giang, Cao Bang), but often quite dry and clear. Spring, around February to April will often have mixed spells of warm and cold air with dry or drizzly days.
Driving North/South or South/North means that you pass through a whole range of climatic regions (northern, central and southern) and it is very difficult to answer which is the best time. This is because the weather may be great to ride in one regions but not optimal in another. We suggest not passing through the central or southern regions in Summer as there can be a lot of storms and flooding.
You will see that we do not list tours less than 5 days on our site. This is because it takes a day to get out of Hanoi / Sai Gon and to get to the ‘countryside’. While this may be interesting and a culture shock for many, we don’t think it is what you came here for. You then have 3 days of pleasurable riding, which, in all honesty, will leave you wanting more. Therefore, we would say an optimum length of tour to be around 7 – 9 days with one or two rest days thrown in so that you can take some time off at key points and transform from being a motorbike tourist to just a tourist.
North / South – South / North Route
You will need more time to complete this tour due to the distance covered. It simply isn’t wise to cover 1,600km in 8 days. We recommend around 10 days as a minimum and 14 – 16 days being perfect.
The longer you have, the more chance we have of getting you to the most remote places that offer the highest rewards.
Absolutely, yes. Generally, speaking foreigners are left alone and not hassled other than by pesky tourist touts (just like any other country). Vietnam is a predominantly Buddhist and partly Christian country and women play a vital role in daily life. They are not wall flowers and nor are they hidden away. They are strong and capable and, although, there are some extra precautions that a female traveller might feel necessary, these are no more or less than most countries in the world. Also, bear in mind that this is a guided tour and there is plenty of support from our staff in all aspects of the tour. Contact us for details of female guides and female only groups.
Yes, we can let you know what tours we have arranged and whether they are willing to accept a new member. Often times this is possible but it takes a little understanding on both sides due to different skill levels, needs and desires. We have found that most people can get along quite well and this isn’t an option.
No, definitely not. Whilst the country does not shut down as it did in the past a large number of businesses, including ours, will close for at least one week and perhaps longer. It will be difficult to find services available and there will likely be a holiday ‘premium’ applied.
Further to this, travelling on the roads at this time can be quite dangerous du to the levels of traffic, distraction and, unfortunately, drink driving.
You need a valid passport with a minimum of 6 months validity to obtain a visa for Vietnam.
We have an excellent visa agent we work with, and will be happy obtain visa invitation letters for all riders in your group for free!
All you have to do is provide us with copies of your passports, and we’ll send you your invitation letters before you arrive in Vietnam. With your invitation letters sorted, you each bring two 3x4cm passport photos and around $20USD for the visa stamping fee to the immigration counter, they’ll give you your visas and you’re ready to start your adventure!
All riders in your group must have a valid motorcycle license.
If you can get an International Driving Permit, then you should do so. However, you must check to make sure that Vietnam is named on this. There are two different conventions and Vietnam signed up to the 1968 Convention so this is the one that you need.
You must have your own personal medical insurance that covers you for riding a motorcycle in Vietnam, and you must adhere to the requirements of that insurance.
We strongly recommend taking out our motorcycle damage waiver. For $5/day (Honda Future 125 or Honda XR 150) or $10/day (Honda CRF 250 or Honda CB 500), we cover you against loss, theft or any damage to the motorbike caused by an accident or fall and you will be covered should the bike be damaged beyond repair. This is not a license to go crazy as you will not be covered for misuse of the bike. The policy excludes any personal medical insurance, 3rd party liability or damage / injury caused by other vehicles or drivers. The peace of mind this offers is worth its weight in gold.
Yes, you are welcome to bring a pillion passenger. The cost of a pillion is $100 per day, as we provide the same service only minus the bike.
No. We do not allow bikes other than our own on tour. This is because we cannot be sure of the history of any strange bike and we do not wish to jeopardize the enjoyment and safety of the whole tour because of this. What would a bricklayer say, if you asked them to build a wonky wall?
Technically, we have no maximum number. However, we assign one guide and one mechanic to a maximum of 12 riders. This means that if you have 13 or more, we will split into two groups for the daily ride.
The advantages of this are a higher level of safety and comfort along with the ability to group riders according to riding skill.
We require a minimum number of 4 riders on a tour to offer the listed prices. However, if you have a smaller group we can custom build a tour and price this accordingly. There are a number of fixed costs that mean a tour with fewer members is often more expensive per person.
In a nutshell, better accommodation and better food.
For the VIP tours, we stay in a better class of hotel and homestay and we tend to stay in more hotels than homestays. This means that you get a little extra comfort, which can make a tough tour less tough. This is of particular importance in the colder months when piping hot showers are preferred to draughty bathrooms.
On a VIP tour, we take better food with us that allows the lunch options to be more interesting and varied. We also have more scope to feast in our accommodation and request larger than average portions. This can be needed when we have some long tough driving days ahead of us.
