Before joining a tour, you need to prepare carefully to ensure convenience, and safety as well as get the best experience. To ensure you enjoy all the moments in Vietnam, we provide you with a list of FAQs so that you can prepare mentally as well as prepare the best personal items for the trip.
FAQs about Vietnam
In this article, we will divide it into parts so that you can easily get the information. We are providing the related details about our incredible Vietnam and our tour.
How is traffic in Vietnam?
Some foreigners say traffic in Vietnam is “Busy”, “Crazy”, “Funny” or “Amazing”… and It’s no rules for traffic here, however, motorbikes, and scooters are still always kings of the Vietnam road…
All of our tours are guided by local experienced riders who know the traffic well and will show you the local traffic rules just to ride as safely as possible What’s more, we will ride you on our safe way by taking you out of busy traffic or taking a muddy, narrow but safe road with a special view.
Where to buy insurance for motorcycle trips in Vietnam?
The biggest insurance companies in Vietnam are Bao Viet( National Insurance Company) and Gras Savoye Willis (French Insurance Broker). They are big in Vietnam but they won’t cover you if you have no Vietnamese motorbike riding license. To get a Vietnamese motorcycle license or convert your license to a Vietnamese one is complicated and takes plenty of time to do paperwork and wait.
Therefore, the suggestion is that you’d better buy insurance in your home country before coming on tour by motorbike in Vietnam. Below is the recommendation from the riders who do tour with us: QBE Insurance: https://www.qbe.com.au/ or Seven Corners: https://www.sevencorners.com/
How to have a good motorcycle ride in Vietnam?
Vietnam could be the best destination in Asia for motorcyclists, The bikers can have memorable trips here because of the beautiful mountain passes with colorful hill tribes and the eye-catching landscapes continually changing. But the traffic and road condition is the most special in the world therefore Vietnam motorbike tour Experts would like to give you some suggestion below to make your trip to Vietnam wonderful:
- Take a guided motorbike tour: Our guide team is chosen carefully for their professionalism. They are all in one ( they are your Mechanic, translator, tour guide, supporter, and teacher- teach you the rules of local traffic at any time, anywhere.)
- The best place to ride in Vietnam is the North: Just about 100km to the north of Hanoi city, you will see the green mountainous area with much less population and very beautiful winding roads along valleys that are perfect for motorbike rides. However, it is raining a lot here so the best time to ride in North Vietnam is from September to the next April.
- Vietnam is a kingdom of horns: It is very necessary to use horns here. The reason is that most of the bikers here don’t use driving mirrors or never look at them. They only let you take over them or leave you safe when they hear your horn. So please don’t be quiet on Vietnam road.
How big is the bike to have a good ride in Vietnam?
Almost all Vietnamese people don’t use motorbikes that are larger than 175cc. Most Vietnamese people rode small scooters with a capacity of around 100cc – 110cc, until May 2007 when Vietnam joined WTO. It took some time to have bigger bikes imported into Vietnam, but just a few locals can likely own these bikes as import tax is 90% and VAT is 10% (a bike costs twice as much as in many other countries). Because of local traffic and road conditions, the big motorbikes in Vietnam seem to be unnecessary. We’re one of the top motorcycle tour organizers in Vietnam that takes the best care of the bikes for our tours. We at present use mostly Honda XR150L, Honda CRF250L, and Honda CRF300L for most of our motorbike tours in Vietnam. They’re not so big motorbikes but they’re almost NEW powerful enough and suitable for all motorcycle tours in Vietnam. Besides we do have some other bigger bikes for some special requests such as Honda CR500X, BMW GS1200R…
Read more about: Our Bike
Is an International License valid in Vietnam?
“Can I ride a motorbike legally in Vietnam with my international driving license or with my home country license? ”could be the most popular question and it’s still the hardest question to answer because it’s hard to find the official information from local authority or any office website of the government.
From the latest updates, the regulations for foreign tourists riding motorbikes legally in Vietnam with an international driving license were not consistent throughout the country. The requirements varied by region and were subject to change.
Generally, Northern Vietnam authorities allow foreign tourists to ride motorbikes with an International Driving Permit (IDP) in addition to their valid home country driver’s license, while other regions require a Vietnamese motorbike license to ride legally in Vietnam.
However, after over 10 years of riding motorcycle tours in Vietnam, we can tell the good news is police and local authorities are quite friendly with tourists so if you can ride a motorbike well and carefully after the local tour guide, no police will stop or care about your license. Especially with a valid international license, and if you don’t ride over the speed limit…you can ride to regions in Vietnam
So the answer to the question “Is international license valid in Vietnam” is YES. The ONLY problem is the INSURANCE, many travel insurance companies don’t cover this kind of trip if tourists don’t have Vietnamese motorbike licenses.
What should I bring and what will I do with my bags during the tour?
The Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert team will always advise what to bring with you based on where your motorbike tour is heading, and when or how long your tours will be. Besides, All the Vietnam motorbike tours will depart from our bike store where we are ready helmets, gloves, and bright reflecting jackets…but we are sure that your things will fit you best so it’s very good if you can bring all your necessary things with you along the tour. Below is a sample list of what we need for a motorbike tour in Vietnam:
- Motorcycle Gear: Motorbike riding jacket, helmet, gloves, boots (rubber boots for the rainy season in North Vietnam from May to September), summer gloves, balaclava, t-shirt, socks & underwear, long-sleeved shirt, turtleneck shirt, extra jeans, light jacket, leather chaps, zip-lock bags, riding boots, bandanas, sunglasses, and goggles.
- Personal items: basic toiletries, emergency cash, sunscreen, and earplugs.
- Emergency items: first aid kit, emergency contact number, list medical conditions, list medications, flashlight, chargers, and duct tape.
- Miscellaneous: small towel, bath towel, trash bags, bungee cords, camera, and cargo net.
Check out: Motorcycle Gear Guide: 10 Essential motorbike touring gear or our Motorbike Souvenir Shop
During the Vietnam Motorcycle Tours, we can store the unnecessary bags/suitcases with us safely at the office or bike store. For some riders who do the Ho Chi Minh trail motorbike touring or for riders who start and end the tour in different places, we can help to transport the bags/suitcases (or unnecessary things during the trip) from the starting point to the ending point with a friendly price.
So what is a driving license that can be used in Vietnam?
The first choice for a driver’s license in Vietnam is an IAA license. This is one of the international degrees valid in nearly 200 countries. At Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert, we are using this for all driving license situations. This international driver’s license has a valid period depending on the needs of riders, the cost is pretty low compared to other driving licenses and the waiting time for the license is kind of fast. From that point, IAA is the best choice for you to use out of your home country and also for this tour.
FAQs about Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert
In this part, we provide all FAQs about Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert. Read all the information carefully to have a great experience in Vietnam with us.
Have we obtained a Business Registration Certificate?
With over 10 years of operation, we are a legal business with a Business Registration Certificate. We operate under permission and protection from the Vietnamese state. We also provide a tax invoice in case riders are needed.
How many kinds of tours that we provide?
We provide 2 main kinds of tours, they are Guided Motorcycle Tours and 4×4 Tours. Each tour will have different interesting characteristics such as vehicle, topographics,… For more advice on the type of tour that is right for you, contact us immediately for guidance.
How many Tour Guides are there in Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert?
VMTE has 6 official guides, they are all male. Each Tour Guide has their unique talents but in general, they are all helpful, patient, and brilliant in knowledge. Not only a Tour Guide but also a companion, a friend that shares the same interests, a helpful mechanic and they can play the role of local people.
FAQs about Our Motorbike Tour
If you are about to find a motorbike tour at Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert, maybe the below information is helpful for you. Read this and if anything is confusing, don’t hesitate to contact us immediately!
How many maximum numbers of riders for each tour?
To ensure the safety and Tour Guide can take care of all riders, we wanted to divide riders into small groups. However, the maximum number of a tour is up to 30 people.
For your information, a group of 4 riders will have 1 tour guide and 1 mechanic. Each group of 9 or more riders will have 2 tour guides and 1 mechanic. We will carefully and suitably select the tour guide for each group. If there is anything about our guide and you think he’s not suitable for the tour, we will change another one shortly.
Where we stay overnight on the tour?
There are 2 choices of accommodation when joining our tour, that is a hotel or a homestay. You can choose to stay in a hotel or a homestay based on your needs.
Hotel:
Our adventure is almost to explore remote places, so the hotels here are kind of small. However, it still has the standard equipment to fit your needs such as a good bed, warm water, clean toilet,… Besides, when you take a tour of a big city, there are also 3 or 4-star hotels.
Home-stay:
When choosing a homestay, you can immerse all the true culture of that region. All the families we choose to stay with have special permits from the local government so they’re certificated and they all have nice houses on stilts. You can take their food, and their places and feel the warm welcome from the locals. Below is the equipment you can expect to have at the homestay as private mats, blankets, mosquito nets, fans, and clean toilets… Moreover, when choosing to stay at a homestay, you can have a chance to see the great scenery and feel the peaceful atmosphere here.
Read more about our Food and Accommodation
Does VMTE have a Crossing Borders tour?
We are providing a crossing borders tour from Vietnam to Laos and in reverse. Contact us for more information about this kind of tour.
Is there always a support vehicle on the tour or just a guide/Mechanic?
Having a support vehicle or not is optional. The tour price does not include a support vehicle. The support vehicle is recommended for all our Motorcycle tours in Vietnam so that it can carry all your things and keep them dry and clean. Depending on the length of the tour and the number of riders, we give you the right price for the support vehicle. Please contact us for more details!
What about Foods/Drinks on the tour?
All meals on the tour are included in the tour price, vegetarian food can be accommodated. However, the drinks are not included. We would like to say the food on the tours is one of the most important reasons to make our clients come back for more. We serve almost local Vietnamese food on the tour. Generally, Vietnamese food is light but surely not boring and healthy. We can be sure all food is fresh with a lot of vegetables. We sometimes choose a basic roadside restaurant for meals but the food is always fresh and plenty to choose from. Such as the famous PHO (rice noodle soup), BUN CHA (special noodles with grilled pork), NEM (Spring rolls)…The local people have different methods to cook so we can be sure you can have different food for each meal during the long motorcycle tours in Vietnam.
FAQs about Payments
What about the Deposit for a VMTE tour?
To secure the booking with us, we would need a small deposit from the group around 10% – 30% of the total cost. When you’re ready to book with us, we will send you the payment link to pay this deposit online with your credit card. It’s easy, fast and safe.
How to pay for the VMTE Tour?
As mentioned above, the deposit will be made via the link we provide when confirm the booking. The balance will be paid at our office/shop before starting the tour. You can pay in cash (USD, VND) or you can pay by credit card (we accept any kind of credit card but 3,5% or 4% will be surcharged for the bank service fee).
Is my Payment safe?
We’ll send you an official payment link so that you don’t need to worry about security. We also save your information to double-check it before we start. All our transaction is highly secure when you create online payment via OnePay.
How long time ahead should we book the tour?
All our riders please keep in mind that booking is available only when you book it before 6 to 8 months. Honesty, we’re not so big Motorcycle Tour Company in Vietnam, our bikes and guides are not unlimited. If there’s no Tour Guide or motorbike left, we will close the service immediately. So please remember to book it before a half year if you are planning a motorbike tour in Vietnam.
