Offroad Motorcycle Exploring Northwest Vietnam – 9 Days

Day 1: Hanoi – Pu Luong Nature Reserve (180 km)

8:00 am, we will pick you up at your hotel in Hanoi then take you all to our office in the western part of Hanoi. Tour briefing, bike instructions… will be done at the office before starting the tour.

The first 10 km is the most difficult ride today, ‘cause you have to ride through the local traffic in Hanoi. The Hanoi traffic looks a little bit crazy, but it’s safe, just keep calm, slowly ride after our tour guide then we will like it and fell like swimming.

Spend another 80 km on the main roads to get used to with your bike then we start turn on back roads, and offroad up to mountain (after lunch). The scenery on the way like: various types of plantations, limestone mountains, deep green valleys… will definitely blow you way.

Lovely homestay with a great dinner is waiting for you at the end of day.

Day 2: Pu Luong Nature Reserve – Moc Chau Plateau (160 km)

After breakfast with the family, we will continue the offroad motorcycle tour North Vietnam with a beautiful ride today. It will be a stunning day if the weather is not bad. It’s so hard to tell you how beautiful today is but we can say this day must be the highlight of the tour. Here are some highlight for today: Crossing the foating bridge, visit the Ghost cave , riding dirttracks , Visit the green tea fields in Moc Chau highland

Hotel stay at the end of day in Moc Chau, a beautiful highland in the northwest of Vietnam

Day 3: Moc Chau Plateau – Phu Yen (150 km)

This is a short but could be the greatest offroad motorcycle ride of this North Vietnam tour. First 60km is a mix between side roads and buffalo trails, leading to a pier where you will cross  a big river by ferry or narrow boat.

Our ride after the ferry is even better than the morning ride. 20 km on the empty back road along Da river, the road is pretty empty, it looks like for us only. A little bit chanllenging at the end of day when you head up to the mountain peak, where you can have the overview of the town we stay. The last 5km offroad is riding on the scenic mountains that look like a dinosaur spine, it will be a fantastic ride that cant describe by words, pictures or even though videos.

Hotel stay at night

Day 4: Phu Yen – Ta Xua Dinosaur – Tram Tau (150 km)

Another short day, but it’s not an easy day. The offroad touring from Phu Yen in the morning must be the best of this 9 day offroad motorcycle exploring Northwest Vietnam . Right after leaving the town, we will conquer high mountain by goat tracks and buffalo trails. The hill is pretty steep, up and down so it’s not very easy for every riders. We will have the chance to ride on another thrilling track called Dinosaur Spine on our way to the top, where we stop for our lunch near Ta Xua mountain

Our afternoon ride is on very twisty road up and down mountains. 60 km down hill to our homestay or bungalows is full of beautiful landscapes such as: green valley full of rice terraces, deep valleys, limestone mountains…

Chilling and hangout at the hotspring in the late afternoon will be another highlight of the day.

Day 5: Tram Tau – Mu Cang Chai (160 km)

Wow, today we will take you to a pacle, which is considered the best for rice terraces, called Mu Cang Chai. Mu Cang Chai is home to some of Asia’s most magnificent cultivated topography. Rice terraces coil in ribbons around the hills to spectacular effect, luring photographers, hikers, and especially motorbikers.

Another mix ride for today, side roads and buffalo tracks  through farms and villages will make us a stunning morning.

The afternoon offers a different beauty, as you know, there are 4 most beautiful passes in the north of Vietnam, and we will ride on one of them today, Khau Pha is the name of the pass. 14 km from the bottom to the top on windy, twisty tarmac road will blow your mind again. A lot of stops for pictures on the way for you to see the real Vietnam.

Spend our night at a cozy guesthouse, where our dinner is served with full of traditional Vietnamese food.

Day 6: Mu Cang Chai – Sapa (120 km)

Sapa is a little beautiful town in the Hoang Lien Son Mountains of northwestern Vietnam. Established as a hill station by the French in 1922. Sapa’s real beauty lies in its mountains, cascading rice terraces and the cultures for sure.

There are 2 options for today

 OPTION A:

Stick on the tarmac road to Sapa, it will take us like 3 hours of riding. Lunch will be served in the town and you will have time to visit some beauty spot near Sapa such as: Cat Cat village, Ham Rong mountain or even though you can do cable car to the top of Fansipang Mt, the highest mountain in southeast Asia.

 OPTION B:

As what we normally do everyday: single dirt tracks to remote areas, through huge tea plantations…

Another 1 of 4 best beautiful passes is on the last 30 km to our hotel. It’s called O Quy Ho pass, smooth twisty road up to 2000 meters above sea level, then another 15 km down hill to Sapa, around 1500 meter above sea level.

Dinner could be another traditional Vietnamese food or pizza and hamburgers

Day 7: Sapa – Bac Ha (140 km)

Today’s ride must be one of the best offroad motorbike tours in North Vietnam, We will start the offroad motorbike ride today at around 8:30. Right after leaving the Sapa town, we’re riding though Muong Hoa valley, which is famous for trekking tour in Sapa. Hard ride in the morning, some tracks are even difficult to walk. However, don’t be worry my friends, cause we’re going down in the morning, so somewhere you cant ride, you might push your bike slide and just walk the bike (or we can take an easer options with more paved roads). We will be dropped quickly from 1500  to 300 meters above sea level, so you can feel the climate changes.

I have to say all the view on our ride are gorgeous. Steep mountains, deep valleys, rice terraces, rivers, waterfall… all make you unforgetable memories.

We will head up to Bac Ha town in the afternoon after our lunch. Bac Ha is famous for a very special market which takes place every Sunday. This market is one of the biggest ones, colorful, busy and magnificent. The Flower Hmong and Giay people from rural villages rush to the market from early dawn. Despite the distance, they walk, ride a horse (mostly in the past) or a motorbike to Bac Ha market to trade goods. But the biggest reason of all is probably to socialize.

Hotel stay at night.

Day 8: Bac Ha – Thac Ba Lake (180 km)

Our ride today seems to be easier then the other days. We’re heading down from Bac Ha on some dusty easy dirt tracks, back roads through villages of different ethnic groups (we might stop to visit some of them to see how they live in rural area). Then our ride is on the twisty road number 70, along the river.

The highlight of the day must be a short offroad motorcycle tour on some small back roads and dirt tracks before we arrive at our homestay near Thac Ba lake, the biggest man-made lake in Vietnam.

The other highlight for today could be the boat trip on the Thac Ba lake, where you can see thousands islands, and jump off the boat for swimming in fresh water in the middle of the lake.

A big farewell party is organized for us at our homestay with full of food and rice wine for sure.

Day 9: Thac Ba Lake – Hanoi (180 km)

Breakfast is served whenever you wake up, saying goodbye to the host then we’re heading back to Hanoi. There’s a main road which only 160 km but we dont ride on it ‘cause there’re a lot of traffic: trucks, busses, mopeds… We pick up 2 side roads, one is along the Lo river, and the second one is on the dike along the biggest river in the north, Red river.

The last 20 km to our shop is through the city traffic again, the Hanoi traffic look crazy but after 9 days touring around you may understand that it’s not dangerous, just slowly ride after our guide team then you will be fine. This great offroad motorcycle tour North Vietnam will end at our shop at around 3:00 pm before rush hour. Cool you down with some cold beers in our shop and saying good bye to the guide team of Vietnam Motorbike Tour Expert before our driver will take you back to you hotel in city central.