Vietnam by Motorbike - 2 Month Sample Itinerary

So you want to let loose and see the beautiful countryside of Vietnam at your own pace? Having spent 2 months gallivanting around this awe-inspiring country, I could not think of a better way to travel!

I absolutely adored Vietnam and everything it had to offer - friendly people, grandiose sights, adrenaline spiking experiences and best of all, a budget friendly price tag. In this article, I will break down how to travel to all the best places by motorbike.

Starting Your Trip:

Personally, I don't think it matters whether you start your journey in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. Both offer an attractive array of options to rent/buy/sell your bike. My friends and I rode from Hanoi --> Ho Chi Minh City, but you can reverse the order easily. The climates vary significantly between these cities, with Ho Chi Minh in the South offering a very humid, tropical climate and Hanoi in the North maintaining a more mild, cool climate. Choose which you would prefer to ride towards, as I thoroughly enjoyed the rising temperature that came with each day on the road travelling North to South.

Time of Year to Ride:

We made this journey in the middle of Vietnam's rainy season -November/December, which was probably not the most amazing time to ride considering it rained at least half of the time we were riding. One of the members of my crew has been back multiple times in different seasons and reckons January/February isn't too hot and isn't too wet to ride - sounds ideal to me!

Itinerary:

Just a reminder that this is a guide based on my experiences, and that when you're actually riding through Vietnam you will end up staying in each city for varying time frames depending on what you want to do. NEVER assume that because you planned to stay somewhere for 2 days, that you'll actually be there for 2 days. More often than not, when you arrive in a city, there are way more/way less things to get up to than you originally planned. Google cannot tell you everything, word of mouth is amazing and hostels are the place to be!

My Riding Route:

• Hanoi --> Sapa
• We actually decided to catch a night bus up to Sapa, which is a must see destination in Vietnam. I'm sure there is a way to ride up there yourself, but keep in mind the roads are mountainous and there are heaps of 4 wheel vehicles ready to knock you off the road.
• Hanoi --> Ninh Binh
• No matter how you get from Hanoi to Ninh Binh, it's going to be chaotic, so make sure you have some good gear and have practiced for a few days in the Vietnamese traffic before setting out on this adventure. My friends and I rode the QL1A all the way down, which took about 3 hours. This is a very dangerous stretch of road, and all other rides will be much more pleasant compared to this. It is a highway with many, many crossroads to weave through as bikes and trucks alike try to ram you from the sides. MAKE SURE you do not end up on the CT01 as bikes are strictly prohibited and they have a bunch of cameras watching for this. Google may suggest it as the fastest way to Ninh Binh, but don't get caught out by this.
• Ninh Binh --> Vinh
• We ended up staying in some random little town called Thai Hoa on our way to Vinh, but I would actually recommend either finding somewhere else to stopover, or riding the full haul between Ninh Binh and Vinh as I don't think there was much to do on the route between these two. It doesn't really matter which back country roads you take between these two cities, as long as you avoid the QL1A to ensure a chilled ride with lots of rural farms, animal crossings and reasonably maintained roads.
• Vinh --> Phong Nha
• An absolute must see on your roadtrip is Phong Nha. It is a haven for motorbike riders traversing Vietnam. The route from Vinh to Phong Nha is also the first time you will officially be riding the Ho Chi Minh Highway. This relic of a road has been recently paved along its entire length, which spans most of Vietnam. It’s a highway, however, no Vietnamese people seem to use it for long distance transport (which made the ride even better for lack of traffic). I spent about 5 hours on the bike navigating almost 200km of scenic road from Vinh to Phong Nha national park. It seemed every 10 minutes the surrounding environment would completely change: one moment your in foggy mountains surrounded by lush greenery and the next moment it’s a barren landscape of unsewn rice fields, then the next you’re driving through a rural town amongst a herd of cattle walking along the road. Every corner I took there was something amazing to see and everywhere we went people were eager to wave hello.
• Phong Nha --> Khe Sanh
• While not a common pitstop on your classic Vietnam bike trail, this was a request by one of the members of my riding group for it's military history (and the Cold Chisel song). It was a long and windy ride, so if you're not particularly set on this place, I'd probably find a different town to hit up for this stopover. Click here to find out more about our time in Khe Sanh.
• Khe Sanh --> Hue
• We made this trip on the very quiet Ho Chi Minh trail along the Laos border before cutting across central Vietnam to arrive at the coastal city of Hue. The ride was majestic (as is every ride in Vietnam), with the road snaking adjacent to a river. There was an awesome photo opportunity early in the ride when the brown river we were riding next to joined a crystal blue stream. It was beautiful as both remained their own colour and seamlessly melded together. (You can find this spot at the bridge next to Văn Huân Computer Store on the QL14)
• Hue --> Hoi An
• This is it guys. The absolute reason people ride a bike through Vietnam - The Hai Van Pass. It’s a brilliant road. I stopped many times on my ride to take photos and breathe in the scenery. Surrounding the road on one side of the mountain was picturesque ocean and spanning out from the other side was a network of rivers and city buildings. The road itself was a smooth ride with almost all people using it being tourists as there is a bypass through the mountain for cars.
• Hoi An --> Danang
• I almost cried when I had to leave my beloved Hoi An. We had debated staying a further day, but Saturday night in Danang promised us the ‘dragon bridge show’ and we surely couldn’t miss it (It was a pretty funny exhibit, so if you can be in Danang on a Saturday, then it's probably worth it). It was an easy 45 minute ride along an ocean road, traversing beside the beach for some of the journey. Be warned it is quite busy, but you should be a pro at Vietnamese traffic by now.
• Danang --> VIA TRAIN --> Nha Trang
• This part of the journey was a bit weird, but we had places to see and dangerous stretches of road to avoid. We decided to travel by train as there weren't any places we were keen to visit between these 2 towns, however don't let this deter you from riding the whole way. I'm sure there is heaps we missed. On the day we arrived 2 hours early to the Danang train station and negotiated for our bikes to travel in the cargo hold. They drained all the fuel from them, and packed them in wooden crates to be loaded on board. It was a 12 hour train ride, with no issues encountered except finding a fuel station to fill up once we arrived.
• Nha Trang --> Dalat
• This is a 200km stretch of road that takes you up into the mountains once again. We were pretty much the only people on the road during our ride. This road rides high above lush green valleys, while the mountains above gush with a hundred waterfalls. It's beautiful, and Dalat is one of my favourite cities in Vietnam, so I would make sure it's on your list!
• Dalat --> Mui Ne
• My mates and I split up for this route, as was common on the ride down (do not expect to convoy the whole country, it just doesn't happen). I was super keen to see the dunes of Mui Ne and noticed a very obvious change of climate on the way down from Dalat (and it is definitely a descent) through the jungle-lined roads. As you near Mui Ne, the coastal ambiance takes over, with a marked increase in temperature and humidity that feels quite pleasant to ride through.
• Mui Ne --> Ho Chi Minh City
• Ride the coastal route, avoiding the QL1A where possible. For a very unique experience, ensure to be on the DT769 for the final part of your approach. There is a ferry that takes bikes across for cheap, and you avoid the heavy highway traffic.

So! I hope this has helped in some semblance of a way to planning your Vietnam adventure. Remember, no matter what plans you make, they will inevitably deviate, and it will be totally fine because Vietnam is a cheap and chill place to travel. I have been many places and Vietnam remains my favourite country to explore. Everyone will be keen to help you, the backpacker culture is strong with many awesome people to meet, and the things you will see while traversing this beautiful place will remain with you forever. Enjoy!