Motorbike tour between Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi
- City to City Tours
- 11 to 15 days
-
Tigit Guides
Tour Pictures & Video
Summary
Tigit Motorbikes is the largest motorbike rental company in Vietnam, with locations in Ho Chi Minh, Dalat, Danang and Hanoi.
The concept of starting and stopping in different locations is an easy one for us, and we are well practiced with the routes.
Driving between Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi on good roads takes eleven days. This is driving all day, every day. Understanding this helps you plan your motorbike tour.
If you have twelve days, this is eleven days of driving with one rest day.
If you have fifteen days, this is eleven days of driving with four rest days.
From experience, we know that tour groups get tired, even experienced ones. It is normal and common for groups to plan eleven or twelve days, but at Tigit we can assure you that budgeting at least thirteen days is a wise choice.
We have plenty of route options and we will adjust the recommended route by gauging the riding style of the group by email. We also book hotels only two days in advance, using an administration team back at base to help the guides keep the tour dynamic and flexible on the fly.
As normal at Tigit (watch our videos), our routes tend to be ambitious and challenging, unless the group specifically states otherwise. We like to push boundaries and risk distances a little bit. All in the name of hopefully providing the best that Vietnam has to offer.
Tour Highlights
- Single (private rooms) in reasonably priced hotels
- Extreme efforts to avoid rock-hard mattresses
- A tour budget that allows some detours to foreign food (we don’t need Pho Bo every night!)
- Tour guides and a company behind the tour guides that have experienced all of Vietnam on routine day-to-day operations
- We will see the mountains, the coast and all the best routes that Vietnam has to offer. Many of the routes can not be found on the internet!
Who this tour is for
Driving between Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi is a long way (if doing the good roads). You do not need to be an expert rider, but you need to be someone up for a challenge with very long hours on a motorbike.
This tour will be spectacular and fun, but will push both your bottom and your concentration to its limits!
Tour Itinerary
HCM to Cat Tien
This tour can be done Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi, or Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh, but for the purposes of this page, we will talk about a Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi tour.
The easiest way out of Ho Chi Minh is to head to a National park called Cat Tien National park. It takes around three hours to truly leave the big city, leaving us with a few hours of nicer roads towards the end of the day.
Cat Tien accommodation is on a river front, where you can hear plenty of wildlife in the nearby national park.
Cat Tien to Dalat
Cat Tien to Dalat has many winding hill roads. I wouldn’t call them mountains, but hills is probably a fair description. It is the first glimpse of the beauty that Vietnam has to offer.
On the way into Dalat we will stop by Elephant waterfall.
Accommodation in Dalat is on the edge of a pine forest and is often described to Tigit as the favorite hotel of the journey.
Dalat to Nha Trang
Dalat to Nha Trang goes from the mountains to the coast in one swift day. On this day we experience the best coastal riding that Vietnam has to offer.
A meandering road that touches the sea.
Nha Trang to Song Cau
Nha Trang is on the coast, and Song Cau is on the coast, and between these two areas is a pretty good coastal drive. However, Tigit guides never keep things simple, and instead, they go inland to roads that are better than the coastal roads.
On the way to Song Cau, the tour will pass over the famous bamboo bridge for some awe-inspiring Instagram shots.
Song Cau to Mang Den
You haven’t heard of either of these places, have you?
They certainly are not in the lonely planet book.
Thanks to Tigit Jon a route was discovered smack up the middle of the country and it just so happens to be one of the best drives in Vietnam. Tigit is slowly making it more famous (what a shame), but for now it remains a hidden secret!
For those wanting a rest day off the tourist trail, Mang Den is a very peaceful way to enjoy a day drinking coffee and visiting waterfalls.
Mang Den to Hoi An
A continuation of Tigit Jon’s secret route up the middle of the country, another incredible drive that eventually lands the tour back on the coastal town of Hoi An.
Hoi An is very touristy, but another spot that is a good option for a rest day.
Hoi An to Khe Sanh
Onto the famous Ho Chi Minh road we go. Right onto the Laos border and through some huge and remote tunnels that were blasted through the mountain once upon a time. These days, no one uses these roads apart from motorcyclists!
If time allows we will visit the Khe Sanh Combat Base on the way into Khe Sanh.
Khe Sanh to Phong Nha
Khe Sanh to Phong Nha is “The Ho Chi Minh Road,” at least the part of the road that will blow any motorcyclist away. It is’nt just about the beauty of it. It is also about the meandering corners, the tight hairpins, and the huge open straights.
The road keeps you on your toes and it is a day that you will never forget.
If time allows, the group will stop at Paradice cave on the way to Phong Nha.
Phong Nha is an excellent place for an active rest day or two, where you can travel around to many different caves.
Phong Nha to Vinh
We exit the Ho Chi Minh road and travel across flat farm land at incredible paces. We start to see signs of major development occurring as we get closer and closer to Hanoi city.
Vinh to Pu Luong
If the tour is eleven days, we will take a route around all the traffic and stop a Pu Luong which has stunning rice paddies if the season is correct.
If the season is not correct, then it is still a beautiful area!
Day 11
The Tigit programmers didn’t allow for 11 days on the software, so here it is!
Day 11 is Pu Luong back to Hanoi, which is a short and easy way into the city. When arriving in Hanoi we will arrange a small beer party for the finish line!
Tour Prices
- Please read our full Tour Guide Disclaimer, which describes all our terms and conditions for motorbike tours.
- Prices are in USD
- This is an all-inclusive tour
Honda XR150: All inclusive: 175 USD per person per day.
Honda CB500X: All inclusive: 200 USD per person per day.
Minimum 2 riders per tour. For 1 rider, please read the rent a-guide section.
Rest Days
Rest days where tour guides are not required to work will be discounted by $50 per day per person. Rest days do not include petrol, food, drinks, or other entrance fees.
Support truck
A support truck is an optional extra and not a requirement. Tigit is comfortable enough in our motorbikes and tour guides to keep the motorbikes operational during the tour. However, a support truck can be useful for transporting luggage or dealing with crashes and breakdowns.
The cost of a support truck is $150 per day.
Alternatively, we can ship your bags from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi for $20 per bag. We like groups that travel light!
Tour Info
Includes
- Motorbike Rental and Gas
- English Speaking Guide (1 guide for every 5 clients)
- Private accommodation and no budget options
- All food
- All drinks (excluding alcohol)
- MX boots, Full Face Helmet, Water Bladder, Knee and Elbow Pads
- Damage Waiver (crashing the motorbike)
Excludes
- Personal Insurance
- Premium tour-based activities like caving
- Shipping your bag from one office to another office ($20)
Tour Guide
Tigit Guides
Tigit guides are local enduro enthusiasts. Passion lies in driving and motorbikes. A tour is a way to escape the Tigit office and be out there on the roads. Be assured they are enjoying the trip just as much as you are.
Tigit guides are selected based on their motorbike skills, we hope, that they have enough skills to get both themselves and you out of the mud!
