Exceptional Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour from East to West – 14 Days

Itinerary:

Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour From East to West – Itinerary:

Day 1:  Hanoi to Vu Linh village (Thac Ba lake, Yen Bai)

You will be met and picked up at 8:00 AM, heading straight upto the northeast of Hanoi on the dike road along the Red river, the 60 km winding dike road offers a safe and interesting motorbike ride because it runs through some rustic villages on the river bank with rice fields around, after around 2 hour motorbike ride from Hanoi.

We will have a interesting motorcycle ride on the mountain roads through some bustling town and then we will finish the ride at around 4:00 PM in Vu Linh village – the village of the Dzao people who stay closely to the Thac Ba lake. Leave the bikes and have boat trip touring on the lake if time and weather permits. This lake and its surrounds is considered an area of ecological and cultural importance.

The region is home to a number of ethnic minority groups, most notably the Dao but also Tay, Nung, Thai, Muong, Giay and others, with many living along the banks of the lake and earning a living from its waters.

The area also has historical significance: in 1285 the Thu Vat Battle took place against Mongolian invaders and during the Vietnam/American war Thuy Tien cave was the base of Yen Bai provincial committee. The lake was created when the Thac Ba Hydropower Plant was constructed on the Chay River in Yen Binh district.

It is immense: more than 23,000 hectares, 80 kilometres long, up to 10 kilometres wide and 42 metres down at its deepest point. The landscape is stunning, with 1,331 islands, mostly covered in forest, and still, clear water.

Summary:

Distance:  170 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 2: Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour from East to West: Thac Ba to Ba Be National Park (Bac Kan)

Say good bye to the Dzao family in the village after breakfast, It’s a beautiful North Vietnam motorbike tour through the highlands, through the jungle and pass by some interesting historical sites in Tan Trao district, Tuyen Quang province.

After lunch in Cho Chu town we have enjoyable motorcycle riding on the winding roads to the Ba Be lake. We arrive the Bac Ngoi village that is located nearby the largest natural lake in Vietnam – Ba Be lake. Leave the bike in the village and have a boat tour around Ba Be lake for 1 and half hour. We stay with the Tay people in Pac Ngoi village and enjoy a great dinner with them.

Summary:

Distance:  180 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 3: Ba Be motorbike tour to Cao Bang City

Beautiful motor ride down to Cao Bang province. Few passes from where you can dominate the area. The road is easy but there are many blind curves. We can stop very often for photos in Nguyen Binh and Tinh Tuc.

Good hotel in Cao Bang Town, where we can relax to be ready for next imaging day.

Summary:

Distance:  130 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 4: Cao Bang Motorcycle Tours to Ban Gioc waterfall and Homestay Tours in Quang Uyen (Cao Bang)

Get out of town, we ride up to Ma Phuc Pass of Cao Bang Province. It is on the way between Cao Bang Town and the Ban Gioc Waterfall. The pass is not famous with the elevation or the danger like some others in Vietnam, but with the natural beauty that one could capture from the top of the pass.

Keep riding to Ban Gioc waterfall, one of Vietnam’s best-known waterfalls. It’s a very scenic spot, marking the border with China, but sees very few visitors. The name Ban Gioc is derived from the Montagnard languages spoken in the area, and is sometimes spelt Ban Doc.

The waterfall is the largest, although not the highest, in the country. The vertical drop is 53m, but it has an impressive 300m span; one end of the falls is in China, the other is in Vietnam. The falls have three levels, creating a sort of giant staircase, and there’s enough water any time, most years, to make the trip worthwhile.

Lunch in local restaurant before we get an other way back to Quang Uyen. This is the territory of Nung An people. Home stay in a host family and the hostess is a great cook.

This could be the best ride ever.

Overnight in Quang Uyen.

Distance:  140 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Home-stay

Day 5:  Quang Uyen Motorbike Tour via Pac Bo then Bao Lac

After enjoying a simple but friendly breakfast at a local family, we’ll say goodbye to villagers. We ride to the historic Pac Bo.

Passing a hill where there is the newly-built Ho Chi Minh Museum, you will see the historical area of Pac Bo. The main historical relics in this area consist of Pac Bo, Coc Bo, Bo Bam Cave, Lenin Stream, Karl Marx Mountain, Co Rac Ground and Khuoi Nam. The famous Coc Bo Cave is where President Ho Chi Minh established his residence and worked on Vietnam revolutionary course after returning from 30 years abroad.

Walking on the rocks along the side of the stream, where Uncle Ho used to work and fish, you reach a wooden bridge over Coc Bo rivulet where Lenin Stream starts. The water is clear, cool and so tranquil that one can see the fish and pebbles on its bed and the green watercress in the water. Beyond the bridge is the place where Uncle Ho often cooked soup with vegetable and bamboo shoots. By the side of a rugged rocky mountain is Pac Po Cave.

Looking down into the cave from its mouth, you can see the words “February 8th, 1941” written by Uncle Ho on the wall. That was the day he came to live in this small cave, a wet and cold place lying deep in a mountain gorge that nobody paid much attention to.

It’s another big day ride but not so hard. The ride is mostly on paved roads with easy off-road. Offering some interesting visits to villages of the Tay, Dzao and H’Mong people…

End the day at the hotel in Bao Lac at around 5:00 pm

Overnight in Bao Lac.

Summary:

Distance:  190 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: hotel

Day 6: Bao Lac motorcycle tour to Dong Van via Meo Vac

After breakfast, we motorbike on small challenging mountain roads(but incredibly beautiful) on the land of colorful mountain hill-tribes. Head up the Ma Pi Leng Pass. Here is yet another amazing place, with cloudy mountain ranges and the poetic Nho Que river winding off in the distance. It is really difficult to find the exact words to describe Ma Pi Leng Pass, located between Dong Van and Meo Vac, near the northernmost tip of Vietnam, as a painting of astonishing beauty and magnificence that captures the eyes of all viewers and nature lovers.

This is a remote area and we can meet the hard-working local people here. It is inspiring to see how they survive as they manage live in the rocks. When we reach Dong Van Town we will have some extra time to wonder the ancient streets lined with H’mong homes of clay bricks and tiles roofs built centuries ago.

Summary:

Distance:  160 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 7: Dong Van motorbike tour to Ha Giang via Tam Son

Today you will encounter some spectacular landscapes. You will begin your journey to Ha Giang across a series of long passes. You will have lunch en route in the small but beautiful mountain town of Tam Son.

Then, you will head to the majestic King of the H’mong’s Palace, a fortress built by a local chief, Vuong Chin Duc, who was allied with the French against the Viet Minh. The palace, built in the early 1900s was designed in the ancient Chinese architectural style of the Man Qing era. It was made from materials such as solid stone, wood and terracotta tiles. After continuing your journey, you will arrive at Hagiang in time for dinner and an overnight stay in a hotel

Summary:

Distance:  160 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 8:  Ha Giang motorbike tour to Bac Ha via Hoang Su Phi

After breakfast, beautiful motor ride on the track to Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi on many small; back roads with scenic mountain views.

Xin Man is right on the border between Vietnam and China. It is, as of this writing, well hidden and completely surrounded by wild mountains and forests.

Hoang Su Phi is among the most untouched area of Ha Giang Province of Vietnam. The area was separated from the mainstream society until very recently. Passing Hoang Su Phi, we will be charmed by the pristine beauty of the wild mountains and the authentic culture of the local ethnic groups which include: the Nung, the Flower H’mong, the Tay and the Ha Nhi People…

Hoang Su Phi district and its neighbouring Xin Man are covered by lush green forests, tea farms and probably the most impressive terraced rice fields in Vietnam. The road winds its way high up the mountain sides and offers beautiful landscapes.

This small highland town fills up to choking point on Sunday morning, when visitors flood in to meet the Flower H’mong at the morning market. Compared with Sapa, tourism is still in its infancy here and during the week the town has a deserted feel. Bac Ha is a good base to explore the surrounding highlands. Around 900m above sea level, it is noticeably warmer than Sapa.

One of Bac Ha’s main industries is she manufacture of alcoholic home brews (rice wine, cassava wine and corn liquor). The corn hooch produced by the Flower H’mong is so potent it can ignite! Bac Ha is the only place in Vietnam where you’ll find this particular moonshine; there’s an entire area devoted to it at the Sunday market. You can enjoy an easy trek to Ban Pho Village a small village of Nung and Flower Hmong.

The villagers grow vegetables and fruit trees. One of the most famous fruit of the area is plum. Visit a local house and taste a cup of corn wine, another famous product of the village and visit the old castle of the former H’mong King. Tonight you will have dinner and stay overnight in a homestay.

Overnight in Bac Ha.

Summary:

Distance:  200 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: homestay

Day 9: Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour From East to West: Bac Ha motorbike tour to Sapa

After breakfast, the ride to Sapa takes you through beautiful countryside and intriguing villages. You will have the opportunity to observe the local minority communities at work, tending their fields in the shadow of the Chay river massif. You will stop over at the Lai Cai border with China.

Arriving in Sapa, we then continue through villages and rice terraced fields to Ta Van Village settled by Dzay ethnic minorities. Ta Van is a small village set within a picturesque valley of Muong Hoa. Ta Van village is set within a picturesque valley with amazing natural landscape and friendly local people. The area is well-known for its colorful ethnic minorities. Visiting Ta Van Village will be an unforgettable experience, since you will have a chance to witness the special cultural characteristics of local people.

Overnight in Sapa

Summary:

Distance:  120 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 10: Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour From East to West Sapa – Free

There are few options for the relaxed day in Sapa. We can have short walk around the town or take a cable car up to higheast peak of Vietnam – Fanxipan or have another easy and short ride along the beautiful Muong Hoa valley to see some other villages of the H’Mong, Zay or Tay people. Stay in Holel in Sapa.

Summary:

Distance:

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 11: Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour From East to West: Sapa Motorbike Tour to Than Uyen

After leaving Sapa, we will have a great motorbike ride down to Than Uyen town. The motorbike ride to Than Uyen from Sapa is another highlight of this Vietnam Motorbike Tour because we will cross the O Qui Ho pass – one of the longest and most beautiful passes in Northern Vietnam. After the mountain pass, we will motorbike on smooth sealed road through green tea fields, and some off-road then arrive at Than Uyen town at 4:00 pm.

Summary:

Distance:  150 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 12: Than Uyen Motorbike Tour to Phu Yen via Mu Cang Chai

Start the ride at 8:30 am. Today we will have another great motorbike ride in north Vietnam, it is almost on mountain road with amazing view of terrace fields and cross a lot of rustic villages of hill tribes. This is a typical motorcycle tour Northern Vietnam, we are just winding with the mountain back-roads and stop every half an hour to take pictures or chat with colorful local people. We will be in Phu Yen at 5 pm.

Summary:

Distance:  255 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 13: Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour From East to West: Phu Yen motorbike tour to Mai Chau

This is a short motorbike tour North Vietnam but it promises to be one of the best parts of the trip. After getting out of the town, we’ll have beautiful motorbike ride along the Da river lake, this ride remind you of the motorcycle tour on coastal roads. The route is almost empty in the middle of mountain and the river lake. After the motorcycle ride along the river, we will motorbike up and up to Moc Chau plateau where is famous for green tea and cool temperature.

After lunch, we’ll make a turn to a small mountain pass to ride down to Mai Chau valley. We will end the great Northern Vietnam motorbike tour in Mai Chau at 4:30 pm then we can spend the rest time of the day to have a short walk around the peaceful village of the Thai people.

Summary:

Distance:  175 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:  Homestay

Day 14: Northern Vietnam Motorbike Tour From East to West: Mai Chau Motorbike Tour to Hanoi

There are many ways to ride back to Hanoi from Mai Chau on the old French road along the Da river.

We will go back to the road No 6 and take a turn to small and less traveled French road that leads us going along the Black river lake. The view here is like in Ha long bay. We will count the time to be in Hanoi before rush hours and finish the short but best northern Vietnam motorbike tour safely.

Summary:

Distance:  190 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

End of the Trip