11-Day Hanoi to HCMC Motorcycle Tour

This Is Vietnam

Ride massive mountain passes, remote jungle trails and miles of untouched coastline on your way from Vietnam’s capital all the way down to its largest city. From the sublime Ho Chi Minh Highway and Phong Nha National Park to the ancient trading town of Hoi An, this Hanoi to HCMC Motorcycle Tour makes for the adventure of a lifetime.

Location

Vietnam

Distance

2180 km

Duration

11 days

Difficulty

Intermediate

Pillion

pillions welcome

Day 1: Hanoi – Ninh Binh

Once you’re out of Hanoi, the backroads down to the town of Ninh Binh are great—all rice fields and flatland. Ninh Binh itself is home to some cool attractions, too: there’s a mountain you can climb that offers a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside, and a network of streams and rivers that cut through the karst landscape that you can explore by boat.

Day 2: Ninh Binh – Vinh

Ride south along the coast, past tiny fishing villages and miles of sandy beaches. On our way to the coastal city of Vinh, we’ll have the opportunity to stop off at the house where Ho Chi Minh spent his childhood, and there are a couple of good swimming spots on the way too.

Day 3: Vinh – Phong Nha

From Vinh, you’ll cross the Ca River before heading up into the hills along the Laos border road. Outside of the north, this is one of Vietnam’s most remote areas, and it’s inhabited almost exclusively by hill tribes. Continuing south through the jungle, you’ll arrive at UNESCO World Heritage Site Phong Nha National Park.

Day 4: Exploration Day

The first of our two exploration days will be spent in Phong Nha. There are lakes to swim in and caves to explore, as well as some fun mountain roads through pristine jungle. You’re also free to simply chill in the hotel, too, if you prefer!

Day 5: Phong Nha – Khe Sanh

The Ho Chi Minh Highway twists and turns through miles of mountainous jungle, and remains one of our favourite roads on the planet. Near where we’ll be staying is the abandoned American Khe Sanh Combat Base, which we’ll definitely make a point of visiting. The old disused aircraft and overgrown runway are a sight to behold.

Day 6: Khe Sanh – Hoi An

As you wind your way along the border and over some awesome mountain passes, you’ll pass by some hot springs and more remnants of the Vietnam War. The French colonial hill station of Ba Na Hills is great, too, but in terms of attractions the highlight of the day is definitely UNESCO World Heritage Site Hoi An Ancient Town. It’s an amazingly well-preserved example of a Southeast-Asian trading port, famous for its great food and relaxed vibe.

Day 7: Hoi An – Mang Den

Continuing south along the coast, you’ll arrive in the picturesque town of Tam Ky. The capital of Quang Nam Province, it’s famous for a few speciality dishes (the most famous of which is Tam Ky chicken rice), and situated right outside it is the village of Tam Thanh. The walls of all the buildings there are covered in art: it’s a fascinating little place. From there, it’s on through miles of jungle and forest on the way to the town of Mang Den.

Day 8: Mang Den – Nha Trang

Mang Den to Nha Trang is a long ride, but the roads are good and the scenery’s gorgeous. We’ll decide on the day whether to take the mountain route through Pleiku, or the coastal route past Quy Nhon and Tuy Hoa. Honestly, a really tough decision!

Day 9: Exploration Day

Nha Trang is the perfect location for our second exploration day. We’ll have the option to take a boat trip out to the Cham Islands, famous for their biodiversity and fishing villages, or we can simply chill in the beach city itself.

Day 10: Nha Trang – Phan Thiet

The coastal road in this area is surrounded by salt flats, great beach views and vineyards, and we’ll have ample opportunity to stop along the way. Phan Thiet itself is another beach city and, as you can imagine, is home to some gorgeous beaches, hotels and resorts.

Day 11: Phan Thiet – Ho Chi Minh

After spending the morning at the beach, we’ll head inland on the way to Ho Chi Minh, the largest city in Vietnam. Home to some of the best bars and eateries in the country, it’s arguably the ideal place for the final evening of our adventure.

Pricing X Availability

Honda XR 150 $2160/rider

Honda CRF 300 $2400/rider

R.E Himalayan 400 $2550/rider

Honda CB 500X $2640/rider

BMW 1250 GS $3840/rider

Tour Gallery

Inclusions X Extras

English-Speaking Guide

Each of our guides has years of experience running motorcycle tours and is an expert on the local area.

All speak English and the local language, and guides who can speak other languages are sometimes available on request.

Motorcycle X Fuel

The cost of hiring your motorcycle is included in that of the tour. All running expenses, including fuel, are included as well.

Food X Drink

All meals are provided, as are drinks and snacks along the way.

You’ll dine sometimes in your accommodation, sometimes at quality local restaurants.

Let us know in advance of any preferences or dietary requirements and we are happy to cater for these.

Accommodation

Accommodation is minimum 3-star quality.

Standard is a twin share room but on occasion (due to remote location) we will share one large, dorm-type room: in a stilt house or a yurt, for example.

All locations have been scouted beforehand and checked for cleanliness and good service.

Waterproof Gear

Conditions in many of our destinations, in Asia, for example, may be really different from your home country.

Rain can be heavy, and start falling at a moment’s notice.

We’ll sort you out with a waterproof rain poncho and overtrousers where necessary.

Private Accommodation

We offer twin-share accommodation as standard. In most locations, though, we can arrange single occupancy if you prefer.

This comes at a small surcharge, but in most tour destinations is quite reasonable.

Motorcycle Gear

While most riders prefer to bring their own gear, we do have a limited range of extra gear (boots, gloves, armour and helmets, for example) in most of our tour destinations.

Naturally, whether or not we’ll be able to supply you with gear depends on size and availability.

Pre X Post Tour Accommodation

We are happy to provide suggestions on pre and post-tour bookings in accommodation: knowing the area well, we know the best places to stay at all price points.

We can even book for you as an added extra without any service fee, sometimes even at a discount.

Robert O'Donoghue 2 months ago

Rode with these guys in Cambodia, February 2024.

7-day loop from Phnom Penh up to Angkor Wat and back. Absolute pros - bikes (Honda dual-sports) were great, booking was easy, itinerary on point. Plenty of dirt riding, too, which is what my buddies and I requested.

Highly recommend ADV. Big thanks to Danny and the team.

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Hal 9000 2 months ago

Danny and his crew are fantastic. Did a Cambodia trip with them in March, 2024 and it was insanely good! Riding through jungles, hidden temples, awesome off-road tracks: these guys had it all scoped out. Food and lodgings were great. Excellent adventure at a great price. Highly recommended.

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Alex 1 month ago

Once in a life time experience, went on a 5 day tour with Danny who was an unbelievable guide, very informative and took us off the beaten track.
We hired the Honda XR 150 and it was perfect, very reasonably priced when you consider the homestays and great food we had.

Will definitely be booking another adventure 10/10.

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david ellis 2 months ago

Overall a amazing few days spent on the bikes, taking in some lovely scenic trails, well organised and set up, nice and relaxed attitude to life, strongly recommend, love2all!!!

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Charlie Georgiou 2 months ago

Went on tour with ADVOutriders a couple of weeks ago in Vietnam. It was a fantastic tour. We rode the Honda CB 500x up to Ha Giang and Cao Bang. Bikes were great and we really enjoyed it. Highly recommend!

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