Best Ever Northern Vietnam Offroad Motorcycle Tour

Itinerary:

Day 1 : Hanoi Motorcycle Tours to Mai Chau
Day 2: Mai Chau Motorcycle Tour to Phu Yen (Son La) – Offroad Motorcycle Tour to Tribal Villages
Day 3: Phu Yen Motorcycle Tour to Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai)
Day 4: Mu Cang Chai Motorcycle Tour via Than Uyen to Sapa (Lao Cai)
Day 5: Motorbike tour around Sapa
Day 6: Sapa Motorcycle Tour to Vu Linh – Thac Ba Reservoir (Yen Bai)
Day 7: Vu Linh Motorbike Tour to Hanoi

Day 1: Northern Vietnam Offroad Motorcycle Tour to Mai Chau, Sapa, Mu Cang Chai: Hanoi Motorcycle Tour to Mai Chau (Hoa Binh)

We begin the tour at about 9 o’clock, after somewhere 40 minutes in the busy streets of Hanoi you will hit Highway No8, from here, the traffic is much better as we head straight to the countryside. Stop for a quick coffee and we keep rolling on some backroads through rice fields to Hoa Binh province where the terrain becomes mountainous, from here the sceneries are much greener and decorated with charismatic karst mountains. After a nice lunch in Ky Son town, we will have chance to do some challenging offroad via local farms in the mountains. In the afternoon, from National road 6 we take a turn to Road 450 for a backroad ride to a spectacular view to the majestic Hoa Binh lake, one of the largest man-made lakes in Vietnam, formed when the dam blocked the water to build the Hoa Binh hydroelectric power station. We arrive Mai Chau – our destination at about 4 or 5 o’clock.

Nestled in a peaceful valley, Mai Chau is an ideal escape place for nature lovers. Here, small ethnic minority villages sit among a patchwork of paddy fields surrounded by green mountains. Mai Chau is a village of ethnic Thai people, one of 54 different tribes in Vietnam. The Thai women are masterful weavers who ensure that there is plenty of traditional-style clothing to buy in the village centre.You will see women weaving on looms under or inside their houses in the village, we can buy some souvenirs here such as handmade traditional-style clothings, knife or cross-bow. We spend a night here immersing in Vietnam’s rural culture, dining on delicious home-cooked cuisine, and learning about the traditions of the local Thai people.

Summary:
Distance: 160-190 km
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Homestay

Day 2: Northern Vietnam Offroad Motorcycle Tour to Mai Chau, Sapa, Mu Cang Chai: Mai Chau Motorcycle Tour to Phu Yen (Son La)

The ride today will begin from 8 to 8:30 o’clock, before leaving, we can have a little walk around to enjoy the peaceful vibe of the village, breath some fresh air on the beautiful rice fields near our homestay. After saying goodbye to the homestay hosts, we hop on the bikes to continue our adventure, in the morning we will explore some ethnic villages on the forgotten Old Road No6. This road used to be the most important main road of the North West Vietnam, now it lies silently along mountains and some small farms of local people, you will see almost no truck or car here, just a remarkable silent vibe and peaceful sceneries of nature. This route ends when we hit National road 43 in Moc Chau district, where we stop for lunch. Moc Chau boasts a pioneering dairy industry that started in the late 1970s with Australian (and, later, UN) assistance, we can see several milk cow farms on the way.

After lunch in Moc Chau, we keep riding 40 kilometers more to Van Yen ferry terminal where we cross the epic Da river, from here we will have a beautiful ride along Da river heading to Phu Yen. We stay in a hotel for this night.

Summary:
Distance: 170 km
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 3: Northern Vietnam Offroad Motorcycle Tour to Mai Chau, Sapa, Mu Cang Chai: Phu Yen Motorcycle Tour to Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai)

In the morning, we keep motorbiking across Lung Lo pass before heading up on Road 32 . During the First Indochina War, the 15km-long Lung Lo Pass, used by the Vietnamese resistance force to transport weapons, goods and food during the Dien Bien Phu campaign of 1954, was heavily bombed by the French in order to sever the front lines from the rear. Lung Lo Pass, situated in the northern province of Yen Bai, was also recognised as a national heritage by the ministry.

We keep riding through winding roads and beautiful rice terraces to Nghia Lo town via Van Chan. There are chances for us to stop to see green rice fields formed by hard-working local Thai people before lunch in Nghia Lo.

In the afternoon, the wheels are going to take you to a beautiful village called Tu Le, which is famous for producing one of the best sticky rice strains in Vietnam. FYI, sticky rice plays an important part in Vietnam’s agri-based culture, it appears in almost every family’s meals on our traditional holidays. Steamed sticky rice, salt,… are common offerings that we Vietnamese dedicate to our ancestors following our belief in veneration of the dead.

The highlight of today’s ride is Khau Pha pass, one of the four highest passes in Vietnam. Spanning over 30 kilometers, the pass stuns travelers with its beautiful and poetic scenery, where high mountains stand on one side and the other side is a deep valley covered with fluffy white clouds around the year, we will stop at the top of this pass for an incredible view to Tu Le valley before heading to our Mu Cang Chai, our destination of this day.

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 avid motorbikers. Mu Cang Chai is not only beautiful because of majestic nature but also the the very unique features of local life here. This place is mainly populated by the Black Hmong, a subgroup of one of Vietnam’s largest ethnicities. Pretty Hmong villages are dotted around the district. Each one offers a glimpse into a rich culture Highland living in Mu Cang Chai is simple and peaceful, making people remember forever. Those are honest, honest, hard working people with the desire to be warm; innocent babies with clear smile and eyes.

We stop at the Mam Xoi Hill of Mu Cang Chai (a famous photo spot in the remote mountains) for some nice pictures and learn about the mountainous lifestyle of local H’Mong people here.

We overnight in a small hotel tonight.

Summary:
Distance: 170 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 4: Northern Vietnam Offroad Motorcycle Tour to Mai Chau, Sapa, Mu Cang Chai: Mu Cang Chai Motorcycle Tour via Than Uyen to Sapa (Lao Cai)

Our adventure continues at 9 o’clock after breakfast, we have a morning warm-up by rolling on some backroads nearby and then get some real challenges with beautiful dirt tracks through mountains and H’mong local villages. We will have chance to see how local ethnic people live and work under very harsh conditions of terrain and climate.

After a lunch break in Than Uyen, on a road full of tea farms and rice fields we head to Sapa via the epic O Quy Ho pass. O Quy Ho Pass is one of the most impressive and challenging mountain passes in the northern region of Vietnam. It is approximately 10 kilometers away from the town of Sapa and 60 kilometers away from the city of Lai Chau.

O Quy Ho Pass winds through Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. Running alongside National Road 4D, the pass stretches for nearly 50 kilometers, with the peak of the pass marking the boundary between the two provinces of Lao Cai and Lai Chau. And when you feel the air getting cooler, see the mist coming from the mountain ranges, that’s when we arrive in Sapa, where we spend the night.

Located at the altitude of 1600 meters above sea level, Sapa is famous for its cool weather, breathtaking scenery and culture diversity with 6 different tribes of people living together. This is also a big town comparing to other destinations on the tour so you can spend your time here for casual entertainment activities like bars, pubs… We stay in a hotel for this night.

Summary:
Distance: 140 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 5: Northern Vietnam Offroad Motorcycle Tour to Mai Chau, Sapa, Mu Cang Chai: Motorbike tour around Sapa

Today, You will ride motorbikes from Sapa to explore the immense Muong Hoa valley with Lao Chai & Ta Van villages where is known as the home of a Black H’mong ethnic minority & the Giay ethnic minority hill tribe who have been living here for hundreds of years. Here you will be able to rest and enjoy your lunch in a local house.  After lunch, we’ll keep riding on a hilly trail through a bamboo forest to Giang Ta Chai, Thanh Phu & Ban Ho villages where a Red Dao ethnic minority is living. We keep riding on backroads through remote villages and rice terraces, stop by frequently to meet friendly local ethnic people and take nice photos. If time permits, we can pay a visit to a local hemp handcrafting workshop of H’mong people, learn how the beautiful traditional fabrics here are made and dyed, we can buy some lovely souvenirs here to support local business. We head back to our hotel before sunset.

For riders who want to relax after four hard riding days, you can choose to relax in Sapa, walking around the town, have a nice massage or find yourself a fancy bar to relax. Another good option is having a cable car trip to the famous Fansipan mountain a.k.a “The roof of Indochina”, this could be a remarkable experience on a bright sunny day.

Summary:
Distance: 80 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 6: Northern Vietnam Offroad Motorcycle Tour to Mai Chau, Sapa, Mu Cang Chai: Sapa Motorcycle Tour to Vu Linh – Thac Ba Reservoir

It’s a big day today so we depart early in the morning at 8 o’clock or earlier. From Sapa we roll on the winding national road 4d to Lao Cai city, take a short backroad detour into small villages of H’mong locals. After 35 kilometers we stop for a nice drink in a unique coffee shop where we can see China over a river call Nam Thi. Follow National road 70, we get to Pho Rang town for a light lunch before roll on Road 152 to Luc Yen town where we take a short break, this town is well known for gemstones mining and carving, especially ruby. From Luc Yen we head straight to our homestay in Vu Linh near Thac Ba Lake – home to local Dao (or Dzao) ethnic people. Thac Ba is one of the three largest man-made lakes in Vietnam, covering an area of approximately 20,000 hectares and containing more than 1,300 large and small islands mostly coverd in forest. The lake is located about 130 km west of Hanoi in the Yen Binh District of Yen Bai Province. The lake was created by the construction of a huge dam on the Chay River for the Thac Ba Hydropower Station – the first hydro power station in North Vietnam, which began construction in 1962 and was completed in 1970.

When we hit our homestay, let’s have a cold beer to cool down and then we take a boat ride in the lake, stop by an island for swimming and discover the particularities of this area: the way villagers paddle their boats, the exotic and odd animals living around, the quiet and peaceful beauty of this huge lake, the lifestyle of the Dao among the thousands of islets. We will have an unforgettable dinner with the hosts, who are really big drinkers, the hospitality here is just unbelievable!

Summary:
Distance: 220 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Homestay

Day 7: Northern Vietnam Offroad Motorcycle Tour to Mai Chau, Sapa, Mu Cang Chai: Vu Linh Motorbike Tour to Hanoi

After breakfast we cruise southeast on Highway 2 and then branch off to the sleepy town of Phu Tho. We follow the edge of the Red River along the dyke, almost to the point where it merges with the Black River after which they flow together to Hanoi. By now we are very much in the lowlands of the delta plains and the north’s main agricultural areas. Harvest time here is a sea of activity. Crossing Da River by bridge, we pass through Son Tay and then return to Hanoi on the highway.

Summary:
Distance: 220 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

End Of Services

Note: The itinerary above is very brief, and motorcycle tours are always flexible, therefore, depending on your riding experience, your demands and weather conditions, your tour guide will choose the most suitable roads for you. So please don’t hesitate to discuss with the