VIETNAM MOTORBIKE TOUR INQUIRIES REPLY

Below you can find our standard reply to common Vietnam motorbike tour inquiries. Hopefully, you will find answers to most of your questions here. If you need more details, we are always happy to provide further information.

A Reply To Vietnam Motorbike Tour Inquiries

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us.

Offroad Vietnam is based in Hanoi. We mainly use near-new 125cc Honda bikes and older but still reliable Honda XR250s. Our bikes were made by the Japanese Honda company, not Chinese copies. We do not use other brands because parts availability and reliability are very important when riding in remote areas of Vietnam.

However, none of our bikes is really suitable for riding two-up for long-distance touring. If two people share one bike, the passenger will not be particularly comfortable, and there may not be enough room for the rider’s legs and luggage. This is simply our honest advice. A standard touring motorcycle designed for two people would normally be around 650cc or larger, but larger motorcycles are extremely expensive in Vietnam because of high import taxes. For example, a new Kawasaki Versys 650 can cost around US$14,000 in Vietnam, which is far too expensive for our business to operate economically.

Most of the information you need is already available on our websites. Simply follow the links in this email to find the pages relevant to your trip. We know this reply is quite comprehensive, but we prefer to make everything clear and straightforward before you confirm a booking. If you already know something, simply skip that section.

With us, you will see a side of Vietnam that most tourists never experience. We ride through places where very few travelers go and focus strongly on safety, comfort, service quality, and customer experience. We do not offer cheap backpacker standards or reduce the quality of our services simply to compete on price. In short, we are not just selling you a motorcycle adventure; we want to give you a journey of a lifetime.

Rider Skill Requirement

Could you please tell us a little more about your travel dates and riding experience?

Riding experience is very important because traffic in Vietnam can be challenging, particularly in and around the major cities. Please let us know whether you normally ride automatic, semi-automatic, or manual-clutch motorcycles.

If you are not confident about riding independently as a novice rider, there are other options. You may be able to ride pillion behind your partner or ride as a passenger behind one of our tour guides, depending on the trip.

Vietnam Motorbike Tour Options

How many days would you like to ride?

For a first Vietnam motorbike adventure, we generally recommend around one week. You could look at this 8-day Ha Giang ride, which covers some of the best riding in Northern Vietnam, including spectacular roads, mountain trails, local people, ethnic cultures, and scenery.

You can also read more customer feedback about this route at this link. For additional references, please visit this page.

Self-guided motorbike tours (just bike hire)

1. Honda Winner 150 touring bike, model years 2016-2018: US$ 15/bike/day.
2. Honda XR150L, model years 2016-2017 trail bike: US$ 20/bike/day.
3. Honda CRF150L, model year 2019, dual-sport/enduro: US$ 25/bike/day.
4. Honda CRF250L, off-road dual-sport/enduro, model years 2013-2017: US$ 40/bike/day.

For a self-guided motorcycle trip, it is best to have some basic mechanical knowledge, particularly because manual-clutch motorcycles are not as common in Vietnam as scooters. We can quickly show you some basic things to check and handle before you leave Hanoi. Once you are on the road, however, you are responsible for your own expenses and arrangements.

Semi-guided Vietnam motorbike tours

On a semi-guided Vietnam motorbike tour, in addition to the bike rental cost above, you have a Vietnamese local who acts as your guide, mechanic, and translator. He takes care of the route and can also help with food and hotel arrangements along the way. Having a local rider with you is a real bonus, particularly when traveling through remote areas.

The guide’s salary and his motorcycle cost US$ 100/day, and this amount is shared between the riders in your group. You are also responsible for his fuel, accommodation, and food during the trip.

If you finish the trip outside Hanoi, there will be additional costs for transporting the rental bikes back to Hanoi and for the guide’s return journey.

This option starts from US$ 100/day + bike rental + your own expenses on the road, including expenses for yourself, the guide, and fuel.

For example, if one person rides a Honda XR150L, the basic cost would be US$ 120/day, plus your own spending on the road.

Fully guided Vietnam motorbike tours

A fully guided Vietnam motorbike tour includes almost everything, such as the motorcycle, professional tour guide, accommodation, meals, entrance tickets, permits, and other services specified in the itinerary. In general, your main additional expense is simply your drinks and personal spending.

Most of our tours are private trips, although some departures are open to additional riders. Updates are posted here. If there is no existing tour for your dates, it may be possible to start a new trip, and we can advertise it to see whether other riders would like to join.

For our current tour prices, please follow this link. In general, the more people in the group, the lower the price per person, and motorcycle upgrades are available on many tours.

Below, we cover more important information you should know before motorbiking in Vietnam. Many motorcycle tour operators may not explain these details clearly, but we prefer our customers to understand the practical issues before making a decision. We have been providing professional Vietnam motorbike adventures since late 2006.

Weather and Climate

There is no single best time to ride a motorbike in Vietnam because the country stretches a long way from north to south and has several different climate zones. Vietnam also has four seasons in the north, although winter is generally not extremely cold and summer is not always excessively hot.

Autumn can bring periods of heavy rain, but in many areas the rain may last only one or two hours before the sky clears again. Spring can bring mist over the mountaintops, and although the weather can be cool, it is one of the most spectacular times of year, with beautiful colors from trees and flowering plants.

For some of the most beautiful mountain rice-paddy scenery, September to December is generally a good period. January to April is normally cooler and can be foggy in the mountains, while May to August is hotter and can bring more rain.

Driving License

Your home-country driving license by itself is not sufficient for legally riding a motorcycle in Vietnam. There are many conflicting reports about this online, but this is an important issue to understand before riding here.

A 1968 Convention International Driving Permit (IDP) is recognized in Vietnam. If you have a 1968 Convention IDP, you should also bring your original home-country driving license with the appropriate motorcycle endorsement.

Having the correct riding documents is particularly important when it comes to travel and medical insurance, as an insurer may require you to hold the appropriate legal license for the motorcycle you are riding.

Insurance on a Motorbike Trip

The question of having the correct Vietnamese riding documents is closely related to insurance.

There are different types of insurance available to travelers, but for our customers, the most relevant is personal medical and travel insurance. Please see more details about insurance for motorcycle trips in Vietnam on this page.

We strongly recommend arranging appropriate medical, accident, and emergency/repatriation insurance before starting a motorcycle trip.

Safety Motorbiking Gear

It is always best to bring your own motorcycle riding gear for the best quality and fit.

If you do not want to carry all your gear from home, we also offer riding gear rental for US$3/person/day. A typical set includes an HJC helmet, gloves, and protective clothing or pads, as shown at this link.

Add-Ons

A few additional services you may wish to consider:

• Hanoi hotel room booking.
• Hanoi airport transfers.
• Vietnam visa on arrival.

If you need anything else, just let us know.

You can also leave any luggage you do not need during the trip at our Hanoi office. We have space available for customers to store bags while they are riding.

A deposit is required to secure a booking, and we will send you the payment instructions after we have agreed on the final tour itinerary.

We hope everything above is clear and gives you a good understanding of our Vietnam motorbike tours and services. If you still have questions, please feel free to contact us.

Regards,

Anh Wu (Mr)
Sales Manager

A Video for Vietnam Motorbike Tour Inquiries

If you would like to find out more about the Vietnam motorbike tours our company provides, please watch the video below or visit our YouTube channel.

More Standard Replies

• General Vietnam Motorbike Rental Inquiries
• Used (Second Hand) Bike Purchase Inquiries
• Hiring A Car In Vietnam, Self-Driving?
• Multi-country Tours Crossing The Border?
• Tour Feedback Form

Please contact us if you need more details about Vietnam motorbike tour inquiries in Hanoi.