GREAT NORTH WEST 7 DAYS MOTORBIKE TOUR OF VIETNAM

7 days, 6 nights – Great North West 7 Days Motorbike Tour.

Booking code of Great North West 7 Days Motorbike Tour: NW702

Day 1: Hanoi – Mai Chau. ~160 km, ~6 h.

Today is the first day of this Great North West 7 days motorbike tour. Before starting to ride, we will have a short briefing to let you know about the rules. In addition, the guide will show you how to understand him by his body language. We start around 9.30am after the rush hour.

We leave Hanoi around 9am following the Red river road to Son Tay and then another Black river road to Hoa Binh. This is longer than taking the Highway 6 but saves you hours in crowded traffic.

The valley of Mai Chau lies between two rivers: the Da River and the Ma River. Therefore, Mai Chau is very fertile and rich in varied landscapes, medium mountains, forest, lake, rivers, and infinitude of small footpaths and offer many possibilities of a trek. In the valley of Mai Chau and its surroundings are Muong, White Thai, H’mong (in the height), and the Dao who we meet at the markets or in their villages during trekking, boating, or while driving.

Day 2: Mai Chau – Son La. ~200 km, ~8 h.

On good road looking high over distant mountains, we head up into a forested region populated by H’mong people before descending into a mountainous tea-growing region. Soon after we follow a long valley floor covered in a sea of rice surrounded by Black Thai villages all the way to Son La with its bargain-filled market. Sleep in a hotel.

Day 3: Son La – Muong Lay. ~200 km, ~8 h.

There are 15 passes in total. In reality, you ride on a very nice road with a stunning landscape. Probably the most beautiful journey of the whole trip even the road is in poor condition. Sleep in a hotel.

Day 4: Muong Lay – Lai Chau. ~120 km, ~6 h.

In general, this is the most demanding and remote section of the drive which takes us upstream along the left side of a Black River tributary through the forest on a bumpy dirt road past isolated pockets of Tay, Thai, H’mong, and Man peoples before breaching a pass to enter the Tam Duong plain, which is covered in shark’s teeth-like limestone karts. We would visit a Mang village near Sin Ho, the guide will buy some food to give to the head of the village, and he later distributes our donations to the villagers. We stay in a hotel.

Day 5: Tam Duong – Than Uyen. ~105 km, ~5 h.

Tam Duong market in the morning (if it’s market day). In general, it’s a beautiful and easy drive from Tam Duong to Than Uyen where we spend the night and prepare for the next day’s difficult drive.

Day 6: Than Uyen – Nghia Lo. 140 km, ~6 h.

The road is wild and a bit used. Between Sapa and Hanoi, we will find an important mountainous massif, almost as high as the Fansipan: the Mu Cang Chai. From the top, we have one of the most beautiful views of North Vietnam. Impressive but also difficult!

Day 7: Nghia Lo – Hanoi. ~170 km, ~6 h. End of Great North West 7 Days Motorbike Tour.

Today’s ride is easy on sealed roads. You ride through rural areas with massive beautiful rice fields along the way.

We try to arrive in Hanoi before 5pm to avoid rush hours. Otherwise, you should be good with city traffic from the experience you got over the last days.

Contact us now to book this tour or to know about different itineraries and options of this Great North West 7 days motorbike tour of Vietnam.

The video below has some portions of this Great North West 7 days motorbike tour. In case you want to watch more videos of our Vietnam motorbike tours please check our YouTube channel.