Curious as if anyone on this board has traveled Vietnam by motorcycle. I'm strongly considering taking a journey from Northern Vietnam to Southern this fall and I would like to know if anyone has made the trip before.
Also, anyone interested in going?
>>1091706
How do you plan to spend your time when not riding?
>>1091706
I'll likely do this trip in about 3-4 years time. Doing a motorcycle road trip this year in the States before leaving for Australia when the weather cools off on this side of the equator.
I just made this journey. Flew into Hanoi, weather sucked to flew to Hué, bought a bike there, rode down to Saigon over 3 weeks.
I'm no stranger to adventure but this time has been some of the craziest days of my life. Definitely my best experiences traveling so far were here.
My biggest recommendation is to avoid the main highway like everyone else - highway 1 - but also consider avoiding most of the standard backpacker route. When you're away from places that foreigners go you're treated like a celebrity everywhere. It's so intense that it gets really overwhelming when you're tired from riding and just want a beer or food.
All that said I would strongly recommend against doing this unless you have a really good amount of riding experience. Even with that, about half of our group got hurt to some degree. Road conditions and the unpredictable traffic makes it difficult. I saw a guy that got hit by a bus because he wasn't expecting a bus to be coming at him in the wrong lane (as he went around a corner). It was bad.
>>1091769
>I just made this journey
>Hue to HCMC
Not to be a hater but you made half the journey
>>1091769
OP here, appreciate the info Anon. I've been riding for about three years now and I'm confident. How much did it cost roughly for your trip?
>>1091706
I did Hanoi to HCMC on a bicycle last year, my biggest regret was not continuing on and doing a loop around the Mekong delta.
I went mid year and was not prepared for the humidity in the north, as the other anon stay away from highway 1, its convenient but pretty ugly. The Ho Chi Minh highway is really nice and so are the central highlands. Really good trip and would highly recommend, it doesn't matter where you stop you will always be able to find cheap food and accommodation.
>>1091706
Hey, did this a few years back. Was trying to find my pictures and post on 4plebs. Looks like the pics are on an old laptop I dont have with me. Anyways, I skipped the Topgear style trip. I landed in Hanoi, bought a bike, rode out to Ninh Binh then over towards Sapa, up to Ha Giang, close to the border of China, and brought it back down and around. I had to cut out Cat Ba and Ha long bay due to time. Bought a paper map and went for it.
not planing to do this soon but i am really interested in such a trip
One more problem: I dont have a motorbike lincese here in germany. I am just allowed to drive bikes up to 50ccm with my car lincese. Is this a problam there?
And i have never driven a bike exept one short drive with a scooter... But i have usually no problems driven all kinds of cars. I dont think this should be a big problem to learn driving a bike?
>>1092124
As someone who just learned how to ride a bike last year I suggest going for lessons. It's a very fun activity and a fun hobby to get into. I don't know if you plan on buying a bike in Germany or not but there are bikes you can buy for probably around 2k euros. The one I bought here in Canada was only $3200, it wasn't new but it only had run for 5000km.
As for the license, my understanding is that they don't care as much about foreigners there. My suggestion above is just about your safety as you don't want to get hurt riding in the middle of no where.
>>1092142
yeah, but to buy a bike here in germany isnt the main problem. a lincese costs alone about 1300 €.
and i am a student without a regular income...
>>1092027
Jelly, had this exact trip lined up and had to cancel it. If I was to return, I'd do this and probably just rent to save the fuckaround of reselling - not much point in that if you're returning to the same place.
OP I dun rode from Tu Hoa, inland to Bu Ma Thot, south to Da Lat, HCM, border crossed at Prek Chak (they didn't give a fuck) up the Cambodian coast and terminated in Phnom Penh. You can ride north to south, do 200klms a day without too much trouble, but... I mean, it's gonna be a lot of highway pounding for no purpose. Definitely investigate your route - get a Viet sim and do some Google-map work every other day to get the most out of the route. I missed a few routes I really wanted to hit cos I didn't prepare.
Also
>>1092142
riding a bike is about as comparable to driving as it is to flying a plane, and the consequences of fucking up aren't that dissimilar. That said, you will find kids riding scooters on the way to school.
The biggest consideration is that I don't think there is an insurance agency in the world that will insure you without a licence from your home country. No-one expects you to get a Viet licence (at least when I did it) but you need a licence from somewhere
>>1092143
I paid around 700 for my 48ps license and I also live in germany.
Bought a bike right after that for 900 which never had any problems in the year I drove it.
Otherwise, just get a shitty simson for around 400 euros so you can already learn to work on your bike for the case it breaks down.
>>1091706
I did Hanoi to HCMC by motorcycle in 2014 with my GF. It is a real fun trip, I definitely recommend it. The traffic is not as scary as it seems. While it is chaotic there is a certain flow and they don't tend to drive all that fast in comparison to other countries I have ridden in.
We spread the trip over a month which was about right. Don't plan on more than 2-300km on a riding day and try to avoid consecutive days of riding, as it is mentally draining. The inland highway was a blast... almost 0 traffic and lovely scenery.
Wasn't this a Top Gear special, a couple of years back?
>>1093698
Exactly what I came in here to post. One of the best ones too.
You can watch it on YouTube for about £2. Well worth it I'd say.
>>1091706
I'm interested, but what about getting bikes there?
Do you ship yours or are there proper rents?
pic related my gsf 400
>>1094797
Pain in the ass, I didn't even bother bringing in my bike from Thailand. Read gt-rider for crossing info.
Did HCMC to Hanoi in 2014, probably best experience on the banana pancake trail. Here's some tips that I would highly recommend you take note of that I wish I knew before I started:
The bike
- Don't buy a fully auto bike, even if you've never ridden a motorbike before in your life (which I hadn't), buy a manual Honda Win or similar from another backpacker. They have good fuel economy and are very cheap to repair.
- if you haven't got a license in your home country, an international driving permit and an extensive insurance policy you're probably going to have to pay any damages and hospital bills out of your own pocket
- you can pay for repairs at any garage up and down the country. There's a Hanoi based bike shop that you can pay to basically have them talk to the mechanics via phone at any point in your trip to make sure you don't get ripped off, can't remember what it's called
Safety
- I'd say there's a 40% chance you'll get injured at some point, loads of bikers on the route come off, especially on wet ground. As such I would recommend being super careful on wet ground or better yet avoid it all together.
- you need to learn how to drive in Vietnam. Spend a day just getting used to using your horn all the fucking time and the traffic filtering system they have
- ideally you bike in full leathers but Vietnam is fucking hot and leathers are expensive for a cheap backpacker like myself. I would say minimum get a full face helmet, gloves, and sturdy shoes
- watch out for the exhaust pipe, you don't want to end up with a burn on your calve like 80% of white motorbikers do
The route
- do North to south if possible, more bikes available up north so you can buy them for cheaper
- avoid highway 1 at all costs - it is dusty, dangerous, and lacks any decent views. Instead take the mountain roads and I'd definitely recommend driving to phong na Park. The mountain roads are usually almost empty.
- don't miss Dalat, stay at family hostel, and say hello to mama for me
>>1095236
This is a great post. Also, riding jeans can be had for 80 or 100, but do take up room. I usually wear these on the plane. I just picked up an AGV mesh jacket for 70. I carried it though the straps on my backpack, had no issues with it being carry on. Both of these took 90% of the damage when I just ate shit on a gravel road not 2hrs ago. I have a few bruises from impact, but nothing more. Spend the money on a decent helmet, 120-180, the rental ones are a joke. Checkout revzilla and motorcycle-superstore, their clearance stuff is cheap.
>>1092124
Licenses mean nothing there. any tourist can rent a motorbike.
>>1092143
>im a student without a regular income
I know this is off-topic, but why? Why do people do this? There is no reason you cant have a consistent source of income as a "student" and the longer you go without working the more useless you will be when you graduate. Get your ass out there and git munee
I just finishes up riding from Hanoi to HCMC and crossed into Cambodia 2 weeks ago on the bike. We took the Ho Chi Minh highway the entire way and explored some smaller roads that ran parallel with the western border near Laos too. Its a fucking amazing motorcycle trip and well worth it. But if I had to choose one place out of all SEA as the best or most memorable place, it would be the Ha Giang loop in the far north. Its a roughly 5 day motorcycle loop starting from Hanoi and heading up into the northern mountains and at some points is within a couple kilometers of the Chinese border. Hands down the most remote and breathtaking place Ive ever been before. If you want more info on it, I can answer any questions. The bike shops in Hanoi who do guided tours can also tell you about it
>pis is of the trusty old Win fully loaded up
>>1097806
This is a section of the Ha Giang loop. You can see the rest of the road in the upper left of the pic running along the mountain. Pics just don't do it justice, it was so amazing standing on that mountaintop being able to see these enormous mountain ranges covering such a vast amount of space, looking down on the enormous valley below . This pic wasn't even at the summit, it went much higher and got even better
>>1096033
>Licenses mean nothing there. any tourist can rent a motorbike.
Any tourist can also pay a $25 fine every time a cop needs beer money.
What's the attitude toward americans like there? Reading this thread gives me the urge to go do this but I'm not terribly familiar with the country aside from that awful war we lost some time back.
>>1098121
unless you hurt a local, then you're kinda fucked.
>>1098133
I had a great time in the North even in Areas where people spoke no English but knew I was American. Met guys old enough to have fought but held no grudge towards me as I wasn't even born yet.
>>1097809
win for the win
My friend is really adamant on doing the trip from HCMC to Hanoi by motorcycle. He wants to take the Holy Chi Minh Highway. Neither of us have any experience riding motorcycles, let alone in a country with traffic like Vietnam's. Is this a good idea? How quickly can one pick up biking? And is there any way to rent a bike in one city and drop it off in another?
I want to do something I've never done before in a new place, but I don't want to die. I'm afraid of the traffic, and my own lack of skill mostly. I can see myself zooming along the highway, taking my hand off the handle bar to scratch my dick or something, hitting a rock and then tumbling onto the asphalt where I die in the hot heat of Vietnam. I'd rather not. Any suggestions?
I have not done this, but here's a link to a video a fiend of mine produced about his biking trip through Vietnam, might be of interest...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO67HCixVH4
