Traveling Vietnam by motorbike has definitely made it into
our Top 50 Adventure Holidays list.
To date, this motorbike trip, which consisted of me riding across the whole
length of Vietnam for over six weeks, is still one of the best adventures of my
life. For more at Vietnam
Motorbike Tours.
Read through my experience below! And if you want more information as well
as suggested route itineraries, check out the Vietnam travel guide which my
partner and I co-authored.
This travel guide has all the top motorcycle routes in Vietnam as well as
other tips and information which aren’t published online. Regardless of whether
you are a seasoned motorbike driver or a beginner, this adventure is definitely
one for the books!
Vietnam by Motorbike
I was in a hostel in Hong Kong, exactly one month into my
first backpacking trip, when I started making small talk with a guy I just met.
I can’t remember much of the conversation apart from him insisting that if I
did one thing during my travels, it should be to travel all over Vietnam by
motorcycle. For more at Vietnam
Motorbike.
Five months after that conversation, I was on a sleeper bus from Cambodia to
Ho Chi Minh Vietnam, getting ready to buy a motorcycle. The next few weeks, I
found myself riding over 3,500 km through jungles, cities and villages.
I crashed my motorcycle around midnight at the top of mountains near the Chinese
border, I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and more importantly, I made
memories that I would never forget.
I didn’t spend long in Ho Chi Minh. I did the typical tourist activities but
mainly spent my time checking out different motorcycles to buy. A lot of that
was spent trying to haggle down the prices and test riding them to see if they
were okay.
Within the first night, I had met two guys who had the same plans as me and
we ended up doing the whole route together. Soon, another guy joined us along
the way and on our first stop, I met a silly cute girl named Anna. (my partner
in crime, who I run this travel blog with)
Motorbikes Available in Vietnam
Our trip was made up of four guys and four motorcycles.
Three Honda Win manual 110cc and one automatic 125cc Scooter. There are a range
of motorcycles available but these two types will be the main ones you will
come across. For more at Vietnam
On Motorbike.
All bikes had covered a lot of kilometers in their time (I’m talking
80,000Km plus which for a bike is a lot!) and were old. Needless to say, we all
had mechanical issues during the ride.
If you can think of it, it happened to us. Punctures, bike racks snapping in
half, gearboxes breaking, electronics failing, suspension snapping, oil
leaking, brakes failing and the whole bike going up in flames! (yep, that was
my bike).
However, the beauty of riding a motorcycle in Vietnam is there’s always
someone who can fix your bike in sight, usually for very cheap. Some will try
to take advantage, but it is nothing a little haggling can’t solve.
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