Ho Minh Trail Motorcycle Tour from Hanoi to Nha Trang - 13 days

On the first day of this Ho Chi Minh Trail motorbike tour, we start from Hanoi at 9.30 a.m. after the peak hours to avoid the traffic congestion and break out of the delta plains. We leave Hanoi and ride along Red River to Son Tay and after that, we continue to strike through the peaceful countryside and get to Phu Yen mountainous town (belong to Son La province in northwestern Vietnam) and spend the night here.

Summary:

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Distance: 165km

This might be a standout among the most beautiful roads for the Vietnam motorbike tour. Our tour guide will take us to “chase” the clouds on high mountains in Ta Xua commune. In 15 minutes, the cloud will change persistently and we will see the cloud flow down the mountain like an incredible waterfall. This is one of the most appealing destinations for expert drivers to enjoy a touch-of-heaven experience. We will then take a ride along Black River with the view over the magnificent mountains and streams.

Next, we will cross over Van Yen on a boat. We may choose to eat in Bac Yen or Moc Chau Farm Town. Then, we keep on discovering Moc Chau plateau with many beguiling excellent scenes that cover big tea, apricot and peach gardens. Heading to the top of Hua Tat pass and taking postcard-pretty photographs here are also noteworthy experiences. We have many options to travel from Moc Chau to Mai Chau. We recommend a ride past wonderful rough terrain, which is quite technical yet fun and rewarding. Good driving skill is required though. We then spend the night at the hotel.

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Distance: 145km

This can be a tough day for inexperienced bikers because of the long driving time and the difficult trails. The road from Mai Chau to Tan Ky is very small. We start after having breakfast, following the spectacular and paved trail near Ma River. We then have a stopover in Cam Thuy to have lunch. Then, we continue to go to the Ho Chi Minh Trail, heading to Tan Ky (Nghe An Province) and spend the night here.

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Distance: 290 km

We drive on Ho Chi Minh Highway until we reach Pho Chau, then stop for a quick visit to some of the historical sites. After that, we ride all the way to Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park with the greatest and most excellent caves in Vietnam and Indochina. It was recognized as an UNESCO World Natural Heritage site.

The karst arrangement of Phong Nha - Ke Bang park has developed since the Paleozoic (around 400 million years ago) and is a major karst territory in Asia. Subject to enormous structural changes, the park’s karst landscape scene is amazingly unpredictable with numerous geographic highlights of impressive hugeness. The tremendous territory, reaching out to the outskirt of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, contains specular arrangements including 65 kilometers of caves and underground waterways.

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Distance: 280 km

After visiting the beautiful caves in Phong Nha, we continue our Vietnam motorbike tour to Dong Hoi, a coastal town in Quang Binh province. Here in Dong Hoi, you can go to many places for sightseeing. Dong Hoi city center was built along the banks of Nhat Le river. The monuments, parks, squares are all in this area for you to explore. Here are the tourist attractions in the area on both sides of Nhat Le River for you to visit:

Tam Toa Church, which was built in 1886, is located in Dong Hoi city’s center. During wartime, this church was bombed 48 times and only its bell tower survived. Nhat Le Beach: offers peaceful and poetic scenery. Being viewed as the symbol of Dong Hoi, this beach is now surrounded by lots of hotels and resorts. 

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Distance: 60 km

This beautiful route is one of our favorite ones in this central Vietnam motorbike tour. We will ride on the highway which is part of the original Ho Chi Minh trail toward the west of Vietnam near the Vietnam-Laos border. During this 200 kilometer ride, you won’t see many motorbikes. Rather, you will catch the sight of wild animals and lush mountains, one of the claims to fame of a motorbike trip. When we leave Dong Hoi, we have the opportunity to visit old fortifications of the US marines, airbase, and great Khe Sanh gallery. We complete your intriguing motorbike tour toward the west at about 5:00 pm. Overnight in the hotel.

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Distance: 200 km

After breakfast, we ride along Parkway 1 to Quang Tri town, visiting Long Hung Church and Quang Tri Old Citadel where a fierce battle took place for 81 days in 1972. We ride along the coast from Cua Viet Beach to Cua Tung Beach, visit Vinh Moc tunnel, explore the Demilitarized Zone and have lunch here. Vinh Moc is a tunnel complex built for local settlement in the Vietnamese non-military zone to avoid the violent bombings. 

We continue our ride on the Ho Chi Minh trail through Dong Ha town where we stop to visit Dong Ha market. Later on, we head to Hue. Our guide then takes travelers to some more war relics before making it to Hue. If we still have time, we take a ride to visit Imperial Citadel and one of Royal Tombs before watching the nightfall on the bank of Perfume River. We try some street food and spend the night in a local hotel.

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Distance: 180 km

Today is an easy, short and paved ride from Hue to Hoi An. First we weave around Hue to visit some tombs, relics and other noteworthy travel destinations here till late afternoon. We then ride along the breathtaking seaside route via Hai Van Pass where we can look over the splendorous marvel of Lang Co bay and the majestic sea. We set aside the opportunity to visit picturesque marble mountains to make a beeline to Hoi An via the Da Nang coastline. Overnight in the hotel in Hoi An. 

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Distance: 145 km

You spend our ninth day of your tour by taking a walk to explore little charming Hoi An. Popular places such as the Japanese Cau pagoda, the Phuoc Kien Temple, the old house of Tan Ky and the craft villages are all worth our visit. We can also join a boat tour on the Thu Bon River to see the city and fishermen's simple life here. 

We then hop on our motorbike to drive to discover Vietnam's most reminiscent Cham site, My Son, which lies 40 kilometers southwest of Hoi An. My Son sanctuary has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List and richly deserves an important place on our travel map. We then drive back to Hoi An and visit some rural craft-making and herb-growing villages. 

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

We strike back up to the mountains, rejoining the Trail at Phuoc Son (otherwise called Kham Duc). From that point, we head up the transcending Lo Xo forested mountain pass and then strike through remote areas meagerly populated by the Ba Na ethnic people. 

Local here keep their tradition of preserving the “rong” house, a tall house on stilts. This serves as a communal house where local residents come for special celebrations and social activities. The stilts were initially made to protect its host from elephants, tigers, and other wild animals. Now, these houses on stilts become an iconic image of this area. After bidding farewell with the locals, we head further to Kon Tum and spend the night here.

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Homestay

Distance: 290 km

After having breakfast in the hotel, we drive from Kon Tum to Pleiku and then Ia Drang Valley before stopping in Buon Me Thuot, dubbed ‘the coffee capital of Vietnam’. Being viewed as the heart of Vietnam’s central highlands, Buon Ma Thuot draws a large number of tourists thanks to the vast coffee fields, the majestic waterfalls and the authentic people that this land has to offer.

This is also home to seemingly endless rubber forests, lush coffee gardens and unique gong cultural spaces, historical relics and the unique traditional culture and customs of indigenous people that can’t be found anywhere else. We enjoy a nice cup of coffee in our tranquil homestay in Buon Me Thuot, having a decent sleep to be well prepared for the next day on two wheels. 

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Homestay

Distance: 240 km

After having a memorable time in the central highlands, we head down to the coastal city of Nha Trang, home to the best beaches and pristine islands in Vietnam. We stay overnight in a hotel near the beach after a long day on the motorbike.

Summary:

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Homestay

Distance: 190 km