Northwest Vietnam Motorbike Tour from Hanoi to Ninh Binh – 6 days

Today’s destination is Mai Chau Valley. While not as popular as the neighboring Moc Chau, Mai Chau still has fantastic scenery for you to feast your eyes on. From the endless green fields in villages such as Lac, and Pom Coong, to the seemingly never-ending and mysterious caves of Chieu and Mo Luong, Mai Chau has a little something for everyone. As with all our tours, we have planned two possible routes for you. If you’d prefer a quick and easy ride, we start from the office of BM Travel Adventure and head towards Highway 6. Along the way, we can visit Ba Khan Lake. The lake is deeply nestled in-between high mountains and virtually untouched by rampant tourism, creating a sense of rustic tranquility.

However, if you are more adventurous, we also have a backroads plan. With this choice, you will pass through villages of ethnic minorities and witness life in rural areas before arriving in Mai Chau town. Here, we will spend the night at homestays of Tay people, most of which are stilt houses a couple of meters above the ground. This allows for clean, airy spaces that could easily house an entire traveling crew.

For day 2, we will journey from Mai Chau to Moc Chau in Son La province and back on different routes. Again, we also have two travel options, a straightforward one that uses highways and main roads; the other goes onto backroads into jungles and skirts along Laos’ border for the more adventurous.

After breakfast and coffee, we depart and head through Cun Pheo commune to Hang Kia – Pa Co communes and Moc Chau Farm Town. At Moc Chau Plateau, one of the most beautiful highlands in the North, there are numerous tourist spots for you to visit. There are Son Moc Huong Cave (also known as Doi Cave), Dai Yem Waterfall, the pine forest of Ang village, flower fields, and tea plantations stretching as far as the eyes can see. All of which only serve to bring you back to nature and enjoy the wonders it has given.

When you’ve had your fill of Moc Chau, we get ready to return to Mai Chau. For the return trip, we take the old Highway 6 and turn to the new Highway 6 to approach Mai Chau.

On the 3rd day, we will take you across a notable pass and highland on the way to Pu Luong. After breakfast, we say goodbye to the host family and depart toward Highway 6. We will come across Thung Khe Pass, also known as Da Trang Pass (White Stone Pass). The reason for its name becomes apparent as soon as you see the surrounding white grey stone mountains. At an elevation of 1,000 meters, Thung Khe is a favorite of backpackers, thanks to its European-like beauty.

Passing Thung Khe, we drive onwards to Lung Van highland. Although it is one of Hoa Binh province’s hotspots, Lung Van’s tourism is still minimal and undeveloped. Dubbed “rooftop of the Muong region”, Lung Van highland is at 1,200 meters above sea level. The land is surrounded by high mountains on all sides and covered in layers of white clouds, giving off the impression that you are venturing into some forbidden parts of heaven. Aside from its beauty, Lung Van also serves as a cultural center for the Muong people, preserving their traditional way of life. After a day of driving, we will arrive at Pu Luong Nature Reserve. Check in at our hotel and rest as we prepare to explore Pu Luong the following day.

To fully explore the beauty of Pu Luong, we have chosen trekking as the primary traveling method. As always, you can choose to stay back at Pu Luong Retreat if you don’t want to trek. If we go trekking, however, it might be better to have a local guide with us as we will be exploring Don and Hieu villages. Both villages are occupied by Thai people and have a calm and rustic beauty.

At Hieu village, a waterfall of the same name is very popular with tourists due to its calcium-heavy water creating peculiar limestone formations around the stream. If you want to go shopping for local goods, there is the Pho Doan market, where you can also observe a fusion of many ethnic groups such as the Kinh, Muong, and Thai people. Although the plan for day 4 is to trek on foot, you can also choose to explore Pu Luong on back roads with your trusty motorbike instead. The choice is fully yours.

Bid farewell to Pu Luong as we embark on our journey to its neighbor, Cuc Phuong National Park. In the morning, we can visit Cam Luong, and Cam Lien streams in Cam Thuy district. Said to be blessed by fish gods, the streams are filled with thousands of silvery fishes that you can reach in and touch. The locals revere them and, as a result, remain untouched.

Afterward, we drive down to the Ho Chi Minh Highway and directly into Cuc Phuong National Park. As Vietnam’s first national park, Cuc Phuong is also our largest nature reserve and an important site for biodiversity. Its many rescue centers and conservation programs allow you to watch endangered animals taken care of by park rangers and experts. The park has many giant ancient trees that 20 people forming a circle cannot cover their circumference. There are also numerous mysterious caves, lakes, and villages inside Cuc Phuong, enough to sate your thirst for adventure.

After a day at Cuc Phuong, we drive to Trang An in Ninh Binh province for our night’s rest.

We start our last day early as Trang An is full of things to discover. Recognized by UNESCO, Trang An is a Scenic Landscape Complex that includes Tam Coc – Bich Dong karst caves and pagodas, Hoa Lu – one of Vietnam’s old capital, and Bai Dinh Temple.

We’ve also chosen off-road and less-traveled paths for a tour of Trang An. After exploring the karst limestone mountains and caves of Tam Coc, we drive to the harbor for a 2-and-a-half-hour boat trip to Thung Nang – a recently opened area with a relatively calmer atmosphere compared to Tam Coc. With this route, you can have time for relaxation in the arms of Mother Nature after hours of exploring. After a quick lunch in Tam Coc, we prepare to travel back to Hanoi early to avoid the nightmare that is Hanoi’s rush

End Tour.