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As everyone knows, Top Gear Vietnam Special with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May started their journey from Saigon. There were not many bike options in 2008s for a long-distance ride. But Hammond bought a 125 cc two-stroke Minsk that was the best for riding across Vietnam. Following the Top Gear Vietnam Special – the success of motoring program – failed of traveling, we will go into the analysis of the trip of Top Gear riding from Saigon to Dalat for every single part:
From 20 August 2014, Viet Nam officially became a member of the Convention on Road Traffic. Thus Vietnam started accepting IAA or IDP for foreign travelers who love riding. This paper is an essential paper for those who would love to ride abroad.
Let's make a legal journey for your safe riding.
This part depends on you. Buying or Renting or Booking a tour all have their own advantages.
Buying a motorbike: If there is a low budget, around 300 – 500$, Minsk is the best. That bike is easy to ride, fix, and sell back with a half or third quarter of the price after a trip. But we highly recommend that the second-hand XR 150 or any scooter or semi automobile is best for the journey exploring The South. Click on the link for the blog How to buy motorbike Vietnam and Vietnam Travel Tips. Maybe it's useful for you. And come back here to know more about the routes for your trip.
Renting a motorbike in Vietnam: Nowadays, motorbike shop rental appears a lot everywhere in Vietnam, making the price of rental so competitive. Around 15$, you can have XR 150 per day excluding fuel, accommodation.
Two both options above will face the biggest question for your riding trip.
Those questions above are just a few typical ones to challenge you to make a trip on your own. So BM Travel Motorcycle Tours will answer those questions for you. We designed The Self-Guided Tour at an affordable price for travelers who love to ride Vietnam without limit. And that can answers, solve every problem you face on your own trip.
If your budget allows, there's no reason not to take a fully guided motorbike tour. This way is the best way to explore Vietnam. With this, you are only enjoying your riding. Our local experts have many years of motorcycle tourism. They know your safety is at the top, even though they always enhance your journey better than expected. Also, their mechanic skills are so good to solve any problem with your bike quickly.
I have already mentioned the issues you need to consider before we get into the main part. Before making a Vietnam riding trip, I will show you Top Gear Vietnam Special skip details and information you would love to know.
The Mekong River length is 4350 km and is the world's twelfth longest river and the seventh in Asia and starts from China then across Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia. And Vietnam was the last, and this river forms the Mekong Delta. It brings a massive amount of rich beneficial silt to make the Mekong Delta so fertile. Over two-thirds of the region's land is used for agriculture, and almost all are for rice cultivation. Besides that also includes activities related to fishing, tropical fruit plantation, diverse religions, making handicrafts, floating lives. Every province has its own separate colors.
An adventure bike, scooter, or automatic mobile will be best for this flat rural region. The terrains are not tricky, and there are some gravel roads, muddy roads, and village pathways. The best will be XR 150, CRF 250, and CB 500x. In this part, we show you the best way to Phu Quoc Island on a motorbike.
Can Tho is the largest city in the Mekong Delta. It is famous for floating markets, rice paper-making villages, and picturesque rural canals. Can Tho is considered as a model of Ho Chi Minh City in the Mekong Delta. River life here is so colorful.
From your place, let search on map DT 826. Hit this way until you meet the Long Sơn Ferry crossing Vam Co Dong River. After the ferry, The Areca King Tân Trụ Street, you should pay a visit. Not only Areca but also dragon fruit farms, kumquat farms, paddy fields will surprise you. There is a coffee shop; let's have a break here to learn more about local people. Tan Tru Ferry is next to cross a river. Take DT879D, and DT 827B, then find Nguyen Quan street. GG map will help you reach this crossroad (10.376644, 106.343969). Now you ride straight on Highway 60 to Rach Mieu Bridge. And Ben Tre is there for you. Let's arrive at Ben Tre Market and book a boat trip for 2 – 3 hours, including lunch.
After visiting Ben Tre, let's find a way to ride over Ham Luong Bridge. And Dinh Khao Ferry will be next. After the ferry, there is Vinh Long Province. Take Highway 57 a few kilometers, then turn onto Highway 53. Heading on it until you see DT909 on the map. Turn right for it; along with DT 909, it has some parallel ways to make your trip more fun. There is a crossroad between DT 909 and DT 905. Keep moving on DT 909 and ride to Phù Ly bridge. Now you almost arrive in Can Tho. Riding over Can Tho Bridge and enjoying sundown. Now you follow which way to come to your accommodation in Can Tho.
A big province is alongside the Upper River, and the Bassac River runs through Chau Doc. So it's crisscrossed by many canals, small rivers. There is a home to many people from Viet Nam's ethnic minority such as Cham and Khmer. They live together in harmony, so the culture is mixed between their lifestyle, religions, routines, and clothes.
On both sides of the way leading to the Cambodia border, there are long paddy fields and ten huge mountains nearby.
Riding to Chau Doc will be along the Mekong Lower River. From your accommodation in Can Tho, let find the way to Con Khuong Ferry and hit highway 54. Let ride safely on this route until you see the Vam Cong ferry. Sticking on DT946 to Long Kien Bridge, let ride along the river on your left, heading to My Hoi Dong Ferry. After crossing the river, DT 951 will be the next. You ride on this route until at the end and turn left to meet Chau Giang Ferry. After the ferry, Chau Doc is there for you.
Chau Doc is named the Land of Seven Mountains. So many legend stories linking to those mountains may be exciting to you in any way. An Giang's geographical location gives it a cultural melting pot, with ethnic Khmer, Chinese, Cham, and Vietnamese minorities coexisting amicably. Besides that, floating house farming fish, pagoda or Islam Church, Tra Su Forest you should pay a visit.
The largest island is a simple native fishing village. Phu Quoc is famous for its two traditional products: fish sauce and black pepper. The rich fishing grounds offshore provide the anchovy catch from which the prized sauce is made. A pepper is cultivated everywhere on the island. Romantic and clean beaches will relax you after a long riding trip.
The way heading to Ha Tien Ferry Terminal is easy. Let's hit highway N1 for it. N1 runs along the Cambodia border, and it will give the paddy fields running endlessly. Then turn left highway 80 to meet the ferry. You can ask them to carry your bike to the island too. The speed boat will take you around 3 hours to come to Phu Quoc.
Phu Quoc is the heaven on the earth. Anything for relaxation you need; this island has all. Night Market, Walking street, fishing village or water sports are there waiting for you. More than half of this tropical island is still protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where you may spend a whole day observing unusual wildlife, hiking, camping, photography, and bird-watching.
How about the other provinces in Mekong Delta
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In this part, we would like to show you an exciting place not far away from Saigon. That will give you other views about Vietnam.
Around Saigon is a flat area, so Road Trips or Off-road Trips are both fun. An adventure Motorcycle Tours, scooter, or automatic mobile will be best for this
Although Cu Chi is one of the districts within Saigon, from the Post Office to Cu Chi Tunnel is around 60 kilometers. The Cu Chi Tunnels are massive linking tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City, and they are part of a much more extensive network of tunnels that run beneath. Several military campaigns took place in the Cu Chi tunnels throughout the Vietnam War, and the Viet Cong used them as a base for the war with the USA.
Start Sai gon Motorbike tours ride from your hotel in Saigon to An Suong round abound, then take the Parallel Highway 22. In this way, you can learn about local life. Riding until the end of this way and turning right, then Provincial Highway 15 is the next. Getting through Tan Thanh Dong Ward, there are some offroad for your trip. Finally, heading to Ben Duoc Tunnel where is a less tourist spot than Ben Dinh Tunnel.
Following the routes I show you above. On both sides of parallel Highway 22, there are many breakfast restaurants, coffee shops, etc. That is the best way you experience the local life living in outskirt Saigon.
On the way to Cu Chi Tunnel, the rice paper workshop and temple memorial are exciting places you should visit. After visiting Cu Chi Tunnel, maybe this late for lunch a little bit, you should find Nguyen Thi Ranh street. On this route, it has some restaurants. BBQ veal, a specialty food in Cu Chi, and some cold beers will be best for lunch.
Because of its natural beauty, Vung Tau has long been regarded as a desirable tourist destination. There are several stunning beaches along the 20-kilometer shoreline, and they're all great for sunbathing, swimming, and relaxing. Vung Tau City, located on the Vung Tau Peninsula, is one of the few sites on the mainland where you may see a stunning sunrise or sunset over the sea.
First of all, from Saigon, you catch up on the Binh Khanh ferry. Let's take the one crossing river to Vung Tau city. And then, you are riding on DT 19 – Hung Vuong Street – HL 12 to turn right on Highway 51 (If you would like to avoid the highway, turn left at Bau Can street and enjoy some off-road that leads to Long Tan Cross. The relic site for Aussie pay respect to soldiers be KIA or MIA, then ride down to a beach). It's around 30km to ride on Highway 51 for the next turn. You turn right at Hoang Sa Street, leading to Long Son Island. And then turn right at Highway 51 again. From now, it's around 30m to get to the center of Vung Tau city.
We have to say that Vung Tau is not a sleeping city. Bars, beer clubs along the beach are there for you all night long. Not only that, outdoor activities are a lot for tourists. Board surfing, snorkeling, para surfing, camping to luxury hotels, restaurants in Vung tau to choose for your holiday. But do not forget the specialty such as Banh Khot, Ray fish (skate fish) hot pot …
This part will base on Top Gear Vietnam Special Itinerary to make it the best for all travelers. Our experts will give you some advice, and then you can plan your motorbike riding trip easier.
From Saigon riding up North, we highly recommend XR 150 at least. CRF 250 or DRZ 400 and CB 500x is the ideal bike for it.
In southern Vietnam, Nam Cat Tien National Park is a vast lowland tropical forest and biosphere reserve. Century-old trees, botanical gardens, and recreational pathways can all be found here. The Nam Cat Tien archaeological site contains ancient temples and artifacts outside the park on the ng Nai river. The way to the national park is also so much fun. Especially in the rainy season, this trip will be a mud bath.
It takes around 2 hours to get out of the city from Saigon. On the GG map, let find the way to Buu Long Tourist Area to stay far away from Highway 20 that Top Gear took. You will keep riding to Tri An Lake. And then the D war zone on DT 761 will be next. Phu Ly Market is a place you should stop for lunch and get total energy back. After this, 761 street will be offroad for 20 km, and maybe 4G 5G doesn't work here. When you get out of this, search for Nam Cat Tien National Park by Tà Lài bridge. We recommend Green Bamboo Lodge for you to spend 1 night. This route is not for beginner riders and does not know how to navigate directions without a map.
Booking a riverside room will be the best. Here, you can book a trekking tour or cycling tour to explore the National Park. Visit the Bear and Wildlife Rescue station, interact with the local villagers and paddling along the crystal clear waters of Dong Nai River, and bask in its natural picturesque views.
Dalat is the capital of Vietnam's Lam Dong Province, which has some interesting tourist sites. Dalat is a location for not only sightseeing but also taking the most exciting activities of your life, with well-preserved French-style houses, Buddhist pagodas, lakes, waterfalls, and much more!
The routes heading to Da Lat are pretty easy. From your hotel, find DT 725, and then you hit it until you meet Da Lat. Top Gear's journey took Highway 20 so dangerous, and you can see that from their videos. Instead, DT 725 gathers many things such as fantastic views, fewer big vehicles, and Elephant Waterfall on this way for you to visit.
This romantic city has all things to please the most challenging tourist. The weather is fantastic year-round, and the French Quarter, which is not distant from the city center, has many well-preserved French homes and chalets. Minority towns in Dalat are a must-see for anybody interested in seeing the 'real' Vietnam, as the villagers have mostly maintained their traditional ways of life. Besides that, the thousand flower city combines with a climate that makes you have unforgettable experiences.
Those information BM Travel's Expert would like to give you to have the best experience in Vietnam. In this blog, we only mention the Mekong Delta and around the South. And we try to support your plan for the Vietnam riding trip as the Top Gear Vietnam Special. What to do - What to eat at each destination, we also put the link there.
And the next blog in series of Top Gear Vietnam Special
Top Gear Vietnam Special - Part 2 Mountain Riding or Coastline Riding
*By Tuan Ta from BM Travel Expert Team. It's my pleasure to share with you my country, especially The South and Mekong Delta. I hope this information is helpful for your trip. Follow me for more on Facebook and Instagram
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