Traveling by motorbike is certainly popular with plenty of travelers in the world, particularly the young generation. Viewers are definitely attractive with photoshoots posted on CNN page by journalist Jarryd Salem recording his 10,000 km long Vietnam discovery on wheels. With over 200,000 km road network spanning from urban to rural areas, coastal resorts to rich jungles, Vietnam is a must-to-travel spot for adventure lovers on wheels.

Motorbike is such a common vehicle that is daily used by over 90 million Vietnamese people, helping them travel conveniently and tourists coming here can catch up with this moving culture quickly. Annually, Vietnam has welcomed nearly 8 millions of tourists and this number has boosted sharply thanks to a new trend – traveling by motorcycle.

The Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh route, which has been upgraded, will be the first option for riders who are fond of discovering history and culture through amazing adventures. Speeding up on this road, you can observe the complete link between bustle cities and agricultural zones, sinuous beaches to dense jungles with expansive mountains created by Mother Nature. Now, let’s discover how adorable Vietnamese history and Vietnam motorbike tours are in this article.

Quest for the perfect journey

The bustling capital of Hanoi is where most backpacking motorists start their long-awaited Vietnam motorbike tours. Many seek out services from established companies like BM Travel Adventure, others chose to rent cheap Chinese bikes, while some opt to buy their own bikes and immediately head south. This makes for a woefully missed opportunity as to the north, some of the most breathtaking sights await you in their majestic mountain ranges.

Majestic mountain ranges up North

With its simple and rustic way of life, Mai Chau is an ideal first stop before letting your Vietnam motorbike tour on to the terraced rice fields in Nghia Lo, Than Uyen, and Sapa. The latter also possesses the tallest mountain in the country and is the gateway leading to the Hoang Lien Son mountain range. Over the years, Sapa has become one of the most popular tourist hotspots.

Many travelers coming here choose to stay over for at least a night for the chance to immerse themselves into the Hmong’s unique culture.

The real adventure, however, has only just begun. Pass the markets of ethnic people in Bac Ha is Ha Giang province. This region is home to the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark, a massive geopark bordering China with breathtaking beauty and significant cultural and archeological values.

Complex cave system in Phong Nha

560km south of Hanoi, in what once was the poorest region of Vietnam, is a cave system that has been turned into a popular tourist spot for many years. Recently coming into the light for the newly-discovered world’s largest cave, Son Doong Cave, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park has received an influx of adventurers eager to explore the park and its surrounding villages.

Apart from the mysterious caverns, Phong Nha also attracts visitors with its beautiful sceneries of rice fields nestling in-between huge limestone rocks. The hospitality of the people here had kept me for 3 whole months during my first trans-Vietnam trip.

Driving along Ho Chi Minh Trail

Zigzagging through the jungles of Central Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh Trail is known as “one of the great achievements of military engineering of the 20th century”. The trail started inland, ran through numerous jungles and borders and even reached the coast. Now the Ho Chi Minh Highway was built to coincide with the old trail, with it’s West branch running through jungles. Most backpacking motorists would pick the Western route as it bears some of the most striking sceneries.

Starting from Phong Nha, just drive along the Ho Chi Minh Highway. This would reduce about 240km to your journey but it also comes with a few cons. The road is very narrow and there are few houses along the way, making it the longest drive in the country. You should also pay extreme attention while driving as one small mistake could cost you a lot of time to find help. Though after all, this would only make the trip more exciting.

Joy to be found in coastal fishing villages

If this is your first time in Vietnam, try to get a proper map and a list of worthy sightseeing spots along National Route 1A. Running along the coast and in a constant state of being damaged, the highway can be very dangerous. Though with careful research and planning, you can easily make the most out of your time here.

Notorious for being a challenge to drivers, Hai Van Pass connects the two cities Hue and Da Nang. From the elevation of 496m, traversing this Pass of the ocean cloud would give you some of the most stunning views of Vietnam’s impressive coastal line. In order to avoid tourist jams in the Pass, you should try to go further south. And please be noted that you should only speed up once you’re out of the city as stray cattle on the street could cause danger.

Preparation for the journey

Before embarking on your trans-Vietnam quest, be sure to consider and prepare for every possible situation. For the experienced and adventurous, a Vietnam motorbike tour could be the perfect opportunity to expand your horizons!

In conclusion, so as to turn this trip into the journey of a lifetime, you must always be well-prepared and ready to tackle every obstacle thrown your way.