Motorcycle trip

Vietnam

Not on our US site at the moment: there is no Vietnam departure open to book here. If Vietnam is on your list, request a quote from this page and our team will tell you what is possible. The closest rides we offer are our guided tours in Laos and Thailand, which start in Chiang Mai with a Vintage Rides tour leader, a mechanic and our own Royal Enfield motorcycles.

Very varied from north to south. The far north, along the Chinese border, is mountain country: the Ha Giang loop, the Ma Pi Leng pass, narrow roads, hairpins and hill-tribe villages. The center combines the Hai Van pass, the imperial city of Hue and the Ho Chi Minh Road through the jungle. The south is flat, around the Mekong Delta. Most roads are paved, but mountain sections can be broken and slippery in the rain.

It depends on the region. In the northern mountains, spring (March to May) and fall (September to November) are the best riding seasons, between the summer rains and the cold, misty winter. The central coast is driest from about February to August, then gets heavy rain and storms in the fall. The south is warm all year, with a dry season from about December to April.

US passport holders need a visa, usually the e-visa applied for online before you travel, and an online pre-arrival registration is required. The permit is the catch: Vietnam only recognizes International Driving Permits issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, and US permits fall under the 1949 Geneva Convention, so they are not valid there. Check the latest rules in Preparing your trip to Vietnam, in our help center.

By air, booking your own flights. The main international airports are Hanoi in the north, Ho Chi Minh City in the south and Da Nang in the center. From the US, most itineraries connect at least once in Asia, so plan for a long travel day and, before any ride, arrive a day early to get over the jet lag.

The main risk is the traffic: dense streams of scooters, trucks and constant horns, especially in and out of the cities, with drivers who do not always yield. Traffic drives on the right, as in the US. Some mountain roads are far from hospitals. Before you go, read the State Department travel advisory and country information for Vietnam and enroll in STEP.

Not with Vintage Rides: we do not rent motorcycles in Vietnam, and our tours in Southeast Asia are guided, with a tour leader, a mechanic and hotels booked. Our self-guided trips, with motorcycle, hotels and road book included, run in the United States, from our base in South Dakota.