Three regions, and what each one is actually like
Vietnam is 1,650 km long and the riding is completely different at each end. Here is what the far north, the central highlands of Pu Luong and the delta are like on a bike.
The shape of the country, for a cyclist
Vietnam is long and narrow, and it has three different climates at once. In January you can be at 4 degrees on a pass in the far north and 31 degrees in the Mekong Delta on the same morning. That single fact decides most itineraries.
| Region | Terrain | Best months | Worst months | Ride it by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ha Giang and the far north | Limestone plateau, long passes | Sep – Nov, Mar – May | Jun – Aug, landslides | Motorbike |
| Pu Luong and Mai Chau | Terraced valleys, short steep climbs | Sep – Nov, Mar – May | Jun – Aug, mud | Bicycle |
| Central coast, Hue to Hoi An | Flat coast and one 500 m pass | Feb – Aug | Sep – Dec, typhoons | Bicycle |
| Mekong Delta | Dead flat, narrow dyke lanes | Nov – Apr | Sep – Oct, flooding | Bicycle |
| Central highlands, Da Lat | Long climbs at 1,200 – 1,500 m | Nov – Apr | Jul – Sep, heavy rain | Bicycle |
There is no month in which the whole country is at its best, and that is why the fourteen-day route flies between regions. When to ride works through it month by month.
The far north: Ha Giang
Grey limestone towers, maize planted in the cracks between them, and a road that was hand-cut into a cliff by thousands of labourers in the 1960s. Ha Giang is the most dramatic riding in Vietnam and the hardest to reach: six to seven hours from Hanoi before you start.
Almost everyone rides it on a motorbike. It can be cycled — we have done it, at about 60 km a day with 1,500 m of climbing — but the gradients, the altitude and the distance between places to stay make it a serious undertaking rather than a holiday.
Full region guide, or go straight to the four-day loop.
The valleys: Pu Luong and Mai Chau
Three hours west of Hanoi, two valleys separated by a ridge, both floored with terraced rice and both threaded with concrete lanes built for motorbikes. This is where most of our cycling days happen, because the road network is dense enough to build a different route every day.
The terraces are green from June, gold in late September and early October, and brown mirrors of water in May and June after planting. Each of those is worth seeing and photographers should pick deliberately.
The water country: the Mekong Delta
Flat, hot, and criss-crossed by so many channels that the road network is really a ferry network with concrete in between. The lanes on top of the dykes are the single best cycling surface in Vietnam for a nervous rider, because nothing wider than a scooter can use them.
It is also the least like the rest of the country: no mountains, no terraces, and a food culture built on river fish, coconut and fruit rather than the northern broths.
Regions we do not send riders to, and why
- Highway 1, anywhere. The spine of the country and the most dangerous road in it for a cyclist. We cross it and we do not ride along it.
- Sa Pa town. The valley below it is superb and the town itself is a construction site with a traffic problem. We ride through and stay outside.
- Phong Nha in the wet season. Genuinely wonderful caves and limestone from February to August. From September to December it is the wettest place in Vietnam and the karst roads flood.
- The Central Highlands in July to September. Da Lat and the coffee country are excellent riding for half the year and unrideable in the peak of the south-west monsoon.
Questions travellers ask most
If I only ride in one region, which should it be?
Pu Luong and Mai Chau, on a bicycle, between September and November. Dense lane network, real climbing, close enough to Hanoi that you lose no days travelling, and the terraces are why people photograph Vietnam.
If you are on a motorbike, Ha Giang without hesitation, and accept the two long transfers at each end.
Can I ride from one region to the next?
Between Mai Chau and the northwest, yes, and our six-day motorbike loop does exactly that.
From the north to central Vietnam, no, not sensibly. It is 700 km of Highway 1 with no quiet parallel road for most of it. Fly or take the train, which is what we do.
Where are the rice terraces at their best?
For gold: late September to mid-October in Pu Luong and Mu Cang Chai, with about a two-week window that moves each year with the planting.
For water mirrors: mid-May to mid-June, when the terraces are flooded and not yet grown in. Fewer visitors, hotter riding, and the light in the early morning is better than in autumn.
Is northern Vietnam cold?
In December, January and February, yes, and visitors consistently underestimate it. Hanoi sits at 13 to 18 degrees, Pu Luong at 9 to 15, and the high passes in the northwest have been below 3.
It is a damp cold with no heating in most buildings, which makes it feel colder than the number. Bring a windproof layer and long fingers.
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