The length of Vietnam, 690 km of it ridden
Fourteen days from the Red River delta to the Mekong, riding the three regions that are worth riding and flying over the 300 km stretches of Highway 1 that are not.
At a glance
- Days
- 14 days, 13 nights
- Ridden
- 690 km, 6,400 m up
- Group
- 4 to 12 riders
- Start
- Hanoi
- Finish
- Ho Chi Minh City
- From
- USD 2,450 per person
Who this route is for
This is for a rider with fourteen consecutive days, a first visit to Vietnam, and the wish to see the whole country rather than one corner of it well. You ride eight of the fourteen days, average 86 km on a riding day, and spend three of those days climbing properly.
It is not a coast-to-coast endurance ride and we do not present it as one. The distance from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City by road is roughly 1,700 km. Riding that in fourteen days means 120 km every single day with no rest and long hours on Highway 1, which is four lanes of coaches and container lorries with no shoulder. We have ridden it. It is not a holiday, and for most people it is not even a good way to see the country.
So this route rides the three regions where the roads are quiet and the scenery changes every hour, and moves between them by two domestic flights and one night train. You lose about 900 km of riding you would not have enjoyed and gain four days of riding you will.
We do run it: 21 days, Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with nothing skipped, on the Ho Chi Minh Highway rather than Highway 1 wherever it exists. It is a private departure only, it costs from USD 3,900, and we will ask you about your last three long rides before we accept the booking.
Day by day
Arrive Hanoi
Met at Noi Bai airport and driven to the Old Quarter, about 45 minutes outside the morning peak and an hour inside it. Nothing is asked of you today.
At 17:00 you come to the workshop for the bike fitting: saddle height, reach, and a swap of anything that does not suit. Bring your own pedals and shoes if you ride clipped in.
Shakedown ride, Red River dykes
A short first day on purpose. You leave the city on the dyke road, which is raised, one lane wide and almost free of cars, and ride out through the ceramic villages at Bat Trang.
The point of today is to find out what is wrong with your setup while a mechanic is still 40 km from the workshop rather than 400.
Hanoi to Ninh Binh
Transferred clear of the city, then 74 km south on district roads through flat rice country to the limestone at Ninh Binh. The last 15 km run between karst towers on a lane with no centre line.
Late afternoon is free for the Trang An boat, which we book for 16:00 once the day-trip coaches from Hanoi have gone.
Ninh Binh to Pu Luong
The first hard day: 62 km with 1,150 m of climbing, most of it in two efforts, on a road that narrows to a single lane of concrete for the final 9 km up to the ridge.
You finish at the lodge above the Pu Luong valley with the terraces below you. If the climbing beats you, the van is behind and there is no penalty.
Pu Luong loop
A 48 km loop below the lodge on dirt and concrete lanes, past the bamboo water wheels and through four villages, with 700 m of climbing broken into short pieces.
This is the day people remember. It is also the day the route surface is worst, and after rain we swap sections of it for a longer sealed loop.
Pu Luong to Hanoi, night train or flight south
A 40 km descent and roll out to the main road, then a four-hour transfer to Hanoi. You shower at a day-use room before the evening flight to Hue, or board the night train if you asked for it.
The bikes travel separately by road and are waiting in Hue the next morning.
Hue, rest and the citadel
No riding. The bikes get a full check in the hotel car park while you spend the day in the citadel and at the Nguyen tombs, which are 12 km apart and best seen by car in this heat.
Hue to Lang Co over the coast
58 km south on the old coast road, with the lagoon on one side and the fish farms on the other, finishing at the beach at Lang Co. Flat, hot, and the wind is usually behind you going south.
Over Hai Van to Hoi An
The famous one: 21 km of climbing from sea level to about 500 m at the pass, then 10 km down into Da Nang and 30 km on to Hoi An. 74 km, 900 m.
The gradient sits between 5 and 7 per cent and never kicks. Almost all the lorries take the tunnel, so the road is motorbikes, tour cars and you.
Hoi An, rest day, then fly to Da Lat
Free morning in the old town, which is best before 09:00 and after 17:00 and unbearable in between. Afternoon flight to Da Lat via Ho Chi Minh City or direct, depending on the day.
Da Lat highlands
96 km with 1,400 m of climbing, the hardest day of the trip, on empty highland roads through pine forest and coffee terraces at 1,200 to 1,500 m. It is fifteen degrees cooler up here than at the coast.
Two long climbs and a 20 km descent that will be the fastest riding of your fortnight.
Descent to the coast, transfer to the delta
A 65 km descent from the highlands towards the plain, losing 1,200 m in the first 35 km, then a long transfer south-west into the Mekong Delta.
The descent is on good tarmac with wide bends. It is also the one place on this trip where we ask riders to stay behind the guide the whole way.
Mekong dyke lanes
58 km on concrete lanes a metre and a half wide, between coconut groves and brick kilns, crossing four channels by small ferry. Flat, but the surface asks for concentration and the heat asks for water every 20 minutes.
Into Ho Chi Minh City, finish
A short 35 km ride out of the delta to the transfer point, then two hours by road into the city. Bikes handed back, lunch together, and you are dropped at your hotel or the airport.
Prices
| Party size | Standard hotels | Comfortable hotels |
|---|---|---|
| 2 riders, private | USD 3,780 | USD 4,450 |
| 3 – 4 riders, private | USD 2,980 | USD 3,540 |
| 5 – 8 riders, private | USD 2,640 | USD 3,120 |
| Set-departure group | USD 2,450 | — |
The two internal flights are booked in your name on Vietnam Airlines or Vietjet and cost us between USD 95 and USD 180 depending on how far ahead you book. That is the single largest reason to confirm this trip early rather than late.
What is included
What the price includes
- 13 nights as named, twin share, all rooms with private bathroom
- Two domestic flights and one night-train berth, with bikes moved by road
- Carbon or aluminium road bike, or gravel bike, fitted the night before
- Two guides on group departures, one guide plus driver on private ones
- Support vehicle with a four-bike rack on every riding day
- All breakfasts, 10 lunches and 8 dinners as listed day by day
- Trang An boat, citadel and tomb entrances, all ferries and tolls
What it does not include
- International flights and Vietnamese visa or e-visa fees
- Travel insurance, which must explicitly cover road cycling
- Meals not listed above, and all drinks other than water in the vehicle
- Da Lat and Hoi An rest-day activities beyond those listed
- Tips, usually USD 8 – 12 per rider per day split between guide and driver
Photographs
Who this tour is wrong for
- Riders who want every kilometre under their own power. Two flights and a train are structural to this route. If that offends you, take the 21-day version instead and accept the extra week.
- Anyone whose longest recent ride is under 60 km. Day 11 is 96 km with 1,400 m of climbing at altitude, on day eleven of a trip. The van solves it, but you will have paid a lot to sit in a van.
- Travellers who want to stop and look at things. Eight riding days in fourteen leaves two genuine rest days. This is a riding trip with sightseeing attached, not the reverse.
- July and August visitors. The north is at its wettest, the central coast is in typhoon season from September, and the delta floods. We will run it, and we will tell you first that you have picked the worst fortnight of the year.
- Parties with mixed ambitions. One rider who wants 100 km days and one who wants 40 is a fortnight of quiet resentment. Book the private version and we will run two pace groups, or book a shorter route.
Next steps
Get a dated itinerary with hotel names
Tell us your month and party size and we will come back within one working day with real dates, real hotels and an itemised price.
Before you do: check when to ride for your month, what a bike tour costs for the supplier-level breakdown, and how to book for the payment and cancellation terms.
Questions travellers ask most
Why do you fly instead of riding the whole way?
Because the 300 km between Ninh Binh and Hue, and the 350 km between Hoi An and the highlands, are almost entirely Highway 1: four lanes, no shoulder, sleeper coaches overtaking into oncoming traffic, and a container lorry every twenty seconds.
There is no quiet parallel road for most of it. Riding those sections is two and a half days of danger and noise in exchange for no scenery, so we spend USD 180 on a flight instead.
What bike will I be on?
A 2023 or newer aluminium endurance road bike with 32 mm tyres and hydraulic discs, or a gravel bike with 40 mm tyres if you prefer. Sizes 48 to 60 cm.
The Pu Luong loop on day five is the only section where the gravel bike is genuinely better. Everything else is sealed road, and the vehicle carries a second wheelset if you want to change for that day.
How fit do I need to be, in numbers?
If you can ride 80 km on rolling terrain, finish tired but not broken, and do it again two days later, you will enjoy this trip.
If you can ride 50 km comfortably but have never done consecutive long days, you will finish it using the van on days four and eleven, which is a perfectly normal outcome and not something anyone will remark on.
Is the trip affected if a typhoon comes in?
Between September and December on the central coast, yes, and we plan for it. The Hue to Hoi An section is the exposed part.
Our standing rule is that we move the trip rather than shorten it: if a storm is forecast to make landfall within 200 km, we fly the group south early and add a riding day in the highlands. You are not charged for the change, and you are not refunded for it either.
Read next
Tell us about the ride you have in mind
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.