Notes For Guided Tour Customers From Off Road Vietnam

NOTES FOR GUIDED PACKAGE TOUR CUSTOMERS

We provide mainly motorcycle adventures (over 95% of all bookings) so these notes are mainly for bikers. The following are questions we usually receive after bookings are secured. Please contact us if you need more specific details.

We are based in Hanoi and this is where all rides start from. Please arrange flight(s) to Hanoi's Noi Bai International airport. We can send the bike(s) on the train so actual riding starts from outside of Hanoi but this costs you extra and please send us an email to discuss.

We provide either full package guided tours or just bike rentals, nothing in between. We don't usually assist with timing and itinerary routing for self-guided tour customers as we ride on highways, back roads and shortcuts you can never see on maps. The experience from a guided tours is of course very different from a self-guided trips as our guide is 4 in 1: guide/mechanic/translator/road finder. Guided tours offer flexibility and a real/deep insight of Vietnam and cost much more than self-guided trips.

You may choose to stay anywhere in Hanoi but we recommend the Old Quarter. The Old Quarter is noisy and crowded but at least this is a typical Hanoi and it's close to our office. We can help with hotel room booking and air-port transfers. Our office is located at the foot of Chuong Duong bridge and this is a good starting point to ride out of Hanoi as we follow the dike road along the Red river with easier traffic than most of other roads. We will meet before or on the day of departure at our office to finalize payment and paperwork. We don't start from your hotel as bike(s) and riding gear are not easy to carry.

You should bring your own riding gear if you have as the size can be a problem. If you don't have any or don't want to carry them, you can rent from us.

We used to provide saddle bags on the bikes but discovered that it was too difficult to control the balance at the back and made it really dangerous to pass through many towns on the road due to traffic problems. Please pack things you need on the trip in a medium size bag and tie it at the back of the bike. You can see how the luggage racks look like here. If you request, we can provide a support truck for 120$US/day.

If you need a visa to Vietnam, we can assist with visa approval letter. You pay us the approval letter (20$US/person) and then you pay the border police (25$US) on arrival. Totally you pay 45$US, no more. This is only possible if you enter by air.

For North Vietnam where 90% of our rides take place, the best time is usually from September to January (cool and dry). From February to April is normally cold and wet. May to August is hot and Indian summer is in June, July and August.

For insurance, we have third party insurance for all of our bikes. However, you need to have a valid Vietnamese or International motorbike/motorcycle Driving License. In addition, this insurance only covers up to about 1,800$US per case and paperwork is a real headache. We'd prefer to say that there is no third party insurance.

When you pay a deposit to secure your booking, most banks double charge as most of them use a middle bank (over 80% of the transfers we received). If this is the case, don't worry about the short balance as we can settle this when we meet in Hanoi. You can transfer the money in your local currency, but make sure to ask your bank about the exchange rates. We prefer cash as "cash is king" in Vietnam, and we accept USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, CHF, EUR, HKD or SGD. If you don't want to travel with cash, you can just pay us all before you come to Vietnam with instructions here.

To save time on the day of departure, you can download the only paperwork that you fill in (the disclaimer form). Please print and fill in before you come to Vietnam and give it to us on the day we leave. There are two pages: page 1 and page 2. You can also download pdf version if fonts display correctly.

First-aid kit is very important and you should carry this with you on the ride and throughout your travel. We can't buy a quality kit in Vietnam.

Last but not least, please save or print the booking conditions here to make sure that we are all clear before we meet in Hanoi.