Vietnam Motorcycle Tours. Vietnam Motorbike Tours, Hanoi In Asia

WELCOME to the official home page of OFFROAD VIETNAM Motorbike Tour Operator! We are based right in the heart of the Old Quarter in Hanoi, the country's capital city, in North Vietnam. Run and owned by two Vietnamese motorcycle enthusiasts since December 2006, founder Anh Wu has been working in responsible tourism for the past 20 years and co-owner Minh Hoang had guided motorbike tours for 10 years and knows every corner of Vietnam. Unlike other operators, both of us have extensive understanding of our Honda bikes and work on the bikes ourselves. Office staff speaks very good English and is quick with email responses.

We take every detail seriously, considering like we are in your position. With us you have a choice from the widest range of motorcycle holidays in Vietnam. This also means our prices work with a very wide budget range depending on the type of bike and tour you book. Our goal is to offer the best quality of services and show YOU a REAL VIETNAM. Below are three different motorbike tour packages Offroad Vietnam offers, all run by the professional staff and guides.
1. Fully guided motorcycle adventures for riders who just pay everything in advance, leave everything behind to us and enjoy the trip. [More details...]
2. Semi-guided motorbike tours (bikes & a guide) through Vietnam. You have freedom of eating whatever you want, staying wherever you like and set your own pace. [More details...]
3. This will be your new adventure away from the norm, a journey rather than a trip! If you are on a budget and can handle anything thrown at you, consider an independent self-guided motorbike and scooter vacation (motorbike rentals). Offroad Vietnam provides basic and helpful information plus tips and advices, we are not just hiring the bikes. [More details...]

Offroad Vietnam services are highly recommended in the Lonely Planet Vietnam 2009 & 2012 as well as many international magazines, newspapers, travel books...about motorcycling in Asia. Please click here for more information. Let's roll, get it wild and ride snaking roads first hand!

Last but not least, we support local business and communities through guided and semi-guided motorcycle excursions by bringing groups to local finest restaurants, hotels and homestays. This contributes directly your Dollars to aid poor families, eating delicacies and hotels to improve life of local people in remote areas of Vietnam which few tourism activities exist. Come and give a supporting hand together with us.

GUIDED TOURS ON MOTORCYCLES AND 4WD (JEEP) VEHICLES. Asia is one of the most exciting places on earth for motorcycle touring and Vietnam is a wonderful place, one of a few Asian countries offering stunning landscape, high twisty mountain roads and friendly people. In Vietnam, our company offers many types of amazing on/off-road adventures on two wheels (motorcycles, motorbikes, moped scooters) 4x4 vehicles and anything that can go off road, off the beaten track or off the tourist trail. All tours start from Hanoi but can end anywhere in Vietnam. You pay us in one piece and enjoy the ride, there is no need to negotiate with bike repair, restaurants, killer traffic and a place to stay overnight.

Our motorbike rides are not categorized as extreme off-road holidays and Offroad Vietnam is simply our trade name. We ride on a variety of roads, both on and off road. Most of our tours are private and customized, but some are open for more riders to tag along, we don't run pre-scheduled trips. Our staff designed more than 150 different itineraries, and the route map is useful for you when deciding where to ride in Vietnam. Tours are designed by professional riders for foreign riders to experience a different Vietnam away from the mass tourism. With us you venture many places less travelled, less visited, unspoilt and not yet mentioned in guide books. Conquering the high twisty roads, hairpin turns and meeting real local people who welcome foreigners as special guests who bring good luck to their homes. Motorbiking is probably the best way to freedom as you can stop wherever and whenever you want. Feeling pot holes under your belt, meeting the kids, shaking hands and having a cup of green tea with local people in the roadside "cafes" offer The Real Vietnam. Windy mountain roads, lush green rice fields, historical Highway 6, Highway 4 and Dien Bien Phu battlefield, legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail/Road, Khe Sanh combat base, coastal Highway 1, foggy Sapa, cloudy Ha Giang, magnificent Ban Gioc waterfalls and picturesque Halong Bay are just a few typical places you will see and much more is waiting for you to discover. Riding on empty countryside and mountain roads is always a different feeling from the crowded roads in big cities. Speed limit in Vietnam is only 60km/h and we ride slower to firstly play it safe and secondly take in the stunning views. Away from big cities, people wave and say "hello" as you pass by. They will gather around you when you stop to welcome you, touch your skin and try to understand why you are so hairy as well as looking at the bikes because they hardly ever see one like this before.

Every trip to our guides is a new discovery and a chance to make more new friends and build up relationship which in the end is an added value to the whole trip. The tour leaders are all trained with mechanic repairs, they speak Vietnamese, English and some dialect languages. With them, you will see the best of Vietnam and have more new friends. They are the real assets of our company and have been leading motorbike travel for many years.

The most popular adventures we provide are guided motorcycle rides (over 500 tours and more than 2,000 customers). Offroad Vietnam is the first and original motorbike & motorcycle tour operator in North Vietnam offering voyages exclusively on Japanese Honda road and enduro motorcycles. We are a truly professional team, own all touring bikes and maintain them ourselves. We don't use rental bikes from any company. This is very important and we are different with most of the touring companies who use rental bikes and don't just specialize in motorbiking holidays. Below are bikes we provide on guided tours, all real touring motorbikes (click on a photo to enlarge).

To have more personal attention, we ride in small groups. No easy riders or motorcycle-taxi-driver ride is available, you ride your own bike or ride two up with your partner/friend. If you care about prices, we are not the cheapest but if you care about price/value balance then we are definitely the best (see more at review & feedback comment pages). As a way to say "thank you", repeat customers won't need to send a deposit for booking the next trip, a discount will be offered from your trip. A deposit is required for first time customers only and if you want to check out how trustworthy we are, contact these references, real people and straight forward experiences.

Please take a look at this page if you are interested in booking a guided motorbike tour in Vietnam, starting from Hanoi with us.

Below are some typical motorcycling itineraries:

Ha Giang & North-East scenic motorcycle adventures (8-11 days)
(Hanoi - Nghia Lo - Than Uyen - Sapa - Bac Ha - Ha Giang - Dong Van - Bao Lac - Cao Bang - Quang Uyen - Lang Son - Hanoi)

Northwest motorcycle tours (10 days)
(Hanoi - Mai Chau - Phu Yen - Son La - Tuan Giao - Lai Chau or Sin Ho - Sapa - Bac Ha or Luc Yen - Vu Linh - Hanoi)

Northeast motorcycle holidays (7 days)
(Hanoi - Vu Linh - Na Khan - Ba Be - Cao Bang - Quang Uyen - Lang Son or Mau Son - Hanoi)

Northcentre (middle roads) motorcycle rides (5 days)
(Hanoi - Mai Chau or Moc Chau - Phu Yen - Vu Linh or Luc Yen - Hanoi)

Big North motorcycle vacations (16 days)
(Hanoi - Mai Chau - Phu Yen - Son La - Tuan Giao - Than Uyen - Sapa - Bac Ha - Xin Man - Ha Giang - Dong Van - Bao Lac - Cao Bang - Quang Uyen - Lang Son Lang Son - Hanoi)

Ho Chi Minh Trail/Road motorcycle journeys (9-16 days)
(Hanoi - Phu Yen - Mai Chau - Tan Ky - Phong Nha - Dong Hoi - Khe Sanh - Hue - Hoi An - Kon Tum - Buon Ma Thuot - Nha Trang - Da Lat - Cat Tien - Saigon)

One day motorbike tours (1 day)
(Tho Ha, Bat Trang, Dong Ho, Van Phuc, But Thap, Dau, Thay, Tay Phuong, Perfume Pagoda, Hoa Lu and Tam Coc, Hoa Binh, Ba Vi, Duong Lam and Dong Mo)

Women only scooter holidays (?? days)

Custom motorcycle expeditions (?? days)
...want to watch sample videos by our clients on their trips, from their helmet cameras? Enjoy!

SEMI-GUIDED MOTORBIKE ADVENTURES. A new type of tour from Offroad Vietnam provided in early 2013. This offers more flexibility and makes it easier for the most important jobs. It is an adventure for those who want to customize things as you ride. You simply hire bike(s) plus a guide, other things will be done by yourself. The guide takes care of the daily bike works and repairs, leads the group and finds out the best road(s), helps to communicate with local people and makes sure you don't have to ride in the dark. You pay food, drinks, tickets and hotel rooms. Your guide is really an added value to your trip as he knows the bikes, routes and speaks the local language and is fluent in English. Just send us your travel plan, ideas and expectations and we will let you know what we could do. We are open to any suggestion or discussion to make your trip one of the best adventure you've ever had.

Please log on this page if you are interested in booking a semi-guided motorcycle tour in Vietnam, starting from Hanoi with us.

SELF-GUIDED MOTORBIKE TOURS (BIKE RENTALS IN HANOI). If you love motorbiking with a sense for fun and an unguided adventure on your own, you have come to the right place. Enduro bikes, motorcycles and riding gear are available for independent (self-guided) riders to hire on daily basis. They are in good working conditions. All rentals should be reserved and paid with a deposit before you pick up the bike(s). We have not offered one-way rentals or guide hire yet. Many clients asked if we could deliver or collect bike(s) in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City - HCMC) and rode the same route like "Top Gear Vietnam Special" show and sadly the answer is "no". All rentals start and end in Hanoi where our only office is located. Free advice and tips are available when you pick up the bike(s) from our Hanoi office. We share our passion for this truly amazing country and getting lost is also part of an adventure. Even a flat tyre/tire will give you a chance to have many more new friends and some clients were sad because they had no puncture!

Since December 2006, Offroad Vietnam have helped with over 200 self guided trips (about 600 riders). They all saw what they planned to explore and most had it beyond their expectations. Check out their words about our services, these are just a few customers who sent their thoughts while many customers posted their trip reports on riders' forums across the Internet.

More things you may need to know about hiring our motorbike(s) in Hanoi and preparing your Vietnam unguided motorbike tour.

MOTORBIKE & SCOOTER RENTALS. Moped scooters and fully automatic scooters are only available for expats working in Hanoi on monthly basis with limited mileage of 1,500km/month. These Honda scooters are new or near-new (usually less than 20,000km odo and most importantly no crap bikes), good for riding in the cities only, not comfortable for long distance touring. Below are some models we hire (click on a photo takes you to a rental page).

USED MOTORCYCLES FOR SALE. If the above are not what you are after, and you really want something for your own? Offroad Vietnam has some second-hand bikes, all genuine Japanese Honda and no Chinese copycat or noisy metal piece. A real Honda costs much more than a Chinese or Russian bike. We are more concerned with performance, safety and comfort when you ride. Your insurance, in most cases, are not valid in Vietnam. Therefore, get a good bike and flow with the traffic. Over 50 bikes were sold to independent riders and all had good feedback after a long trip from Hanoi down to Ho Chi Minh City, into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and even one made it to Indonesia, the home country of Honda GL160.

Honda is the most popular brand in Vietnam, Vietnamese people refer Honda as motorbike by default. In fact, they are the most reliable motorbike on the road, you can simply look at the traffic lights and at least 70% of bikes is Honda. There is a variety of makes and models, some date back to the 1960's. Most of Hondas in Vietnam are step through mopeds or automatic scooters. Manual clutch bikes are hard to find and are usually in poor conditions. Road bikes come with low handle bars so if you are over 1.7m, you can get a number of aches and pains when riding for a few hours. Raised handle bars offer a solution but then the steering is not so good. Dirt/trail bikes are the best but they are very very hard to find and at a much higher cost. Buying a Honda would be the safest bet because many mechanics have parts and knowledge on these bikes and it is not prone to break down. To see current bikes for sale from Offroad Vietnam, please click here.

OPTIONAL ADD-ONS. Apart from the main motorbike and 4WD tours and rentals, we also assist in getting some add-on services. We recommend great hotels of highly experienced English speaking and very helpful reception and honest drivers who don't cheat you. A pre-approved visa letter enable you to get a visa on arrival (by air only) and save you time and money. You simply fly to Hanoi, have a total freedom of mind and leave everything with us to take care of. Below are just some most popular services our customers usually request, if you have any special inquiry just let us know. We will be able to help you out with anything and even refer you to other places if our staff can't help out.

1. Insurance: Purchasing a normal personal medical insurance for tourist is easy and inexpensive in Vietnam. BaoViet - Vietnam National Insurance Company - is selling BaoViet Medicare Travel Plan from mid-2008 and we can help you to buy their plan with details here. Like most other companies, BaoViet won't issue a policy to riders who don't have a valid Vietnam motorcycle driving license. Some Australian riders suggested CHI Insurance and/or Alianz and said this company didn't require a Vietnamese driving license and covered larger displacements. If you want to buy a comprehensive motorcycle tour insurance policy from a foreign company, here are some more handy links:
- Motorcycle insurance company Carole Nash offers a variety of policies to insure your motorbike with a lot of benefits available, you could even get 10% off with advanced riding qualifications.
- Compare UK bike insurance.

2. Hotel rooms and transfers in Hanoi: We work with only two hotels who are very close to our office. They are friendly and honest. Airport transfers can also be arranged. For more details, please click here.

3. Vietnam visa: We would recommend that you check on your countries visa requirements and if required. Apply for a visa in your country of residence before your arrival in Vietnam. You may however be able to get it at Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh airport, but not possible if you arrive by land. The customs will show you a travel agent at the airport who then "sells" you a visa for around 200$US! You need 4 passport photos or you can have them for two USD. The whole process takes 45 minutes. Since January 2008, we have been providing visa approval letter service (20$US/person for the letter). All you have to do are send us some information, wait to receive the letter (usually after three working days), print it and show the copy of this letter to get the visa stamp on arrival at one of Vietnam's three international airports in Hanoi, Danang or Ho Chi Minh City (45$US USD/person for the stamp). This is for a normal 30 days tourist visa.

HANDY LINKS. If you still couldn't find what you are looking for, please use sitemap. Some links below can also be helpful:

- FAQs
- Tours with places still available Blinking update for motorcycle voyage in Vietnam

Blinking update for motorcycle voyage in Vietnam

- Customers' reviews & comments about adventures with Offroad Vietnam on two wheels
- Magazines & guide books featuring Offroad Vietnam motorcycle tours
- Adventure travel articles

You come this far but still have specific questions, feel free to contact us for more details. Alternatively, drop by our office and have a chat or share your experiences with us or simply have a look at our daily repair works.