Motorbike and motorcycle tours adventures in Vietnam
 

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Big North Vietnam Motorbike Travel, Motorcycle Excursion Reviews
Here are comments and reviews from our customers about motorcycling Northern Vietnam (big loop). Please click on the links to learn more.

We would be grateful if you can forward your comments to Lonely Planet Guide book at
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  • Ms Linda Parker | ~2,300 km | 14 days Honda GL160 pillion passenger
  • Mr Ben Wheble | ~2,300 km | 14 days Honda GL160
  • Mr & Mrs Randall & Elizabeth Haines | ~2,000 km | 12 days Honda GL160
  • Mr Noel Farrey | ~2,300 km | 15 days Honda Baja 250cc
  • Mr Nicolas Gamache | ~2,300 km | 15 days Honda XL 125cc
  • Mr Martin Lavigne | ~2,300 km | 15 days Honda XL 125cc
  • Mr Claude Cote | ~2,300 km | 15 days Honda XL 125cc
  • Mr Real Baillargeon | ~2,300 km | 15 days Honda XL 125cc
  • Mr Philippe Hardy | ~2,100 km | 16 days Honda GL160
  • The Noble family | ~1,800 km | 10 days Honda GL160
  • Mr Vinny Holt | ~1,600 km | 10 days Honda GL160
  • Mr William Millar | ~1,600 km | 10 days Honda GL160
  • Ms Solyssa Visalli | ~2,000 km | 11 days Honda GL160
  • Mr Dave Walter Flooks | ~2,000 km | 11 days Honda GL160
  • Mr Dario Favi & Ms Manuela Tomasello | ~2,000 km | 11 days Honda GL160
  • Mr Ron Coslick | ~2,000 km | 14 days Honda GL160
  • Mr Joseph Au | ~2,000 km | 14 days Honda GL160

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    Ms Linda Parker (England)Ms Linda Parker (14 days Big North Vietnam ride, ~2,300 km)

    In all a very good insight into Northern Vietnam, the culture, the cuisine and a good guide.

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Maybe a 2 night stop half way on 14 day tour for chance to do laundry.

    - Transportation: Good. Comfortable for myself as pillion passenger.

    - Accommodation: Most accomodation of good standard.

    - Food: Excellent. A good insight into Vietnamese cuisine.

    - The organization - Guide services: A very well organised tour guide. Answered all our questions, explained our routes, always went out of his way to be helpful. To sum him up 5 star!

    - The price: Good value.

    - How did you know about us? Internet.

    Full name: Linda Parker
    Address: Preston, U.K.

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    Mr Ben Wheble (England)Mr Ben Wheble (14 days Big North Vietnam ride, ~2,300 km)

    A great tour & experience. First class guide.

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: About right.

    - Transportation: Suitable for the conditions.

    - Accommodation: Good.

    - Food: A varied choice with many examples of regional specialities - excellent.

    - The organization - Guide services: Khanh - first class.

    - The price: Value for money.

    - How did you know about us? Internet.

    Full name: Ben Wheble
    Address: Preston, U.K.

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    Mr & Mrs Randall & Elizabeth Haines (12 days Big North Vietnam venture + Halong Bay, ~2,000 km)

    Vietnam and its people are wonderful. The roads varied from smooth tar seal to dirt & mud. Even with all the Internet photos I saw before coming over, the reality is so much more beautiful & exciting.

    Well done Offroad Vietnam!!


    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Our 12 day tour was what we had asked for. The tempo was perfect, with some short days & some long days. Plenty of stops with drinks, lunch & resting. We could stop anytime for photos.

    - Transportation: Our motorcycle, the Honda 160s simply amazed us. They took us, our gear, water etc. with ease. No breakdown or flats & we travelled some exciting roads. Quynh, our, our guide, kept the bikes in good condition with daily maintenance.

    - Accommodation: A combination of home stays and hotels was perfect. Hotels were all good, even had air-con. Home stays are the most rewarding way to meet the local people. All our hosts were very kind and fun to stay with.

    - Food: Too much - too good! We had a huge variety of food. Tried different things for many meals. Spring rolls rule!

    - The organization - Guide services: Right from our first contact from N.Z. we had great information supplied. The way we were treated from the beginning continued for the whole trip. Anh Wu did a perfect job for us.

    Our guide, Quynh, quickly became our friend and it was because of his care that we had such a good time.


    - The price: Good value. Everything was as it was said to be. No one skimped on anything. Bikes were great with no problems. The scenery was worth a million Dollars.

    - How did you know about us? Searching Internet.

    Full name: Randall & Elizabeth Haines
    Address: NEW ZEALAND.

    Read Mr Randall Haines
    email recommendation to Lonely Planet publication.

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    Mr Noel Farrey (England)Mr Noel Farrey (15 days Big North Vietnam venture, ~2,300 km)

    The Internet is very important to travellers and this is sometimes hard to find, or not working at all - frustrating.

    The Vietnamese people are fantastically friendly, especially in the countryside - my arm is sore from waving!


    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The speed and tempo of the tour was good - roads were very variable, sometimes very rough but good fun. The landscapes, especially in the North East mountains were amazing. Quynh set a good pace and made sure we all stayed on the right road at the junctions. Stops for breaks or drinks were regular.

    - Transportation: I've been on several similar tours - in India and in Africa - and felt the bike weren't as well prepared as they could be. My Honda Baja 250cc had electrical problems, an oil leak and couldn't find neutral. Size of bike was fine. Quynh did a good job keeping the bikes running.

    - Accommodation: The three homestays were very interesting and the people were very kind and welcoming. Interestingly, the countryside at night is much noisier than London, where I live! It was fascinating to experience how different hill-tribes live.

    - Food: I don't eat meat, so sometimes it was difficult to eat everything, but Quynh always tried to order food for me. The vegetables and fruit we did have were very good, but I got a little bored with plain boiled rice.

    - The organization - Guide services: We asked Quynh for a change to the end part of our tour - he reorganised things very well to accommodate us. 24-hour tour guide/mechanic/translator is a tough job, but Quynh handled everything very well.

    - The price: The tour cost compares very well with other tours I've done - even though the UK pound has dropped recently. Once you're in Vietnam, it is very cheap.

    - How did you know about us? Web search.

    Full name: Noel Farrey
    Address: London, ENGLAND.

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    Mr Nicolas Gamache (Canada)Mr Nicolas Gamache (15 days Big North Vietnam venture, ~2,300 km)

    Eastern part of the North Vietnam is very must to see!! No tourist at all and incredible scenery.

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The duration of a motorcycle day depends on the weather, but it should be between 150km to 200km. Big North Vietnam can be done in ~10 days instead of 14 days.

    - Transportation: Honda XL 125cc leaks of proper maitenance prior to the tour but still more reliable than Minsks. Our guide, Quynh was really doing what he can to keep customers happy with their bikes.

    - Accommodation: Some highs and some lows that make the tour very different. Home stays in Mai Chau is very great as the hotel in Cao Bang. Home stay in Ha Giang is not very appropriate but the people were fine over there.

    - Food: Lots and losts of food on the table. Vietnamese food id simple but very tasty. Quynh always try to order food that will please the customers.

    - The organization - Guide services: Excellent, Quynh is a bit shy and make us laugh all the time. He always try to do his best to satisfy clients. He need more mechanic skills but he will learn from experience.

    - The price: Affordable.

    - How did you know about us? Internet.

    Full name: Nicolas Gamache
    Address: Quebec, CANADA.

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    Mr Martin Lavigne (Canada)Mr Martin Lavigne (15 days Big North Vietnam voyage, ~2,300 km)

    Quynh make 60% of the trip. By myself, keeping him in your company is a great opportunity of business.

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Everything was ok, if we slow down he always wait for us, as so if the road split he always make sure that everyone follows the right direction.

    - Transportation: Motorcycle was fine, we make all the trip, motorcycle needs a little tune up, but the guide was a great was a great trouble fixer.

    - Accommodation: I just love the home stay, we have three. It was really nice to have a contact more closer and have contact with the local people, know how they live, what they eat, the hotel was really fine too.

    - Food: I love Vietnamese food, it was great.

    - The organization - Guide services: Quynh was really great. I never had a good guide like him, he want us to enjoy Vietnam, and we did. He was always with us and he make the difference, he's always happy, it's fun having a trip with a kind person like him.

    - The price: Was just fine.

    - How did you know about us? Internet.

    Full name: Martin Lavigne
    Address: Quebec, CANADA.

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    Mr Claude Cote (Canada)Mr Claude Cote (15 days Big North Vietnam ride, ~2,300 km)

    The guide (Quynh) is all we need to have a wonderful tour. He is a good mechanic man, a pleasant person, fun and brilliant guy. He speak well English. I recommend this guide for other tours.

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The tempo is ok around, 130 to 150km a day is perfect, gives us time to relax and look around.

    - Transportation: The bikes are good, but need a little tune-up sometime hard to start, and some other time it stopped for no reason (carburetor?).

    - Accommodation: Home stays are very nice and very fun to get to know people in their house. Hotels were very nice also, clean and comfortable.

    - Food: Plenty food, we all get bigger.

    - The organization - Guide services: Very good service from Offroad (Anh Wu). We could modify the tour to accommodate us.

    - The price: The price is not too high from all we got. We are very satisfied with that price.

    - How did you know about us? Find it from Internet.

    Full name: Claude Cote
    Address: Quebec, CANADA.

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    Mr Real Baillargeon (Canada)Mr Real Baillargeon (15 days Big North Vietnam ride, ~2,300 km)

    The peoples Vietnamiens are wonderful. I never forget you.

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Very correct, we stop on good spots, nice scenery road.

    - Transportation: She hold a little bit, but in good shape.

    - Accommodation: Super. Very nice hotel. Home stay is very beautiful.

    - Food: Excellent, much variete.

    - The organization - Guide services: It is the better guide I never had. I recommended Quynh at anytime.

    - The price: Correct.

    - How did you know about us? Internet.

    Full name: Real Baillargeon
    Address: Quebec, CANADA.

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    Mr Philippe Hardy (Belgium)Mr Philippe Hardy (16 days North West and Halong Bay tour, ~2,100 km)

    Everything considered very good trip, well organised.

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: On average the tempo of the tour was good. Sometimes the riding was not very long so we would arrive quite early at destinations, with not much else to do. Maybe spend more time on sights along the route. (Maybe with a bigger group the riding takes longer).

    - Transportation: Good bike, maybe a bit underpowered for a big western rider, especially in the mountains.

    - Accommodation: On average quite, especially the homestays very nice.

    - Food: No complaints. Some places for lunch only so-so, but overall pretty good, especially the homestays.

    - The organization - Guide services: Long good guy, no complaints. Maybe give a little more explanation about sights, culture etc.

    - The price: Not cheap, but since only one customer understandable.

    - How did you know about us? Internet.

    Full name: Philippe Hardy
    Address: 3700 Tongeren, BELGIUM.

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    Mr Peter Noble, Mrs Mandy Noble, Ms Phoebe Noble, Mr David Noble and Ms Mitchell Noble (Australia)The Nobles (10 days North West and Halong Bay tour, ~1,800 km)

    Really enjoyed going to Quynh and Minh's parents' homes. That was a really nice touch to the tour.

    Meet international standards with full face helmets. Correspondence prior to trip was prompt.

    Quynh and Minh are great tour guides and ambassadors for Offroad Vietnam.

    Tour guides should have more distinctively colored helmet/dear (jacket) to ensure that the customers/clients can always see him in a crowd of bikes.


    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Tempo was perfect, plenty of opportunity to take photos, total km's per day was very reasonable. It suited all of our riding abilities.

    Stopovers were well placed and in interesting locations.


    - Transportation: Honda 160s - The type of motorcycles was ideal, however they had been poorly maintained prior to departure. For example: front brakes not functioning properly (most bikes), fork seals need replacing (1 bike), fork topping/bottoming out, instrument panels on most bikes faulty, bike wouldn't idle (2 out of 5 bikes), one bike didn't change out 1st gear well.

    - Accommodation: Homestays were fantastic. Hotels were good, above expectation in some cases.

    - Food: Food and company at homestays was exceptional. Quality and variety was superb. Very flexible menus. Sometimes there was more food than we could eat!

    - The organization - Guide services: Itinerary was perfect for our family.

    Guide services far exceeded our expectations.

    When a breakdown occurred, our guide (Quynh) and host family (Mr Tam) handled the situation very professionally and ensured that there was minimal impact to us. They really took care of us.

    The guides enriched our experience with their knowledge of the areas we travelled to, and people. Their local knowledge of areas off the beaten tourist track made our experience extraordinary.


    - The price: Excellent value for money.

    - How did you know about us? Website - Motorcycling Australia. Checked testimonials.

    Full name: Peter Noble, Mandy Noble, Phoebe Noble, David Noble and Mitchell Noble
    Address: NSW, AUSTRALIA.

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    Mr Vincent Holt (England)Mr Vinny Holt (10 days Ha Giang and ethnic hilltribe tour, ~1,600 km)

    All in all an intriguing, memorable and very revealing tour - I've been to See hill-tribes at Sapa previously and wanted to see more of their life away from the tourist areas and I wasn't disappointed. This trip gave me the insight I wanted and astounding views as well. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to see the more authentic side of hilltribe life. Dong Van Sunday Market was a riot of colour and a real treat for all the senses - if you are into hill-tribes - not to be missed!

    All in all a fantastic experience, not a bed of roses though, with some rough roads, choking dusty roads, noisy nights in the wild and no two nights in the same bed - however, the rewards of the trip outway any discomfort ten times over.


    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: We decided to do 3 long first days which was tiring, but gave us more time in the mountains to see, enjoy and relax in the smaller towns. I wouldn't attempt to do this route in any less than 8 days minimum.

    - Transportation: Honda 160s - I'm 6ft and ride a tall bike Triumph 955i Tiger, so I felt I was on a clowns bike at first. However be under no illusion, these bikes are built for this terrain and the punishment they took, on and off road was astounding. Not a single fault with my bike although others in the party had a couple of punctures. Minh, the guide could patch up any problem with the bikes and was up before us each day checking, oiling an fueling up.

    - Accommodation: Don't expect any luxury on this trip and you will be fine - some of the homestays were amazing, others were very basic, they all did their best to make you comfortable but take ear plugs for the homestays to block out the frogs, crickets, and cockerels that can't tell the bloody time! Everywhere you were received with utmost hospitality and lots of rice wine!

    - Food: Food always good, plenty and hot - no stomach problems at all - chicken can be tough - but I'm told they run around a lot in the mountains!

    - The organization - Guide services: Our Guide Minh - was great company, with only one, or ten in the group, you will be attentively looked after. If you want to change the itinerary at anytime, he will work out alternatives to suit your every needs and wishes.

    - The price: Good value!

    - How did you know about us? I googled motorbike hire tours Hanoi.

    Full name: Vincent Holt
    Address: Manchester, ENGLAND.

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    Mr William Millar (Ireland)Mr William Millar (10 days Ha Giang and ethnic hilltribe tour, ~1,600 km)

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The first couple of days were quite long, largely due to unforeseen stoppages. The rest of the trip the tempo was fine with a couple of easy days when they were needed.

    - Transportation: The Honda XR 250 I had initially broke down on the first afternoon. But the Offroad Vietnam did manage to organise a Honda GL160 bike for the rest of the trip which was arguably better suited to the conditions anyway. Although the suspension was a little primitive and did nothing for my own undercarriage.

    - Accommodation: Hotels and guest houses we stayed at were generally nice, basic but clean. The first two home stays were great experiences and the families very welcoming. The last home stay was well below the standard of the first two.

    - Food: The food was generally very good with some restaurants better than others. The 'civet' in Meo Vac was unforgettable.

    - The organization - Guide services: Minh the guide was very good. Endlessly good humoured and seemingly tireless.

    - The price: Good value!

    - How did you know about us? Internet search.

    Full name: William Millar
    Address: Shanghai, CHINA.

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    Ms Solyssa Visalli (U.S.A.)Ms Solyssa Visalli (11 days The Great North Loop, ~2,000 km)

    Loved it all all. Thank you!

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: I thought the trip was at a good pace with plenty of breaks. There were a couple of long breaks but I was happy to see such a large area.

    - Transportation: Rode pillion.

    - Accommodation: Loved the homestays - they were very comfortable and the people were friendly. All the hotels were fine except one which was not as nice.

    - Food: All the food was great and plenty of it. Usually way too much food actually!

    - The organization - Guide services: Our guide, Hung (called himself Don Molie Hung :), was excellent - could not have asked for a better guide. He was very thoughtful and conscientious, incredibly hard-working, well organized and had a great sense of humor.

    - The price: Worth the price.

    - How did you know about us? Found you online.

    Full name: Solyssa Visalli
    Address: U.S.A.

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    Mr Dave Walter Flooks (England)Mr Dave Walter Flooks (11 days The Great North Loop, ~2,000 km)

    Would I do it again? Oh yes, but not in the rainy months! You need to remember the clothing sizes are very different and if on the well proportioned size like me, take your own kit. Oh and check the weather as it does rain in Vietnam and you need your own for this.

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: The tempo of the ride and the stop overs where very well planned as they allowed you time to see the countryside and the people and to get off the bike and meet them up close.

    - Transportation: The bikes (Honda 160cc's) where very resilient considering the condition of some of the roads they had to negotiate. The speed was compatible to the tempo of the tour with enough zip when the boring (or rainy) bits came along.

    - Accommodation: The homestays where excellent and really allowed you to meet the people and understand their lives. The hotels varied from excellent to, well very poor but luckily only the once.

    - Food: The food was excellent 99% of the time and Hung (the guide) found some superb places to eat. I never knew vegetables could taste so good.

    - The organization - Guide services: The company will miss the services of Hung, (change of career) he was a superb and very knowledgable. His enthusiasm and knowledge of his country was so infectious and informative.

    - The price: The price was well worth the trip and the fact it was all inclusive took the worry out of the trip. Especially in view of the remote places we visited.

    - How did you know about us? Internet search.

    Full name: Dave Walter Flooks
    Address: 29 Ferguson Road, Liverpool, U.K.

    Read Dave's email to Lonely Planet.

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    Mr Dario Favi and Ms Manuela Tomasello (Italy)Mr Dario Favi and Ms Manuela Tomasello (11 days The Great North Loop, ~2,000 km)

    Great experience, specially recommended in order to see everyday people's lives. Dong Van, Meo Vac, SUPER!

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Fine basically, in order to complete the area in no rushing days. 10-11 days recommended.

    - Transportation: Motorbike is enough for 2 up travelling in dual sport mood, no complaint.

    - Accommodation: Very nice homestays, basic hotels. Homestays recommended.

    - Food: Always good and enough, sometimes better in homestays.

    - The organization - Guide services: Guide guy (Hung) has been plain perfect, helping and careful, no more to be asked. Hung is a fantastic guide!!!

    - The price: No complaint.

    - How did you hear about us? I googled "motorcycle rental vietnam" and the Offroad Vietnam web site was at the top of the list.

    - How did you know about us? NET.

    Full name: Dario Favi and Manuela Tomasello
    Address: ITALY

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    Mr Ron Coslick (U.S.A.)Mr Ron Coslick (14 days The Great North Loop, ~2,000 km)

    My two week motorcycle trip in Vietnam was one of the best travel adventures of my life. I loved the country and the people and would have happily spent many more weeks riding through the country. The Big North + Ha Long Bay loop was a great ride. However, future travelers should understand that this particular route reflects a choice to leave the north near the end of the trip in order to get to the coast to see Ha Long bay. While Ha Long bay is a natural wonder of amazing beauty, the route from the central north to the coast is not as beautiful as the other parts of the trip. For me, I really preferred the remote interior parts of the country where people continue to live in their traditional ways, and as you get toward the coast the county becomes more developed and less interesting in that sense. So if you are deciding between itineraries, keep this point in mind.

    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Tempo of the tour was good. We rode on 13 of the 14 days during the tour. It sounds like a lot but it's really not. The riding itself is a lot of fun because of the curvy, hilly roads, and the people, animals, villages and other sights along the way keep things interesting. And some of the best parts of the tour are the unexpected encounters that happen at the stops that you make along the way. I would have happily kept going for weeks more. The amount of riding each day was also good. Some days we rode for most of the day, but we took breaks whenever we needed, usually every hour, and with one exception we arrived at our destinations at mid-afternoon, with lots of time to clean up and have a beer before dinner. The riding was never uncomfortable. There are some challenging sections of dirt or gravel roads, and some sections are dusty, but that's part of the variety that keeps things interesting.

    - Transportation: We used the Honda 160cc bikes (upgraded to ~200cc). They're comfortable and have enough power to handle the occasional steep claims as well as to pass other traffic in any situation. The bikes held up well during the trip - a few routine things needed to be addressed during the two week trip, but our guide had the necessary tools and some spare parts. A flat tire and a cracked fender were easily dealt with in towns along the ride, and those stops were part of the fun.

    - Accommodation: Most of our nights were spent in small hotels, and a few were home stays. The hotels were varied but each had an acceptable minimum of an in-room bathroom with hot water and a toilet. Beds were always simple but comfortable, with warm covers that were more than adequate for the cold nights. We had electricity everywhere that we stayed. The home stays are by far the best accommodations, because you get to share the living space of a local person and have a meal with them in their home. The contact that you have with people in Vietnam is the most rewarding part of the experience and home stays are a big part of that, and I recommend doing as many home stays as possible. The facilities at the home stays are less than at the hotels - they're open buildings that let in the outside air and noise, sometimes with outdoor bathrooms, and sometimes with hot water from a large pot boiled over a fire. But I always felt that the facilities were sufficient to clean up and be comfortable.

    - Food: The food for the most part was excellent. Nearly every meal had lots of plates of different delicious foods in large amounts. We tried dozens of different dishes during our two weeks. There's nothing like having a big tasty meal and a dozen little glasses of rice wine after a day on the road. Although there were a few meals that were of notably lesser quality than the rest (some in places that were obviously geared toward tourists in Sapa and Ha Long, one in a place where the tour hadn't gone before so we just had to pick something along the road) the food was generally very good, with some meals being just unbelievably enjoyable.

    One note - food hygiene will be an issue for Westerners. You will encounter bugs that your body is not familiar with and they may cause some upset to your digestion. Our guide was very proactive at every meal about washing our bowls and chop sticks in clean boiled water before we ate, which was very helpful, and we avoided raw fruits and vegetables unless they were peeled. In my case, by the end of the first week on the road I was beginning to feel mild effects, and decided to start taking the antibiotics that I had obtained prior to the trip (Cipro). This took care of the symptoms and I had no further effects during the remaining week of the trip.


    - The organization - Guide services: Offroad Vietnam can be relied upon to provide a quality travel experience. Prior to the trip we exchanged many emails with Anh Wu, and he always responded promptly and answered our questions to our satisfaction. The web site is very professional and is a reflection of the quality of the organization. The trip was everything that was promised and more.

    Our guide Minh was really great - attentive, knowledgeable, and eager to make sure that we were enjoying our trip. He had a lot of information to share about the places we saw along the way. He also took a lot of initiative to talk to people along the way and facilitate the spontaneous encounters along the road that are so much fun. We spoke to lots of children who were curious about us (that happens everywhere and is a lot of fun), we visited a school where women from the village were learning traditional dances, we had toasts with restaurant owners and their families, and one old women even let us plow her rice field with her buffalo! Minh was up early every morning checking the bikes, washing and fueling them, and calling ahead to all the hotels and home stays to let them know we were on our way. He's also a good photographer! Give him the camera, he'll get lots of good pictures for you. And make sure he brings his guitar. It's tough spending two weeks on the road with a couple of strangers but Minh was up to the task and was a good guy to travel with.


    - The price: Vietnam is inexpensive compared to Western countries. We paid $80US per day per person for a 14 day trip. That covers bikes, fuel, hotels, meals, and any tickets or entrance fees. Compare that to costs of $600US per day for a three day all-included guided motorcycle trip that I saw recently in California, and you see that these prices are very low.

    The only thing you will pay for is drinks (bottled water, beer) and things that you buy for yourself along the way. Those costs will be very low. For example, $0.75US for a one liter beer or bottle of water. During our two weeks on the road, my buddy and I together spent only about $75US total for incidentals (that was almost entirely for drinks, we bought few other things).


    - How did you hear about us? I googled "motorcycle rental vietnam" and the Offroad Vietnam web site was at the top of the list.

    Full name: Ron Coslick
    Address: California, U.S.A.

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    Mr Joseph Au (U.S.A.)Mr Joseph Au (14 days The Great North Happy Time Loop, ~2,000 km)

    1. Hygiene is one thing. The toilet in some guest-houses can be cleaner without costing the hosts more money.
    2. Should have advised customers about bringing goggles and mouth-guard/handkerchief due to dust. In fact, I would suggest Offroad to provide at least that mouth-guard, it costs a dollar or two, and customers would be happier. Also recommend customers to bring their own contact lens solution and perhaps extra eye drops due to pollution.
    3. Although this kind of trips is not for everyone, I would recommend anyone to do it. The experience we had in two weeks in only a part of one country comes close to what I have seen on videos or read about of those who have traveled around the world for months.


    - Tempo of the tour and the stop-over: Perfect, although we chose to have an extra day for rest. I do notice a couple stop-overs after Thac Be lake are less interesting than the rest, but I think it's because we have a different route from the planned.

    - Transportation: Hondas work fine with a few minor problems: brake and idling. Minh can fix everything with unconventional methods.

    - Accommodation: All good. But a couple of guest houses can do a better job in cleaning the bathroom/toilet area. Sleeping + dining areas are all fine.

    - Food: Great. Love it. However, I do not fancy those restaurant places where people just throw bones and used napkins on the floor even though they claim their dogs and cats would clean. The restaurant just looks really unappealing when we arrive, although I understand that it is a cultural thing especially in the village areas.

    - The organization - Guide services: Minh is awesome, attentive to our needs, takes care of bikes and hygiene issues, and give us plenty of info before each ride. Great getting along. The only minor thing Minh doesn't drink as much rice wine as us and the hosts. But then we would rather have him in good shape for every ride.

    - The price: Reasonable. We thought about hiring bikes and driving by ourselves without a guide. Then we thought after a long day of riding, last thing we wanted was to search for restaurants to eat or a place to stay, let alone the language difficulties. The price we pay is partially for this organization convenience, we follow the guide, we eat, we sleep, and we enjoy the trip. Plus, the translation by the guide really adds a lot of value in terms of communicating with locals along the way.

    - How did you hear about us? Google, after we types 'Motorcycle Vietnam'. We also felt comfortable with the details of the website, the speed and content of the response to each of our questions, and the fact that they offered us to contact with one of their past customers for opinions. This builds significant trust given the far distance.

    Full name: Joseph Au
    Address: GERMANY.

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