Vietnam North Highlights 10 Days

Rental motorcycle

During this trip, you will ride a Kawasaki KLX 150cc. Should you prefer a  Honda XR 250cc motorcycle then this is possible at an additional cost (see price-dates), please indicate this when registering. The 250cc are limited in availability.

Travel Guidance

This trip is accompanied in small groups by our local guide cq mechanic. This person has been a mechanic on our Vietnam tours for 12 years. He knows all the routes, hotels, restaurants and speaks good English.
A Dutch Motortrails trip leader is present for larger groups. Details can be found on the Pricing page.

Visa

A visa is required to travel to vietnam. You will receive more information about this when you book

Driving License

In Vietnam, since January 1, 2016, you can officially drive a motorcycle with an international driving license. The Dutch driving license is not valid in Vietnam without an IRB (international driving license). IRB model 1968 is accepted.

off Road

Only a small portion of the trip will be on unpaved roads and or trails. In the current schedule, these are two or three days. These sections are not very difficult and very doable without any off road experience or off road training beforehand. However in worse weather than anticipated, these off road days in particular can be difficult.

Follow car

During this trip, a follow car will ride along starting from 6 participants. This will be driven by our local regular driver and in this car a local mechanic will ride along. The follow car will transport luggage, parts and tools. In the follow car there is room for any pillion passengers who do not want to or cannot ride in the back.

Clothing

Required are a helmet motorcycle jacket with protection hand-shoes a good sturdy (motorcycle) pants with protection or with loose knee protection and sturdy high (mountain) shoes. Especially in spring and autumn it can be very hot in the lower parts of the trip. A summer motorcycle jacket with protection is therefore recommended. On colder parts in the mountains you can then wear extra clothing under your jacket if necessary. Furthermore, good sunglasses are useful and a helmet with visor that protects from the dust. The rainy season in northern Vietnam is from June to the end of August. We plan our trips before or after this. Still, the weather can ignore all forecasts you should therefore take into account a possible rain shower on all trips. Finally, in December and January it can get quite cold in the mountains it is advisable to bring warm motorcycle clothing.

Heavy travel

During this trip through northern Vietnam, we will not ride at high altitudes or through extremely desolate areas. We ride light motorcycles which make the trip very accessible to even riders who have never done an adventure motorcycle trip before. The daily distances are not long so there is plenty of time and opportunity to stop along the way to take pictures or visit villages. Difficult, however, can be participating in the extremely busy traffic in and around Hanoi. You should also keep in mind that on the main roads that we avoid as much as possible it can be crowded with trucks that do not take the traffic rules very closely.

Mechanic

Many of our motorcycle tours will also include a mechanic on the motorcycle if the group is less than 6 people.

Insurance

For this trip, you are required to have a travel insurance needed with world coverage. Check carefully in advance whether motorcycling is covered. The policy number and emergency number should be taken with you and given to R2D in advance as well. Damage to third parties in an accident is not insured, and is usually settled on the spot. Regardless of who is at fault, the foreigner will usually pay for third-party damages. Fortunately, we are usually talking about very small amounts, unless it is a major accident.

Insurance to damage motorcycle usually cannot be insured. Fortunately, the repair costs are in a fraction of what we are used to and thus talk about small amounts. Any damage caused to the motorcycle, regardless of who is at fault, is yours.

Health

About malaria there are many ambiguities. For proper advice, consult your GP/GGD or travel clinic. They can advise you whether you should take malaria pills ( usually Malarone ) for this trip, they can also assess whether this is possible in combination with any personal
drugs. Diarrhea can easily occur due to heat combined with a different type of food. Often the diarrhea is gone after a few days and can also be suppressed by Imodium, for example. If the diarrhea occurs for longer, local doctors have various remedies to treat it. If you depend on drugs or diseases, you should check with your doctor beforehand. He can assess whether this will not adversely affect the trip to be made. You should also inform R2D about this in advance.

Flexibility

R2D tries everything, as best as possible, to keep the trip on track, however, there may be situations where flexibility is expected from participants. There may be engine trouble or the planned route is temporarily not possible due to works. R2D tries to have you stay in good 2** to 4** star hotels or cottages where possible. However, because we want to discover pure adventure and ride to places rarely visited by tourists it may occasionally happen that the accommodation is not optimal and thus some adjustment is expected.

Day stages

The routes go as much as possible on small roads, mountain passes, valleys, through plantations and villages. Upon arrival, a briefing will inform you in detail about what to look out for during the trip. The roads are not of the same quality as in European countries, but are getting better. Thus, there may be large holes or parts of the road that are washed away. The weather has a great influence on asphalt and dirt roads which means that a road that was passable last year may now be in very bad condition.

Traffic

Driving in Asia is different from participating in traffic in Western European countries. In the briefing you will be informed about this in detail.

Money

You can use debit cards at most of the places we visit; however, you must have your card unlocked in advance for this purpose.

Electricity

For Asian countries, it is best to carry a world plug.