5-Day Short-But-Hot Dirt Bike Motorcycle Tour To The North West Of Vietnam

Itinerary:

Brief itinerary

Day 1: Ha Noi – Ta Xua (200km)

Day 2: Ta Xua – Ngoc Chien (150km)

Day 3: Ngoc Chien – Sapa (180km)

Day 4: Sapa – Vu Linh (220km)

Day 5: Vu Linh – Hanoi (160km)

Day 1: Vietnam Offroad Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ngoc Chien, Sapa, Thac Ba lake: Hanoi Motorcycle Tours to Ta Xua (Son La)

Start our motorbike tour by leaving Hanoi on a weaving dyke-road running along the Red river to Trung Ha Bridge to avoid the heavy traffic on the main roads, then we’ll follow the National Highway 32 passing extensive farming lands comprising a sea of paddy fields split by tree-lined roads punctuated by limestone karst scenery till we reach Thanh Son for lunch.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we’ll head to Phu Yen town via nice dirt tracks through spectacular tea hills.

 When we get to Phu Yen, the true challenge begins. We’ll embark on a vertical mountain trek with our bikes, a tough feat even on dry and sunny days, the track can be from 8 to 18 kilometers long (depending on your demand) with chilling and breathtaking scenery pushing us forwards all the way. We’ll get to our destination at a clearing right beside the “dinosaur backbone”.

Ta Xua is a mountain range in the Bac Yen district in Son La province. At the highest point of 2865 meters, the Ta Xua peak is the tenth highest peak in Vietnam. The three most important peaks form a line that looks like the backbone of a dinosaur. It is a real off the beaten track destination for adventure travelers

If time permits, we also try some dirt-track experiences to get deeper into remote villages around to see how the locals live & work otherwise it’s our time for beer, and relaxation amid this remote and pristine nature’s playground amid the clouds.

We overnight in a house-on-stilts of the H’Mong people.(homestay in the village)

Summary:
Distance: 210 km
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Homestay

Day 2: Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ngoc Chien, Sapa, Thac Ba lake: Ta Xua Motorcycle Tours to Ngoc Chien (Son La)

On this day, after having breakfast at the homestay at 8.00 we begin the ride at about 9.00. The landscape in the morning ride is decorated with spectacular group clouds since this area lies 1500-2000m above sea level and surrounded by many ranges of mountains. There are many nice spots for picture taking in the first 30 kilometers. We keep riding through winding roads and beautiful rice terraces to Nghia Lo town via Tram Tau. There are chances for you to stop to see green rice fields formed by hard-working local Thai people before lunch in Nghia Lo.

In the afternoon, the wheels are going to take you to a beautiful village called Tu Le, which is famous for producing one of the best sticky rice strains in Vietnam. FYI, sticky rice plays an important part in Vietnam’s agri-based culture, it appears in almost every family’s meals on our traditional holidays. Steamed sticky rice, salt,… are common offerings that we Vietnamese dedicate to our ancestors following our belief in veneration of the dead.

The highlight of today’s ride is Khau Pha pass, one of the four highest passes in Vietnam, we will stop at the top of this pass for an incredible view to Tu Le valley before heading to our homestay.

Ngoc Chien, where we stay tonight is a village located at an altitude of about 1500-1800 meters above sea level, blessed by nature with very fresh and unspoiled scenery. Coming here, visitors are immediately mesmerized by the beauty of terraced fields and lovely stilt houses of the local Thai community here. Nature really favors Ngoc Chien when bestowing this place with beautiful scenery and scenes of natural hot mineral springs. Hot water in Ngoc Chien has an average temperature of 50 – 70 degrees Celsius, suitable for visitors to relax and relieve stress effectively. And a special treatment we are delighted to offer you at the accommodation tonight is a nice homestay with a hot spring in here, imagine spending your time in a hot spring after 3 days of offroading, you won’t be disappointed!

Summary:
Distance: 160 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Homestay

Day 3: Vietnam Dirt Bike Tour to Ta Xua, Ngoc Chien, Sapa, Thac Ba lake: Ngoc Chien Motorcycle Tours to Sapa (Lao Cai)

Say goodbye to the enchanting hot spring of Ngoc Chien at 9 o’clock, we ride through the lovely local farms heading to Mu Cang Chai, a heaven of riders in Vietnam. Mu Cang Chai is home to some of Asia’s most magnificent cultivated topography. Rice terraces coil in ribbons around the hills to spectacular effect, luring photographers, hikers, and avid motorbikers. Mu Cang Chai is not only beautiful because of majestic nature but also the the very unique features of local life here. This place is mainly populated by the Black Hmong, a subgroup of one of Vietnam’s largest ethnicities. Pretty Hmong villages are dotted around the district. Each one offers a glimpse into a rich culture Highland living in Mu Cang Chai is simple and peaceful, making people remember forever. Those are honest, honest, hard working people with the desire to be warm; innocent babies with clear smile and eyes.

We stop at the Mam Xoi Hill of Mu Cang Chai (a famous photo spot in the remote mountains) for some nice pictures and learn about the mountainous lifestyle of local H’Mong people here. Keep riding on the backroad here till we hit the center town of the district, after a coffee stop we get in some dirt tracks in the jungle to boost our morning adrenaline.

After a lunch break in Than Uyen, on a road full of tea farms and rice fields we head to Sapa via the epic O Quy Ho pass. O Quy Ho Pass is one of the most impressive and challenging mountain passes in the northern region of Vietnam. It is approximately 10 kilometers away from the town of Sapa and 60 kilometers away from the city of Lai Chau. 

O Quy Ho Pass winds through Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. Running alongside National Road 4D, the pass stretches for nearly 50 kilometers, with the peak of the pass marking the boundary between the two provinces of Lao Cai and Lai Chau. And when you feel the air getting cooler, see the mist coming from the mountain ranges, that’s when we arrive in Sapa, where we spend the night. Located at the altitude of 1600 meters above sea level, Sapa is famous for its cool weather, breathtaking scenery and culture diversity with 6 different tribes of people living together. This is also a big town comparing to other destinations on the tour so you can spend your time here for casual entertainment activities like bars, pubs… We stay in a hotel for this night.

Summary:
Distance: 180 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 4: Vietnam Motorbike Tour to Ta Xua, Ngoc Chien, Sapa, Thac Ba lake: Sapa Motorcycle Tours to Vu Linh, Thac Ba lake (Yen Bai)

It’s a big day today so we depart early in the morning at 8 o’clock or earlier. From Sapa we roll on the winding national road 4d to Lao Cai city, take a short backroad detour into small villages of H’mong locals. After 35 kilometers we stop for a nice drink in a unique coffee shop where we can see China over a river call Nam Thi. Follow National road 70, we get to Pho Rang town for a light lunch before roll on Road 152 to Luc Yen town where we take a short break, this town is well known for gemstones mining and carving, especially ruby. From Luc Yen we head straight to our homestay in Vu Linh near Thac Ba Lake – home to local Dao (or Dzao) ethnic people. Thac Ba is one of the three largest man-made lakes in Vietnam, covering an area of approximately 20,000 hectares and containing more than 1,300 large and small islands mostly coverd in forest. The lake is located about 130 km west of Hanoi in the Yen Binh District of Yen Bai Province. The lake was created by the construction of a huge dam on the Chay River for the Thac Ba Hydropower Station – the first hydro power station in North Vietnam, which began construction in 1962 and was completed in 1970.

 When we hit our homestay, let’s have a cold beer to cool down and then we take a boat ride in the lake, stop by an island for swimming and discover the particularities of this area: the way villagers paddle their boats, the exotic and odd animals living around, the quiet and peaceful beauty of this huge lake, the lifestyle of the Dao among the thousands of islets. We will have an unforgettable dinner with the hosts, who are really big drinkers, the hospitality here is just unbelievable!

Day 5: Vietnam motorcycle tour to Ta Xua, Tuan Giao, Mu Cang Chai, Vu Linh-Thac Ba lake: Motorbike tour back to Hanoi.

After breakfast we cruise southeast on Highway 2 and then branch off to the sleepy town of Phu Tho. We follow the edge of the Red River along the dyke, almost to the point where it merges with the Black River after which they flow together to Hanoi. By now we are very much in the lowlands of the delta plains and the north’s main agricultural areas. Harvest time here is a sea of activity. Crossing Da River by bridge, we pass through Son Tay and then return to Hanoi on the highway.

Distance: 160km
Duration: 6 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

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Note: The itinerary above is very brief, and motorcycle tours are always flexible, therefore, depending on your riding experience, your demands and weather conditions, your tour guide will choose the most suitable roads for you. So please don’t hesitate to discuss with the