Mighty Northwest Vietnam Offroad Motorbike Tour via Mai Chau, Sapa, Ba Be Lake

This short Vietnam motorbike tour to northwest starts with a beautiful ride to Mai Chau from outskirts of Hanoi at around 8 AM, we will ride away from the busy traffic by taking some narrow and small country roads. After lunch, we will have enjoyable motorcycle ride on forgotten French road No 6.

That’s a small and winding road long the Black River. It offers the view like Ha long bay. After Northwest Vietnam Motorbike Tour – 4 Days crossing Thung Khe pass – one of the most beautiful mountain passes in North Vietnam we will hit the road down to the mountain valley settlement of Mai Chau. ( Home to the white Thai people who live in houses on stilts).

Dinner and overnight in Mai Chau

After a peaceful night in Mai Chau, we begin the morning gently with a short walk around the Thai village, or simply enjoy a slow coffee while watching local life unfold among the stilt houses and rice fields. After breakfast, we say goodbye to our Thai hosts and start the ride towards Moc Chau, following scenic mountain roads with plenty of opportunities to stop for photos.

The first part of the ride is fairly easy and enjoyable, with smooth backroads, green valleys, and beautiful mountain views. We continue climbing toward the Hua Tat Pass, one of the scenic highlights of the day, where the road winds through forested hills and remote ethnic villages. Lunch will be served after crossing this beautiful pass.

In the afternoon, we leave the main road and turn onto the less-travelled Road 43, a quiet and scenic route leading down toward the Da River reservoir. This section offers a more adventurous feeling, with peaceful countryside, winding roads, and far fewer vehicles. We then cross the Da River by local ferry at Van Yen, a simple but memorable experience that adds a real local touch to the journey.

After the ferry crossing, the ride continues along beautiful curving mountain roads toward Phu Yen before climbing higher into the misty mountains of Ta Xua. Famous for its dramatic ridgelines, cool climate, and cloud-hunting scenery, Ta Xua is one of the most atmospheric overnight stops on this Vietnam motorcycle tour.

Riders will have the chance to test their skills with a ride along the famous “Dinosaur Backbone” ridge — one of the most iconic adventure highlights in the area. This narrow mountain spine offers dramatic views over deep valleys and rolling clouds, creating a real sense of freedom and adrenaline. The ride is optional and will depend on weather, road conditions, and the group’s riding ability, but for confident riders, it is a memorable way to start the day.

Dinner and overnight stay will be in Ta Xua.

Summary:

Distance: 180 km

Riding time: Approximately 5–6 hours, depending on stops and road conditions

Road condition: Mountain roads, scenic passes, quiet backroads, ferry crossing

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Homestay in Ta Xua

After breakfast in the cool mountain air of Ta Xua, we continue our adventure deeper into the wild Northwest of Vietnam. Today is one of the most scenic and rewarding riding days of the trip, combining remote mountain roads, quiet valleys, ethnic minority villages, and the spectacular rice-terrace landscapes of Mu Cang Chai.

Leaving Ta Xua, we ride down through winding mountain roads toward the lower valleys before continuing in the direction of Tram Tau, a peaceful mountain district of Yen Bai Province. This area is still less visited by mainstream tourism, making the ride feel raw, authentic, and beautifully local. The road passes through small villages, forested hills, rice fields, and dramatic mountain scenery, with plenty of stops for photos and short breaks along the way.

Tram Tau is well known for its natural hot spring, surrounded by mountains and fresh highland air. Depending on the riding schedule and group preference, riders may have the option to enjoy a relaxing hot spring bath here at their own expense. It is a wonderful way to refresh the body after the morning ride before continuing the journey toward Mu Cang Chai.

After lunch, we keep riding deeper into the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, where the scenery becomes more dramatic with every curve. The road gradually climbs through remote valleys and mountain slopes before reaching the famous rice-terrace region of Mu Cang Chai. This area is considered one of the most beautiful landscapes in Northern Vietnam, especially during the green season and harvest season when the terraced fields cover the mountainsides like giant natural stairways.

The afternoon ride can be challenging in some sections, with sharp bends, steep climbs, and changing mountain weather, but it is highly rewarding. Each viewpoint opens onto wide valleys, layered mountains, and peaceful ethnic villages tucked between the terraces.

We arrive in Mu Cang Chai by late afternoon and check in at a local hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Mu Cang Chai.

Summary:

Distance: Approx. 190–210 km

Riding time: Around 6–7 hours, depending on road conditions and photo stops

Road condition: Mountain roads, scenic passes, winding backroads, some challenging sections

Optional activity: Tram Tau hot spring bath at own expense

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Guest house in Mu Cang Chai

We motorbike straight toward the main Fansipan Mountain range. There is also the option for a very challenging back route which takes us through several river crossings. The massive mountain range dominates the road until finally we must make a splendid climb up from Binh Lu and up to the top of the highest road pass in Vietnam (Tram Ton Pass).

Crossing into Lao Cai Province at over 2,000m the views looks out over the main range for miles and miles, before we descend to the mountainous Sa Pa valley. Sa Pa is located in Lao Cai Province, north-west Vietnam, and 350 km north-west of Hanoi, close to the border with China. Sapa is famous both for its fine, rugged scenery and for its rich cultural diversity.

French used to consider Sapa as Summer Capital of Northern Vietnam in the early decades of the 20th century. Its naturally gifted beauty keeps attracting more and more people to spend their vacation there since then. Particularly, the place is the foremost choice for honeymoon couples!

Overnight in Hotel.

Summary:

Distance: 110 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Get on the road, take a half-day ride to our Dao friends’ village of Vu Linh, which by the side of Thac Ba lake, the biggest man-made lake in Vietnam. This artificial lake has an area of 23,400 ha and 1,331 islands and hills with diverse ecological environments. The water in the lake is blue and clear, and imprinted with the reflections of the surrounding ancient forest. The thousands of hills and islands feature caves such as the Hum, Cau Cuoi and Bach Xa.

After lunch, we take the boat ride, 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, whose are really big drinkers and they party every day. The welcome is exceptional and we hope you will survive.

Summary:

Distance: 210 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Home-stay

In the morning we motorcycle passing Tan Trao and Cho Chu. Tan Trao Historic Site is a small valley lying between mountains and jungles in Son Duong District. It was used as a resistance base before the August 1945 Revolution.

It is also where the Indochina Communist Party first carried out the National Congress (13 August 1945). At the National Assembly held on August 1945 in Tan Trao, “the great policies of Vietminh were drawn and a temporary government lead by Ho Chi Minh was elected”.

Cho Chu Monuments prison is on the hill in the neighborhood Chu Cho township, Dinh Hoa district, Thai Nguyen province. In 1889 the French occupied the station has built robots. In 1894 they put the agency ruled this area agents. Conducted in 1916 to build prisons until 1945.

Cho Chu Monuments prison, vivid symbol of the revolutionary soldiers are willing to devote life, sacrifice fighting for independence and freedom of the country.

Keep motorcycling on beautiful road through Ba Be National Park into our home-stay in Bac Ngoi village. It is located inside Ba Be National Park.
Our home-stay in Tay’s family is right by the side of Ba Be lake with wonderful and peaceful view.

Summary:
Distance: 190 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home-stay

Note: This is a very big day, we should start early and ride back carefully on Road 3

After breakfast, take a short motor ride in Ba Be National Park to the other side of the lake, before we get out to Cho Ra, head up to main Road 3.

Ba Be National Park is an abundant bioreserve area containing the world’s only fresh-water karst lake and several rare species of fauna and flora. Ba Be lake in VietnamThe biodiverse 10,048 ha park – home to 1,268 species of flora and fauna, a series of caves and a gigantic fresh water lake – was established in 1992 by the Vietnamese Government to preserve forest ecosystems in the northeast.

Ba Be is home to over 3,000 people from the ethnic minorities of Tay, Nung, Dao and Mong, who live in 13 villages within the park. The Tay people have inhabited Ba Be area for centuries and make up 58 per cent of the population within the park’s boundaries.
On Road 3, the way back to Hanoi, traffic is getting worst and worst, so we should be back carefully before rush hour.

Summary:
Distance: 230 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

End of services