Northwest Super Dual Sport - 4 days+

This is a route I’ve been building and refining for over 3 years - something a bit different from the usual motorbike tours in Vietnam.

Distance: ~160 km.

Starting from Hanoi, it takes about an hour and a half to escape the capital - but we don’t do that in one go.
We ride for about 40 minutes to the first gas station, then another 40 minutes to a good coffee shop.

What I really like about this day is that the back roads let us avoid almost all of the traffic, while taking us through the countryside and farm trails.

Taking the main road for the same distance would take about the same amount of time, but you’d be stuck in traffic most of the way.
Instead, we pass through rice fields, corn fields, sugarcane, orange orchards, and local villages, with some single-track sections and stretches through the bush.

We only rejoin the main road when we reach the foot of Thung Khe Pass, about 30 km from the homestay.
The pass itself is another beautiful section, with great mountain views all the way to Mai Chau.

There are three main trails on this day, but I’ve never actually managed to ride all three.
Two trails are usually more than enough - everyone has a good time, and we get to the homestay early.
We check in, grab a cold beer with friends, take a dip in the pool, maybe get a massage, and finish the day with a great traditional dinner.

Distance: ~170 km.

It’s a short day if we take the main road straight to Phu Yen, but we take a detour through local villages and farm trails instead.

A bit of wet weather actually makes this route more interesting.
The jungle and cornfield trails get slippery, while the tea plantations turn muddy - making the ride even more fun.

We stop for lunch in a small town before crossing the Black River on a local ferry.
This is one of the most powerful rivers in Vietnam, with two of the country’s largest hydroelectric dams, and it’s also the only river in Vietnam that flows north.

In the afternoon, we climb up a mountain and reach a small grassland near the summit.
There’s no need to rush - the sunset here is beautiful.

From this point, it’s just over 30 minutes to the hotel.
If we have time, we’ll stop along the way to wash the bikes, boots, and riding gear.

Distance: ~160 km.

This is my favorite day of the whole trip - and the day with the most dirt riding.

We have breakfast, grab a coffee, check the bikes, fuel up, and make sure we have enough water and snacks from the day before.
We prepare properly for a long day on the bikes.

It only takes about 2 hours to reach the famous Dinosaur Backbone by the main road, but we take the fun way - crossing the mountain on around 40 km of dirt trails.

If it’s wet, the last 10 km can be very challenging, so we take a different approach.
Instead of going all the way up and having to turn back to Phu Yen, we ride the same trail in the opposite direction, then connect to other trails that take us towards Ta Xua.

From Ta Xua, we follow a local H’mong trail, cross a small river at the bottom of the valley, then rejoin DT112 on the way to Tram Tau.
We check into the homestay, grab a cold beer, and head straight to the hot spring with a towel in hand.

Distance: 220 km.

It’s a 4-5 hour ride back to Hanoi, with coffee, lunch, and a few smoke breaks along the way.

Before heading into the city, we stop at a car wash to clean up both the bikes and ourselves.

We aim to arrive before 3 PM to avoid the rush hour. From there, we return the bikes and wrap up the trip.