Overview
An eight day, privately guided tour, cycling Northern Vietnam’s inland villages and valleys, starting and ending in Hanoi. Cycle between 20-54km per day on easy to moderate trails, and stay in local guesthouses and homestays. Natural highlights include riding to Mộc Châu plateau, Song Da Lake, Pù Luông Nature Reserve and alongside the rice paddies of fine Mai Hịch Valley. This extraordinary cycling holiday through inland Vietnam, away from the usual tourist trail, comes to a finale, bathing in waterfalls and having lunch on the Hồ Chí Minh Road.
We have some fantastic optional excursions to add to the end of the trip, so that you can make the most of your journey to and around Vietnam.
- Hanoi
- Song Da Lake
- Mộc Châu plateau
- Pù Luông Nature Reserve
- Hmong villages
Click to view map
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi
You are met at Hanoi airport by your driver and guide, then transferred to your hotel in the capital. The hotel is ideally located in a lively area just outside the old quarter. There are plenty of local food options around, hidden coffee shops as well as Trúc Bạch Lake, one of the best spots in Hanoi for enjoying the sunset.
The rooms are available from 14.00 but it is possible to book an early check-in with a surcharge. Either in the morning or afternoon, depending on your arrival time, your cycling guide can take you on a short walk to the shores of the lake for a coffee or a beer and an introductory talk about Vietnam and the days ahead.
- Accommodation: The Q Hotel or similar (Hanoi)
Day 2: Free day to explore Hanoi
A full day at leisure to explore the city at your own pace. Explore its different districts, their diverse architecture, parks, lakes and daily street life. If you prefer being guided for your first steps in the capital, there is an optional walking tour available.
- Accommodation: The Q Hotel or similar (Hanoi)
- Included meals: Breakfast
Optional walking tour of Hanoi | 6km
An all day 6km loop from the hotel takes you to a morning market, along an avenue from the colonial era, past Hanoi Citadel and Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum to the Temple of Literature. With plenty of opportunities for Hanoi’s famous street food en route. The walk continues into a popular district made up of very narrow lanes, coming out into the famous Hanoi railway, a great spot for coffee. In the afternoon, explore the old quarter of the city.
- Included meals: Lunch
Day 3: Hanoi to the Hmong homelands | 22km
Meet your guide in the hotel lobby at 08.00 and transfer out of Hanoi city by bus to the Sơn La mountain range in the west. The journey takes about four hours from Hanoi to the heights of Hòa Bình Province and the little village of Hang Kia, located 1,300m above sea level.
Enjoy lunch at a local homestay and get to experience Hmong hospitality first-hand while the crew preps the bikes. Today’s ride is a short one to the slopes of Mộc Châu plateau. The ride is on small roads and pathways winding across rocky landscapes at the heart of the Hmong communities, and you spend the night in a Hmong homestay,
- Cycling for the day: 22km, ↑341m ↓447m, highest point: 1,302m
- Accommodation: A Chu homestay or similar (Mộc Châu)
- Included meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 4: Song Da Lake | 54km
Today’s ride goes downhill from Mộc Châu plateau to the shores of Song Da Lake. About 54km, starting on a main road for a few kilometres, before veering off a quieter road, built by the French during the colonial era and then abandoned to the forest for a long time before being recently restored.
Lunch is at a local homestay en route, In the afternoon and the day finished at a to a resort on Song Da Lake. About 5km before reaching the accommodation, there is a hidden waterfall, perfect for swimming.
- Cycling for the day: 54km, ↑323m ↓1,301m, highest point: 1,199m
- Accommodation: Mai Chau Hideaway or similar (Mai Châu)
- Included meals: Breakfast and lunch
Day 5: Mai Hịch Village | 30km
Easy morning to enjoy a dip in the pool and breakfast with a view. Today’s ride is short, leaving you time to have the afternoon for exploring at your leisure.
Depart at 10.00 on a 30km ride, first uphill back the main road and then downhill all the way to Mai Châu Valley. Cycle through Mai Châu town and continue towards a remote valley. This is home to the White Thai or Tai Dón people, an ethnic minority population of farmers growing rice and vegetables. Between March and October, you can see and ride alongside a green ocean of rice paddies.
The accommodation today is a wooden guesthouse on stilts with a restaurant underneath and a common space inside the house, where bedding is arranged in curtained alcoves. You get here by lunchtime and, in the afternoon, there’s a choice of riding or hiking the small roads and pathways going across villages, along rice fields and vegetable gardens.
- Cycling for the day: 30km, ↑326m ↓357m, highest point: 325m
- Accommodation: Mai Hịch homestay or similar (Mai Châu)
- Included meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 6: Pù Luông Nature Reserve | 35km
After an early breakfast, start the 35km journey to the heart of Pù Luông Nature Reserve. Leave the valley and cycle towards the Laos border for about 15km, all the way to Pù Luông Nature Reserve. After this point, the landscapes become more mountainous. The last few kilometres are downhill to a resort nestled on the slopes of the nature reserve. In the afternoon enjoy a dip in the pool and/or a short trip to a nearby village.
- Cycling for the day: 35km, ↑695m ↓326m, highest point: 691m
- Accommodation: Pu Luong Casa or similar (Pù Luông)
- Included meals: Breakfast and lunch
Day 7: Hieu waterfalls and natural pools | 20km
The ride is short and easy this morning, heading to the eastern part of the nature reserve to a guesthouse nestled between two cascading streams, offering waterfalls and natural pools. The accommodation here is also in a shared space.
- Cycling for the day: 20km, ↑163m ↓459m, highest point: 477m
- Accommodation: Le Bains de Hieu or similar (Pù Luông)
- Included meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 8: Tam Điệp mountain range and Hồ Chí Minh Road | 45km
Today, the route leads to a nature reserve on a road known by only a few. Depart early on a 45km ride along a stretch of countryside tucked between the Nam Ma River and the Tam Điệp mountain range. Arriving in Lương Nội, a small hamlet, hop on the bus back to Hanoi. Lunch is served at a local restaurant on the side of the historical Hồ Chí Minh Road and then back on the bus to travel back to Hanoi. Arrival is expected in the late afternoon.
- Cycling for the day: 45km, ↑269m ↓387m, highest point: 186m
- Accommodation: The Q Hotel or similar (Hanoi)
- Included meals: breakfast and lunch
Day 9: Departure
Day at leisure until a driver picks you up to take you to the airport for your departure flight, or optional extension.
What to expect
Accommodation
Accommodation on this tour includes a mix of small, locally-owned hotels and traditional homestays. They have been carefully selected based on a variety of criteria including their location, warm hospitality, fine local food or commitment to responsible tourism. While at the homestays, rooms are dormitory style.
Click to view our default hotels for this trip
- The Q Hotel (Hanoi)
- A Chu homestay (Mộc Châu)
- Mai Chau Hideaway (Mai Châu)
- Mai Hich homestay (Mai Châu)
- Pu Luong Casa (Pù Luông)
- Le Bains de Hieu (Pù Luông)
Hotels are subject to availability. In the event of a particular hotel being fully booked for your chosen dates, we will replace it with a hotel of equal value and quality level. We will provide exact accommodation details to you upon booking confirmation.
Meals
All breakfasts, seven lunches and three dinners are included in the trip. Dinner is available either from the restaurant in your accommodation or from restaurants in the town where you stay overnight.
Difficulty and terrain
We rate the difficulty level as easy to moderate, with daily distances ranging between 20 and 55km, cycling with limited car traffic, and a few occasional climbs. (read more about difficulty grades).
When to go
This trip is available from January until December.
Getting there
Click to view travel options and route planner
Our recommended airport for this tour is Nội Bài airport in Hanoi
Inclusions
Included
- 8 overnights with breakfast as detailed in the itinerary
- 6 lunches and 3 dinners
- Snacks, fruit, drinking water on days of cycling
- 6 days bike rental with helmet
- Arrival and departure transfers to/from Hanoi airport
- Transfers as per itinerary
- All entrance fees as per the programme
- Government tax and service charge
- Local English-speaking guide
Excluded
- Airfare and airport taxes in and out Vietnam
- Visa to Vietnam (if any*)
- Travel insurance (required – get a quote online)
- Surcharge for peak season (New Year, Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Christmas), public holidays and/or compulsory meals (if any)
- Early check-in or late check-out
- Drinks and other meals not indicated in the itinerary
- Personal expenses
- Optional excursions
- Any items not specifically mentioned as included in the programme
*From 15 March 2022, Vietnam has reintroduced visa waivers for the nationals of 13 countries, including the UK. Visa waivers allow for visits to Vietnam for up to 15 days without needing to apply for a visa. If needed, Vietnamese visas can be applied here
Options, extras and supplements
- If you are travelling in a group, a supplement applies to group members who would like to have a room of their own
- This holiday is available for solo travellers
- Optional walking tour of Hanoi on day 2
- Optional extension trip to Hạ Long bay
- Optional extension trip to Cát Bà and Lan Ha bay
Hạ Long Bay cruise (2 nights extension)
Enjoy breathtaking view sof Hạ long Bay – a UNESCO World Heritage Listed site by boat for a truly unforgettable experience.
Day 1: Hanoi to Hạ Long bay
09.00 pick up in the lobby and departure to Hạ Long Bay for a group cruise. Drive across the Red River delta and reach the coast before midday. Board a traditional wooden junk boat for an overnight cruise in Hạ Long with stop offs including to visit a cave. The programme is not fixed and depends on the time of the year and weather. End the day on deck while the sun sets, enjoying an aperitif or attending a cooking demonstration before dinner. Overnight in a comfortable private, ensuite cabin
- Accommodation: on board in cabin
- Included meals: Breakfast lunch and dinner
Day 2: Hạ Long Bay to Hanoi
At dawn, an early Tai Chi session as the sun rises. Check-out out of the cabin and hop onto a sampan to visit a secluded floating village, one of the last remaining communities living on the Bay. Return to the boat and a brunch is served, as you cruise back to dock. Disembark and drive back to Hanoi.
- Accommodation: The Q Hotel or similar
- Included meals: brunch
Day 3: Departure
Day at leisure until a driver picks you up to take you to the airport for your departure flight. The rooms are available until midday.
- Included meals: Breakfast
Optional Bike/hike/kayak Cát Bà and Lan Ha Bay (3 nights extension)
Discover Cát Bà, considered the biggest island in this archipelago and take in the beauty of Lan Ha Bay.
Day 1: Hanoi to Cát Bà island
Early breakfast and off on a 2h drive across the Red River Delta to the coast. Hop on a speedboat to reach Cát Bà Island, located at the southern edge of the Hạ Long archipelago. Once on the island, cycle along its coast. The ride is up and down for about 25km to its southern coast and the small main town. After about 12km, stop for lunch at the national park entrance. In the afternoon, on the ride to the hotel, stop at the Hospital Cave, a former troglodyte hospital that served as an army headquarters during the war. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure at the hotel, with a rooftop pool. There is a beach 800m from the hotel, and plenty of food options in the evening.
- Cycling for the day: 25km, ↑263m ↓260m, highest point: 91m
- Accommodation: Cat Ba Paradise Hotel or similar
- Included meals: Breakfast and lunch
Day 2: Cruising and kayaking Lan Ha Bay
Be sure to have a good breakfast, as today is pretty active. First, pack a small backpack with what you need for today and tomorrow, with your main luggage staying with the car. Then depart from the hotel on a short car transfer to Beo pier where the boat awaits. Hop on-board, meet the captain and crew and set off to the remotest parts of the Hạ Long archipelago in Lan Ha Bay. Today is devoted to cruising and kayaking. There is a stop at a floating house and eventually at a little sandy beach for a swim and some sunbathing. Lunch is cooked and served on the boat. In the late afternoon, after reaching Viet Hai pier, take a 5km bicycle ride to the jungle and a little village tucked away between the sea and a thick jungle at the doorsteps of Cat Ba National Park. Overnight in small bungalows.
- Kayaking for the day: very flexible, around 7-9km
- Accommodation: Lan Homestay or similar
- Included meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 3: Hike across Cat Ba National Park
This morning, get ready for a 9km hike across the dense jungle of the national park, including a trek to three peaks. The car awaits at the exit and lunch is served at a local lodge, where there is also the possibility to have a shower and change. In the afternoon, drive back to Hanoi.
- Hiking for the day: 9km
- Accommodation: The Q Hotel or similar
- Included meals: breakfast and lunch
Day 4: Departure
Day at leisure until a driver picks you up to take you to the airport for your departure flight. The rooms are available until midday.
- Included meals: breakfast
Complimentary bike rental
We offer complimentary standard mountain bikes that are most suitable for the paths you will be riding on. The bikes with a helmet. The bike you will receive is regularly checked. Sample pictures attached below, note that the exact models might be different depending on availability, but the standard will be the same.
Trek Marlin 7
- Weight: 13.8kg
- Suspension: Hardtail
- Travel: 100mm front
- Frame: Aluminum
- Fork: RockShox Judy
- Wheels: 27.5″ / 29″ Aluminum
- Drivetrain: 1 × 10
- Groupset: Deore, FSA
- Brakes: Hydraulic disc
Trek X Caliber 7
- Weight: 13.8kg
- Suspension: Hardtail
- Travel: 100mm front
- Frame: Aluminum
- Fork: RockShox 30 Silver TK
- Wheels: 27.5″ Aluminum
- Drivetrain: 2 × 9
- Groupset: Alivio, Acera
- Brakes: Hydraulic disc
Gallery
