Vietnam Motorbike Travel Log

***REFER TO BLOG POSTS FOR DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS, THIS WAS FOR OUR INTERNAL TRACKING PURPOSES ONLY

Ho Chi Minh

• stayed two nights at Long Hostel

• Bought bikes (Yamaha Nuovo 125 CC, Chinese knock-offs) from Facebook dealer for 5.5 million dong each ($236 each)

• Bikes came with helmets, luggage racks, etc

Segment 1 - Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne

Distance: 270 km

Left at: 6:30am

Travel Time: 10.5 hours (long breakfast, breakdowns, photo ops)

Route: "Back door" out of HCMC; crossed ferry at Cau Long Thanh; continued on and turned south on QL51/55 through Ba Ria; took the exit for DT44A and hit the coast at Long Hai, and continued on coastal road through Ho Tram and La Gui before heading north, connecting with QL1A, and on into Mui Ne.

Road conditions: Paved the entire way, smooth at beginning with rougher patches towards end; Wide highways with big shoulder or dedicated bike lane on QL1A, dedicated shoulder everywhere else. Traffic heavy throughout, even more so at beginning and end. Saw rice fields, farmland, dunes, beaches, etc.

Weather: Sunny with some overcast skies

Fuel cost: 430,000 VND ($17.20) (including 1.5 liter water bottles with petrol)

Bike repairs:

• jump start (10,000 VND) (43 cents)

• Troubleshoot and another jump start (50,000 VND) ($2.15)

• Wires reconnected and inspected, alternator cleaned, terminals cleaned (300,000 VND) ($12.93)

Accommodation: iHome backpackers resort (2 nights)

Segment 2 - Mui Ne to Da Lat

Distance: 161 km

Left at: 6:30am

Travel Time: 7.5 hours (sand dunes, Mother’s Day calls, coffee breaks)

Route: Left town on the DT716, took it north until it became the QL28B. Turned NE onto QL20, diverted around CT14 which is not allowed for motorcycles.

Road Conditions: Paved, mostly good roads; was bumpy and patchy for most of the middle stretch. Wide-shouldered highway gave way to narrower 2-lane roads; dunes and beaches at beginning, dragon-fruit farms and rice fields in middle, cool mountain climb at end.

Weather: Sunny with some overcast skies

Fuel cost: 338,000 VND ($14.57)

Accommodation: Da Lat Sky Hostel (2 nights)

Segment 3 - Da Lat to Nha Trang

Distance: 136 km

Left at: 9:00 am

Travel Time: 4.5 hours (many photo breaks, one coffee break)

Route: QL27C the entire way

Road Conditions: Traffic heavy at beginning, much less when out of town; epic, winding mountain landscape with waterfalls, mountain passes, and beautiful views. Final stretch is wide highway (with no traffic) into sandy, hot, windy city that you can see from miles out.

Weather: Sunny with some overcast skies

Fuel cost: 180,000 VND ($7.20)

Bike repairs:

• flat tire (new rear inner tube, 170,000 VND - $6.80)

Accommodation: Azura Gold hotel (1 night)

Segment 4 - Nha Trang to Qui Nhon

Distance: 234 km

Left at: 6:20 am

Travel Time: 8 hours (coffee break, long breakfast/coffee break)

Route: QL1A out of town and along most of the first part, breaking off to hit the coast at Dai Lanh via the QL1/QL29; follow the town road through Tuy Hoa before reconnecting with the QL1A. Break off again at the QL1D (necessary as motorcycles are not allowed for part of the QL1A stretch)

Road Conditions: Busy on the QL1A, with less room for motorbikes than near HCMC (although WAY less traffic); cool, winding coastal route with water in view below most of the way; hot and windy

Weather: Sunny with some overcast skies

Fuel cost: 410,000 VND ($17.67)

Bike Repairs:

• Maintenance inspection and oil change for both bikes: 200,000 VND ($8.62). Note that both bikes had been shutting off when no throttle was used for some time, on downhills and at red lights.

Accommodation: Gallery Homestay (1 night)

Segment 5 - Qui Nhon to Kon Tum

Distance: 211 km

Left at: 6:40am

Travel Time: 9 hours (breakfast, bike repair, and coffee, plus a couple of photo ops)

Route: QL1D out of town to connect to the QL1A briefly before taking the QL19 northwest all the way to Pleiku. In Pleiku hopped on the newly finished AH17 to Kon Tum.

Road Conditions: Consistent, moderately dense mix of cars, trucks, busses and scooters all the way to Pleiku. Road to Pleiku was almost all under construction, with loose gravel, limited shoulder, and many potholes. Not much scenery, some rice fields, farmland, and small towns (most of the road was lined with infrastructure). When we left Pleiku on the AH17 there was

almost no traffic on a perfect road through a newly planted forest with surrounding mountains.

Weather: Sunny early, cloudy late, with a brief shower as we passed through Pleiku

Fuel cost: 325,000 VND ($16)

Bike Repairs:

• Nicole’s bike didn’t have any power when going uphill. They replaced a gasket somewhere in the fuel injector, then cleaned fuel lines and the air filter. 200,000 VND ($8.62)

Accommodation: Kon Tum Home Sweet Homestay (1 night)

Segment 6 - Kon Tum to Hoi An

Distance: 302 km

Left at: 6:20

Travel Time: 10.5 hours (coffee, breakfast, photos)

Route: QL14E northwest out of Kon Tum, connecting on the AH17 in Dak To; in Plei Can the AH17 turns north onto Ho Chi Minh Road; Continued all the way to the QL14D to see the Golden Loop, and took backroads into Hoi An

Road Conditions: scenic mountains at beginning, continuing to weave through high mountain passes and trace river valleys; Golden Loop follows just above river most of the way; older, patchy highways most of the way, with little or no shoulder to ride on, but mostly in decent shape; finished in agricultural/rice fields just before the city

Weather: overcast most of the way, sprinkled on twice (once early and once late); cooler weather in mountains and extremely hot down below

Fuel cost: 485,000 VND ($20.90)

Bike Repairs: none

Accommodation: Daisy Gardens Homestay (1 night) Backhome Hostel (2 nights)

Segment 7 - Hoi An to Hue

Distance: 153 km

Left at: 8:30

Travel Time: 8 hours (Kyle's bike start issues, coffee breaks, MANY photos)

Route: Took Hai Ba Trung street to An Bang beach and Lac Long Quan street all the way in to Da Nang to cross the Dragon Bridge; immediately after the bridge we turned north and hugged the costal road before attaching briefly to the QL1A before diverting to the Hai Van Pass; after the Pass we took the QL1A and diverted onto the QL49B (after a couple of wrong turns), passing along the "Road of Tombs" all the way to Thuan An before diverting back into Hue

Road Conditions: Mostly new highways, some older and patchwork (especially most of the QL49B). Some climbing (Hai Van Pass and beginning of QL49B) but otherwise flat, coastal roads with beach/ocean on one side and rice paddies with water buffalo on the other. Many cute small towns passed through, and hundreds of above-grade, elaborate graves along "Road of Tombs"

Weather: Rain early, overcast but clear at Hai Van Pass, heavier rain all afternoon

Fuel cost: 230,000 VND ($9.91)

Bike Repairs:

• Kyle dumped his bike over (twice) when he parked it on a slope, and the side mirror shattered. It cost 80,000 VND ($3.45) for two new mirrors

• We performed a maintenance oil change on both bikes for a combined 200,000 VND ($8.62)

Accommodation: Happy Hue Homestay (1 night)

Segment 8 - Hue to Khe Sanh

Distance: 176 km

Left at: 9:00

Travel Time: 7 hours (food, coffee, abandoned water park)

Route: took the QL49 west from Hue (past the abandoned water park) all the way to the QL14 (Ho Chi Minh Road), which took us North before we diverted onto the AH16 for a few km into Khe Sanh

Road Conditions: immediately started climbing into the mountains. Older, but well maintained highways the entire time. Light traffic. Ho Chi Minh road was stunning, altwrnating between tracing river valleys and climbing to mountain ridges. Passed through many small villages with ethnic minorities

Weather: Slight sprinkle in the morning turned into overcast skies with spots of sunlight throughout the day

Fuel cost: 335,000 VND ($14.44)

Bike Repairs: none

Accommodation: Green Hotel (one night)

Segment 9 - Khe Sanh to Phong Nha National Park

Distance: 232 km

Left at: 6:45am

Travel Time: 9 hours (many photo and video spots, quick lunch break)

Route: took the QL15, also known as west Ho Chi Minh Road, finished the last 20km on the DT20 through the Phong Nha National Park into town

Road Conditions: EPIC views. The entire way was comprised of 1.5 lane wide concrete slabs (some loose gravel made things a bit more difficult). Constant winding roads going up and down the mountain, with peaking mountain passes followed by River valleys. Almost no traffic of any kind, but lots of farm animals and dogs laying in the middle of the road.

Weather: foggy at the beginning and whenever on the high passes (we were in clouds), sunny and overcast mixed at lower elevations. Crisp, clean air.

Fuel cost: 370,000 VND ($15.95)

Bike Repairs: none

Accommodation: Tuan Garden Homestay (2 nights)

Segment 10 - Phong Nha to Tan Ky

Distance: 271 km

Left at: 7:45am

Travel Time: 8 hours (quick photo breaks, coffee, lunch)

Route: We took the QL16 north out of town to connect to the QL15 (West HO Chi Minh road). Stayed west in Vu Quang when W. HCM road diverted from the official "QL15" highway. Kept on same road all the way into Tan Ky

Road Conditions: first 100km featured amazing, sweeping road through limestone karsts. Last section was through farmlands with corn, golden rice, tea, rubber trees, and cinnamon plantations. Very good paved road with sparse traffic (although much more than previous days).

Weather: Foggy early, mixed with some sunny spots and some overcast. Hit afternoon rain showers for the last 50 km.

Fuel cost: 270,000 VND ($11.64)

Bike Repairs:

• Oil changes: 220,000 VND ($9.48)

• Nicole's bike: ball bearings on front wheel replaced: 300,000 VND ($12.93)

Accommodation: Km0 Hotel (1 night)

Segment 11 - Tan Ky to Tam Coc

Distance: 251 km

Left at: 9:00

Travel Time: 8 hours (coffee, photos, lunch, Ho Citadel)

Route: We took the QL15 northeast out of town and stayed on it until Ngoc LAc, where we turned east to connect to the SE running QL217. We stopped at the Ho Citadel, then continued NE on the QL 45, before turning off SE on the QL12B. We connected on the QL1A briefly before taking side roads into Tam Coc.

Road Conditions: winding roads through hills, almost completely covered with agriculture (corn, rice, pineapples, cinnamon, rubber trees, tea, and lots more). Finished with beautiful stretch through rice fields with limestone karsts near Tam Coc. Entire way was newish, sometimes patchy highway with no shoulder. Traffic was light in general, busier around towns, and insane on the QL1A.

Weather: Rain early followed by overcast skies, and hard rain later in the afternoon.

Fuel cost: 280,000 VND ($12.07)

Bike Repairs: none

Accommodation: Tam Coc Thanh Dat Homestay (2 nights)

Segment 12 - Tam Coc to Hanoi

Distance: 180 km

Left at: 10:00 am (we were up at 5:00am, but delayed due to thunderstorms, bike not starting, ATM and gas runs, etc)

Travel Time: 6.5 hours (quick lunch stop)

Route: We took the main road out of town, then connected to the dT491 headed north; we quickly exited onto the winding Trang An road; we briefly connected on the QL38B, exited across the river immediately, then headed west on Duon de road to the Kenh Ga floating village; from there, we zigzagged onto the DT477, then the DT479, before connecting to the QL21A (now Ho Chi Minh Road) in Chi Ne; we took the QL21A all the way to the CT08, which had a parallel motorbikes-only road running all the way into Hanoi, where we met up with the insane traffic to the hostel

Road Conditions: Older, sometimes patchy highway with small shoulder and some loose gravel. Bigger shoulders for motorbikes closer to Hanoi. Traffic steadily increased throughout the day, then was crazy in the city. The scenery was rice fields with limestone karsts sticking out almost the entire way, with more and more infrastructure as we approached the city.

Weather: Rain and drizzle throughout the day, slightly clearer closer to Hanoi

Fuel cost: 350,000 VND ($15.08)

Bike Repairs: none

Accommodation: Hanoi Central Backpackers Hostel (1 Night)

At the Hostel, we found parking, posted flyers, and within one day were able to sell the bikes for 4,250,000 VND each ($183 each)

TOTAL COSTS:

• BIKES: $472 - $366 = $106

• GAS: $172.56

• REPAIRS: $74.58

• UPGRADES (we bought paint): $4

• GRAND TOTAL: $357.14 ($178.57 each)

******BONUS ******

Since we didn't already have enough miles on the road,

we headed north to complete the famous Ha Giang Loop

We stayed at a homestay to start.

Bike rentals (including insurance) were 250,000 VND per person, per day (total of 1,500,000 VND)

Segment 1 - Ha Giang to Dong Van (with a side trek to Lung Cu)

Distance: 194 km

Left at: 7:15 am

Travel Time: 9.5 hours (two coffee breaks, a million photos stops)

Route: We took the QL4C out of town and kept on it until we saw some “easy riders” branch off on a steep side road at Cau Can Ty (not sure of the name of the road). Took that until it reconnected with QL4C just before Yen Minh. Continued on until breaking off on the DT182B. Branched off on the D CC QG to Lung Cu. Took these winding roads all the way to Lung Cu, and back down again to the DR182B, before reconnecting with the QL4C and finishing in Dong Van

Road Conditions: Paved, newish highway the entire way. Road in good condition, but extremely windy through the mountains. The road out and back to Lung Cu had many washouts/small landslides to avoid, and water was pooling on the road later in the day. Absolutely stunning landscape, with beautiful mountain passes, deep river valleys, and steep limestone karats. We road through many ethnic villages, with locals working the rice fields and children running up to say hello.

Weather: A little drizzle early, followed by beautiful partly cloudy skies, with rain on the branch off to Lung Cu and back, and back to overcast on our way in to Dong Van

Fuel cost: 295,000 VND

Bike Repairs: none

Accommodation: Not sure of the name....we showed up at a random Homestay (1 night)

Segment 2 - Dong Van to Du Gia

Distance: 93 km

Left at: 7:00 am

Travel Time: 5.5 hours (tons of photo stops early, had to wait on road construction crews)

Route: We took the QL4C out of town and followed it along the amazing Ma Pi Leng pass until Meo Vac; in Meo Vac we exited onto the DT182 and took it until it veered left onto the DT176, all the way to Du Gia. Note that there was construction blocking traffic at one point, so we had to take a major, 30 minute detour through a high mountain road following a local guy to get around.

Road Conditions: Bumpy paved highways early on, smoother along the Ma Pi Leng path. These gave way to depleted highways rough from recent landslides. Tons of construction/road crews that we had to wait several times for to pass. At one point we diverted, following a local, through a narrow paved mountain road (so tight that corn smacked you in the face as you road). The Ma Pi Leng pass was stunning, with clouds clearing just in time for some amazing views down into the deep gourge. The DT176 rose and fell from mountains to valleys with cool views plummeting down tiered rice patties. There were a few old forts/ruins from French Colonial times as well.

Weather: A little drizzle early, then clear/partly cloudy, and even hot at some points. Small drizzles later on when we were in the mountain passes.

Fuel cost: 150,000 VND

Bike Repairs: none

Accommodation: Du Gia Backpackers Homestay (1 night)

Segment 3 - Du Gia to Ha Giang

Distance: 152 km (we were awake at 5am for the livestock market)

Left at: 7:00 am

Travel Time: 6 hours (some road construction, backtracking due to flood, gas stops)

Route: We took the DT176 north out of Du Gia as we had heard the short route south was in rough condition. We attempted to take the DT181 west but after 1km we had to turn back due to the road being flooded over by a river. We then took the DT176 (which becomes the DT182) north all the way to Yen Minh, and from there took the QL4C all the way back to Ha Giang.

Road Conditions: Rough roads early, wide and well-paved later on. Beautiful mountain-winding on the DT176 (we were reversing course from the previous day). After that there was some small mountain climbing, a long time wrapping along side the river, and going back through Heaven's Gate pass, etc, which we had done on the first day.

Weather: Overcast throughout, with a brief spurt of rain and some fogginess when we were high in the mountains.

Fuel cost: 105,000 VND

Bike Repairs: none

Accommodation: We then took the bus back to Hanoi, where we stayed at Charming Hotel (2 nights)

TOTAL HA GIANG LOOP COST:

Bikes: 1,500,000 VND

Gas: 550,000 VND

Repairs: none

TOTAL: 2,050,000 VND ($88.35) ($44.18 each)