Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi
Upon arrival in Hanoi airport, you will be met by our
Vietnam adventure tour guide at the airport and transfer to your hotel in Hanoi. On the way to Hanoi, in addition to a brief introduction about our
biking tour and Hanoi information, our guide will help you with some orientation about the bikes as well as the road, traffic condition in
Vietnam. If time permits, we can have riding test in the afternoon so that you can get along well with the bikes.
Check in our room then enjoy welcome dinner with local delicacies. Overnight in Hanoi.
Summary
Airport transfer: 1 hour by private AC car
Meal: Welcome dinner
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi
Day 2: Hanoi – Mai Chau – Buoc Village ~ 20km/12miles biking
Kick start our adventure with a drive to wellknown and beautiful valley Mai Chau at 8am. You will be provided professional bikes and good quality helmet.
We drive for about 4 hours to reach to Mai Chau, the gateway to the impressive mountainous area of northern Vietnam. The drive is very nice with stunning view of mountains, valleys, sugarcane farms and rice paddies. We would have a stop en route for refreshment and/or photo hunts.
Upon arrival in Mai Chau, we have a lunch stop in Pom Coong, a village of Thai ethnic minority where we will have lunch in a local house. After lunch we embark on a
Mai Chau biking on village road to Buoc, a village of Thai minority group. You will be provided a professional bike and helmets. Our start up biking segment today is on small, less tourist village road. We arrive Buoc Village late afternoon where we will have dinner and overnight in a traditional stilt-house of a Thai family.
Summary
Transfer to Mai Chau: 170km with 4 hrs driving
Biking: 20km on undulating village road
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home stay
Day 3: Buoc – Hang Village (Pu Luong Nature Reserve) ~ 40km/25miles biking
With this biking day, we will upgrade the challenging level a bit to yesterday. The bike will be longer and on bumpy road for the very last part. Enjoy the breakfast then we embark on a beautiful ride following shaded village roads to Van Mai Village where we have lunch in a local house.
After lunch we ride southward to
Pu Luong Nature Reserve. We will first bike on beautiful road through Mai Chau valley before jumping into bumpy village road the last 15km. We will reach Hang Village around 5 pm. Here we take another homestay at a Thai family. The dinner is included at the house.
Summary
Biking: 40km – unpaved bumpy road – Moderate grade
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home stay
Day 4: Hang – Hin Village ~ 30km/18miles biking
Today is a tough day with long climb on mix of dirt paths and village roads. This road is an original part of the historic Ho Chi Minh Trail, which run through the Pu Luong Nature Reserve. In the morning we cycle ascending mainly. In the afternoon we enjoy easier ride slightly downhill to Hin, a village of Thai minority. Great mountain view and scenic villages. Lunch in local house en route. Dinner and overnight in Hin village.
Summary
Biking: 30km – unpaved bumpy road – Challenging grade
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home stay
Day 5: Hin Village – Tan Ky ~ 60km/37miles biking
In the morning, we say good bye to the villagers and ride toward Ma River passing expansive maize fields. Near the river we would see many water wheels which used by the local to water their farms. We cross the river on bridge and have lunch in Canh Nang town.
Treat your stomach with our well-prepared lunch, we continue biking toward the Fairy Fish Stream in Cam Luong where you see thousands of fish in a shallow stream. You can feed and touch them. After that you keep cycling southward on Ho Chi Minh Highway. In the afternoon we will use van for over 100km transfer to Tan Ky Town, where we will stay overnight in a small hotel and have dinner in local restaurant.
Summary
Biking: 60km – 40% unpaved bumpy road, 60% paved road – Moderate grade
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
Accommodation: Hotel in Tan Ky
Day 6: Tan Ky – Huong Khe ~ 70km/44miles biking
Breakfast in Tan Ky and ride on Ho Chi Minh Highway to Pho Chau, a small town 87km south of Tan Ky. We will tackle around 40km in the morning. The ride is on smooth road and passing peaceful villages and stunning mountain range. We take bus ride the last 40km to Pho Chau for lunch. After lunch we jump into a branch of
Ho Chi Minh Trail, a smaller road leading to Dong Loc T-junction. This was a hot spot, which was bombed heavily during the Vietnam War. Continue riding for 1 hour then we meet the Ho Chi Minh Highway again. Bus transfer to Huong Khe. Dinner and overnight on Huong Khe.
Summary
Biking distance: 70-80km – 60% highway, 40% smaller paved road
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
Accommodation: Hotel in Huong Khe
Day 7: Huong Khe – Phong Nha – Dong Hoi ~ 60km/37miles biking
After breakfast bus drive 20km and then we begin our ride today toward Phong Nha National Park. The biking today is on pave highway. Lunch stop in Liem Phu. We take bus ride to
Phong Nha Cave, which is a World Heritage Site. Upon arrival in Phong Nha we take a boat cruise on river to explore the cave.
The cave exploration often lasts for 2 hours with amazing limestone formation inside the cave. We are back to the boat pier then take bus ride to Dong Hoi to check in hotel. Dinner and overnight in Dong Hoi.
Summary
Biking distance: 60km – highway
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Dong Hoi
Day 8: Dong Hoi – Dong Ha – DMZ ~ 60km/37miles biking
Breakfast in the hotel. We have a short bus ride before beginning the biking today. The ride is totally on Ho Chi Minh Highway. We will have a stop at the Truong Son Cemetery where some hundred of thousand soldiers who served in army during Vietnam War are resting in peace.
Bus transfer to Dong Ha for hotel check in. Lunch in local restaurant. In the afternoon we have a DMZ tour by bus. Here you will listen to our guide explain about the importance as well as the violence of this are during the war time. We do not judge right or wrong, just stay here to tribute the fallen soldiers and value our present peaceful life. Dinner and overnight in Dong Ha.
Summary
Biking distance: 60km – quiet highway
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Dong Ha
Day 9: Dong Ha – Khe Sanh – A Luoi ~ 60km/37miles biking
Breakfast in hotel and take bus ride to
Khe Sanh. Visit to old military base before beginning the biking along Da Krong River. The ride is so beautiful with river and tribal villages along the road. We will have a lunch stop on the way. In the afternoon, we continue riding to A Luoi. The last 20km can be done by bus.
The biking segment today get you pass through one of the most brutal battle fields. The historical stories blending with awesome scenery give us the mixed feelings of enjoyment and sadness. They also make you understand how Ho Chi Minh trail becomes a legend in this painful part of our history.
Dinner and overnight in A Luoi.
Summary
Biking distance: 60-70km – quiet highway
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Aluoi
Day 10: A Luoi – Thanh My ~ 70km/43miles biking
Breakfast in town. We will have a bus transfer to the summit of a long, high pass. Begin the beautiful ride downhill 40km to Prao. Lunch in Prao. In the afternoon, continue riding to Thanh My. Dinner and overnight in Thanh My.
Summary
Biking distance: 70km – Challenging grade
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Thanh My
Day 11: Thanh My – Hoi An ~ 80km/50miles biking
Enjoy breakfast in Thanh My and get excited for our target today, Hoi an town - the World Heritage site. Start up with a ride along Vu Gia River to Hoian for next 80km from Thanh My. We will have a lunch stop in Dai Loc before getting back to our bike and
cycling to Hoian. The biking segment today is pleasant since we ride mainly downhill and on flat terrain.
We reach Hoian around 5pm. Check in hotel and have dinner in the Old Quarter of Hoian. Overnight in Hoian.
Summary
Biking distance: 80km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian
Day 12: Hoian free time ~ day off
Free day for relaxing or shopping in the ancient town.
Hoi an is a very lovely town to self explore with many types of activities such as cooking class, handicraft villages: pottery, vegetable or wood carving, enjoying sunset cruise with cocktail over Thu Bon river or just leisure tea/coffee time at a very styled shop in town center.
Lunch and dinner are under your own management. Our guide can help with suggestions and setup. Overnight in Hoian.
* Note: You can also book an optional tour with us for this day. Please contact our travel consultant for a suggestion.Summary
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian
Day 13: Hoian – Danang – Departure flight
Breakfast and free at leisure. The best option for today is swimming at Cua Dai beach before we transfer to the Danang airport for flight to onward destination. Our biking adventure for
the first half of Ho Chi Minh trail ends up at the airport see off. Contact us to extend your
adventure tours to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.
Summary
Airport transfer: 35 minutes driving
Meals: Breakfast
Note on client safety
We reserve the right to deviate from this itinerary for any reasons, including road and weather conditions, frequency of visits to a village, or for any other factor which may influence client safety.
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