Whether you’re a seasoned rider or just finding your wheels, Hanoi is a surprisingly good launchpad for a motorbike trip into the countryside. Here are some routes we’ve covered, and everything you need to know before you go.
REFERENCE POINTS |
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| Starting point
Twin Dragons, Tây Hồ (near Lạc Long Quân & Nhật Chiêu) |
Motorbike
Honda Wave 110cc |
Road conditions
As of May 2026, it is improving, but expect potholes and construction on many routes |
Difficulty
Rated on distance, terrain, traffic, road exposure, and how forgiving the route is |
THE ROUTES
Sóc Sơn – ★★ [Easy]
~30–45 min from Tây Hồ
| Ride time
30–45 min |
Best for
First ride out of the city |
Terrain
Flat, straightforward |
If you’re looking to stretch your legs without committing to a full day on the road, Sóc Sơn is a good place to start. It’s one of the closest escapes from the city – a short, relatively straightforward ride that gives you lakes, camping spots, and a handful of homestays and villas to choose from.
If you’re a group of at least 25-30 people trying to get out of the city for a weekend getaway, we recommend Hip Villa. The place has a swimming pool, a pickleball court, a pool table, a fully-equipped kitchen, and ample parking for several motorbikes and cars (if you’re taking a grab).
You might also recognise the area. Nội Bài International Airport is located here, so the roads heading north out of Tây Hồ should feel familiar enough.
Ninh Bình – ★★ [Easy-Moderate]
~2.5-3.5 hours from Tây Hồ
| Ride time
2.5-3.5 hours |
Direction
Southeast |
Best for
First long-distance ride |
Ninh Bình sits southeast of Hanoi and is one of the more forgiving long-distance motorbike rides you can do. The roads are mostly straightforward, the scenery opens up as you get further from the city, and you can follow the railway line for a good stretch of the journey.
If you’d rather take the train, that’s a perfectly good option too, and you can always rent a motorbike once you’re there, which would usually cost around USD 3-5 or VND 100,000-200,000 a day. Regardless of how you get here, give yourself 3.5 hours if you’re not in a hurry, as there’s no need to rush.
Bích Động Pagoda is located in Ninh Bình, and can be accessed by motorbike or bicycle in Tam Cốc
Hải Phòng → Cát Bà Island – ★★★ [Moderate]
~3.5 hrs to Hải Phòng from Tây Hồ + 45 min to port + 30 min ferry
| Ride time
~3.5 hours to city |
Direction
East |
Best for
Coastal riding + ferry |
Hải Phòng is Vietnam’s third most populous city. It is a working port town known for its wide roads, its hoa phượng (red flamboyant flowers that bloom across the city), and its crabs and seafood. It’s a worthwhile stop in its own right before you push on to the island.
Don’t skip the city! Give it a few hours or a night before pushing on. And if you’re looking for a cold one, Hải Phòng serves bia tươi more than the bia hơi you’ll find in Hanoi: slightly maltier, worth trying. One of these places is the Hải Phòng Brewery, located here. A 330ml glass of bia tươi would cost VND 25,000, and a 500ml glass would be VND 35,000. However, if you’re keen to just have a nice bia hơi, a glass would cost you VND 8,000, and a small keg would be VND 60,000.
It’s not a bad idea to stop in this city for a bit before heading out to Cat Ba Island
Note that you won’t be able to take your motorbike on the expressway on this route. You’ll need to take the main road, which means sharing space with lorries. Stay alert and give them plenty of room.
Once you’ve had your fill of the city (and ideally a bowl of bún cá), ride about 45 minutes to the port and board the ferry to Cát Bà Island, which is a 30-minute crossing. The good news for riders is that you don’t need to purchase ferry tickets online, and that you can buy in the ferry station for VND 44,000 (for motorbikes) and VND 12,000 per person. From there, you ride your motorbike straight onto the ferry and disembark directly onto the island so you can start riding into town.
⚠ Watch out for heavy lorry traffic on the main road between Hanoi and Hải Phòng. The expressway is not accessible on this route.
Bà Vì National Park – ★★ [Easy-Moderate]
~1.5 hrs from Hanoi city centre
| Ride time
~1.5 hours |
Direction
West |
Best for
Standalone ride or western loop finale |
About 60km west of Hanoi, Bà Vì National Park sits across a three-peak mountain range and is one of the more accessible places near the city to experience real forest, some elevation, and a bit of history. The French colonial ruins scattered across the upper slopes add an unexpected layer to what’s otherwise a nature-first destination. Cloud hunting here is a thing too: on the right morning, the peaks disappear into the mist.
Bà Vì works well as a standalone day trip, but it also makes for a perfect final stop on the western circuit. If you’ve come down from Tà Xùa and don’t feel like riding straight back to Hanoi, this is a gentle, scenic way to wind down, and only about 1.5 hours from the city when you’re ready to head home.
Hòa Bình → Mai Châu – ★★★ [Moderate]
~3-4 hrs from Tây Hồ, depending on stops
| Ride time
3-4 hours |
Direction
West |
Best for
Mountain scenery, cool weather |
Head further west from Hanoi, and the terrain starts to shift fairly quickly. Hòa Bình is your first major stop. There’s a lake here where you can stay in floating villages, a genuinely lovely way to break up the motorbike journey.
Continue, and you’ll reach Mai Châu: a quiet agricultural town nestled in a valley, which stays cool pretty much year-round. There’s a waterfall to visit, several sunset viewing points that face Hòa Bình Lake, and the surrounding landscape has the kind of beauty that’s easy to linger in. The roads get curvier as you gain altitude, but the scenery more than compensates.
We stayed in Mai Chau 4 Seasons, a homestay that is built on the side of one of the karst formations. You can ride a bicycle to explore the fields, or just take a leisurely walk around.
Mai Châu is nestled within a valley. Before you get here, you’ll have to drive through the mountains. Great area to stop and take photos as well!
Sơn Tây → Thanh Sơn → Tà Xùa – ★★★★ [Advanced]
~5–6 hrs to Tà Xùa, depending on stops
| Ride time
5-6 hours |
Direction
West/northwest |
Best for
Experienced riders |
This is the western circuit: it rewards you for every kilometre you drive. This route takes you through Sơn Tây, a quiet town with the Ancient Citadel worth a wander and a good place to stop for petrol and lunch before continuing west.
Then Thanh Sơn, a smaller, quieter town with rolling hills of mountain tea surrounding you, is an unexpected stop that turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip.
Despite being a small town, Thanh Sơn has a couple of food stops worth knowing about. In the evenings, there’s a spot serving bún chả worth VND 35,000: simple, satisfying, exactly what you need after a long day on the road. For the more adventurous, there’s a family-run restaurant that does horse hot pot. It’s not something you’ll find on every menu, and it’s absolutely worth trying if you’re open to it.
We stayed at Làng Sinh Thái Ngọc Đồng (Eco Village Retreat), about 10 minutes from Thanh Sơn town proper. It’s a mountain retreat surrounded by tea plantations and genuinely one of the more peaceful places we’ve rested on any of these trips.
Consider stopping in Thanh Sơn, where you’ll be greeted with rolling hills of tea plantations. The air has a distinct fragrance to it.
From there, the terrain becomes genuinely mountainous.
Tà Xùa is the destination for this circuit: a remote mountain town that’s far less commercialised than Sa Pa and all the more charming for it. The main draw is cloud hunting: on clear mornings, you wake up to a sea of clouds below you, which gives you a real sense of just how high up you are. Motorbikes are the main form of transport here, which tells you something about the roads.
Some motorbike riders extend the western circuit to include Mù Cang Chải. This is worth researching if you have more time. Our route went through Tà Xùa and wound down via Bà Vì National Park on the way back.
If you’re riding as a pair or in a group, we recommend taking individual motorbikes rather than doubling up, as the road demands your full attention. The elevation changes are significant, and some sections have no guardrails.
⚠ Do not ride to Tà Xùa at night. The route gets foggy, and there are no lights on the road up to town. Clay surfaces become extremely slippery when wet, so take corners carefully and never overtake on blind bends. Download offline maps before you leave; signal drops out in several stretches, and navigation apps have been known to route riders down unsuitable dirt roads.
Before you ride
If you don’t hold a Vietnamese driving licence, please carry your International Driving Permit (IDP) at all times. Police do conduct licence checks on the road. And no matter how short the trip, wear your helmet. Always check your motorbike is in good condition before any long-distance ride. Fuel stops and repair shops (sửa chữa xe máy) are widely available along all of these routes, but it’s always better to leave with a bike in good shape.
Vietnam rewards riders who are willing to get out of the city. These routes are just a starting point, with each one opening up further possibilities, pit stops you didn’t plan for, and stretches of road that remind you why you got on the bike in the first place.
Ride at your own pace, stay safe, and look after each other on the road. And if you’ve done any of these motorbike routes yourself (or discovered something we haven’t), we’d love to hear about it.
Want to know more about Vietnam? Check out our other blogs here.
