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BEFORE SENDING A DEPOSIT
Our office is located in Hanoi where all rides start from, but you can end your ride anywhere in Vietnam. Please arrange flight(s) to Hanoi's Noi Bai International airport at least one day before your trip starts. For people who don't want to negotiate with Hanoi busy traffic, we can send the bike(s) on the truck to the edge of the city and actual riding starts from outside of Hanoi. This costs you extra and please send us an email to discuss.
We provide either full package guided tours or just bike rentals, nothing in between. We are unable to assist with timing and itinerary routing for self-guided tour customers as we ride on highways, back roads and shortcuts, some of them you can't find on maps. The experience from a guided tour is of course very different from a self-guided trip as our guide is 4 in 1: guide/mechanic/translator/road finder. Guided tours offer flexibility and a real/deep insight of Vietnam and cost much more than self-guided trips.
For North Vietnam where 90% of our rides takes place, the best time is usually from September to January (cool and dry). From February to April is normally cold and wet. May to August is hot and Indian summer is in June, July and August.
When you pay a deposit to secure your booking, most banks double charge as most of them use a middle bank (over 80% of the transfers we received). If this is the case, don't worry about the short balance as we can settle this when we meet in Hanoi. You can transfer the money in your local currency, but make sure to ask your bank about the exchange rates. We prefer cash as "cash is king" in Vietnam, and accept USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, CHF, EUR, HKD or SGD. If you don't want to travel with cash, you can just pay us all before you come to Vietnam with instructions here.
Most travellers need a visa for Vietnam. We can assist with a pre-approval visa letter. For the standard 30-day tourist visa, you pay us the letter (20$US/person, available after 2-3 days working days) and then pay the border police (45$US) on arrival. Totally you pay 65$US, no more. This is only possible if you enter by air.
List of things you should bring with you. You are welcome to add whatever you need personally.
First-aid kit is very important and carry this with you on the ride and throughout your travel. We can't buy a quality kit in Vietnam.
MEETING & PAPERWORK BEFORE A TRIP
You come at 9am to our office in Hanoi if all paperwork, riding gear and payment are cleared before we set off. In case you have due balance or need to fill the "Disclaimer" below then come at 8:30am. It takes from 30 minutes to one hour before you begin your adventure.
To save time on the day of departure, you can download the disclaimer form. Please print and fill in before you come to Vietnam and give it to our staff before or on the day you start your ride. There are two pages: page 1 and page 2. You can also downloadpdf version if fonts display correctly.
Cash is king everywhere, including Vietnam. You can pay us in your local currency or US Dollars or VN Dongs. If you use credit cards, bank commission is between 3-4% on top, surcharge may apply if the rates are a big difference between banks and free/black market.
Last but not least, check the booking conditions here to make sure that we are all clear before we meet in Hanoi.
WHILE YOU ARE ON THE TRIP
The traffic looks very crazy at first, but it's not that bad. It's like a river and when you are in it you have to flow. First rule is no rules.
The informal/practical rules when you are on the roads:
01. Larger vehicles have right of way. Avoid anything bigger than you and slow down.
02. Traffic is like a river, you have to flow in it. Riders will find a way to move forward.
03. Use signal and the most important thing is the horn. People don't care about the noise of horns.
04. Speed limit in Vietnam is very low (25-80km/h). Don't break the speed limit, a speeding ticket is expensive.
05. Animals are everywhere in the country or mountain roads. Dogs and chickens are the most then come water buffaloes, cows, pigs and horses...If you kill a dog or a chicken don't stop, cry and feel sorry, it's not your fault. Slow down and don't hit water buffaloes, cows, pigs and horses, simply they are too big!
06. Space between you and other riders (local people, guide…) should be far enough in order to have no surprise. In cities or crowded roads, the traffic is usually slow. On wide open roads or in the mountains, we suggest 10-20m. Don't ever ride alongside your guide because he has lots of work to do.
07. Be careful with spilt oil from trucks and buses at curves on the mountain roads, extremely slippery and we have had at least four small accidents related to this matter.
08. Your guide leads the group and he gives you hand/body language if there are big pot holes, trucks, blind curves or any danger. He can see you in the mirrors and if you want to stop use the signal or simply pull off but be careful with riders behind you. If you got lost, just stop and wait for someone to find you or call us.
09. If the police stop you (this rarely happens), your guide will not come back. He will wait for you, out of sight up the road. Just keep talking English or whatever you want and they'll soon give up and let you go in less than five minutes.
10. If the road is wet, use both brakes at the same time with more back brake as if you apply more front brake it slips. Most of our bikes have front disc brakes and on 250cc dirt bikes you have front and back disc brakes.
11. Do not drink and drive.
Vietnam is still a developing country (or a third world country) and standards are different (lower) than Western countries. Some people complained about hard mattresses in hotels or small and simple restaurants. Please don't use Western standards for a country like Vietnam. We saw a sign in Thailand and it said "Thailand is still a developing country and you will have a different experience. If you want to feel at home then stay home." Please be aware of this fact, especially if this is your first time to Vietnam.
Restaurants may look small and simple but the food is great. They offer authentic Vietnamese food that is normally not available in bigger restaurants or hotels. On our motorbike tours, we support local businesses and local restaurants offer things of a real Vietnam.
GPS works in Vietnam, please check with your dealer about necessary software and/or updates. Broadband Internet connection is available almost everywhere and you can find a public Internet cafe easily. The cost for using broadband Internet is quite cheap (1$US = 4-5 hours). A 3G Vietnamese SIM card is another option. Many hotels offer free Wifi. Electricity is also available nationwide but there can be a shortage in summer and power-cut is common between May and August (luckily, not normally at night!).
You need to bring spare money to pay for drinks. A 1.5l bottle of water or a can of beer costs between 10,000 to 20,000 VN Dongs (0.5-1$US). Drinks in home stays usually cost more than in restaurants but your money will be contributed directly into local communities and we believe you accept this.
ADD-ONS
You may choose to stay anywhere in Hanoi but we recommend the Old Quarter. The Old Quarter is noisy and crowded but at least this is a typical Hanoi and it's close to our office. We can help with hotel room booking and air-port transfers. Our office is located at the foot of Chuong Duong bridge. This is a good starting point to ride out of Hanoi by following the dike road along the Red river with easier traffic than most of other roads. We don't start from your hotel as bike(s) and riding gear are bulky to carry.
The prices quoted are based on double, twins or triple sharing room. There will be single supplement charge if you request a single room, normally about 20$US/room/night. The amount depends on which trip you take and we will advise the cost when we meet in Hanoi.
You should bring your own riding gear due to size and quality matters. If you don't have any or don't want to carry them, you can rent from us. A typical set includes a helmet, a pair of fingerless gloves and protection knee and elbow pads or jacket and pants.
We used to provide saddle bags on the bikes but discovered that it was too difficult to control the balance at the back. In addition, it's really dangerous to pass through many towns on the road due to traffic problems. Please pack things you need to take on the trip in a medium size bag and tie it at the back of the bike. You can see how the luggage racks look like here. If you request, we can provide a support truck for 170$US/day including a truck, driver, fuel & a spare motorcycle.
For insurance, we have third party insurance for all of our bikes. You need to have a valid Vietnamese or International motorbike/motorcycle Driving License. In reality, this insurance only covers up to about 1,800$US per case and paperwork is a real headache. We'd prefer to say that there is no third party insurance.
Personal medical insurance is a big concern for adventure riders. We don't require any sort of license to book a trip but it's more about insurance. Most of insurance companies don't provide a policy that covers a motorbike tour accident if you don't have a Vietnamese driving license. Sadly, it's impossible to get a Vietnamese license with a tourist visa. You need a business visa of at least three months, a work permit, a sponsor company and a valid passport. All these documents should be translated into Vietnamese at a notary office and a license will be issued after 7 or 10 days. It's just too complicated and time-consuming. With just a normal personal medical insurance you will still be covered about 19 hours a day when not riding because we only ride about 5 hours a day on average. Some Australian riders suggested CHI Insurance and said this company didn't require a Vietnamese driving license and covered larger displacements.
You pay Offroad Vietnam for add-on(s), there is no need to pay our partner(s) directly. One payment system is always lots easier.
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