In search of mind-blowing scenery and some exhilarating cycling? West and north of Hanoi are the places to go – the ride is challenging and the satisfaction after a full day on the bike is second to none.  Climb intense mountain passes, cruise into deep, fertile valleys and stop in quaint, friendly villages.  Be ready for 8 unforgettable days.

Brief Itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi – Hoa Binh – Mai Chau

Day 2: Mai Chau – Moc Chau

Day 3: Moc Chau – Phu Yen

Day 4: Phu Yen – Thu Cuc – Nghia Lo

Day 5: Nghia Lo – Tu Le – Than Uyen

Day 6: Than Uyen – Than Thuoc – Sapa

Day 7: Free day in Sapa

Day 8: Depart Hanoi

Trip Grade:
Level of fitness and cycling ability is required.

Weather:
Undoubtedly, weather is one of the determining factors for your traveling decisions. If you are heading to Vietnam, then, take it easy to make up your mind. Vietnam’s climate is not just steamy hot as what you are frequently exposed to on movies. All year round here, there is always a perfect place where it is pleasant to stay. Basically, the whole country falls into the tropic and subtropics but its stretching length and diverse topography allow it to span several different climate zones. The weather thus, tends to vary considerably from season to season and also from region to region.

Northern Part
The North of Vietnam is generally cooler than other South East Asian regions in the same longitude. It experiences two main distinct seasons. In winter months, the weather gets colder and colder fromNovember to March and considerably warmer in April (a leap into summer). This is also time to observe much cloud and frequent drizzle. The average winter temperature is 17.2°C (62.9°F). Particularly, the mountainous areas (Northwest) are often much colder, temperature may keep below 10°C (50°F) for long period. Ice and snow even cover Hoang Lien Son Mountains and nearby Sapa town for some times with the lowest record of -3°C (26.6°F) in Feb 2008.
In the summer (from May to October), the whole region is quite hot. Temperature may rise to 37°C (98.6 °F) in the peaks of June and July. Hanoi and coastal provinces around the Red River Delta generally enjoy equitable weather with high average humidity (80%) all year round though they may occasionally be subjected to typhoons and heavy rain in late summers (September to November). Vietnamese people even identify four seasons in the Northern provinces (from Hai Van Pass toward the north) with their distinct features: pleasant spring (typically March-April) and autumn (October-December), a chilly winter (December- February) and a hot summer (June – July).

Central Part
The Central Vietnam with two sub-regions, coastal lowlands and central highlands, can be seen as an in-between climatic area of the North and the South. The coastal strip is usually dry and hotter than the rest in the summer, as the Truong Son Mountains do not allow it to enjoy most rainfall of south-western monsoon (from April to October). Unprotected coasts in their turn, however, make it wet and colder than the rest in winter-monsoon season (from November to March). Also, storms and typhoons strike this area more frequently than the northern coasts in summer months (from July to November). The Central Highlands in particular enjoys nearly double the average rainfall of the country. Two biggest towns in this plateau, Dalat and Pleiku, are ideally cool throughout the year. Near-the-south coastal cities, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang and Phan Thiet, on the contrary, experiences steamy hot weather (21°C-32°C / 70°F-90°F) all year round.

Southern Part
The South of Vietnam, merely 8 degrees north of the Equator, is typical of humid tropical climate which is excellent for growing rice. The region’s temperatures experience little variations in a year (around 27-32°C/80-90°F). There are two main seasons: the rainy and the dry. During the rainy/monsoon season (from May to November), downpours are expected to happen nearly every afternoon, resulting in occasional street flooding in and around Saigon. In the dry season, it is hot from late February to April then slightly cooler when first downpours come. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) enjoys rather equitable tropical climate with high humidity all year round. December to March is said to be the most pleasant time to hit this region’s center.

Note: In all, Vietnam climate is so diverse that there is almost no definition of an average temperature for the whole country. Thanks to these regional variations in weather, generally, you can drop in Vietnam at any time of year. Commonly, based on the duration of your stay, you should plan to catch the good weather and places by either dropping in Saigon in February or March then following the coast to north or hitting Hanoi in October-November then tracing southward.

Day 1: Hanoi – Hoa Binh – Mai Chau
You depart Hanoi early for Mai Chau and enjoy the scenery on the drive. From the top of Cun Mountain, you can admire the panorama of Mai Chau’s green valley with stilt houses dotting the landscape. At Cao Phong, you get off the bus and pick up our bikes to start our cycling sector on beautiful undulating roads passing through cane plantations and rice paddies. You enjoy lunch end of route and finish the ride at the Mai Chau Lodge. Dinner and overnight at the Lodge.

Overnight in Mai Chau

Meals: Lunch and dinner

Cycling distance: 50-60 km

Rating: Easy/Moderate

Day 2: Mai Chau – Moc Chau
After breakfast at the hotel you start another spectacular and challenging day, as the majority of it is uphill. You transfer out of Mai Chau to the Tong Dau crossroads and start riding along winding, well-maintained roads while ascending the Mai Chau Pass. You’ll head into a region predominantly populated by Black Thai before getting to the Moc Chau plateau situated at 1000m above sea level. You’ll then pass through plum orchards and corn and tea plantations. Moc Chau is renowned for its banh sua (milk cake) and tea products.

Overnight in Moc Chau

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Cycling distance: 70-80 km

Rating: Moderate

Day 3: Moc Chau – Phu Yen
You leave Moc Chau and ride down Highway 43, an excellent road, enjoying views of the huge tea plantations on the way to Phu Yen. The mountainous countryside offers some fantastic views – worthy of more than a few photos.

Overnight in Phu Yen.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Cycling distance: 70-80km

Rating: Moderate

Day 4: Phu Yen – Thu Cuc – Nghia Lo
Your ride south along quiet roads zigzagging their way through lush jungles, verdant mountains and charming villages. You will have 2 small passes to tackle before hitting the main junction at Thu Cuc where you rest for lunch at this small town. You then continue to cruise on good tarmac all the way to Nghia Lo stopping to visit ethnic minority villages and interacting with the locals, arriving at Nghia Lo later in the day.

Overnight in Nghia Lo

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Cycling distance: 80-90km

Rating: Moderate

Day 5: Nghia Lo – Tu Le – Than Uyen
Today the ride is a mixture of steep ascents as well as easy descents, including some challenging passes to deal with. The trails wind their ways along the mountain ranges and you’ll be rewarded with exceptional views of the Chan Hung Mountain. The route offers at not only an excellent ride but also has many points of interest and your guide will stop at the traditional hamlets of La Ha, H’mong and Ma people. The ride ends at Tu Le village where a shuttle takes you the rest way to Than Uyen for your overnight stay.

Overnight in Than Uyen

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Cycling distance: 80-90 km

Rating: Moderate/Challenging

Day 6: Than Uyen – Than Thuoc – Sapa
A fantastic bike ride from Than Uyen to Than Thuoc village awaits you today. The trails take you up and down hilly mountains, through Thai and H’mong hamlets and commands magnificent views of the surrounding rugged cliffs and terraced rice paddies. The second part of the day is a little more challenging climbing over the 2147m ‘Heaven’s Gate’ pass. From the peak of this pass, you are rewarded with a panoramic view of Lai Chau province. Our bus will pick you up at the foot of the pass and transfer you the rest of the way to Sapa via Silver waterfall.

Overnight in Sapa.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Cycling distance: 80-90km

Rating: Moderate/Challenging

Day 7: Free day in Sapa
Today you have a chance to relax, stroll to nearby villages, get some souvenirs and soak up the atmosphere of Sapa. At 18.30 Hrs you transfer to Lao Cai to board the overnight train to Ha Noi.

Overnight on train

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 8: Departure
Arrive in Ha Noi in the morning and transfer to the airport for your departure flight. 

Ending of Services!

This tour is private and can be tailor-made to suit your travel needs. As a result the price is quoted in US dollars and shown on a per-person basis. The 'Price From' quoted above is for parties of 2, 4 and 6 people and for accommodation in 3 star hotels. The final price will be privately quoted, based on the number in your party, your preferred time of travel, grade of hotel and any additional services requested. Please click on the BOOK NOW button and fill in the booking form, after which one of our travel consultants will customize the best value holiday for you.

REMARKS:
We are aware that a good tour must have good hotels. In Indochina particularly, hotel price makes up most of the cost of your Cambodia cycling, Vietnam cycling, Laos cycling, Myanmar cycling or Thailand cycling. All of our prices are calculated on a twin-shared basis. As a guide, Travel Loops defines hotel grades as follows:

>>Superior Level (3 star hotels in good locations): > 40 USD/room/night
>>Deluxe Level (4 star hotels): > 80 USD/room/night
>>Luxury Level (5 star hotels): > 180 USD/room/night

Price based on twin shared accommodation.
Tour price is indicative only, please enquire for a detailed quotation.
More people means more discount. Please enquire for more details

If, after reviewing the details of this tour, you would like to receive a "Special Offer" tour price, just click on the "INQUIRY" button below. If you wish to “Tailor Make" your trip, simply click on the "CUSTOMIZE TRIP" and enter your contact details.

COST INCLUDED:

• Experienced English speaking guide
• Private transportation by air-conditioned vehicle
• Accommodation in double/twin sharing rooms with daily breakfast
• Meals as mentioned in the itinerary
• Bottled drinking water for sightseeing
• All sightseeing entrance fee where required in the itinerary.
• Mountain bike and helmet. 

COST EXCLUDED:

• International/domestic airfares & tax
• Visa fees.
• Travel Insurance. (We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance from home)
• Personal expenditure (telephone, laundry, shopping and so on…)
• Tips for guide, driver, porters and project cost
• Beverage and alcoholic drinks
• Any other services not clearly mentioned on itinerary and trip inclusive portion.

The hotels listed below are just our suggestions offering the best value for this trip according to the hotel category chosen, but Travel Loops also offers more options to cater for different grades, personal taste, and budget. Please let us know if you have any specific choice of hotels, or personal preferences/requirements.

Note: Our choices for each level of accommodation have been highlighted in orange. As mentioned above our selection criteria are based on: prior client reviews, hotel management and staff training, facilities maintenance, location, business relationship and advantages given exclusively to our clients on price and service.