9 Day Central Highlands and Mekong Delta Guided Motorcycle Tour in Vietnam

Overview

Many people now know that northern Vietnam is a fantastically beautiful area. But the South also has much to offer. It is a short trip and can be combined with the North-South Vietnam trip and also with the Northern Vietnam Highlights trip.

Highlights

• Starts and ends in Ho Chi Minh
• A ride through the famous Mekong Delta
• Ride to Cat Tien National Park and Phan Tiet
• Stop in Lagi and Vinh Long
• Motorcycle rental for the tour
• 8 nights accommodation
• Airport transfers

Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arrival - Ho Chi Minh City

   You will be picked up at Ho Chi Minh airport by a local contact person who will bring you to the hotel in the center of the city. In the hotel, you will meet the tour guide. During lunch or dinner, the tour guide will tell more about the details of the trip.

2. Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City - Cat Tien (155 km / 96 miles)

   After picking up the motorbikes, you ride out of town at the busiest moment of the day. In the beginning, the roads are totally crowded with small motorbikes and scooters. To ride through this chaotic traffic is an adventure in itself. On the outskirts of the city, it is getting busier with trucks. You will follow the main road until lunch. Immediately after lunch, you leave the main road and follow a network of narrow roads and paths along the border with the Cat Tien National Park. Take two small local ferries and follow some rather difficult off-road tracks before arriving at your destinati

3. Day 3: Cat Tien - Phan Thiet (280 km / 174 miles)

   This is the only real mountain leg of the trip. After taking another small ferry, you ride into the mountainous region of the Central Highlands. There are wonderful views over the lake created by a dam. In this mountainous area, one comes across a number of different peoples even some Hmong people from the north. However, today is mostly all about the magnificent views. At the end of the day, you descend to the coast and stay overnight in Phan Thiet.

4. Day 4: Phan Thiet - Vung Tau (180 km / 112 miles)

   From Phan Thiet to the coastal town of Lagi, you more or less follow the coastline. Just before your coffee stop in Lagi, you take some challenging small dirt roads. After the coffee stop until lunch, you follow the scenic coastal route. You notice that the beautiful coast of Vietnam has been discovered by mainly domestic investors. The number of beach resorts is growing very fast. Try to arrive on time in the port city of Vung Tau, so that you still have time to go to the beach. Vung Tau is the oil capital of the country. Since after the Vietnam War, mostly Russian companies have been active

5. Day 5: Vung Tau - Ben Tre (95 km / 59 miles)

   In the morning, take the boat to the Mekong Delta. The motorcycles are ridden on board via a narrow ramp and sit in the back of the boat. The crossing is two and a half hours long. On arrival, one notices instantly that one has arrived in another part of the country. This is the Mekong Delta. The land is flat and everything revolves around the water. You ride almost immediately onto the narrow trails through the paddy fields, crossing over the distributaries of the Mekong River by several small ferries. You arrive eventually, via narrow paths, in the town of Ben Tre. It is a lively town with a

6. Day 6: Ben Tre - Long Xuyen (165 km / 103 miles)

   You start the day again immediately with narrow roads along the river. The support vehicle cannot follow most of the time. Stop in the city of Vinh Long for lunch. Before this, however, you need to take a number of ferries. In the afternoon you follow narrow paths once again, through rice fields and small villages. These paths are usually surfaced but some are unsurfaced and difficult to tackle when it has rained. You also cross over dozens of small bridges. At the end of the afternoon, you arrive in the larger town of Long Xuyen. At first sight, there does not seem much to do here. As one get

7. Day 7: Long Xuyen - Chau Doc (150 km / 93 miles)

   After breakfast, you take the ferry to one of the many islands in the Mekong River. Here you follow a narrow path to the next ferry and continue your way along the little tracks. After the third ferry, you will visit a local brick factory. You take another ferry and stop for a coffee break at the local market. After the coffee break, you follow a beautiful dirt road along a canal. In case you still have time after arrival in Chau Doc, you can take a boat trip to the colorful floating villages nearby.

8. Day 8: Chau Doc - Ho Chi Minh City (220 km / 137 miles)

   After a couple of large ferries, you take another scenic route along narrow paths. Here too there are countless bridges to cross and you are always greeted by friendly people, who are very surprised to see you. It is totally enjoyable to ride your bike through this beautiful countryside. After lunch, you come to the larger road back to Ho Chi Minh City. Just before the city, another challenge begins...the busy traffic. Through the chaos, you reach the hotel in the center of town.

9. Day 9: Ho Chi Minh City – Departure

   You will be taken to the airport for your flight back home.

10. Day 9: Ho Chi Minh - day trip to Cu Chi

    Today you will visit the Củ Chi tunnels in a van with a local English-speaking guide. You will be impressed by the ingenuity of the corridor system and the way in which people live here.

11. Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City - Overnight stay

    This is an extra day in Ho Chi Minh City; there is still much to see here. You will, of course, visit the War Crimes Museum for a different look at all the wars that have ravaged Vietnam. You will visit the Reunification Palace too where the South officially surrendered to the North in 1975. The Ben Than market is also one of the places not to be missed.

12. Day 11 - Ho Chi Minh City - Departure

Ride Details

Terrain

asphalt, 20% off-road tracks, and jungle paths

Bike

rental bike (Kawasaki KLX 150cc or Honda XR150cc), motorbike upgrade: XR250CC or CRF250CC

Mileage

1145 kilometers / 774 miles

Daily rides

143 kilometers / 96 miles

Riding gears

the following items are mandatory: helmet, motorcycle jacket with protection, gloves, a good hard-wearing pair of (motorcycle) trousers with protection, and solid high (mountain) boots.

Meals

all breakfasts

Accommodation

During this tour, you stay in a mix of accommodations from semi-luxurious to simple homestays.

Food

Daily breakfast will be provided.

Getting There

This trip takes you to the Central Highlands, the mountains of South Vietnam. You will ride on narrow paths through the jungle here. Thereafter you ride along the coast for one day and take the boat to the Mekong Delta. The second part of the journey begins in the Mekong Delta and you find yourself immediately in another Vietnam. The Mekong Delta is largely made up of the distributaries of the Mek

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