Just looking at a map won’t leave you with the impression that Vietnam is a huge country. However, once you start planning your south to north motorbiking route, you’ll find it’s actually quite long.
A long country means a long ride, but an epic ride nonetheless.
So, how long does it take to ride a motorbike across Vietnam?
In summary: Hanoi to HCMC (or vice versa) is a ride I suggest allowing at least 3-4 weeks to tackle, averaging 150km days. This stands true even for experienced riders.
I’ll explain how I’ve arrived at and tested this rule of thumb in the article below.
Total riding distance from HCMC to Hanoi
The most direct driving distance between Ho Chi Minh City in the south and Hanoi in the north is about 1,700km. This uses the ultra fast (for Vietnam) paid tollways.
But… motorbikes are banned on these expressways, and nonetheless you won’t find them very cultural, scenic, or enjoyable.
Instead, a memorable ride across Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi is more likely to cover around 2,300km. Then you may consider coastal detours taking this out to over 2,500km.
Add to that an excursion around the Ha Giang Loop or a southern detour down to Phu Quoc Island and you’re riding over 3,000km in total.
Psst… I’ve detailed a comprehensive route covering this entire 3000km ride from HCMC to Hanoi + the Ha Giang Route. Read it now, thank me later.
How many kilometers per day should you ride in Vietnam?
Your daily riding distance in Vietnam really depends on what size motorbike and roads you use. As a rule of thumb, I suggest planning on an average of 150 km per day, with a maximum of 250 km per day.
On average days, a 150km ride looks something like HCMC to Can Tho on the Mekong Delta, Dalat to Nha Trang through the Central Highlands, or Hoi An to Hue along the mid-east coast.
On your stretch days, a 200km ride will be Nha Trang to Buon Ma Though, and then Buon Ma Thout to Pleiku heading further up the Central Highlands.
But why exactly do I recommend an average 150km per day?
Well, the most common motorbike for riding across Vietnam is the Honda XR150 (150 cc) with a top speed of around 100 km/hr. Don’t expect you’ll be riding at this top speed all the time though.
Consider that rural and mountain roads in Vietnam are often in poor condition with large potholes, narrow lanes, sand in corners, and the occasional cow walking along the road side. All this factored in, you’ll probably cruise most of the time at 50-60 km/hr.
That’s about 3 hours to cover your daily 150 km ride.
But… you aren’t riding each day from start to finish without stopping. The point of the ride is to enjoy the scenery and culture along the way. Stop for lunch, go for a hike, talk to the locals.
Realistically, you’re going to spend about 5-6 hours to complete your daily 150 km ride.
Start at 9am, wrap up by around 3-4pm. Finish before sunset which lands between 5.30-6pm.
How many days are needed to motorbike across Vietnam?
Short answer: I suggest a minimum of 3 weeks to ride from HCMC to Hanoi, but ideally 4 weeks. Then 5-6 weeks if you also want to cover the Ha Giang Loop.
I’ve seen so many motorbike rental enquiries come through with travelers aiming to ride from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi in 2 weeks, or even less! This is just not practical.
Running some basic math on this one (hang in with me) 2500km in total, at 150km per day. That’s 17 days, about 2 and a half weeks.
Do you plan to ride this distance every single day of your trip?
Ideally, you want to build in some rest days. There are days to park the bike and explore places like Hue, Hoi An, Dalat, Danang, and Nha Trang by foot, enabling you to get a little closer to Vietnam’s culture and its people.
You’ll also want a few multi-night stop in regional towns, from where you explore the countryside further with the motorbike, but on shorter, less agenda driven rides. The traditional tall houses in the mountains around Kon Tum are a must see, the ride from Cao Bang out to Ban Gioc Waterfall is a fantastic trip too, and the markets out at Bao Lac have been a highlight of my trip.
Here’s how I come to 3-4 weeks for Ho CHi Minh City to Hanoi:
- 17 riding days
- 8 rest days
- 25 days total
- Allow 2-3 days at each HCMC and Hanoi.
- 30 days in Vietnam
Can you motorbike from HCMC to Hanoi in 2 weeks?
Yes, the ride from HCMC to Hanoi can be done. But will it be enjoyable? No.
In fact, it’s probably even quite dangerous. Here’s why.
Riding 8-9 hours in a day will leave you tired at the end of the day. The next day you won’t feel quite as fresh. This builds up one day after another, causing fatigue and a lack of concentration.
This is where accidents happen.
So if you’re limited to just 2 weeks in Vietnam, I suggest you consider riding from HCMC to Danang or Hanoi to Danang. Both are great rides!
Read my article covering everything you need to know about riding one way routes in Vietnam and the costs associated. The same one way fees apply whether you drop your bike off in HCMC, Hanoi, Danang or Dalat.
Want to start getting ready for the big ride?
Now that you’ve got an idea of how long it will take to ride across Vietnam, you’ll probably need to figure out your exact dates.
In the meantime I highly recommend sending me some details about your planned route, duration, and approximate dates. With this, I will be able to recommend a suitable motorbike, confirm availability, and help you fine tune that route.
To get started, you can easily share all of these details in under 30 seconds on this page of my travel blog.
I partner directly with reputable local motorbike rental companies in Vietnam. This enables me to help you arrange an epic ride across Vietnam.
I also complement this by providing you access to my Vietnam Mega Map and Vietnam Rider Handbook. Both of these pack my first hand knowledge and lessons learned from my multiple rides across the country into easy to use travel resources (which are regularly updated).
