Many travelers don't get to take their bikes through Vietnam because of the sheer difficulty and red tape. I believe it is possible, and I will try and find out how when I go back in March 2014. See later posts about this. As a foreigner it looks like the only way to cross in/out of Vietnam is with a tour group OR do a deal with a tour operator who can meet you at the crossing and deal with the paper work etc...




For now, this is a summary of the trip my son and I made in Nov-Dec 2013.

FIRST Just reading this you can appreciate the "Catch 22" situation that surrounds biking in Vietnam.

Some hard facts about motorbiking in Vietnam:

• It is illegal for tourists to own a motorbike in vietnam
• approx. 7259 fatalities occur each year from motorbike related accidents
• Most Insurance companies will not cover you while riding a bike in Vietnam
• Be safe and ride at your own risk
• Foreigners who are not residents or staying in Vietnam CANNOT obtain a Vietnamese motorbike license. Typically most people will be riding through Vietnam in 3 months or less and this length of time does not allow you to hold a riders license. (This means that the majority of those tourists riding a bike in Vietnam do so illegally...see next point)
• It is illegal to ride without a license
• Most people would never consider riding without a drivers or riders license in their home country. The consequences of such a risk is too great. In most countries you would be asked to exit your vehicle and the car would be impounded, resulting in a hefty fine and maybe even short imprisonment. These rules still apply in Vietnam and are no different at all.
• It is still illegal for a foreigner to purchase a motorbike in Vietnam.
• The police at any time can impound your motorbike and you will receive a hefty fine.

A suggestion is that you should invest in both a drivers and/or riders license from your home country as well as obtaining an international driver’s license before arriving to Vietnam. An international driver's license is somewhat expensive but it will give you a little more credibility if you are pulled over by the police.

It is near impossible to cross borders from Vietnam unless you have the correct documentation. You will need to be importing and exporting the bike between each of the countries. Ensure you have all the relevant paper work
necessary. Be sure to seek advice from both government organisations and do your research before reaching the border so you know what to expect from each of the immigration and customs officials.
Information is sourced and copied from a book I bought before I started our trip. TWO WHEELS & RICE FIELDS
The Ultimate Guide To Motorbiking Vietnam, Anthony Milotic & Elise Reeks

Yet hundreds do it every year, with little or no problem at all. Instead of taking their bikes into Vietnam, they buy or hire bikes when they arrive, do the trip and leave.

If you wanted to be cautious, hiring would be a good way of going. It allows you to get hold of a bigger bike - (Vietnam only allows bikes up to 175cc to be ridden) Hire companies and certain bike groups get around this with special licences, allowing the use of much bigger bikes. Hiring will also help you with insurance arrangements for your journey. NOTE: I would still advise you have your own personal travel insurance, which covers you for motorbiking in Vietnam - i.e. World Nomads Insurance.

Preparing for the trip - we bought the bikes.

Most travelers will simply go to Craigslist.vn and scroll down the bikes for sale by private owners and dealers.
Choose the bike, and start the maintenance on it.

I say that, because most of the bikes you will see for sale, and by far the most popular for the budget traveler will be the Honda Win 100/110cc bike. Now these are not HONDAS, but Chinese copies.

They sell from between US$250 - US$350 and are mostly found either in Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi.




These bikes have been up and down Vietnam umpteen times and usually with a rider that does not understand maintenance and the bikes condition. So the first thing we did was get the two strongest bikes we could find.

We paid $300 each for the bikes.

What we had done:
Three new tyres @ $15 each, fitted.
One set of new clutch plates fitted
One new chain, and rear wheel sprocket
One new clutch cable
One rear wheel spokes replaced
Both Carburetors sripped and cleaned off dirty fuel
New Fuel filters
Recoverd one seat
One new headlight
Both tuned

Cost $140

So for an all up cost of $740 we had two bikes ready for the trip. Our daily maintenance was - oil check and chain tension and look for loosening bolts and screws.
Every second day (about 500klms) we changed the oil and tensioned the chains. When you consider that an oil change is only 70.000VND - 100.000VND ($3.30 - $4.70) and that there are no standards for oil, so you never quite know what your getting, frequent oil changes are the way to go...and the chain retensioning is always thrown in for the same price.

We began our trip in Hanoi, a city that IMHO is so much better than Ho Chi Minh in so many ways....like , quiter, friendlier on the roads, cooler.

We used both map and i-phone/nokia GPS (we had Vietnamese sim cards, cost about 200.000VND).
All we did was research the night before, use the computer (we carried one laptop) and figured out how to get out of the cities in particular. Bare in mind, that Google maps is not as accurate as it could be, and we often had to stop 2-3 times checking the GPS and sometoimes asking for directions, but it was no different than a tourist driving through Sydney Australia really.

Getting out of Hanoi was about a three stop trip...check the GPS and carry on. We never once got lost, though on the first day we did miss a turn-off to the BA BE National park where we had intended spending the night... next time

Here is a list of the places we went through and the map of the trip: 2905 klms NOTE Think about getting a really soft seat!!



We started in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), where I was living and as we needed to fly back to Australia from Saigon after the trip we flew up to Hanoi to buy the bikes and start the trip.

- Saigon 11-12 Nov - bought wet weather gear Map L

- Hanoi 13-14 Nov - Bought the bikes, new helmets $25 each, security chain $10 Map A

- Halong Bay 15-16 Nov. We left the bikes at the mechanics and did a two day/one night cruise on Halong Bay... magic. Map Directly east of A

- Hanoi - 17 Nov. Preparing for the trip. Picked up the bikes and brought them back to the hotel.

- 18 Nov -Traveling to Cao Bang Map B .. long day, but conditions were good and we had missed the turn off to Ba Be Lakes .... ... Cao Bằng is a province of the Northeast region of Vietnam.

- 19 Nov - Cao Bang to Ha Giang Map C. Interesting road... you will hit pot holes. Up here you are not too far away from the Chinses boarder. Ha Giang is located in the far north of the country, and contains Vietnam's northernmost point. It shares a 270 km long border with Yunnan province of southern China, and thus is known as Vietnam's final frontier.

- 20 Nov - In Ha Giang sight seeing

- 21 Nov - Ha Giang - Viet Tri. Map E...We skipped going to Sapa as the weather was very cool and misty. The other factor was Sapa is very touristy, and some sellers very pushy (so we heard). Anyway, later on we were told by other travelers that Sapa was so covered in mist that nothing could be seen and one of the main reasons for going there was to see amazing landscapes ...

Heading to Viet Tri, we went through some amazing country, real rural Vietnam. Pity the rice had been harversted, otherwise the scenery would have been awsome.


- 22 Nov 23 Nov- Viet Tri to Mai Chau Map F ...NOTE: Be careful getting out of Viet Tri, because you have to cross a river and there aren't that many bridges. Even though we knew this, we ended up doubling back one kilometer to get to the bridge... otherwise you will find yourself back in Hanoi

Once out of Viet Tri this was my favorite part of the trip heading for a home stay experience and trips into the national park on our bikes.
Mai Châu area is well known for its stilt houses. The type of stilt houses, or pile dwellings, they construct are called Thai stilt houses and are made of bamboo and timber.. Interestingly, Thai is spoken here, because Thai ancestors settled in the area with two tribes, White Thai and Black Thai, settling in the same area and make up the largest ethnic population of the region.

- 24 Nov - Mai Chau to Tan Ky ...We stopped early than we should off. The road was good, smooth and fast and in hind sight we should have carried on...BECAUSE ... we found a hotel (we were paying between $10 - $15 a night in hotels). As we were unpacking the bikes, the receptionist, who already had our passports was hanging around taking on the phone. She suddenly past it to me and a person speaking English said... So sorry, but all the power is off till 7:30pm...
Turns out the whole town was out of power due to major work on the town electical lines... no ATM
Not the greatest place we stopped at

- 25 Nov Tan Ky to Phong Nha, Farm Stay 25 - 26 Nov Map G .. Great place, good food and interesting company. A few traveling by bike. Located close to the Phong Nha National Park, home to the largest cave in the world and various other amazing caves, lies this beautiful guest house retreat. Best place to experience Central Vietnam. Book in advance!

- 27 Nov Phong Nha to Hoi An 28 - 29 Nov - Map H ... we were going to travel to Hui this day, but got there at lunch time so we decided to push on to Hoi An, as Sean wanted to get measured and fitted with new clothes. Hoi An is Vietnam’s most atmospheric and delightful town which has preserved the face of the Old Town and its incredible legacy of tottering Japanese merchant houses, Chinese temples and ancient tea warehouses and a glut of tailor shops are very much part of the scene here. If you get to Hoi An make sure you eat Cao Lau Noodles ... 30.000 VND in a side street cafe... yummy.
I'll get to Hui next time! No rush



- 30 Nov Hoi An to Kun Tum Map I ... Possible the worst day of the trip. Climbing the range to get back on to the Ho Chi Minh Trail, was done in heavy rain and mist giving poor visability. On top of that, road works. When workmen deliver gravel or sand to road works, they don't dump it off the road .. NO way! Come around a corner and there it is, covering your half of the road, with a bus coming through... NOTE: Drive as if there is something around every corner...!!!

- 1 Dec Kon Tum to Buon Ma - Map J.... not particularly scenic... looks a bit desolate in some places

- 2 Dec Buon Ma to Mui Ne 3 - 4 Dec ... Map K. Beautiful seaside town, geared for tourist. We still found a room for $10 a night without trying too hard.
Mũi Né Beach is a popular tropical beach. Strong sea breezes make it very popular for kitesurfing and windsurfing. The tourist season is from December to May. The average temperature is 27°C, and the climate is hot and dry for most of the year.
Advertising signs in Vietnamese and Russian...some English


- 5 Dec Mui Ne to Saigon... Coming into Saigon lost our bearings once and got the directions of a passerby who spoke perfect English...

THE END

There is much more information I could share, and will be happy to do so if you message me.

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

I was just thinking about the section - Some hard facts about motorbiking in Vietnam:

Whilst it is all true, please don't be put of by all the red tape. Yes, I know some will never go to Vietnam because of the way things are at the moment, but that's a choice each makes.

You will soon get use to the strangeness of it all, and realize biking around the country doesn't present itself as a "fear" thing, with huge obstacles to over come! After straddling the bike, for the first few hours you may be super cautious .... then it's riding as usual.

Vietnamese traffic does have a pattern to it. If you can't see/pick up the pattern don't ride till you do. Most traffic in town is much slower than your use to and if you need to putter along at 20klm, just do it! There are Grannies and Grandads doing just that and no-one abuses them or minds...it's just part of the flow.

Horns
Yup...real noisy but its all information telling you certain things. Never put anything in your ears...never. Riding in Vietnam means your hearing and sight are used far more than they would be in a Western country, even for bikers. Why? Vietnamese merge into traffic without a thought of whats coming up behind them. It is the responsibility of the person coming up behind to take evasive action on the person merging. So imagine a busy city intersection, not all evasive actions will be successful so the HORN advises the other persons...Hey, I am here and coming through (The louder and longer the horn, the more determined)

At intersections and roundabouts I go around real slow, sometimes just above stalling! Slow never hurt anyone. But in a funny way, slow on the road is not so good. The attitude I try to carry with me is "aggressively-cautious" so that whilst my senses are on full alert, if I see a space I move into it, using horn if need be.

So the above is okay for bikes and scooters. BUT
Right of way goes like this:
Buses and trucks #1
Cars #2
Motorbikes and scooters #3
Pedestrians #4

This is where things change a lot. On the open road, especially Highyway 1, Buses, trucks and cars will ignore the fact that you are driving towards them. If they want to overtake THEY WILL and stuff the motorcycle. It's your responsibility to get off the road if need be... "strange but true"

We made the decision to stay off Highway 1 as much as possible, but when we had to use it, we found it easy and relaxing. The speed limits over there are 40klm in built up areas, these are signed, and 60klms on the open road, so no-one is travelling really fast. We cruised at about 70-75klms on the open road. On most roads you will travel much slower due to road conditions.

Because we were mostly on the Ho Chi Minh trail, we encountered very few problems like those above. The roads were winding and slower which meant trucks were slower, but unfortunately it didn't slow the buses much. NOTE: Watch out for the buses. These guys really do drive like mad-men...

We passed plenty of police, over took a couple on their motorbike with a smile and a wave...no problem. If you fit in, drive wisely you can expect no trouble.

If you would like more info please ask.
Alex

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Cheers for the great report Alex. You confirm much of what I've heard about Vietnam. I've been all through Thailand on rented bikes ... and a bit in Cambodia. Vietnam I've only visited off the bike.

A few quick questions:
I'm amazed how cheap those bikes were. Are there other, more "enduro" type bikes for sale there? I rode 125 two strokes all over Thailand ... like the CRM125 dual sport bike ... fantastic. Anything like that? Or other possibles that might be better in mud? I guess all the old Russian Minsk bikes are mostly gone by now?

You mention all the rules contrary to a foreigner owning a bike ... so how do you work that out with the seller? Reports I've read don't seem to have problems buying from a dealer or shop? Thoughts?

I have a Motorcycle endorsement on my California license and an International driving license. The CA license is very trick and official looking with a Halogram and bar code. Should be OK?

Plus One on your riding tips. My first ride in Thailand on highway I was stunned when trucks and buses would pass coming my way. A few times I ended up in the Paddy ... but soon adapted once I knew "the rules".

Did you end up selling on your bikes once you got back to Saigon? Or? Any hassles doing this? When you buy the bike ... what official paperwork do you have to show as proof it is yours? Will dealers buy a bike from a Farang?
Legal?

Have you heard anything about taking your Vietnamese based bike into Laos?
Anyone do that? Possible?

Thanks again for your report.

Here are some of the photos we took on our journey.


Hanoi Art


Lake with the Turtle Tower


Halong Bay


Beautiful sunset on Halong Bay


Ha Giang...view from hotel...strange weather for the time we were in the North. we didn't see the sun and had high cloud cover the whole time. The pluses were: Cooler on the rides and only 1 day of light rain.











More photos to follow with several videos!

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Citsym

Having ridden around the Mekong delta, I think your "hard facts" sums it up quite well.

cheers

John

Thanks John,
It's a strange situation.
Yet hundreds of visitors buy, hire and drive around Vietnam without a problem. Mind you if there is an accident, they would be out of pocket... paying for compensation and bribes to get out of the situation...
A real "catch 22"

Alex

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Other bikes:

Yes you can get enduro style bikes in Vietnam. The CONS are the price, and they don't come up for sale all that often. At vietnam motorcycles/scooters classifieds - craigslist at the time of writing this, there are two Yamahas ... Yamaha DT125 is 23mill VND ($1090) and DT175 is 36mill ($1700). Bikes are currently in Ho Chi Minh but will soon be moved to Nha Trang.

So you can see the price is much higher. You can also get 125cc bikes like these ones, but they are just road bikes ... Daelim VS125 Cruiser @ $650 (you can get Daelim's a little cheaper, this is top price) or the Suzuki GN 125 @ $500

If you wanted Enduro bikes I would go rental and check out someone like Vietnam Motorbike Rentals, Motorbike Tours Vietnam, Off Road Motorbike Tour, Motorbike Rent Hanoi. This is a small but growing company owned by Hung Nguyen, a young man who had a passion for motorcycles and long journeys. I had the pleasure of meeting him Nov 2013 at his Saigon shop and at the time he was introducing one way rentals between Hanoi and Saigon and other services.

Flamingo travel do rent out bikes sizes up to the SUZUKI DR-Z400 so you will be catered to your needs. I am mentioning Flamingo simply because this was the company I was going to use if I rented the motorbikes for our journey.

If you want to Minsk 125cc you will find they are more popular up North and you may have issues selling them down South. They are not used as much anymore, but here is a link to the Minsk Club with heaps of pointers and ideas. Minsk Club
Here is a brief post from the Minsk Club forum about an Italian guy why hired from Flamingo and toured Vietnam in about 23 days. He has a blog somewhere about the trip.
minskclubvietnam.freeforums.org • View topic - Hellò from Italy

Buying the bike

There are no problems buying a SECOND HAND BIKE from a dealer or private. I would only buy private from a fellow traveler. This is what you need. Each bike should come with a Blue Card showing the rego number, engine number. It will also have the name and address of the FIRST person that bought the bike. If you can not get a blue card the bike will be difficult to sell. It shows ownership. As well as this get a receipt or notification that you bought the bike.

You will find dealers on Craigslist and Google search

It's still illegal for you to own the bike, BUT Vietnam is quite lax about tourists traveling like this. The problems arrive when the tourist does something silly and attracts attention. My son and I had zero problems, we just blended in and cruised pass the police. Your Licence about as much as you can do!

You will not be able to buy a NEW bike, your not Vietnamese!

We sold our bikes in Saigon for $600. In that price we threw in the two helmets, the security chain and two sets of wet gear. Sold them through Craigslist and it took three days. Dealers will take your bike no problem, as long as it comes woith the blue card. Dealers offered us $390 for both bikes to give you an idea.

Getting across to Laos.. Boarder crossing are a mystery. I have search, talked to individuals, one of my friends tried it and was not allowed to come from Cambodia into Vietnam.
There is a Win 100cc for sale in Malaysia, on this forum, and he has apparently had no trouble getting out of Vietnam into Laos.
I have heard of stories where some travelers have been knocked back, gone down the the next boarder crossing, again got knocked back and gone to the third and got through :confused1:

The rules in Vietnam are often enforced with the officers individual bent.... how much is it worth for me to let you through. ... and the amount is not the same each time, there is no benchmark! But if the person dealing with you is in a good mood, well its a heck of a lot easier.

I was pulled over for speeding a while back (driving a car - and I have a Vietnamese License) The first thing they want are the car papers...which I passed over with a 500.000VND note. Thank you sir you can go....They could have taken my license, impounded the car as they did to a friend of mine...SO the moral of the story is... DON'T STAND OUT, BLEND IN>

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Thanks so much for all the great and current info on Vietnam! So useful!
Can't wait to get back over there! (more questions coming!)

Hoi An recognized as a world cultural heritage site by UNESSCO in December 1999.
Up to now, the ancient town of Hoi An preserves it's original architectures, including houses, temples, pogodas, streets, ports, civil building, religious structures and other non- religious worshipping structures. The everyday lifestyle with deep-rooted customs and cultural activities is fascinating.


Hoi An is beautiful at night. Countless colorful lights adorn the town.




Don't miss trying the local dish>Cao Lau Noodles. The unique noodle dish can only be made in Hoi An - all other renditions in Vietnam or elsewhere are not authentic.


Plenty of cafe and restaurants catering for all tastes


Lots of tourists come to Hoi An in the hope of having tailored clothes within just a few days and at reasonable prices. Since there are nearly 400 cloth shops and tailor shops compact in this small town, there is a wide assortment for customers of all tastes to select.

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Just a quick update Mollydog, re: Getting a bike from Vietnam to Laos.

I received a reply from Capslock on this forum about how he got across the boarder.
See the post HERE
Note that he bought the bike from Flamingo Travel, which I am assuming from the email he sent, they would have given him the paper signed by the "owner" (the Vietnamese person in who's name the bike is registered) transferring all rights to capslock.

The required paperwork is:
- motorbike's registration (Blue Card)
- visa
- authorization grant document of motorbike's owner (his name must be the same as in motorbike's registration)... a letter from the "owner" saying I'm free to do with it as I like.

Remember we can not own a motorbike in Vietnam!

CONS: In vietnam, it's not easy to find the original ownership because the bike is usually sold many times without notice to the government office. The seller and buyer deal directly and don't want to pay tax. This is very popular here in Vietnam but it's illegal. So when when you bought a bike you would have to track the original first owner and get their permission to use the bike.... of course, they could relieve you off the bike just as easily... That's why I mentioned earlier to buy off a fellow traveler.

This question of boarder hopping gets messier ...

This an extract from a forum:
i went to lao bao and they turned me down flat- u ok bike no - u go lao bao bye bye... he said somethin about tourist too... they didnt even ask for any documents just looked at my passport and seen my visa was a touristy one and said no... i was gonna try and bribe them but there wasnt even a convenient moment...

so i tried the next border up whose name i forget cau treo or somethin i think - was quite a drive to get there but they again just said you ok bike no!!! they said the laos government doesn't allow it anymore...

So on a tourist visa... no go!

It seems that the boarders are closing "no more Vietnamese bikes with 3rd country riders."

I would suggest, talking to a hire company or a tour company, tell that you want to boarder hop and see how they respond.

It looks to me too messy to go from Vietnam out, it appears to be a little easier to enter Vietnam but I would certainly do my home work before trying.

Hope this helps.

Alex

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Thanks Alex for filling in all the info gaps!
I've just got to find a way to do this again!

Cheers!

patrick

Here is a good discussion about boarder crossings - Vietnam.

See post HERE

Seems the only?? way is to approach a tour company and organize your requirements with them.

Whether you do a tour with them or get them to have someone meet you with the correct paperwork and get you through as a person/s on a tour, might be the way to go....

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

On my way back to Vietnam in March for 3-4 weeks. Will be doing the Mekong Delta on a bike, which I'll buy in Saigon.
If there is anything, anyone wants me to check out just message me
Can't wait....

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Hey Alex I will be buying a 125 in Saigon around March 10th and riding it through the Mekong to Phu Quoc, where I am based at the moment. Would love to buy you a if we are around at the same time.

Have you considered including Phu Quoc on your itinerary? It is a beautiful island and not too developed yet. But it is changing fast, so better to see it now. There are some abysmal dirt roads if you want some offroad adventure. You can catch a ferry from Rach Gia or Ha Tien.

Hi,
Yeh, I was looking at going over... looks like a great place for some R&R.
I hope to be in Saigon around the 10th... so lets grab a and chat about possabilities.
I have a VN sim card, which I will load as soon as I land. 01228020151.
Maybe see you in Saigon

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.