Places worth the detour

Short version: The road is the point of this trip, but a dozen places just off it deserve an afternoon or a night. Some sit on our Saigon to Hanoi line and only need you to stop; others mean a day's detour. Entry prices are small and change often, so treat every figure as approximate (2026, about 26,000 VND to the US dollar) and carry cash.

The south and the highlands

Cat Tien National Park

Lowland rainforest on a bend of the Dong Nai River, with gibbons calling at dawn and a crocodile lake at the end of a forest walk.

• Where: about 150 km from Saigon on the inland road to Da Lat (QL20), then 25 km of side road from Tan Phu. For riders who skip the coast.
• Give it: a night and a full day.
• Cost: in April 2026 the river ferry was 60,000 VND return (US$2.30) and doubled as the entry ticket; the Crocodile Lake trail was 250,000 VND (US$10). Cash only.
• Riding note: private bikes stay on the near bank. Inside, you walk, cycle or book a park vehicle.

Bau Trang dunes

White sand dunes around a lotus lake, beside the road.

• Where: on the coast road (DT716) about 25 km beyond Mui Ne, on stage 2 of our route.
• Give it: an hour, ideally at sunrise.
• Cost: 10,000 to 15,000 VND (under US$1) in 2026 guides. Quad bikes and jeeps are extra; agree the price first.
• Riding note: watch for crosswinds and sand blown across the tarmac.

Lak Lake

A wide highland lake of about 500 hectares, ringed by M'nong villages and crossed by dugout canoes.

• Where: on QL27, about 135 km from Da Lat and 50 km from Buon Ma Thuot. Our route leaves the highlands at Da Lat, so this is for riders who stay inland.
• Give it: a night.
• Cost: no entry fee that we could find.
• Riding note: parts of QL27 are reported in poor repair. Allow a full day from Da Lat.

The centre

Bach Ma National Park

An old French hill station in cloud forest at about 1,450 m, between Da Nang and Hue.

• Where: turn off Highway 1 at Cau Hai, about 30 km north of Lang Co on stage 8. The visitor centre is 3 km in.
• Give it: most of a day.
• Cost: entry about 65,000 VND (US$2.50). Park cars cost 900,000 to 1.2 million VND (US$35–46) each, shared.
• Riding note: private motorbikes are not allowed on the summit road. After a landslide in October 2025, cars were still stopping at Km12 in September 2026, leaving a 7 km walk to the top viewpoint. Check on the day, and skip October and November.

Vinh Moc tunnels and the old DMZ

A village that moved underground: some 60 families lived in about 2 km of tunnels on three levels, dug from 1966. Hien Luong bridge, on the river that once divided North and South, is 13 km away.

• Where: on the coast about 100 km north of Hue. Our route goes inland from Hue; the quicker alternative by Highway 1 turns west at Dong Ha, 38 km short of the tunnels.
• Give it: two to three hours.
• Cost: 40,000 to 50,000 VND (under US$2); sources differ.
• Riding note: Highway 1 here is flat, fast and full of trucks. The passages are about 1.6 m high, so tall riders will stoop.

Phong Nha's caves

Stage 10 ends here; the mistake is to ride on next morning. Paradise Cave has a kilometre of boardwalk through enormous chambers. Phong Nha Cave is entered by boat from the village.

• Where: Paradise Cave is about 25 km from the village, on the Ho Chi Minh Road West.
• Give it: a full rest day.
• Cost: Paradise Cave 270,000 VND (US$10) with the electric buggy; Phong Nha Cave about 150,000 VND (US$6) plus a share of a boat.
• Riding note: Phong Nha has officially been in Quang Tri province since the 2025 mergers, whatever older maps say. In the autumn floods the river caves can close.

The north

Pu Luong and Mai Chau

Rice terraces, bamboo water wheels and Thai stilt-house villages. Mai Chau is the better-known valley, 60 to 75 km further on.

• Where: 50 to 60 km north-west of Cam Thuy on stage 12. From Mai Chau it is about 140 km to Hanoi on QL6.
• Give it: two nights.
• Cost: no reserve ticket in a September 2026 guide; small charges for parking and a cave.
• Riding note: village lanes are steep, narrow concrete, with buffalo and trucks on the bends. The rice is green in March and April, and gold in late May and late September.

Trang An and Tam Coc

Rowing boats through flooded caves between limestone towers. Trang An is bigger and better organised; Tam Coc is closer to the village and the rice.

• Where: the end of stage 12. The two landings are about 10 km apart.
• Give it: a day for both.
• Cost: Trang An 250,000 to 300,000 VND (US$10–12) with the boat; sources disagree. Tam Coc 120,000 VND (US$4.60) entry plus 150,000 VND (US$5.80) for a boat that takes two.
• Riding note: go early. At Tam Coc, agree "no stops, no shopping" before the boat leaves.

Thac Ba Lake

A reservoir with more than 1,300 islands, made in the 1960s when the Chay River was dammed. Dao families run homestays on the shore.

• Where: 150 to 170 km north-west of Hanoi: a good first night on the way to Ha Giang or the North-West Loop.
• Give it: a night.
• Cost: boats 400,000 to 600,000 VND (US$15–23) each for two hours (undated airline guide).
• Riding note: it has been in Lao Cai province since the 2025 mergers, though most guides still say Yen Bai.

Ba Be Lake

A natural lake about 8 km long in forested limestone hills, now in Thai Nguyen province, with Tay stilt-house villages and boat trips to a river cave.

• Where: about 215 km from Hanoi and 125 km from Cao Bang: a natural break on the way to the Cao Bang Loop.
• Give it: a night.
• Cost: park ticket from about 60,000 VND (US$2.30) in 2026. Boats are hired whole; we couldn't confirm prices.
• Riding note: of the two roads on to Cao Bang, the higher one through Tinh Tuc is rougher and lovelier.

Ban Gioc waterfall

Vietnam's widest waterfall, shared with China.

• Where: 87 km from Cao Bang city, on day one of the Cao Bang Loop.
• Give it: two hours, plus one for the nearby cave.
• Cost: about 45,000 VND (under US$2); a raft to the foot of the falls is 50,000 to 100,000 VND.
• Riding note: this is the border zone. Carry your passport and stay inside the ticketed area.

Ha Long and Lan Ha bays

You see the bays from a boat, and cruise boats don't carry motorbikes. Allow a night or two, and do one of three things:

• Leave the bike in Hanoi and take the cruise's own transfer.
• Ride to Ha Long, about 160 km from Hanoi, and leave the bike at a hotel while you sail.
• Take the bike to Cat Ba Island on the vehicle ferry from Tuan Chau: about an hour, and 80,000 VND (US$3) for bike and rider in 2024, with three sailings a day from September to April. From the landing it is 22 km to Cat Ba town, where day boats leave for Lan Ha Bay.