Rent or buy? Getting a bike

Short version: For a one-off trip of about a month, rent one-way from a reputable shop. You get a serviced bike, papers that match it, a luggage rack and someone to phone when it breaks. Buying looks cheaper, but as a tourist you can't put the bike in your name, and the cheapest bikes are cheap for a reason. Either way, match the bike to your licence and never hand over your passport as a deposit.

The two ways to do it

One-way rental. You collect the bike in Saigon and hand it back in Hanoi, and the shop ships it home. Shops that specialise in touring do this routinely.

Buy and sell. You buy from a shop or a departing traveller, ride north and sell before you fly home.

What it costs

These are approximate figures from guides published in 2025 and 2026, at roughly 26,000 VND to the US dollar. Check current quotes.

Renting

• 110 to 125cc semi-automatic or automatic: about 180,000 to 310,000 VND a day (US$7 to US$12) on a hire of two weeks or more.
• 150cc manual trail bike: from about 390,000 VND a day (US$15) on a monthly hire.
• A month all in: roughly 3.9 to 11.7 million VND (US$150 to US$450), depending on the bike.
• Deposit: usually 7.8 to 26 million VND (US$300 to US$1,000), refundable.
• One-way fee: shops say it costs extra because the bike has to be shipped back. We couldn't pin down a typical figure, so ask for an all-in price in writing.

Buying

• Old Win-style manual: from about 5.2 million VND (US$200).
• Better used 110cc semi-automatic or 125cc automatic: about 6.5 to 9 million VND (US$250 to US$350) on the traveller market.
• Tidy, recent genuine Hondas cost far more. One October 2026 survey of classified ads put the average asking price of a used Honda Vision at 18 to 20 million VND (US$700 to US$760).

Don't count on getting your money back. Resale prices vary, and selling can eat days you'd rather spend riding.

Which bike suits you

Why the cheap copies are risky. The "Honda Win" sold to backpackers is usually a Chinese or locally built copy that has passed from traveller to traveller for years. Guides that otherwise love cheap travel warn of repeated breakdowns and say to avoid the very cheapest bikes. You inherit years of unknown maintenance, and the paperwork may not match the machine.

Licence first. Anything over 125cc needs full class A. See Licences, IDPs & staying legal.

Before you accept a bike

• Registration card: plate, frame number and engine number all match the bike.
• Compulsory third-party insurance certificate, in date.
• Both brakes bite firmly, and the tyres have tread and no cracks.
• Lights, indicators, horn and both mirrors work.
• Chain isn't slack or rusty, and nothing is leaking underneath.
• It starts easily from cold, idles steadily and tracks straight on a ride round the block.
• Take dated photos of every scratch, with staff watching.
• Get a written agreement covering breakdowns, damage, theft and the one-way fee.
• Ask for a helmet that fits, or buy a certified one of your own.

Deposits and passports

Many shops ask for a passport or a cash deposit. Choose cash or a card hold, and get a receipt stating when it comes back. The UK government's advice is blunt: don't use your passport as a deposit for hiring vehicles. You need it at hotels, and it's your way home if a dispute turns sour.

A shop copying your passport, visa and licence is different, and increasingly normal. After serious crashes in 2026, Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces told rental businesses to check that customers hold a valid licence and IDP. An owner who hands a bike to an unlicensed rider can be fined 8 to 10 million VND (US$310 to US$385), double for a business, and one case led to criminal charges. A shop that checks your papers is a good sign.

Ownership papers

Every bike has a registration certificate, the "blue card".

• Renting: carry the card, or the copy the shop provides, with your contract.
• Buying: a foreigner needs a residence card with at least six months left to register a bike, so tourists can't, and the card stays in a previous owner's name. Riding a bike registered to someone else isn't an offence in itself, but sellers are meant to hand in the card and plates within 30 days, so the traveller market sits outside the system. You hold the keys, not the title, which matters if the bike is stolen, impounded or crashed.
• No card, no deal. Riding without one brings a fine of 2 to 3 million VND (US$75 to US$115) and possibly confiscation.

Luggage racks

Touring rentals normally come with a rear rack, and often a helmet and rain poncho. Strap a soft bag flat across the rack, keep heavy things low, and check the straps at every stop. If you buy, choose a bike that already has a rack.

Breakdown support

Good rental shops give you a number to call, and some offer a no-breakdown guarantee with round-the-clock help. Ask exactly what's covered, because punctures and crash damage often aren't. If you own the bike, you are the breakdown service. Happily, repair shops (look for "sua xe" signs) are common even in small places. Agree the price before work starts.

What we'd do

Rent a genuine Honda semi-automatic one-way, or an XR150 if you hold a full motorcycle licence and already ride a manual. We don't name shops in guides. Vetted rental and sales businesses are listed in the directory, and the board is the place to ask who others have used.