FANTASTIC MIDDLE NORTH TOUR BY MOTORBIKE

Middle North Tour in 4 days is a good trip on 2 wheels. In fact, it offers a mix of mountain riding and countryside roads. In addition, you meet Thai, Dao, Viet, and many more hill tribes on the way. All in all, it’s one of the best 4 days trips we offer on a motorbike.

Below is a video clip that has some portions of this Middle North Tour. In case you want to watch more videos of our Vietnam motorbike tours please check our YouTube channel.

MIDDLE NORTH TOUR BY MOTORBIKE ROUTE

Day 1: Hanoi – Mai Chau. ~170 km, ~4-5 h.

We start our Middle North Tour by heading out of Hanoi on road number 6 to Mai Chau, an idyllic valley populated by mainly White Thai ethnic people. Visiting Mai Chau, you have a chance to enjoy folk songs and the traditional and rich culture of White Thai in Mai Chau. The scenery of the arrival to Mai Chau is characterized by beautiful limestone mountains and colourful hill tribes that can be seen and visited on the way.

We also have an opportunity en route to learn about the culture of the rice-cultivating inhabitants in the Red River Valley and Da River downstream. After lunch, we have the whole afternoon free to climb up to the top of Thung Nhuoi pass. From the top of the pass there is a beautiful view of Mai Chau valley, sometimes engulfed by clouds but still a sightseeing spot. After visiting this wonderful site, we drop down to explore more of the area of White Thai people.

In the evening, we can enjoy a local dinner and overnight in a beautiful village at the edge of a river. After dinner, you can spend the evening sitting together around a fire and join in a Thai traditional music show. In their traditional attire, typical of their culture, Thai women invite visitors to participate in the Xoe dance. To the rhythmical and ebullient music, the hosts and guests will dance for hours hand-in-hand. When they get tired, they stop for a while to drink special sticky rice liquor called “ruou can”. Visitors who participate in the Xoe dance once, especially by the light of a fire at night are likely to remember it forever.

Day 2: Mai Chau – Hang Kia – Phu Yen. ~165 km, ~5 h.

Return to Highway No. 6 heading Northwest in the direction of Moc Chau. After half an hour riding we turn left on to a small trail and make our way along the torturous, rocky and bumpy road. However, the exploring of the H’mong hill tribe’s colourful customs and majestic mountainous scenery, will make the hardship all worthwhile. Use your best skills of rolling your bike to reach the highest hill. In addition, our guide would give you a hand and a few tips.

It takes about one and a half hours to reach Moc Chau on this rough dirt trail but you will have many chances to visit Flower H’mong tribes and Thai villages, also to enjoy the beautiful landscape of Moc Chau plateau. After lunch, we have the afternoon free to explore the dreamlike grasslands. These beautiful grasslands of Moc Chau have the best of both worlds, breath-taking scenery and a favourable climate but covered with clouds nearly all year round. So it seems to have an ideal climate in Northwest Vietnam. Moc Chau’s flora is diverse, ranging from forests and tea plantations to fruit orchards.

Day 3: Phu Yen – Thac Ba. ~120 km / ~160km, ~3 / ~5 h + 2 h boating.

Phu Yen with famous Muong Coi, one of the 9 muongs – districts – of Thai ethnic minority in the Northwest of Vietnam, also one of the most beautiful valleys in the Northwest with rice paddies and springs. During the summer and wintertime, you will be lucky to view it.

There are two options on the road today:

Option 1: A 120-km trip

Our guide will check the possibility of taking the short cut by Lung Lo pass. This is a new road but not long after completion, after a few hours of heavy rain, the top section suffered a landslide, and part of the road was blocked. So this road is only ok if it is dry. It provides a lot of riding fun and is a challenge to reach the top.

Option 2: 60 km of a windy road up and downhill.

Here, is the land of Tay people in Yen Bai province, green tea fields cover most of the hillsides.

Arriving at Thac Ba Lake we will have a rest before putting our bikes on the local boat to go to another side of the lake. Time for swimming and visiting thousands of green islands here.

The boat will drop you in the centre of White Trouser Dao ethnic country. Here we will stay with our host family to enjoy a night of “hop tuiu, po rau-rice wine for health”. Beautiful and very friendly people.

Day 4: Thac Ba – Hanoi. ~165 km, ~5 h. End of Middle North Tour.

We take the dirt road along the Lo River bank with great views of the river, boating, and rafting. In addition, there are many stops in the villages of Viet people in the countryside. Enjoy the Spirit of Vietnamese cultures in the North.

Have an extra stop to swim from a clean, white sandy beach on the riverside.

Arrive in Hanoi around 3pm, before rush hours to avoid crazy traffic.

Contact us at [email protected] in case more details and options of this Vietnam Middle North tour by motorbike.