Travel Vietnam on a scooter

biscuits11

Hi all,

Im sure this has been asked many times but i am just looking for a bit of feedback. A few us roughly 7 -9 are planning to travel to Vietnam in September this year and would love to travel on scooters for some of the journey. We would plan to take the train for some part of the journey. Essentially we plan to go from Ho chi min city to Hanoi and on to Hai Long bay to finish up?

If anybody has any information that would be useful to us i would really appreciate a reply to this post :-) I have read a number of websites that discuss the dangers of this but at the moment that is not worrying me (i'm sure it will in time)

I suppose the questions i would have is the following:

Is it expensive to purchase a bike over there? are we talking €200 or €800?

What is the best scooter to get?

Legality? after reading a few posts i have seen a few story's where people did not have appropriate licences and the bikes were confiscated, is this common?

Essentially if people had any tips on what to do i would be really very grateful.

Thanks in advance.

Graham_B18C

I spent 3 1/2 weeks going from north to South Vietnam on busses and trains but strongly considered buying a bike, the girlfriend really didn't fancy it so we knocked it on the head. Met lots of people that we're doing it though and it seemed fairly tough, they could have been on the bike for 8 hours in a day trying to make up time and what not.

The most popular bikes are Honda Dreams, I rented them when we were in a few places. Semi auto 110cc iirc, decent bit of go in them. There was always the two of us on the bike and it never struggled but I've no doubt you'll find much rougher roads than I drove. From memory the going rate for one of these is about $200US.

Minsks are very cool bikes, I think it's the bike Richard Hammond got on the Top Gear special. They cost about $300 to buy and also cost a little more if something goes wrong. It'd be my bike of choice if/when I eventually go back and drive it!

There's lots of auto bikes you can get but they really will struggle going up steep hills. I never drove a manual bike before going to Vietnam, after 5 mins I was flying. So don't let that be the deciding factor

Tipperary animal lover

Im here in vietnam at the moment 5th time, plenty of people driving around but this time the amount of people wearing bandages from accidents is crazy, if you want to take your life in your hands go for it but foreigners are not allowed to drive over here your insurance will not cover you, if you do have an accident with a Vietnamese and not your fault you still will have to pay for the damage to there bike aswell as the hassle of paying off the police, there are plenty of tours here you can sort with bikers that are called easy riders they'll bring you anywhere you want to go.
Dont forget the bike you will buy will be a piece of shi'te and the will have been driven into the ground so a good deal on a bike might cost you dearly in the long run. But if you want to still go for it best of luck as the Vietnamese are crazy drivers as well as driving on the highways the trucks and buses see only tunnel vision you'd need eyes in the back of your head.

Tipperary animal lover

Also forgot to say westeners are seen as easy money so you could also be set up for an accident which in the end you pay!!

biscuits11

Hi,

Thanks very much for the responses really appreciate it.

Graham_B18C how did you find getting around on the trains etc? can you bring bikes on trains? I had a look at the Honda dream on google there now. Seems like a grand little bike and i suppose with a smaller bike only so much can go wrong with it and i would presume after seeing the top gear show that spare parts seem to be plentiful (could be wrong on this).

Thanks Tipperary animal lover. So i take it from your posts you would strongly advise us not to do it? just on the police and insurance etc? is there anyway of becoming legally allowed to drive over there? iv looked a a few things a cant find a straight cut answer?

Also are the police very strict and what is happening to the large numbers who are going to Vietnam and driving on bikes?

Thanks again for your responses very much appreciated.

Theresalwaysone

Police by and large won't bother you unless you aren't wearing a helmet. There are tonnes of expats and travellers driving over there.

Getting set up with decent bikes is handy enough. If you are starting in Ho Chi Minh, or Hanoi, a company called Hanoi Motorbikes are trustworthy. Ben is the chap in charge in Ho Chi Minh, and Olly is in Hanoi. Good blokes and mates of mine. Bikes will be in good nick.

The most popular bike would be a Honda Win more than a Honda Dream. Dream is semi auto, Win is fully manual. Both have tonnes of spare parts and most towns have a mechanic. You'll pay over the odds, but its still cheap relatively speaking.

Safety is the real concern, it is VERY dangerous on the roads, the rules are non existent and any disputes will be your fault. Road quality is poor aside from the main highways, and they highways are relatively boring.

Essentially, getting set up with bikes and gear is easy. Being allowed to do it is a non issue really but the safety concern should be your biggest factor in the decision. I can't overstate how busy, hectic and hap hazard the place is for drivers.

That all said, it'll be a brilliant experience.

Squeaksoutloud

Roads a bit crazy over there for bikes I reckon..best bet to hire bikes for short trips out of towns to see some of the scenery.I ended up in a bus crash in Vietnam a few years ago and was lucky to survive..saw another accident where people were not so lucky.the roads are very dangerous but great to do some smaller trips on the quoted country roads.

biscuits11

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

Police by and large won't bother you unless you aren't wearing a helmet. There are tonnes of expats and travellers driving over there.

Getting set up with decent bikes is handy enough. If you are starting in Ho Chi Minh, or Hanoi, a company called Hanoi Motorbikes are trustworthy. Ben is the chap in charge in Ho Chi Minh, and Olly is in Hanoi. Good blokes and mates of mine. Bikes will be in good nick.

The most popular bike would be a Honda Win more than a Honda Dream. Dream is semi auto, Win is fully manual. Both have tonnes of spare parts and most towns have a mechanic. You'll pay over the odds, but its still cheap relatively speaking.

Safety is the real concern, it is VERY dangerous on the roads, the rules are non existent and any disputes will be your fault. Road quality is poor aside from the main highways, and they highways are relatively boring.

Essentially, getting set up with bikes and gear is easy. Being allowed to do it is a non issue really but the safety concern should be your biggest factor in the decision. I can't overstate how busy, hectic and hap hazard the place is for drivers.

That all said, it'll be a brilliant experience.

Thanks a million for your response. I completely get the danger side of it alright. I suppose the real fear of it wouldn't hit you until you actually see it. Thanks for that post though really good to know what bikes are reliable and importantly the spare parts. I will have to sit down with the others that are planning on going and discuss the danger of it.. Its essentially the biggest issue in whether to do it or not.

Tipperary animal lover

Hi again, the police do a crack down every so often and take every bike they find a westener driving, you then have to go to the police station and pay your way out of it or lose the bike!westeners can not drive over here its the law, you will see plenty of expats and tourists driving but as i say have a accident and its your fault better have deep pockets to get out of it, it would be easier for you to bus/fly/train around and when you get to the beach towns along the coast rent a bike to get you around, as in Thailand you can get an international driving permit costs around €5 and that will cover you there but nothing in vietnam like that sorry for putting a dampener on it for ya.

Graham_B18C

No doubt this happens sometimes T.A.L but if you manage to keep the bike at the side of the road it'd be cheaper than having to pay your way out later? I met a good few people that were pulled over and it cost them 100k dong so about €3.50.

I rented bikes in loads of the places we visited and I have no doubt I had no insurance while on those either. Some of the places make it seem legit by asking you to show your driving licence but as mentioned previously, it's as useful as a dog licence over there

Tipperary animal lover

Been stopped many times in Thailand once ya show your international drivers permit your grand seen loads been stopped and fined without licence, look biscuit go for it but all I'm saying if anything goes wrong on that long journey your fooked lad. Simple. Dont want to put a dampener on your trip but at least ya know it can be very very messy for you.

biscuits11

Thanks TAL. And thanks to all for responding. We are meeting up next week to discuss how we are going to go about it. We possibly will train it around and then rent bikes for a while outside of the city. It sounds to be a safer option and from the above the only real option as it seems too dangerous and seems to bring too many problems with police issues etc.