Cycling in Vietnam
I had the good fortune to be out on a cycling adventure in Vietnam in 2023. It was a country that had interested me for a while, after hearing from friends who had previously cycled there, and after researching “things to do in Vietnam” for my travelling son a couple of years ago.
Cycling in Vietnam is an adventure that takes you through a tapestry of stunning landscapes, fascinating cities, and cultural richness. Throughout, Vietnam offers diverse terrain, friendly locals, and a unique blend of tradition and modernity.
Vietnam – A Very Long Country
I was travelling solo this trip – not with one of my cycling clubs. I wasn’t alone though as I signed up with a tour provider that tours Vietnam regularly. Our 12-day cycle route was from south to north, starting at Ho Chi Minh city (which everyone, even the Vietnamese, still calls Saigon) and ending at Hue. That’s almost 1025 KM (637M) – wow. That’s a lot of time and distance in the saddle.
I knew that our bike time was to be supplemented with bus time so I was comfortable signing up. However, I was feeling a bit intimidated by some of the ascents, with the largest being 1800 meters (a little over a mile of climb in one day), which I know I had never done.
I didn’t want this small detail to derail my plans, so I decided upgrade to an e-bike for this adventure. I had never even been on an e-bike, but I was pretty confident that someone would show me how to use it.
After meeting up with my 9 cycling companions and our local guide, we were off!
Cycling to the Cu-Chi Tunnels
Our guided introduction to Vietnam started in Saigon, a city of about 9 million people and about 7.3 million motor bikes. There was incredible order in all this traffic, it just took a few days to figure it out and be comfortable crossing the street. The constant beeps meant “I am here” or “I am coming”, not “get moving what is taking you so long” which is what they usually mean for me.
So many people on motorbikes everywhere in Vietnam
Fortunately, on our first riding day we were on the bus as we exited the city, and picked up the bikes at a quieter spot. Our destination today was the Cu-Chi Tunnels, after about 40K (25M of riding). A fairly short and manageable bike ride, but a somber visit. Today was also the first day of learning about how sparse my knowledge of Asian history was. We learned about the people who lived in these tunnels for years, about the complexity of their construction, and about the ingenious ways people were forced to defend themselves. We also were able to walk through one of the tunnels which had been enlarged for tourism purposes – we were doubled over in order to traverse them. People would only have been able to crawl through them. I was humbled by what I didn’t know. That’s why I travel – to learn things. Seeing the actual tunnels was way more educational than reading about them in books. You could imagine the people who used them, you saw how they lived and what they endured for years.
Guide holding the cover to the camouflaged opening of one of the tunnels
Leaving Saigon
The next day we were leaving Saigon, all of us, including our wonderful guide, happy to be going out of the city and into cycling into nature. Today’s 60K (37M) took us past the Dong Nai River, gave me my first glimpse of rice fields, and introduced us all to rubber and dragon fruit trees. I learned that dragon fruit flowers only at night, and that rubber sap cultivation is quite manual, very like old-fashioned maple tree tapping, and it takes about 7-10 hours to fill a bowl. Our guide convinced some of the workers to talk to us, with him translating. It was a very special afternoon – so many new types of vegetation to see.
Dragon Fruit Farm
Dalat and Nha Trang
The next day we were heading to Dalat, cycling 55K (34M) through a fishing village outside the coastal Mui Ne, and spending some time today on the bus, which was good because Dalat is in a more mountainous area. The change in temperature was really noticeable. It was a long ride up a very narrow and winding road, and then it started raining quite hard. I was thankful that I was not driving! We were not quite out of the rainy season. At the top, it had cleared and we were rewarded with magnificent views and a visit to a coffee plantation. Dalat seemed like a wonderful city – it was founded over 100 years ago as a resort town to escape the humidity of the coast. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit and missed seeing a lot of the colonial buildings and impressive villas. We had to leave early the next day for our epic 1800M ascent (5900 feet)/100 KM (62M) ride enroute to Nha Trang.
A memorable stop was a coffee shop in Dalat – apparently the most famous in all Dalat which our guide knew about because he lived there. It was like sitting in a multi-level tree house as you delighted in the amazing view of the whole city. Truly extraordinary.
It was a long riding day. I was happy that I had the e-bike today, even though I like to think that I could have completed the day without it. The climb was gradual, not steep. The most wonderful part was the downhill in the afternoon. We had a descent of about 30K to Nha Trang – it was so fun just gliding down – no pedaling required. The views along the way were magical – lush forests, lots of waterfalls, and winding roads.
Spectacular scenery gliding down to Nha Trang
To Hue
We continued cycling along the coast, making our way through Hoi An and on to Hue by bike and by bus. One day was too rainy to cycle unfortunately so we had some extra coffee time. That was fine – there were some really interesting coffee creations in Vietnam.
Along the way we cycled past more fishing villages and had the wonderful experience of having lunch on a fishing boat that was now turned into a restaurant. The local people understood that such experiences would be of great interest to tourists, and they could make more money that way than by fishing. It was yet another memorable event – eating lunch on the boat while staring out at all the fishing boats in the area, with the mountains in the background. It was not a restaurant that I would have found on my own.
Bike at fishing village in Vietnam
We passed through village markets, high-fiving kids as we went and saying “sin chow” to so many people who were waving and smiling at us. We always felt welcome.
At the beach town of Sa Huynh I was struck by the number of people on the beach at 5:30 am, by 8:30 the beaches were deserted. Apparently, some people do their morning exercises on the beach and take a dip before they go to work.
Cycling through Danang allowed us to go over the Dragon Bridge – Vietnam becomes more modern as you head north. We went over the Dragon Bridge mid-week. If you are lucky enough to be there in the evening on a weekend, you will be treated to the dragon emitting fire and water displays from its mouth. I would have liked to see the Golden Bridge as well but it was too far out of our way. Next time…
The one we saw – Dragon Bridge
…and the ones we missed – Golden Bridge, and the new Cau Hon (Kiss) and glass bottom bridges
We ended our cycling at the Citadel in Hue, where we toured the Royal Walled City and the Forbidden Purple Palace. We turned over our bikes to our wonderful truck driver to take them back to Saigon, while we continued by train to Hanoi.
Total cycling distance on this trip was about 400 K – less than what we expected – but cycling in those heavy rains would be too dangerous. It was an amazing adventure– so much learning, so much scenery, so many new connections. I met people from different countries and who knows – maybe I will travel with them again.
Where else can I ride my bike?
Maybe we could go together?
3 highlights
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- Learning so much Vietnamese history and culture from our awesome guide
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- The 30K descent to Nha Trang – the longest I have ever done – what a blast!
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- Seeing the incredibly vivid flowers along the route – we were in the early spring season so everything was in bloom – so colourful
3 things for next time
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- The Golden Bridge, a bridge completed in 2018 but already a famous landmark due to its incredible creativity, as well as newer examples of public art and functionality the Cau Hon (Kiss) Bridge, and the glass bottom bridge, both completed ~2022
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- Mekong Delta at the south – a nature paradise that warrants a separate cycle trip
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- Sapa area in the north, as well as Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is quite touristy but still not to be missed – it wasn’t to be on this trip
