Top 10 motorbike and Ha Giang loop operators
Ten companies that put travellers on two wheels in Vietnam, from Ha Giang loop shops with their own guest houses to classic-bike expedition outfits running the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Before the list, the part most booking pages skip: whether you should be riding the bike yourself at all.
Pillion or self-drive: decide this before you decide the company
Almost every motorbike product sold in Vietnam is one of two things wearing the same photograph. In the first, you sit behind a local driver, usually called an easy rider, and your only job is to hold on and look at the mountains. In the second, you are given a key and you ride yourself. The brochure image is identical. The day is not. On the back of a bike you arrive relaxed, you can look sideways at the valley the whole way, and if the surface turns to wet gravel that is the driver's problem. Riding yourself, you will spend a large part of the day watching the two metres in front of your wheel, and on the Ha Giang loop that is a lot of hairpins, loose stone, livestock and trucks.
The legal position matters more than most booking pages admit. To ride a motorcycle legally in Vietnam a foreign visitor generally needs a Vietnamese licence, or a licence from home together with an International Driving Permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention and converted or recognised for use in Vietnam. Permits issued under the older 1949 convention, which is what many travellers from outside Europe carry, are not the same document and are commonly not accepted. Engine size matters too: a licence category that covers a 50cc scooter at home does not cover a 150cc trail bike here.
The consequence people actually feel is not a police fine, it is the insurance. Travel and medical policies commonly exclude, or decline, a claim where the rider was not licensed for the machine they were riding, and some decline for a pillion passenger on an unlicensed rider's bike as well. A hospital transfer from a mountain province is expensive. We are not giving legal advice and we are not your insurer: read your own policy wording on motorcycling and licence conditions, and if it is ambiguous, ask the insurer in writing before you leave. If you are unsure whether your licence covers you, or if you have not ridden a manual or semi-automatic bike recently, ride pillion. It costs a little more, it is the same road, and every operator on this list can arrange it.
Some of the operators below are partner companies of 6AM Media Joint Stock Company, the publisher of this site. Every partner entry is marked with the word Partner in its heading, so you can see which is which without leaving the page. A partnership does not buy a position on the list and does not move anyone up it. The method we use, and the evidence we rely on, is set out in full on the How we rank page.
The ten, in order
1. Offroad Vietnam, Hanoi
Offroad Vietnam has run motorcycle tours out of Hanoi since 2006 and holds registered trademark 93860, dated 25 December 2006. It is 100% Vietnamese owned, founded by Anh Wu and Tony Nguyen, and it owns the machines it puts people on rather than borrowing them from local rental shops: Honda CRF250L and CRF300L trail bikes, the XR150L and the GL Pro 160. It sells three formats, guided, semi-guided and self-guided, which means a competent rider can take a route, a bike and a support number without a lead rider in front. The limitation is that this is a riders' company first. If you want general sightseeing with a bike attached, the programme will feel narrow.
2. QT Motorbikes and Tours, Ha Giang City
QT Motorbikes & Tours is based where the road actually starts, with offices in Ha Giang City and Cao Bang City. It was founded by Quang Tang and states a fleet of more than 270 motorcycles and over 25 full-time staff, plus its own guest house in Ha Giang and a homestay in Du Gia on the loop. It covers all three models, rental for self-drive, easy-rider with a driver, and jeep for anyone who would rather have four wheels and a roof. The limitation is geography and scale: you have to get yourself to Ha Giang City first, and a fleet that size means the company runs large numbers of guests, so ask what group size your departure actually is before you pay.
3. Alotour, Hanoi Partner
Alotour sits at 24 Trang Tien in Hanoi and describes itself as a nationwide operator with more than 80 tour packages, most of them two to five days, sold both as group departures and as private trips. Its motorbike content is built into wider itineraries rather than sold as a rental-and-ride product, so a riding day sits next to a trekking day, a cruising day and a cycling section within one booking. That suits a traveller who wants a taste of the road without organising a separate week around it. Our Alotour profile has the detail. The limitation is exactly the same fact from the other side: this is not a specialist motorbike outfit, and a rider who wants seven days in the saddle should book one.
4. Explore Indochina, Hanoi
Explore Indochina is the closest thing on this list to an expedition company. It started in 1999 as Motorbiking Vietnam and took its current name in 2002, and its founder, Digby Greenhalgh, started the Minsk Motorcycle Club in 1998. The programme is classic-bike expeditions, long runs on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Ural sidecars and restored US Army jeeps, rather than a three-day circuit. If your interest is the machine and the history as much as the landscape, this is the one to read first. The limitation is that older machines need patience: classic bikes and sidecars break down more often than a current Honda, and the trips are long, which rules out a traveller with three spare days.
5. Jasmine Tours Ha Giang, Ha Giang
Jasmine Tours Ha Giang was founded in 2017 and runs the loop in every format on offer: self-drive motorbike, easy rider, jeep and SUV. It states that it works with more than 500 local drivers from ethnic-minority communities in the province, and it collects guests from Hanoi, Sapa, Ninh Binh, Cat Ba and Ha Long, which removes the awkward transfer that catches people out on a short trip. For a traveller stitching Ha Giang into an existing route, that pickup list is the reason to look here. The limitation follows from the size of that driver pool: with hundreds of drivers on the books you cannot know in advance who you will be sitting behind, and the day depends heavily on that person.
6. Rose Tourist, Hanoi Partner
Rose Tourist is on Ly Nam De Street in Hanoi and is built around daily group departures rather than bespoke planning, with Ha Giang named among its destinations alongside Ha Long, Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Nha Trang. Motorbike sections appear inside its group tours, and its staff work in several languages, which matters more than people expect on a trip where the safety briefing is the important conversation. See the Rose Tourist profile for what else it runs. The limitation is that this is a general agency with a strong cruise programme, not a bike shop: the riding is a component of a trip, and a rider chasing specific machines or a self-drive loop is better served further up this list.
7. Loop Vietnam, Ha Giang City
Loop Vietnam has been working out of Ha Giang City since 2013 and covers both the Ha Giang and Cao Bang circuits, in easy-rider and self-drive form. Its fleet runs from semi-automatic 110cc bikes, which is the sensible choice for a nervous rider who has decided to drive, up to the Honda XR 150cc for people who genuinely ride at home. Being long established on one route is worth something: the staff know which sections are being resurfaced and which homestay has hot water in February. The limitation is that narrowness. This is a north-east specialist, so if your trip is centred on Hue, the Hai Van Pass or the central coast, Loop Vietnam has nothing to sell you.
8. Red Gecko Travel, Hanoi Partner
Red Gecko Travel works from the 7th floor at 167 An Trach Street in Hanoi and states over twenty years of operation with 24/7 support. It is a small-group adventure and trekking specialist across northern Vietnam, Sapa, Mai Chau, Pu Luong and Ha Long, and it puts motorbike sections inside combination tours rather than selling riding on its own. For a traveller who wants two days walking and one day on a bike in a single booking, that combination is the point, and the Red Gecko Travel profile sets out the range. The limitation is that trekking comes first here, riding second, so a dedicated Ha Giang loop with a proper bike briefing is not the core product.
9. Ha Giang Easy Riders, Hanoi and Ha Giang
Ha Giang Easy Riders runs a head office in Long Bien in Hanoi and an operating office in Ha Giang City, which is a useful structure: you can settle everything in the capital and still deal with people who live on the route. It sells easy-rider trips, jeeps, dirt-bike itineraries and trek-and-ride combinations, from two days up to seven, extending beyond the standard loop to Cao Bang, Ban Gioc and Ba Be. That extension is the reason to consider it over a pure loop shop. The limitation is that the published detail on machines, driver experience and group size is thin, so put those three questions in writing before you transfer a deposit.
10. Hue Motorbike Tour, Hue
Hue Motorbike Tour is at 100 Huyen Tran Cong Chua in Hue and exists mainly for one stretch of road: the Hai Van Pass between Hue and Hoi An, ridden either as a day out or as a transfer with your luggage sent ahead by car. It also rents bikes and runs jeep tours, and lists departure points at Hanoi, Phong Nha, Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An. If you are travelling the coast and want one good riding day rather than a week of them, this is the efficient version. The limitation is scope: nothing here reaches the far north, and the signature ride is a few hours long, so it will not satisfy anyone who came to Vietnam to ride.
At a glance
| Rank | Operator | Based in | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Offroad Vietnam | Hanoi | Experienced riders wanting a self-guided route on an owned Honda fleet |
| 2 | QT Motorbikes and Tours | Ha Giang City and Cao Bang City | Starting the loop where the loop starts, with rooms and a homestay attached |
| 3 | Alotour (Partner) | Hanoi | A riding day inside a two to five day nationwide package |
| 4 | Explore Indochina | Hanoi | Long classic-bike and sidecar expeditions, Ho Chi Minh Trail |
| 5 | Jasmine Tours Ha Giang | Ha Giang | Loop trips with pickups from Sapa, Ninh Binh, Cat Ba and Ha Long |
| 6 | Rose Tourist (Partner) | Hanoi | Daily group departures with a riding section and multilingual staff |
| 7 | Loop Vietnam | Ha Giang City | Nervous self-drivers who want a 110cc semi-automatic, not a trail bike |
| 8 | Red Gecko Travel (Partner) | Hanoi | Combination trips that mix trekking in the north with a ride |
| 9 | Ha Giang Easy Riders | Hanoi and Ha Giang City | Extending past the loop to Cao Bang, Ban Gioc and Ba Be |
| 10 | Hue Motorbike Tour | Hue | One good day on the Hai Van Pass between Hue and Hoi An |
How we put this list together
We rank on what operators publish about themselves and can be held to: a registered address, a company or licence number, named founders, a described fleet, the formats actually sold and the routes actually covered. A company that names its bikes, its offices and the people who own it is easier to hold to a promise than one that publishes a gallery and a booking button. We have not ridden with any of these companies, we do not accept payment for a position, and we do not count star ratings, because on this category the review score mostly measures the weather. On a motorbike page we give extra weight to two things: whether the operator owns and describes its machines, and whether it offers a pillion option so a traveller who should not be driving still gets the road. The full method, including how partners are treated and what would get a company removed, is on our How we rank page.
When this is the wrong thing to book
A motorbike trip is the best few days some people have in Vietnam and a bad decision for others, and the difference is usually predictable in advance. The north is cold and wet for long stretches of the year, and a rider who is uncomfortable is a rider who is not looking at the view. Book something else if any of these describe you.
- You want to walk the hills rather than ride past them. The villages, the terraces and the homestays are reached on foot far more rewardingly, and the operators for that are on our trekking tours page.
- You have three days in Hanoi and a fixed flight. A Ha Giang loop eats two travel days at each end. A structured outing from the city, listed on our day trips page, gives you the countryside without the risk of missing the plane.
- You are travelling with young children, or with anyone who cannot spend six hours a day on a pillion seat. Take the same landscapes by boat instead, from our Ha Long and Lan Ha cruises page.
- You want the city, the food and the history rather than the mountains. Vespa and vintage-bike operators who ride only inside town do that better, and they are on our city tours page.
- You are booking the whole trip as one arrangement and want a single company accountable for it. That is a package, and the companies built for it are on our package tours page.
Your next step
Not sure whether to ride or sit behind?
Tell us your route, your licence and how recently you have ridden, and we will point you at the operators on this list that fit.
Questions travellers ask most
Do I need a Vietnamese licence to ride a motorbike in Vietnam?
The general position is yes. A foreign visitor normally needs either a Vietnamese licence or a home licence together with an International Driving Permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, recognised or converted for use in Vietnam. A permit issued under the older 1949 convention is a different document and is commonly not accepted. The licence category also has to cover the engine size you are riding.
This is a general description, not legal advice. Check the current requirement with the operator and with your own embassy before you travel, and get the answer in writing.
What happens to my travel insurance if I ride without the right licence?
Travel and medical policies commonly exclude motorcycling altogether, or cover it only where the rider held a valid licence for that machine. A claim after an accident on an unlicensed ride is frequently declined, and some policies extend the same exclusion to a passenger on that bike. A medical evacuation from a mountain province is not a small bill.
Read the motorcycling wording in your own policy and ask your insurer directly if it is ambiguous. If the answer is not clearly yes, ride pillion instead.
Is the Ha Giang loop safe for someone who has never ridden a motorbike?
Not as a self-drive trip. The loop has long descents, blind hairpins, loose gravel, livestock on the road and heavy trucks, and learning to ride on it is how people get hurt. Every operator on this list can seat you behind an experienced local driver instead, and you see exactly the same road.
If you want to try riding, do it on a flat, quiet route for a day first and decide afterwards. Do not make that decision on the morning of departure at the top of a pass.
When is the best time of year for a motorbike trip in the north?
September to November is the usual answer: the rain has eased, the air is clear and the rice terraces are at their best. March to May is workable and warmer, though hill haze can flatten the views. June to August brings heavy rain, landslides and closed sections.
December to February is dry but genuinely cold at altitude, with fog that can sit on the passes all day. Ride it if you have proper gear, and expect to lose viewpoints to cloud.
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