Motorbike travel in Vietnam

The rules summary lives on the motorbike rules page; this is the practice. The core test has not changed: you need a licence valid in Vietnam for the class of bike you ride. For a visitor that means either a Vietnamese licence or your home motorbike licence carried together with an International Driving Permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, with the motorbike category stamped. Vietnam is a party to the 1968 convention. IDPs issued only under the 1949 Geneva convention, which is what the United States and, for most applicants, Australia issue, are generally not accepted (check with your issuing body).

The Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, passed in 2024 and in force from 1 January 2025, reorganised the classes. A1 now covers motorbikes up to 125 cc or 11 kW electric; class A covers anything larger. The old A1 limit of 175 cc and the separate A2 class for big bikes no longer apply to new licences (check how older licences are recognised). In practice nearly every rental scooter and semi-automatic is 110–125 cc, so A1 is the class that matters. A car licence, or a car-only IDP, does not cover a motorbike of any size above 50 cc.

Most travel policies cover motorbike use only if all of these hold: you hold a licence valid in the country for that engine size, you wore a helmet, you had no alcohol in your blood, and the engine is under a cap (often 125 cc). Break one and the insurer can refuse the whole claim, including hospital bills and repatriation, which from Vietnam can reach tens of thousands of US dollars. Read the motorbike clause before you fly and keep a copy offline.

Every bike must also carry compulsory third-party civil liability insurance, a small paper or digital certificate that covers damage you cause others, not your own injuries. Ask the rental shop for it with the registration card (cà vẹt) and carry both. Some policies also exclude you as a pillion passenger unless the driver is licensed; Grab drivers are, most random drivers may not be.

Choose the bike by the road. Automatic scooters (110–125 cc) suit cities and flat coast. Semi-automatics, with gears and no clutch lever, are the standard for the Hà Giang loop and mountain roads because you can gear down on descents. Manual bikes with a clutch (125–150 cc trail bikes and older Honda Win clones) are for experienced riders on longer trips. Bigger bikes need class A and are rarer to rent.

Deposits run ₫2,000,000–5,000,000 in cash for a scooter (check). Never leave your passport: you need it for every hotel check-in, and a shop that holds it holds you in any dispute over damage. Before you ride away, photograph and film every side of the bike with the owner watching, including the odometer and fuel gauge; test both brakes, lights, horn and indicators; check tyre tread; and ask for the helmet with a visor, not the thin 'hat' kind. Get the shop's phone number and agree in writing what happens after a breakdown or theft.

The loop runs roughly 350 km from Hà Giang city through Quản Bạ, Yên Minh, Đồng Văn, the Mã Pí Lèng pass and Mèo Vạc, and back, usually over 3–4 days. The roads are paved but narrow, with blind hairpins, trucks, loose gravel after rain and tour groups of 20 bikes riding in convoy. Most crashes involve riders who learned to ride that week.

The easy-rider option means you sit behind a local driver who knows the road, often in a group with homestay beds and meals included. It costs more, but it solves the licence, the insurance and the fatigue at once, and you can watch the scenery instead of the road edge. Self-riding makes sense only if you already ride at home, hold the right licence, and can take 4–5 days so the daily distance stays under 100 km. The Đồng Văn karst walk is a good day off the bike.

On long descents use the engine, not the brakes. Shift down to second or third gear before the slope, brake in short firm bursts before bends rather than through them, and never ride downhill in neutral: drum brakes on rental bikes overheat and fade within a few kilometres. Stop and let them cool if the lever starts to feel soft. On the way up, stay in a gear that keeps the engine revving.

Fog closes in fast above about 1,000 m in the north, especially from December to March; slow down, switch on lights and pull off if you cannot see the road edge. From June to September heavy rain brings landslides and rockfalls on passes in Hà Giang, Lào Cai and Cao Bằng, and roads can close for a day or more: check local news and ask your homestay each morning before setting out. The Hải Vân pass between Huế and Đà Nẵng is about 20 km of well-surfaced road rising to about 500 m; trucks use the tunnel beneath, and motorbikes are not allowed through the tunnel, so the pass itself is the route.

In Hanoi and Saigon traffic moves as a slow, dense flow. Hold a steady speed and line, avoid sudden braking or swerving, and let others flow around you; use the horn as 'I am here'. Watch for bikes riding against traffic near the kerb and for cars turning across you at junctions. Red lights are enforced by cameras in both cities.

Police checkpoints are common on highways out of cities and at night for alcohol checks. Stop, switch off the engine, remove your helmet and hand over your licence, IDP, registration card and insurance certificate. Fines under Decree 168/2024, in force since January 2025, rose sharply; the government also introduced a 12-point licence system. Pay fines only against an official receipt or through the official payment channel.

Get yourself and the bike out of the traffic stream, then check for injuries. Call 115 for an ambulance or ask a bystander to; in rural areas it is often faster to be driven to the nearest district hospital. For anything beyond scrapes, call your insurer's 24-hour line before paying large bills: they will direct you to an international clinic in Hanoi, Đà Nẵng or Saigon and may arrange transfer.

Photograph the scene, the vehicles and number plates, and get the other party's name and phone number. Minor crashes are often settled on the spot with cash, and foreigners are often expected to pay whoever was at fault; stay calm, involve the rental shop or your hotel, and do not hand over your passport. If police attend, do not sign a statement you cannot read.

Grab Bike and similar apps are the easiest way to use motorbikes safely in cities: a licensed driver, a fixed price shown in advance (typically ₫15,000–40,000 for a short hop, check) and a helmet handed to you. Sit upright, hold the grab rail or the driver's waist lightly, keep your feet on the pegs and your bag in front or on your back, and lean with the bike, not against it.

For the coast between Huế and Hội An, many shops run one-way Hải Vân pass trips with a driver and luggage sent ahead by car. In the north, a private car with driver covers the Hà Giang loop in 3–4 days for a group. And for the long trunk, the train does the distance while you sleep.