Book a tour: A Thorough Northeast Vietnam Motorbike Routes Guideline

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Introduction

If you love backpacking with moto, surely you cannot ignore the trio of provinces in the North, which are Bac Kan, Lang Son, and Cao Bang when coming to Vietnam.
The reason is that the natural landscapes in these places are unbelievably breathtaking. You will witness vast forests, endless blue rivers, limestone mountains, and misty mountains.
Moreover, interwoven with nature is the human image of craft villages and farms along with an increasingly upgraded national highway network.
The people here are incredibly friendly and hospitable. You will have the opportunity to enjoy many regional dishes, although rustic but very hearty. And what all backpackers love is that there are very few tourists here, so the traffic is very light.


This article on ''Best Motorbike Routes Northeast Vietnam’' mainly focuses on guiding five different routes and roundabouts to travel through the Cao - Bac - Kan region. You can run independently or combine the routes according to your preference to explore this majestic Northeast Vietnam.
The northeast is a fantastic alternative to, or extension of, the Ha Giang Loop, which has lost some of its enchantment due to its popularity.
In this article, you'll find a list of 5 Great Northeast Routes compiled from all of our northern motorcycle guides.
By connecting these five criteria and following them from east to west or west to east across the country, you should be able to plan your own 'Northeast Vietnam motorbike routes.'

Northeast by Motorbike: 5 Routes & Loops

Aerial view of “ Ban Gioc “ waterfall, Cao Bang, Vietnam. “ Ban Gioc “ waterfall is one of the top 10 waterfalls in the world. 

Northeast Vietnam Motorbike Routes

ROUTE 1: Ban Gioc Waterfall 

Good surface, low traffic, and a tough return route.

Connecting Cao Bang city to Ban Gioc waterfall, this is one of the most famous roads in the northeast. You definitely cannot miss this Ban Gioc Waterfall Roundabout because it only takes a day to admire the beautiful scenery from Cao Bang.

However, you will need to prepare a steady handle because the bottom half of the site is damaged and under repair. The slippery, muddy terrain in that section will be full of risks because the Ban Gioc Roundabout there is in bad condition.

Me Pia pass, Quang Uyen, Cao Bang, the most challenge part of Vietnam motorcycle tours.

But don't worry too much because the front part of the road to this place is very well done. You will not need too much experience or a specialized motorbike to go on this part of the road.

We would recommend that you stop the motorbike trip and stay overnight on the way and then return to Cao Bang the next day. You can choose one of the beautiful homestays on the way to stay.

Some of the suggestions, such as Phia Thap or Dam Tay, are all homestays worth experiencing.

To get out of Cao Bang, you will go east along Highway 3. Before reaching the craggy Ma Phuc, you will witness valleys. Behind Ma Phuc is a majestic and breathtaking view of the limestone valley.

Ma Phuc mountain pass in Cao Bang, Vietnam

Good news for food lovers, there is a town with a lot of food and drink on the northern route in Quang Uyen, which is DT206 street. There are also hotels here where you can rest.

Here, you can also feel free to immerse yourself in the wonderful scenery between Quang Uyen and Ban Gioc Waterfall. It also passed the old, dusty market village of Chongqing.

Ai Quoc commune, Loc Binh district, Lang Son - September 22, 2020: Live scene of Dao Lu Gang ethnic minority people in Ai Quoc commune, Loc Binh district, Lang Son, Vietnam

From DT206, you can admire the flamboyant landscape painting of China's nature. You can also see the small human figure appearing to create the highlight for this picture.

Continue riding straight to the south of Ban Gioc Waterfall. The road DT206/DT207 stretches the Chinese border to Ha Lang, and you can fully enjoy the landscape during the journey. Cao Bang could be one of the top highlights motorbike ride in Vietnam.

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ROUTE 2: Ba Be Lake Loop

The Ba Be Lake Loop's twisty roads penetrate deep into Bac Kan Province's verdant mountains.

The Ba Be Lake Loop, Cao Bang’s southwest, is a largely mountainous, and incredibly scenic route that blends serpentine national narrow backroads highways to provide a hugely satisfying ride to lakes, rivers, and hills. These homestays, which are mostly owned by local ethnic minority families, are typically wood-and-thatch or concrete-and-brick structures on stilts near the water's edge in the national park. As a result, the Ba Be Lake Loop's homestays serve as the primary hub for sightseeing and activities. 

Ba Be National Park,Vietnam
Ba Be National Park,Vietnam

ROUTE 3: Bac Son Loop - Mau Son Mountain

The Mau Son Mountain - Bac Son Valley Loop is made up of two magnificent mountainous through a pleasant ride down a picturesque. It is short, easy to manage, and mostly on decent, well-built roads. Begin with Lang Son, a city that is a small, friendly town. It offers plenty of cuisines, hotels, tourist attractions, and fantastic marketplaces selling a variety of things from the border. QL4B, which leads to the DT237B’s turnoff, which climbs to Mau Son.

Amazing landscape rice field on Bac Son, Lang Son, Northeast Viet Nam, above rice terraces in a beautiful day rice field on Bac Son, Viet Nam

Many structures provide lodging, food, and beverages, including the famed local liquor, which is said to be enhanced by the water of the mountain. Return to Lang Son and begin traveling due west. The road climbs steadily after the village of Binh Gia, slicing by a cluster of forested karsts and providing spectacular views into the valley, where small hamlets of wood-and-tile homes emit smoke.

Bac Son is a rice-growing surrounding; there is a cradle of stone karsts. The town itself is tiny and unobtrusive, but there is a residential project in Quynh Son community, on the area's master edges, where the crops are so vibrantly colored that each blade looks to be shot, including an electric current. A night in a wooden house with exquisite home-cooked cuisine will cost roughly 200,000vnd. However, before spending the night in a homestay, combine highways QL1B and DT241 to create a scenic motorcycle loop tour around Bac Son Valley. 

The magical scene of the mountains resemble the successive message they are covered with layers of lush green vegetation at dawn in Bac Son district Lang Son Province, Vietnam

This scenic 60-kilometer journey winds its way among limestone pinnacles that separate oceans of rice paddy separated by a big river. Finally, save some energy for the challenging hike through dense woodland to Bac Son Political View, which sits on a rocky crag behind town and gives stunning views. After a night at a homestay, start your motorbike journey back across the hillside via QL1B towards Lang Son to end the double circle. It's worth riding for an hour along the road in the intriguing tiny village of Dong Dang to soak up the ambiance. Riding in Lang Son could be the best motorbike trips in northeast Vietnam.

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ROUTE 4: Bac Kan Roads Loop

The Bac Kan Loop uses several excellent, providing easy riding and connecting you to lonely places of deep jungles, rivers, and apparently unending mountains, with the exception of Road QL4A between Lang Son or Cao Bang, which forms the route's eastern flank. Start and end at Cao Bang or Lang Son, and take time gobbling up the miles of backroads that meander via one of Vietnam's least populous provinces via landscapes steeped in history. This riding is fantastic, this traffic is mild, this landscape is stunning, and these distances are long but feasible in days with a break-in the small settlements off the beaten path. A large stretch of Highway QL4A runs this loop.

Bamboo forest in Lung Pan, Cao Bang province, Viet Nam

QL4A is a fantastic road to bike in northeast Vietnam as it bends overpasses, down valleys, and via lovely farmland studded by limestone karsts, facilitating trade with China. The town of That Khe, located in the middle of QL4A, is the starting point of back roads. It makes no difference either direction you ride the 'criss-cross.'  The back roads are paved, albeit their quality deteriorates at times and, due to the steep terrain, they are susceptible after heavy rain. 

In good weather, though, riders should be able to unwind and enjoy the stunning rural backroads.

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Route 5: China Border Crawl Loop

The environment is breathtaking, these roads are breathtaking, and this Vietnam motorbike adventure is genuine and unadulterated. Bao Lac is a little hamlet at the junction of three rivers, and is an excellent spot to stop for refreshments or a night's stay before riding on the country's most spectacular highways. This nameless road, which follows the Bao Lac’s Gam River east, is many riders’ talk in Vietnam right now. For its length, these roads follow the Chinese border, passing through some exceedingly desolate areas.

Mountain pass in Cao Bang, Vietnam. Mẻ Pia pass in Cao Bang, Vietnam. Landscape of area Trung Khanh, Cao Bang, Vietnam.

Turn on DT210, a rarely traveled back road that climbs steeply up cliffs and skirts the Chinese to Tra Linh. The small road twists via a forest of chalky karsts, passing via distant towns that look stuck, cutting a big white wound in the landscape.

Beautiful rice terraces during harvest season in Cao Bang

Conclusion

We've compiled a selection of 5 Best Motorbike Routes Northeast Vietnam from all of our northeast motorcycle guides in this article. You should be able to design your own 'Northeast Vietnam motorbike routes' by connecting these five criteria and following them from east to west or west to east across the country. More dates and infos visit our website for more: https://vietnammotorcycletours.com/

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