Cycle Touring in Vietnam

In December 1997, Tony, Lesley and David flew into Hanoi at the start of their bicycle tour in Vietnam. After a few days in Hanoi sightseeing, they took the Re-unification Express to the old Imperial capital of Hue. From Hue they cycled along Highway One to Phan Rang before heading to Dalat and Saigon. From Saigon they took a short bus trip to the Mekong Delta. Visit our website at http://www.magfos.com/vietnam.htm for the story of this trip.

Drum Makers Hanoi
In the old city of Hanoi, there are still many people carrying out the same...

Meat Stall at Market in Hanoi
When you visit Asia, you have to accept that there are different standards in...

Flower Seller Hanoi
There are hundreds of people wandering the streets of Hanoi selling different...

School Children Hanoi
These happy children were on their way to school at seven o'clock in the...

Loaded Cyclo Driver Hanoi
The cyclo drivers of Hanoi often carry huge loads on their vehicles and have...

Bikes on Roof of a Local Bus
You don't need fancy racks to be able to carry bicyles on a bus - just a...

On the Way to the Market
This heavy load of vegetables were on their way to the local market....

Ha Long Bay
The limstone sea stacks of Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam are now part of a...

English Lessons Ha Long Bay
The ability to speak English makes it easier to find a good job in Vietnam....

On the Way to the Perfume Pagoda, Hanoi
We travelled up the river to the Perfume Pagoda near Hanoi in these...

Electric Fisherman, Perfume Pagoda
Electric current from a car battery was used by this fisherman to make his...

Misty Mountains, Perfume Pagoda
The day we visited the Perfume Pagoda near Hanoi, it was misty and drizzling...

Perfume River Bridge Hue
The bridge over the Perfume River in Hue still bears the scars of the...

The Old Citadel Hue
Much of the old citadel in Hue was destroyed in 1968 during the...

High School Girls Hue
Some people say that the girls from Hue are the most attractive in Vietnam....

Fishing on a Canal in Hue
Large weed covered canals afford lots of opportunity for fishing in...

Public Health Sign in Hue
You don't need to be able to read Vietnamese to understand the message on...

Leaving Hue
David, Lesley and Tony about to leave Hue at the start of the cycling part of...

Tony Talking to Old Man
Tony tried hard to communicate with this old man. It's amazing...

On the Road to Lang Co
Tony and Lesley stopped to admire the view over the paddy fields and...

Overlooking Lang Co
On our first night after leaving Hue we stayed on the pretty palm...

Ai Van Son Mountain and Hai Van Pass
From the beach at Lang Co, we had a good view of the Ai Van Son...

Drink Sellers, Hai Van Pass
These young children helped pay for their school fees by selling...

Cyclists on top of Hai Van Pass
We stopped to talk with these cylists from Australia and America. They...

Market Stall, Hoi An
The produce in the fruit and vegetable markets always seemed to be of a very...

Dress Makers, Hoi An
The Hoi An market has numerous dress makers who will make to measure...

Restaurant in Hoi An
We had delicious meals in this small riverside restaurant in Hoi An....

Hoi An River
It is hard to imagine now but Hoi An was a major international port...

Cham Temples, My Son
One of the most spectacular archeological sites in Vietnam, the Cham...

Cham Temples, My Son
The Cham temples at My Son near Hoi An were built between the 4th and 12th...

Women Working in the Rice Paddies
The brilliant green of the rice paddies was with us most of the way...

Rest Stop, Highway One
Whenever we stopped for a drink or something to eat, people wanted to...

Looking for a Quiet Lunch Spot
Every time we stopped we were surrounded by friendly, inquisitive people....

Seaside Village on the way to Nha Trang
On our ride down Highway One, we passed numerous quiet seaside villages with...

Nha Trang Beach
The seaside resort of Nha Trang is a popular stopover point for...

Boat Trip on Nha Trang Harbour
One of the best value tourist trips in Vietnam is a boat trip on Nha Trang...

Tony Climbing Towards Dalat
The climb from Phan Rang on the coast to Dalat in the highlands was long and...

Weaving Shop near Dalat
We went on a motorbike trip around Dalat and visited a number of the minority...

Persimmons For Sale
We regularly came across small amounts of fresh produce for sale on...

Only 100km to go!
100 kilometres to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We stopped here for a warm cola...

Happy Children
At the cross road town of Dau Giay, we stayed in what was loosely called a...

We Made it to Saigon
We reached Saigon without major incident. Here's Tony with a young...

North Vietnamese Tank
This tank was the second North Vietnamese tank to enter the grounds of...

The Card Board Box Shop, Saigon
We needed cardboard boxes to ship our bicycles back to Australia so we...

Funny Looking Tourists, Mekong Delta
It was very hot and humid on our bus trip to the Mekong Delta. We must have...

Snake Wine Anyone?
Snake wine and snake fat are supposed to have high therpeutic...

Gridlock, Phong Dien Floating Market
Boats seemed to be going everywhere at the floating market at Phong...

Children Playing on Canal Bank
This was just one of many villages we passed through on our boat trips...

Small Canal Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is crossed by dozens of small canals which lead increasingly...

article published 10/30/2000

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questions
We are interested in cycling in vietnam for about 3-4 weeks. Do you think it is wise to take a tour? Can you reccomend one? we would like to go next month. thanks, all tips welcome.
— kyley, January 18, 2006

We experienced much of what you saw on your trip this last January 2005. Much to my surprise, I did try a shot of the snake wine. Get past the creature and it's not to bad!!
— Jerry, February 16, 2005

Snake culling
Totally disgusting and repulsive and the only animals are the ones that harvest, cull and drink the snake wine.
— Cliff, January 12, 2004

Hue's girls are most attractive
If you only asked Hue people... Most South men would'nt want to mess with them. They are mean and think very highly of themself
— my williams, December 6, 2003

thanks ..i used you photos for an 8th school report...they are really good...thanks..frankie
— frankie king, February 23, 2003

Wowww
very nice Photos...and respect that you´ve been traveling by bike. i guess the streets are not that funny sometimes. i will go to vietnam in march and i am looking forward to see all those places you expressed here . thanks for sharing Cora
— Cora, January 30, 2003

Hi guys!

I read your pages abour your trip. I was so amazing because I wish someday I could ride bike or any kind of transportation to visit Vietnam from South to North. I went back to Vietnam last two summer and it was great. I wish i can go back for another time. But I'll try to travel the north from Hue and Hanoi, and Hai Phong, a beautiful port of Vietnam. I lived in Phan Rang and Phan Thiet when I was in Vietnam. Aniway, best wishes to you and wish you will come back for another time :)
— Nguyen, August 23, 2002

You rember me great souvenirs of Viet Nam. What a nice place to go, again...Thank's a lot for those nices pictures. Sugg.;If you intend to back, try the north part near the china border, you will be absolutely amaze by the beauty.
— martin, July 21, 2002

Great pics.Thanks.
— danny, May 31, 2002

VERY NICE PAGE. I ENVY ALL OF YOU FOR 2 REASONS..1) YOU'VE VISITED VIETNAM 2) YOU'RE FROM OZ. I'VE WANTED TO VISIT BOTH PLACES FOR A LONG TIME. HOPEFULLY I'LL GO ONE DAY. GREAT PHOTOS. LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF FUN. HOW'S THE FOOD?? THE FOLKS THERE SEEM VERY OUTGOING AND WARM TOWARDS FOREIGNERS FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN ON DIFF WEBSITES. THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO MAKE THIS PAGE!!
— ROBERT, May 30, 2002