7 day motorcycle tour from Saigon, grand loop of adventure, Saigon-Dalat-Nha Trang

Instead of taking dreary highways 1 and 20 as other motorbike tours do, this motorcycle tour to Da Lat and Nha Trang just hit the off roads around and through farmlands, plantations, reservoir lakes, jungles, and highland passes give you a vista into the natural beauty of Vietnam. Tour stops in Nam Cat Tien national park, Ta Dung lake, Dalat and Nha Trang before driving along the spectacular coastline back to Saigon.

Highlights

• Dirt-bike adventurous tour
• Off roads through the many tea & coffee plantations
• Driving along Tri An lake and through the natural reserve
• Passing by many fishing villages, explore local’s daily activities

Planned route

Day 1: Saigon – Nam Cat Tien National Park

• Distance: 180 km

• Highlights of the day:
+ Driving along Tri An lake 

+ Off-road riding through the natural reserve

Getting out of busy Saigon, we take the off roads to Nam Cat Tien National Park, around 150 kilometers away. A ferry brings us to the other side of Dong Nai River for our drive on to and around Tri An lake, the second-largest in Vietnam, and built for producing hydropower. We continue our drive-by smaller roads through the fertile natural reserve before getting on another ferry taking us to the headquarters of Nam Cat Tien National Park. This section may prove to be the toughest of the trip. No worries about photo stops and lunch, we know that you are on vacation, we offer a very relaxed trip with many photo opportunities, and lunch is served whenever you need to eat!

Day 2: Nam Cat Tien National Park – Ta Dung Lake

• Distance: 170 km
• Highlights of the day:
+ Driving through the many tea & coffee plantations
+ Many stops on the way to take in the picturesque scenery of the highlands

Another exciting day with dust on your face, wind in your hair, camera at hand, and poised for the next shot. We drive to Da Teh, an isolated town surrounded by tea and coffee plantations, and continue over mountain passes. Let yourself get swallowed up in the picturesque scenic highland, a sea of green color everywhere you look to the endless horizon.

In the late afternoon, we check in at the guest house in the area nearby Ta Dung Lake, before a discovery trip to the lake the next morning. Dinner with barbecued fish from the lake or buffalo or free-range chicken and local rice wine will make the night last longer. After that, we can call it a day!

Day 3: Ta Dung – Dalat
• Distance: 170 km
• Highlights of the day:
+ Ta Dung Lake
+ Elephant Waterfall

We start the day by riding to another side of Ta Dung Lake. The jade-colored lake consists of many islets and is framed by bamboos, thick jungle. We also ride across hills passing through some ethnic minority villages to Lam Ha then on to Elephant Waterfall. After the waterfall, we continue through the center of the flower farm area, mainly roses, hydrangeas, and strawflowers… before checking into our hotel in Da Lat.

What could be better than a walk to a barbecue restaurant in the cool temperature of a town located 1500m above sea level and enjoying a jar of warm rice wine or a glass of vin Da Lat

Day 4: Downhill to Nha Trang

• Distance: 180 km
• Highlight of the day:
+ Beautiful mountain passes

+ Off-road ride through pin tree forest

After breakfast, we take a stunning 140km winding drive down to the coast to the oceanfront town of Nha Trang. During the trip can stop at vegetable and flower farms, hill tribe villages, and coffee plantations. Besides winding by forested mountains for much of the way, the road hits 1500 meters as we traverse the pass and take in some spectacular views down to the coast (dinner is not included).

 

Day 5  Nha Trang – Phan Rang Thap Cham

• Distance: 130 km
• Highlights of the day:
+ Riding along coastal passes, you’ll see a very different landscape to the highlands
+ Passing by many fishing villages, explore local’s daily activities
+ Photo stops at many bays full of brightly painted wooden fishing boats

Driving around Cam Ranh Bay is probably something common for travelers to Nha Trang but instead, we’ll be driving around Nui Chua national park, a unique dry ecosystem, along the coastal road. It is absolutely beyond what you can imagine and elements making your bike ride today so special include rocky mountains, wild beaches, narrow bays full of local fishing boats, and locals farming crops like a purple onion. In the late afternoon, we’ll arrive at Phan Rang-Thap Cham, the seat of Cham culture.

Day 6 Phan Rang – Mui Ne

• Distance: 180 km

After breakfast, visit the Po Klong Garai, a Cham temple tower located in the medieval Cham principality of Panduranga. It was built in honor of the legendary king Po Klaung Garai by the historic King Jaya Simhavarman III, who ruled Champa in the central part of Vietnam from 1285 to 1307.

Then we hit the road again, both off-road and on-road before having lunch in a local restaurant in Ca Na beach. The terrain of the coastline here is flat and sometimes the beach is just 20m from the road. We will also stop at the top attraction of Mui Ne, the White Sand Dunes. Often compared to those of the Sahara, these are massive and range in tone from gold to pure white. The lakes surrounding the dunes are thick with lotus blooms and provide a perfect place for a stroll.

In the afternoon, we arrive for check-in in our hotel in Ke Ga. We will be near a quiet fishing village and a grand lighthouse built-in 1897, the oldest in Vietnam. Ke Ga has splendid beaches, but unlike nearby Mui Ne or Phan Thiet, Ke Ga is not too famous to have some quiet moments and contact with locals.

Day 7: Mui Ne  – Saigon

• Distance: 220 km
• Highlights of the day:
+ Watching locals fishing in the morning on the beach
+ Driving through many plantations

Waking up in the early morning, you have a chance to explore the simple life of locals with their fishing nets, small wooden boats, and the one-man traditional fishing vessel, the coracle. After leaving Ke Ga we drive along some salt farms, and many dragon fruit plantations before having lunch in Binh Chau. We will also ride through many rubbers, black pepper, and banana plantation on the way back to Ho Chi Minh.

Additional information:

Price:
-Group of one: 260 USD/Day
-Group of two: 180 USD/Day/Person
-Group of three: 170 USD/Day/Person
-Group from four: 160 USD/Day/Person

Tour includes:

• Guide, 250cc dirt bikes, gasoline, B&B accommodation (double/twin shared room, extra $40 for the single room), entrance fees, all meals, and water.

Tour excludes:

• Bike damage (e.g. broken levers, heavily bent rims/handlebars/frame, broken or cracked headlight, burnt-out clutch plates due to improper handling……)
• Insurance, emergency transportation, and related costs. Bike transportation by truck in case of heavily damaged, burnt-out clutch plates…
• Alcohol drinks
• Tips to guide.

Route of the journey