“When is the best time to Vietnam motorbike” is a popular question however it’s not easy to give the correct answer because Vietnam is a long country and most of the area of Vietnam is mountainous so the climate is changeable and different in each parts in the same time. In some places, you can have 4 seasons in just one day. During the rainy season but you may have a whole week without any rain in the day. It may be sunny in one side of the mountain but the other side could be cloudy/foggy or rain.
Based on geographic and climatic conditions, there are 7 different climatic regions in Vietnam: Northwest, Northeast, North Delta (Red revier delta), North Central (North Central Coast), South Central (South Central Coast), Central Highlands, and the South. These seven regions are widely accepted within the Vietnamese climatological community. Generally, these 7 different climatic regions are grouped into 2 main types: The North (includes Northwest, Northeast, North Delta (Red River Delta), North Central (North Central Coast)) which includes all areas north of the Hải Vân Pass and the South (South Central Coast, Central Highlands and the extreme south) which includes all areas south of the Hải Vân Pass. These climatic regions are based on time of rainy season and other climatic elements such as insolation, sunshine, temperature, precipitation, and humidity. The diverse topography, wide range of latitudes (Vietnam spans over 15° of latitude), and influences from the South China Sea lead to climatic conditions varying significantly between regions.
Best Time to Motorbike in Vietnam
Below is our summery for the weather in North Vietnam and South Vietnam from Hoi An to Saigon so that you can choose your suitable time for your motorcycle tours in Vietnam:
North Vietnam: Spring (from Feb to April) and Autumn (from August – October) must be the best time to tour around North Vietnam by motorbikes. November December is quite cool and dry but could be foggy, January is quite cold in mountains (around 5 degree C). Rain usually in June – July.
+ Northwest Vietnam: The Northwest region includes the provinces of Lai Châu, Sơn La, and Điện Biên. The climate is characterized by cold, dry (little drizzly rain), sunny winters in which hoarfrost is common in many years: Summers are hot and rainy, coinciding with the rainy season although there is a high frequency of hot, dry days caused by westerly winds. Valleys are sheltered from wind, leading to a longer dry season and lower annual rainfall. The dry season usually lasts for 4–5 months. The average annual amount of sunshine hours is 1,800 to 2,000. Owing to diverse terrain and climate in this region, this leads to different types of forests being present.
+ Northeast Vietnam: The Northeast region includes the northern and northeastern provinces: Hà Giang, Phú Thọ, Cao Bang, Lạng Sơn, Bac Kan, Thái Nguyên, and Quảng Ninh… The climate is strongly influenced by the northeast monsoon. Winters are cold, cloudy (little sunshine) that is characterized by drizzle. The cold comes earlier than other provinces. Summers are hot and rainy that coincide with the rainy season. However, unlike the northwest, dry conditions are rare due to a low frequency of westerly winds. The rainy season usually lasts from May–September although its duration can vary from 4 to 10 months. In the Hoang Lien Son mountains, winters are cold where snowfall and hoarfrost can occasionally occur. These mountains have the highest rainfall in the country. The average annual amount of sunshine hours is 1,400 to 1,700 (source from Wikipedia)
South Vietnam: With almost sunny and hot days year-round, usually rains in the afternoon from May – November but normally quick rain or rain in the late afternoon.
Our answer: We organize motorbike tours in Vietnam in whole year-round and we can say each time of year has pros and cons. As we say, It may rain usually from June – August but it’s just like a quick shower then stop to be sunny again and the pros of this time is that you can see the most beautiful color in the mountain with full of rice terraces and blue sky everyday with rainbow sometimes.
WHAT WAS YOUR INITIAL REACTION TO THE COUNTRY?
In one word, terrifying. To me it was a different planet! Flying into Ho Chi Minh City I quickly saw swarms of mopeds, and heard stories of people being robbed or worse.
Needless to say, this kind of put me off to a rocky start on Vietnam motorbike trip.
I think I stayed in my hotel room for at least 24 hours contemplating if we had made the right decision. We even were searching for flights out until I decided that I wasn’t going to let “stories” dictate my trip.
Making the choice to get over my shock and continue with plans to travel from Saigon to Hanoi by motorbike was hard, but one of the best I’ve made.
WHAT WAS THE PROCESS OF BUYING A MOTORBIKE IN VIETNAM?
Buying a motorbike in Vietnam as a foreigner is illegal, and for good reason. You can apply for a Vietnamese license in advance, but the paperwork is challenging to say the least.
Not to mention the fact you have to leave enough time to actually get approved and receive it. Really though, this is Asia after all so we figured out the easiest solution… Risk it!
When we started our search into buying a motorbike in Vietnam people saw us coming from miles away. All they saw is money, money, money.
Selling was the same because it seemed like all people wanted to do was screw you over as much as they possibly could. They definitely carry the view that all foreigners have to be rich.
Most people buying a motorbike in Vietnam do so with a Vietnamese person they meet and can trust. Either that, or from someone fresh off their own Vietnam motorbike trip with the most beat up piece of crap you can ever imagine.
Everyone claims they have the best piece of machinery you will be able to find. They also have a “blue card” with some random Vietnamese persons name on it. This apparently is the only way you can actually try and prove you own it.
I think if you plan to travel Vietnam by motorbike and try and buy a bike without any knowledge of how they function, or signs of something reliable than you must stupid. If you’re buying a motorbike in Vietnam by yourself from a local without a Vietnamese person to help you better have your wallet chalk full of Dong.
That’s what they want, not Chinese. Boy, the Honda dream really was a dream. For the first 1000 miles at least… After that I thought I would lose my legs from how uncomfortable the seat was!
We only spent money on oil changes (100-200,000 Vietnamese Dong) which was part of our budget to begin with. Not because we needed it, but just for peace of mind.
We also splurged and bought huge pieces of foam that we tied down to the bike every day for padding. After the foam was purchased we really were dreaming.
We got plenty of bizarre looks and trying to explain that we just wanted foam not a seat was super interesting. Luckily, the foam saved my lower half. I truly don’t know if I would have been able to go from Saigon to Hanoi by motorbike without it.
There are more people than you think buying a motorbike in Vietnam who want to cruise the countryside. We chatted with a bunch of those people. Some were covered in road rash, broken down, cutting their trips short, and selling their bikes.
It’s not just the motorbike you should worry about. It’s really the fact that you probably don’t encounter these garbage roads and crazy riders in your hometown. I don’t care if you lane split in California, or go from 0 to 60 in seconds in New York City.
There’s no way you’re going to be prepared for this. I think you have to be lucky when you’re buying a motorbike for a trip on the roads you SHOULD be taking. A little luck and knowledge of how motorbike function. Those are key!
We never got pulled over on the Vietnam motorbike route which again is very lucky. I’ve heard so many horror stories about going from Saigon to Hanoi by motorbike and vice versa. For foreigners getting pulled over it’s often the choice between bribing an officer or losing your wheels.
For that reason, we always kept two separate bills in our pockets so we didn’t have to reach into our main wallet. One had 200,000 Dong, and one had 500,000. You never know what can happen and we even had a budget for that.
The Honda Dream demanded respect, and most days that’s just what it got. We were always able to convince hotel owners to let us park it inside. This is a very important tip for your own Vietnam motorbike trip because people do get their motorbikes stolen at night.
WAS IT HARD TO SELL YOUR MOTORCYCLE?
We traveled from Saigon to Hanoi by motorbike and sold it at the end. It was a close call to say the least. A lot of tourists start South and end in the North, so there is no shortage of motorcycles in Hanoi.
Guess what? Everyone is stressing the same thing. Your trips over and you’re running out of time. If we had ended in Ho Chi Minh City we maybe would have had an easier time selling, but that’s a big maybe.
In one hotel we met a really nice Vietnamese guy who loved our bike and wanted to help us sell it. He helped us set up a Craigslist add in Vietnamese, and also helped me find a SIM card with a number for people to call.
He took Dustin to a place he knew of that bought bikes that were actually worth buying. Come to find out it was basically what Dustin describes as “the Vietnamese mafia.”
These guys gave Dustin a really low offer on the first day, but after our friend argued with them a little that changed. Dustin left and figured if he gave them a day or two they would come around.
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