Small Group Vietnam Bike Tour
Have you ever imagined taking a bicycle trip through Vietnam?
Thanks to the tour operator “Vietnam By Bike“, we studied about Vietnam with the most satisfied as our needs, and we left for this wonderful adventure with small group Vietnam Bike Tour. For those who want to try the same emotions as we are telling you now that the monthly departure is their strong but you can agree the one that suits you most.
The company consisted of four women and six men, serene people and able to adapt to every circumstance, perfect understanding of elements! From Hanoi, where the group was joining, the capital of Vietnam. Waiting for us there was Feet, the guide who would accompany us for all our wonderful journey, along with 3 other specifications for each region: so in the north we had Yee, in the middle Thai and in the south Ut.
The tour is a great way to discover the country, from North to South, from the ancient capital to the modern Saigon and, taking advantage of the slow and dilated rhythms offered by our two-wheeled transport, you can get in deeper in Vietnamese life and culture.
Along the way we are escorted by a minibus, excellent replacement of our tired legs and effective mobile workshop for sudden repairs. Woe if there had not been an excellent organization behind!
What is more striking than the country is the vitality of the various places, Hanoi is a jumble of scooters overloaded with all merchandise, which, together with its six and a half million inhabitants, invade the streets. In the morning the sidewalks of the city are entirely occupied by impromptu traders who, placed there since the dawn, sell meat, fruit and vegetables, partly exposed to the ground and partly placed on the saddles of their bikes.
One way to immerse yourself in the new culture is through food: spring rolls (spring rolls), duck and chicken broth, the Phở (beef broth with rice noodles and vegetables), sauces, aromas … never miss coriander and chili pepper . We also learn to use chopsticks, indispensable here!
The bike tour starts with an excursion in the suburbs of the city, along the Mekong River for about 30Km. In single file we cross colorful floral crops, banana plantations and tidy vegetable gardens, then take a tour of the city and finish the day with a relaxing drink.
From Hanoi we pass to Cat Ba, in Halong Bay, passing through rice fields where slender and curved figures plant rice seedlings in the shade of their large, triangular hats of straw. By hand, one by one, in the submerged ground of water. Arriving on the island we immediately start a bike ride along a quiet road surrounded by greenery that, with its soft salts-downs, leads us in just over 20 kilometers to our hotel. We witness a spectacular and romantic sunset on a white sand beach overlooking the Gulf of Tonkin.
In the evening we reach one of the floating restaurants in the area where the owners show us the live menu: embedded in the wooden floor there are tanks in which our dinner swims … Vietnamese fish, crabs and shrimp.
The following day we reach in a short time, thanks to the good pace of pedaling that manages to keep the female group, the boarding point, through which we will immerse ourselves in our “mini-cruise” on Pelican 1, to navigate between the and the other of the 2000 islands of Halong Bay, declared by UNESCO in 1994, a World Heritage Site. Young and friendly staff, dream rooms, refined and abundant menus, but the real gem is out there: those fascinating beautiful islands that emerge from the waters of the sea born, says the legend, from the beating of the tail of a large dragon dived into the water. By means of boats we descend on one of these islands and go up the steps to the top from which we enjoy a picture postcard across the Bay. We return to the ship to redeem you soon after, by kayak. Before dinner, a cooking lesson awaits us on the bow of the ship: we prepare and enjoy spring-rolls filled with meat and vegetables.
When I wake up the next morning (7 am), I realize that some of the group have already taken part in a Tai-Chi class. Immediately take a seat on the boats for a visit to the cave of Dau Go.
From the north, a first class train will take us to Hue, the cultural capital and center of Vietnam. Through the window we see endless kilometers of rice paddies. Without wasting time, we ride a bike for what will be a day dedicated to the knowledge of the countless architectural and cultural relics of the imperial era. We spend the whole day cycling along the country roads, from one temple to another, built in honor of some of the thirteen emperors of the last Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945).
New day on the bike! We leave directly from the hotel to reach the gates of Danang. Eighty or so miles along quiet roads separate us from the start of the Hai Van Pass climb under a darkened sky. From there descent and plain for a total of one hundred and fourteen kilometers. We walk along the bus satisfied and smiling, the city of Danang, full of imposing skyscrapers and luxurious hotels until you reach Hoi-An, where we stay for two nights. As soon as we arrive we organize the shifts for massages, those in the hotel and those outside and we bring sweaty clothes to the laundry.
While from home we have received news of endless snowstorms for days, we find ourselves pedaling under a burning sun, on quiet roads that allow us to admire everything that surrounds us: infinity of lush gardens cultivated with great skill make us forget for a while being in chaotic Vietnam. We cycle for 55 kilometers through the rural part, on the outskirts of Hoi-An, until we reach the gates of an ancient Champa village of My Son, which we will visit on foot.
We leave the center of the country at 4 am to reach Nha-Trang, with an internal flight. Waiting for us at the airport we find our third guide, Ut who immediately puts us in the saddle of bicycles to let us pedal along the coast for about seventy kilometers, then we are transported first by bus and then with a small boat on an island that immediately reveals a small paradise: clear waters that give way to a white beach, stay in bungalows surrounded by greenery. We take advantage of the last moments of light to take a bath in the sea before the dark devours the whole scenery.
In the morning we leave for a challenging stage, a climb of 32 kilometers with a vertical drop that touches the 1700 meters that puts us to the test. In some parts of the route we use the minibus, from which I enjoy the well-deserved rest and the sight of plantations of tropical fruits.