Tours out of Ho Chi Minh City and across Vietnam
Central Vietnam
Around Hoi An on two wheels, finished by lunch
Three mornings riding the flat lanes around the old port, with a local cycling guide and a van behind, and every afternoon free for the pool or the town.
Overview
Cycling for people who do not call themselves cyclists
The land around Hoi An is a delta in miniature: rice, herb gardens, channels, sandbanks and islands, all at sea level and threaded with lanes too narrow for a car. A bicycle is simply the right way to see it. You need no training for this trip. If you can ride to the shops at home, you can ride this.
What makes it work is the timing. Each riding day starts at 06:30 and is over by eleven, before the heat does its work, with the long crossings done by ferry and a van within a few minutes if anyone wants out. Your guide is a cyclist from Hoi An who knows which lanes flood, which ferries run and which family will sell you a coconut halfway round.
The afternoons are yours. Most people sleep, swim or go into the old town at dusk.
- Length
- 3 days, 2 nights
- Start and finish
- Da Nang
- Riding
- About 60 km in total, all flat
- Daily finish
- By 11:00 on riding days
- Bikes
- Hybrid or city bikes, fitted on day 1
- Best months
- February to April
Nights
Where you sleep
We choose a place on the country side of town, so the rides start at the door and the old town is still ten minutes away by bike.
Day by day
Day by day
Day 1
Da Nang to Hoi An, and a short ride to Tra Que
Pick-up at Da Nang airport or station; the drive takes about forty-five minutes. Your guide brings the bicycles to the hotel at 16:00 to fit saddles and check brakes, and then you ride together to Tra Que, the vegetable village about three kilometres away, where families have grown herbs in seaweed-fed soil for generations. Back at the hotel as the light goes.
Day 2
Across the river to the islands
The carpenters’ workshops of Kim Bong
Start at 06:30 through the fields to the Thu Bon river, where a local ferry takes you and the bikes across to Cam Kim island. The island is a patchwork of boatyards, carpenters’ workshops and mat-weaving houses; Kim Bong, the woodworking village that built much of old Hoi An, is still at work. Your guide stops where there is something happening rather than at a set list.
A second ferry brings you back towards town, and the ride ends at a café by the river at around 10:45. Lunch and the afternoon are free.
Day 3
Cam Thanh and Cua Dai, then Da Nang
Another 06:30 start, east this time along the river towards the sea. The water palms of Cam Thanh line the creeks here, and you leave the bikes for an hour in a basket boat with a local boatman. The last stretch runs to Cua Dai beach for a swim before the van brings you back to shower and check out. Transfer to Da Nang in time for an afternoon connection.
Price
Price
| Travellers | Tier 1 — simple | Tier 2 — comfortable | Tier 3 — the good ones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 travelling | from 425 | from 530 | from 810 |
| 4 travelling | from 350 | from 435 | from 660 |
| 6 travelling | from 315 | from 395 | from 600 |
The price includes a dedicated cycling guide and the support van every riding day, which is why it sits above our plain Hoi An trip. A better bike — a lighter hybrid or an electric-assist model where available — is a small supplement; ask when you book.
Included
What is included
What the price includes
- Two nights in Hoi An at your chosen tier, with breakfast
- Private transfers to and from Da Nang
- Local cycling guide on all three rides
- Bicycle, helmet and water on every ride
- Support van on the riding days
- Ferries, basket boat and village stops
What it does not include
- Flights and trains to Da Nang
- Lunches, dinners and drinks
- Visas, insurance and tips
Practical
Heat, roads and when to come
February to April is the best time to ride: cool mornings, dry lanes and green fields. From May to August the rides still work, but the finish has to come earlier and the water stops more often. The central coast’s storm season runs from September to December, and in October and November the islands and lower lanes can be under water; we change routes when that happens and tell you before you book if your dates are risky.
Most of the riding is on village lanes and farm tracks. There are short stretches of busier road, and scooters are part of life here — your guide rides at the front and sets the pace.
Not for everyone
Who this does not suit
Serious road cyclists looking for distance or climbing will be bored by this: it is flat, short and stops often. If you want hills, the Hai Van pass is the ride, and we can arrange it as an extra day. Travellers who are nervous on a bicycle among scooters should try the day 1 ride before committing to the others. And young children under about ten are better on a tag-along or a child seat, which we can supply if you ask in advance.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
What kind of bikes do you use?
Sturdy hybrid or city bikes with gears, in several frame sizes, with helmets. Tell us your height when you book so the right frame is waiting.
Can non-riders in the group come along?
Yes. They can travel in the support van and join the stops, or spend the mornings in town and meet you for lunch.
Is it safe with the traffic?
Most of the route is on lanes with very little traffic. Where you meet a main road, it is for a few hundred metres, with the guide leading.
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Example journey
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Themes
On two wheels
Delta lanes, coastal flats and northern valleys, honestly graded.
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Tours
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Day trips, regional routes and full-length itineraries.
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Start planning
Tell us about the trip you have in mind
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.
Or talk to us:+84 766 045 399