a group of us just did an 8 day ride from Hanoi to Chinese border with a company called Offroad Vietnam. It was a tour organised by them to our specs. We had a few couples (pillions) and had xr250s and some smaller bikes. They may hire bikes for solo trips. We did a variety of home stays, hotels and guest houses. Because we were a large group, we had 2 guides who were fantastic, kept the bikes in good knick and made sure we ate well. All good! It was only 3 weeks ago, but I want to do it ll again. The bike company only wanted to know if we had the appropriate licenses.

Which licenses did they want? Motorcycle endorsment from home and an international?

Thanks everybody for the info. I am getting braver with every reply I read!

I have just returned (yesterday) from 4 weeks riding in southern Vietnam (Rach Gia and Phu Quoc Island).

The official story is you need a Vietnamese licence which can be obtained in Ho Chi Minh City (and I presume Hanoi) provided you have a valid licence for that type of vehicle in your home country and an international licence. The local licence will only be valid for the length of your visa. The process takes 2 or 3 weeks.

The reality is, provided you do not do anything stupid, the cops will not worry you. I was spotted, looked at, watched, etc several times (being 190 cm tall with white skin and a big nose made it difficult to blend into the local population) but never stopped. In one instance a police officer stood in front of me and pointed past me to the rider behind me and stopped them.

Provided you have good balance at slow speeds on small bikes and good periferral (don't know how to spell it, but you know what I mean) vision, you will have a ball.

Be aware of the speed limits (40 kph in urban areas and 60 kph on the "open" road in the south where I was) as some of the cops do use speed radar thingys and you do not want to give them a blatant and obvious reason to pull you over. No licence and they can confiscate your bike for 30 days.

Make sure you have the registration certificate for your bike. I understand registration is a once-off action, so any bike bought second-hand will have someone else's name on it - they do not appear to register change of ownership.

The standard fee for parking your bike in a secure area (roped off with an attendant who will put a numbered tag on you bike) was 2,000 dong.

The traffic appears chaotic and rode rules are merely a general indication of what you should do so expect people to cut in front, not use rear vision mirrors, not indicate, etc, but you will also notice that road rage is rare and as you cut STEADILY across a stream of on-coming traffic, they will go around you (this does not apply to cars, buses or trucks).

Cheers

John