cycling in Vietnam

dave cyclist

hi all,

cycling in Indochina such as Vietnam and Cambodia are the great way for holiday. does anyone know that area. please post the reply to share the experience.

cheers

lloyd_bower

No experience myself, remains on the must do list for sure. You could try the lonely planet's 'on your bike' forum for advice:- http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=32

GyatsoLa

Yes, loads of threads in the Lonely Planet website.

I've been there twice, but its quite a few years ago. Vietnam is very much 'love it or hate it'. I've met people who swore they'd never ride there again because of the traffic and the people, while others (like me) loved it. You need to chose routes carefully to avoid traffic - the mountains to the north (north-west of Hanoi) are probably best cycling territory.

Cambodia is very different. Just a handful of paved roads, the rest turn to mud in the rainy season. Mostly a very flat country, but the weather and poor road conditions can make it tough going. But the people are lovely and it is a real experience.

cycladelic

The road road north of Hanioi - as Gyatsola says - is really great. Head for Sapa and then Dien Bien Phu. You can cross into Laos and head down to Cambodia. I cycled in Cambodia's wild eastern corner, along a sandy track for a few days... I think it might be paved now. I went there just over 4 years ago.

cycladelic

Forgot to mention... I have also riddden in the south of Vietnam. It wasn't as dramatic as the north and Route 1 is very busy with trucks. It's not an area I would recommend for cycling.

TheStone

I did a an organised cycle ride from Sapa to Dien Bien. Amazing.

The guide sorted accomodation, food, bikes etc, so I can't help with the planning, but
I don't think it'd be too hard to do on your own.

Roads are fairly quiet, but not great condition. We were on MtBs. You'd get away with
a cross bike, but wouldn't be fun or safe on road bike and 23C tyres.