Biking Mai Chau & Ninh Binh
Highlights
- Biking through the lush and beautiful countryside and across emerald-green rice fields.
- Exchange culture with Thai minority people in Mai Chau
- Enjoy traditional sampans through the rice fields to visit 3 caves in Tam Coc
- Bike through the local villages to visit Hoa Lu - the ancient capital of Vietnam.
- Age range
- < 18 year olds +3 more
- Accommodation
- 3 / 4 / 5
- Transportation
Immerse yourself in North Vietnam’s rich culture and natural beauty on a four day cycling trip that takes you deep into heart of this mystical region: Mai Chau and Ninh Binh. Peddle through emerald-green rice paddies and past ancient, mountaintop pagodas. Learn the rhythms of local life and enjoy a rural homestay, making new friends and forging lifelong memories. Mountain bikers will love this trip for the variety of trails – from good single track paths, undulating rough jeep trails to some climbs that are rewarded with ultimate descents.
Itinerary
Download PDF Brochure- DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN HANOI
Welcome to Hanoi – Vietnam. Upon arrival to Noi Bai Airport, you are warmly greeted by Goway Asia Travel’s team and then take you to hotel in downtown for check-in. Have some free time to recover from the jet lag.
Afterward, visit West Lake, the largest lake of the capital, once was named as "Foggy Lake” fr om its misty condition. Its name was changed to "West Lake" in 1573 to avoid the given name of King Le The Tong. Visit to the Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest pagoda in the city. Experience our national heritage and the beautiful Buddhist relics on the West Lake.
Later, hop on a cyclo, one of the most typical vehicles in Hanoi, is a human-powered transport with a seat at the front for passengers and the driver at the back. With this an hour leisurely ride, which is perfect chance for photos and slow-moving sightseeing, you will have a great chance to have the local closer touch.
Enjoy a walking tour and tasting Vietnamese authentic local cuisine around the Old Quarter area. You will have a chance to not only sample delicious street foods but also to explore hidden alleyways and bustling markets. Our food tour includes "Bun Cha" - rice noodle with BBQ pork, one of the most favorable dishes for foreigners, then followed by "Banh Cuon" - steamed rice roll, "Banh Mi" - another well-known Vietnamese food that is even added into Oxford English Dictionary. End of days, it is time for cup of Bia Hoi (Vietnamese draft beer) or enjoy a cup of unmissable Egg coffee, while we sit down and mingle with locals. It seems it is one not be missed for foodie in Hanoi. - Day 2: Biking in Mai Chau (Poom Coong, Cun Pheo & Buoc villages)
Mai Chau valley is a perfect place to experience Vietnam's village life in a remote setting. A day begins with the standard Asian rural alarm - the crowing of roosters across the valley long before first light. Dawn mist merges with the smoke of burning rice stubble in the fields, with Mai Chau's farmers already hard at work. Today’s ride is more remote and challenging, though there is plenty of opportunity to stop, rest and admire the amazing views. After breakfast at the homestay, enjoy relatively easy biking on rolling terrain for the first 7 km, then the trail begins to climb uphill - steep in parts, undulating in others. Rise above the valley and look down on small hamlets, feel and hear the forest surroundings as the trail snakes up and along the mountainside. Stop for a siesta in a Thai village house, a welcome relief from the heat - before tackling the last few kilometers to the top of the pass. Peddle a final 12 km downhill back to your homestay in Lac Village. The tracks will vary from hard packed dirt roads to single track, with a few challenging rocky sections thrown in for variety. For those needing more challenging biking it will be possible to cycle further. Biking: 6 hours. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Accommodation: Homestay in Mai Chau.
- Day 3: Mai Chau - Cuc Phuong National Park - Ninh Binh
Have breakfast at the village then drive to Nho Quan and spend the day biking through the lush and beautiful countryside. Stop for a picnic lunch then bike to Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh Province, the oldest national park in Vietnam and its most significant biodiversity site. Time to get wild! Then your driver will transfer you to Tam Coc Town in the late afternoon. Check-in to the hotel and spend rest of the day at your leisure. Biking: 3 to 6 hours (We offer a couple of levels to choose from easy to experience cycling). Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Accommodation: Hotel in Ninh Binh.
- Day 4: Ninh Binh - Hanoi
After breakfast at the hotel, start the day the local way—rowing traditional sampans through the rice fields to visit 3 caves in Tam Coc (Hang Ca, Hang Giua and Hang Con). Have lunch at a local restaurant then bike to Bich Dong to visit the mountaintop pagoda. Continue you on your bike trip, cycling through the local villages and spectacular karst mountains towering over a blanket of rice paddies to the ancient city of Hoa Lu - Vietnam's first capital. Drive back to Hanoi in the late afternoon. Tour concludes. Biking: 3 hours. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch. Accommodation: N/A.
Price Includes
- Accommodations.
- Breakfast & meals per mentioned in the itinerary.
- Transport by private car with AC.
- Mountain Bikes.
- Professional biking tour guide with English-speaking.
- Water & First Aid.
- All entrance fees, boat trips & excursions.
Price Excludes
- Travel insurance.
- Vietnam Visa.
- Flight ticket into and out Vietnam.
- Gratuities for tour guide/ driver.
- Other personal expenses.