Ad Blocker Detected
Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
If you plan to travel by motorbike from Ho Chi Minh City to your hometown during Tet, you can refer to the route, sightseeing stops and safety notes during the trip along 4 main roads.
From Ho Chi Minh City to the provinces, there are many roads suitable for motorbike trips, which are also the route for many people to return home for Tet. There are popular routes including Ho Chi Minh City to the Central region through coastal localities; Ho Chi Minh City goes to the Central Highlands in two directions, to Da Lat or to Dak Nong and Buon Ma Thuot; from Ho Chi Minh City to the Western provinces.
Below are suggested routes, sightseeing stops, accommodations, meals and safety notes during the trip, based on advice from several backpacking groups who have traveled these roads and surveys from Google Maps. .
Ho Chi Minh City to the Central region
From Ho Chi Minh City, popular routes stop in one of 8 provinces and cities in the South Central Coast region, further away are Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Da Nang, Hue and Quang Tri. The shortest journey is from Ho Chi Minh City to Binh Thuan about 200 km, the furthest is from Ho Chi Minh City to Quang Tri about 1,079 km.
In addition to going straight to Highway 1A, you can choose to stick to the coastal road. From Ho Chi Minh City to Quang Tri, you will go through 10 coastal provinces including Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Hue and Quang Tri.
If your destination is from Nha Trang to Quang Ngai, you can spend more time exploring the Central Highlands region, visit the Indochina junction at Kon Tum, check in to the easternmost point at Mui Dien, Phu Yen.
This route has no travel time limit. Depending on the need to stop and visit, tourists can choose a suitable schedule. If you only focus on driving and checking in at a few points along the way, the minimum time for the longest distance from Ho Chi Minh City – Quang Tri is about 24-30 hours. If you don’t have time pressure, you should stay overnight at some tourist destinations such as Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Da Nang to regain strength, walk around sightseeing, then continue your journey.
According to the experience of a tourist who has run this route 2-3 times, you should travel from Ho Chi Minh City early in the morning, and rest early in the afternoon before 5:00 p.m., avoid running at night because it can easily cause drowsiness and many large vehicles passing by. Driving requires the right speed and lane. Through Highway 1A, there are many large vehicles running very fast, and there are even vehicles going in the opposite direction, so you need to be alert and observe, and two people take turns driving.
In the middle of the journey, there should be a short break of 15-30 minutes at hammock cafes along the way. Accommodation on this road is available, from motels along the highway to hotels in the city.
Ho Chi Minh City to Central Highlands
Ho Chi Minh City – Da Lat
This route is considered easy to travel and has many directions of travel. In addition to following Highway 20, there are 5 directions to ride a motorbike from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat, suitable for sightseeing along the way, passing through many famous tourist destinations.
Directions to Ho Chi Minh City – Tri An – Nam Cat Tien – Da Teh – Con O Pass – Bao Lam – Ta Nung Pass – Da Lat. The total distance is about 360 km, so you should spend a day and a half traveling. Sleep in Nam Cat Tien or Da Teh at night, arrive in Da Lat at noon the next day. This road has smooth asphalt roads, no traffic, steep passes without many sharp turns like Gia Bac, Dai Ninh or Song Pha passes.
Directions: Ho Chi Minh City – Ba Ria – Lagi – Phan Thiet – Bau Trang – Vinh Hy – Cam Ranh – Song Pha – Da Lat. Total distance is 515 km, should be done in 2 days if traveling by motorbike, stopping to admire many sights.
A section of Prenn Pass, Da Lat, photo taken in August 2023. Photo: Hai Dang
Directions: Ho Chi Minh City – Ba Ria – Ho Coc – Lagi – Tanh Linh – Ho Dami – Bao Loc – Ta Nung – Da Lat. This road is about 430 km, the road is empty. Should go 2 days if riding a motorbike. Song Pha Pass Road has many trucks running from Phan Rang – Da Lat, visitors should observe carefully.
Directions: Ho Chi Minh City – Ba Ria – Ho Coc – Lagi – Ke Ga – Phan Thiet – Gia Bac Pass – Di Linh – Ta Nung – Da Lat, 443 km route, should travel in 2 days. Gia Bac Pass road has few cars but is quite small, with many curves, so be careful when driving.
Directions of Ho Chi Minh City – Ba Ria – Ho Coc – Lagi – Ke Ga – Phan Thiet – Luong Son Pass – Dai Ninh – Duc Trong – Ta Nung – Da Lat. This palace is more than 400 km away. Instead of climbing Gia Bac Pass, climb Luong Son – Dai Ninh Pass.
These routes are divided into mountain and sea directions. The mountain road passes through attractions worth visiting such as Tri An, Nam Cat Tien, Ta Nung, and Ponguar Waterfall. The sea route includes Ho Coc – Ho Tram, Phan Thiet – Mui Ne, Ke Ga – Lagi, and Co Thach sea.
These roads all run through tourist attractions, with overnight accommodations available. However, you should determine the route in advance, proactively search and reserve motels and hotels at your intended destination. If you have a short break in the middle of the trip, you will stop at a house along the road with a hammock to lie down and take a nap. Because the travel route is the main one, you can choose places to eat along the way to save time.
Ho Chi Minh City – Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Nong
The total route from Ho Chi Minh City to Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak is about 320 km long. This road is flat, easy to travel, passing through famous tourist destinations of Binh Phuoc, Dak Nong and Dak Lak provinces. From the center of Saigon, follow Highway 13 towards Binh Duong, to Dai Nam tourist area, you will encounter a large intersection, So Sao intersection.
Continuing on Highway 13, you will reach Loc Ninh, Hoa Lu border gate of Binh Phuoc province. From here, turn right along DT741 road through Tan Uyen and Phu Giao districts, stopping at Dong Xoai city, Binh Phuoc. If you leave at 5am in Ho Chi Minh City, you will arrive in Dong Xoai around 7am. Continue along Highway 14 towards Dak Lak, pass Bu Dang district, Dak R’Lap district and by noon arrive at Gia Nghia (Dak Nong).
In Dak R’Lap, there is a road running along the Cambodian border, National Highway 14C, going all the way to Dak Mil town (Dak Nong), not passing through Gia Nghia. This road is considered by many people to be not beautiful, but in return there are many beautiful scenery and few vehicles passing by. From Dak Mil to Buon Ma Thuot is about 60 km. On this road there are famous tourist attractions such as Dray Sap and Dray Nur waterfalls located between the border of Dak Nong – Dak Lak.
This itinerary usually moves in here. If you want to have fun and sightsee, you can stop at Gia Nghia. There are a number of homestays and farmstays here such as Yumin Farm house, Hoa Dat Garden, Ngo Gia Trang; In Dak R’Lap district, there is Molly Home; In Dak Mil, there is Montagnards Home Farm, priced from 150,000 to 1 million VND per night.
From Gia Nghia city center, within a radius of about 50 km, Dak Nong has many places to explore such as Ta Dung National Park, Nam Kar Volcanic Range, Lieng Nung Waterfall, Dak G’lun Waterfall.
Ho Chi Minh City goes to the West
There are many directions to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to 12 Western provinces, including 4 routes for motorbikes. Depending on the stop, you can choose a suitable route
Directions from Ho Chi Minh City to National Highway 1 – Phu My Junction (Tien Giang) – Provincial Road 866 – Provincial Road 865 – Provincial Road 867 – National Highway 1.
Heading towards Ho Chi Minh City, go to National Highway 1 – Provincial Road 868 – Tu Kiet Street – National Highway 1. This route is prone to congestion at Cai Lay intersection (Tien Giang).
Direction from Ho Chi Minh City to National Highway 1 – Vo Viet Tan (Tien Giang) – Thanh Tam, Cai Lay (Tien Giang) – Provincial Road 868 – Tu Kiet Road (Tien Giang) – National Highway 1.
Direction from Ho Chi Minh City to National Highway 1 – Vinh Long City (Pho Co Dieu) – National Highway 57 – Provincial Road 882 – National Highway 60 – Ham Luong Bridge (Ben Tre) – National Highway 60 – Rach Mieu Bridge – Trung Luong junction – Highway 1.
The chrysanthemum and raspberry garden in Tien Giang is blooming, photo taken in January. Photo: Thanh Dat Phan
The Western provinces are less than 200 km away from Ho Chi Minh City, the furthest stop is Ca Mau province, 179 km away, the nearest is Long An province, about 55 km away. Traveling by motorbike is mainly during the day. The Western road is generally easy to travel, but there are some sections with many potholes and potholes, so you should pay close attention.
Coming to the West in spring, you can visit flower villages that are blooming like Tan Quy Dong flower village in Sa Dec, Dong Thap; Phuoc Dinh apricot village in Vinh Long; Cai Mon ornamental tree village in Ben Tre; Vi Thanh flower village in Hau Giang and My Phong flower village in Tien Giang.
